A blog that hasn't been updated in almost a year???

Oh, the car....Never mind. :)

Yes I do! Actually, one of the reasons I was wanting a Bug was so I could get the license plate "LDYBUG" ...of course it would have to be a red one.

Just thinking about people playing slugbug for that hypothetical car makes me smile.

Thank you for checking for me, but it seems like I'm going to be forced to move away from the VW's for now. My dad and I crunched some numbers and found that in just gas, I'll save $10,000 over 5 years with a hybrid over the VWs.

This is very sad for me, but that's how it is...:(

Suebe...Subaru...Suebe...Yeah, the blog isn't top of mind at all.

The Passat is really cool.

Mine from Carmax was a rental...

lynxears, keep in mind that the Honda Civic Hybrid still has a $1050 tax rebate. At least till the middle of the year. Starting at $22,600, it might be a little above your price range, but the rebate will help. Plus, unlike the Prius (who's tax rebate has expired), it doesn't look like a hybrid.

You can do more research here. It's a government site where you can research best and worst mpg cars, hybrids and current tax rebates, and do side by side comparisons for fuel mileage. I just did a Prius vs. a VW Rabbit and your gas bill would be double for the Rabbit. It actually only averages 24 mpg.

i say go with toyota or honda. you really can't beat the reliability ratings. most of their cars are very fuel efficient on top of being dependable.

i suggest all 3 of the cars alton has already suggested. you might also check out the yaris or the matrix. i'd also suggest looking at scion (the affordable, hip side of toyota).

here is a list of cnn's top cars for good gas mileage. you can always check for gas ratings of any make and model vehicle. it's a really great resource.

in terms of looking for the best prices, i would say check your local papers for used cars. or you can always just go to cars.com. either way, print still exists! don't forget to pay a mechanic to check out any used car BEFORE you buy it. it's damn well worth it to pay someone 50 bucks (or whatever the cost) before you commit to buying a lemon that is going to cost you thousands of dollars to fix later on.

by the way, has anyone seen the new ford commercial in which ford proudly proclaims that their cars are now on par with toyota's quality? that's kind of a sad thing to boast about. (see here as well)

*whispers* I know...I work for them.

Thank you so much! I knew there had been a rebate, but I didn't realize it had expired for the Prius! That makes a difference!
And, ya, it looks like my choices are down to a Prius or a Civic Hybrid, thanks to that gas comparison. Yikes.

That gov site is cool, but off on gas mileage. I know I get 310-320 miles per fill up (city) about 350 (highway), and rarely put in more that 11 gallons, but it claims I should get 19 MPG (city) 23 (highway). I calculate more like 28/32 based on 2 years driving around. They trying to lean everyone to buying hybrids?

I get somewhere between 50 and 55 MPG on my Prius. It was also nice to get the tax rebate for last year's taxes. The gas tank holds about 11 gallons.

At about 540+- miles the "you need to stop for fuel pretty soon or you'll regret it" light starts flashing and beeping at me.

I also own a 2003 Tundra. By driving the Prius back and forth to work instead of the Tundra, I save a little over $100 a month in gas.

You get pretty good juice out of the Prius? Back when I bought mine, I strayed from the hybrids b/c I wanted something with a bit more "get up and go". Mine has a turbo so it's quick enough that I feel pretty comfortable that I can merge in and out of traffic with plenty of juice left in the engine (guess that came from years of driving the Exploder, 0-60 in 12.9 miles) ;)

Course, the other thing I've been driving is an F350 turbo diesal king ranch with 2 horse gooseneck, so anything other than that seems to be sipping gas! ;)