Starting to look at new car options (1:1)

[Finnster]

I hate Dodges. Big POSs, and now they are owned by the Italians...
Chevy...disappointing IMO.. I hope they turn it around.

I like Fords quite a bit. Never did until I got my Mazda, (30% owned by Ford, and shares a number of parts.) My new car is a Ford/deer mauler that's a 3-row family hauler. Bought w/ 16K miles & 100K B2B warr for a steal.

The Mazda is fantastic. For the year I was buying, Mazdas were rated nearly as reliable as Toyota, and above Honda and Nissan. It has been. I only paid to have my (R) brakes done once, then I've done them myself. I just buy new Wagner rotors and pads, and its ~ $200 for the whole car and an hr of work. The only real repair has been replacing the EGR valve, which I did for $120.
Linc is right about the sheetmetal, it is thin, and more rust prone than I would have thought. OTOH I do live in the east coast where they drench the road in salt. FWIW, my chevy truck before that ended up with quite a but of rust too. I did sound deaden (Raammat) the car, so that helped alot. For the 15K I paid for a fully loaded hatchback, I can't complain. So much fun to drive still. Manual tranny FTW.