Here's Where I Announce I am a Hypocrite

[Rev_D21]

I have said on many occasions that I would never consider a post-2002 Nissan vehicle. I even sold my fiance on a Kia. Well today I will eat my own hat, I traded my 2002 SEV6 Frontier towards a 2012 Nissan Versa 1.6S. Not just any 1.6S either! It's the most spartan of Versa models you can find, manual locks, crank windows and manual mirrors. I can slightly redeem myself by saying I did buy one with a third pedal, it's a manual! I will forever hate autos for the rest of my life. The main reason for this 180 degree hard-about is gas prices are killing me. With my new job being 45 miles one way the Frontier is just not up to the task anymore. Last week cost me $100 in fuel. Combine that with the issues the truck has now that it is 11 years old and you can imagine anyone would make the move. When the dealer offered me $800 more than I owed on the truck I jumped. The Versa has 25K on it with full factory warranty left on it. It's not a program car, it is a one owner who wanted something less spartan. As a cheap commuter I think this car will do well. Any way, I am off to eat my hat. Here's some pics while I do that...










This car completely reminds me of my first car ever...a 1984 Nissan Sentra with a 1.6L E16 with a 5 speed. That Sentra was also very spartan. And before you laugh I have doubled my MPGs with this move. I am not saying I am not a hypocrite, I just made this move for good reasons. I take delivery Saturday at 11AM.

[MinisterofDOOM]

That is one grey car.

[Rev_D21]

It's Brilliant Silver, same as the out-going Frontier. It's ugly and that rear end looks dumpy as hell but MPGs and I wanted to stay in the Nissan family drove the purchase. It's a commuter. When I want to look good I'll just take the green truck out for a drive. It's like Superman jumping into a phone booth.

[mechanicalmoron]

Just because it's not beautiful doesn't mean it's ugly. And it sounds like you got all the simple, manual benefits of an older model, in a brand new one.

You ARE going to throw the hubcaps in the garbage, right?

What kind of milage do you get in it?

[AZhitman]

Well-done, sir.

More cars should be as utilitarian as that one. There are the cars we modify, and there are the cars we use for their intended purpose: To haul our butt someplace far from home and back, in safety and relative comfort, for as cheap as possible.

[Rev_D21]

And it sounds like you got all the simple, manual benefits of an older model, in a brand new one.

You ARE going to throw the hubcaps in the garbage, right?

What kind of milage do you get in it?

It is like driving a modern version of my old Sentra. Mileage is unknown at this time but I'll be keeping tabs on that. I have my Ultragauge that will be monitoring all the vitals for me since, as you can see, I only have a speedo and gas gauge. My first move it to acquire a set of Firestone snow tires. It has brand new Delta Finalists but I'll save those for summer. Now that I am without 4WD I feel rather naked in the Western NY Winter. As for the hub caps, I haven't even begun to consider any changes yet. We'll see. Any changes I do make must make the car more efficient while at the same time be inexpensive.

[mechanicalmoron]

Throwing your hubcaps out is free, and technically a weight reduction

I didn't mean put alloy wheels on, I mean steelies look soooo much better than plastic hubcaps styled to look like alloy wheels....

[Rev_D21]

We'll see.

[Jesda]

I hate it so much.

However, I hope it saves you money and proves to be safe.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Looks like Chris has to pass the crown for ugliest staff car over to you.

Does it burn tire?

[Jesda]

Back in high school, I found that a pair of big speaker boxes and a Clarion CD player (a CD player was a big deal back then) made driving an econoturd tolerable. I kept a stack of burned CDs in my visor.

Aftermarket car audio is awesomely cheap these days and goes a long way toward improving a boring commute.

[Bubba1]

Looks like Chris has to pass the crown for ugliest staff car over to you.

Does it burn tire?

It should with some gasoline and a match....



Congrats on your new acquisition. Enjoy.

[Rev_D21]

I hate it so much.

[Razi]

Hey, at least it's manual!

[AZhitman]

AND, it'll probably outrun a "classier" Versa, based on the P2W ratio.

[MinisterofDOOM]

You know, a lot of times I think the cheaper versions of cars look nicer purely because they're not covered in fifteen square feet of chrome. The only chrome on that car is the hamburger and it looks BETTER for it.

[AZhitman]

Yup. I'd lower it, debadge it, and let people wonder WTF it is.

[Kompresshun]

Congrats on the new ride Devin! It's a pile of bland, but you made it better by getting the most basic everything. There's not many cars that are better as the absolute base model, but it seems like that's the only way you can get most vehicles with a manual trans these days if it's not a sports car/sports sedan

Looks like Chris has to pass the crown for ugliest staff car over to you.

[Rev_D21]

You know, a lot of times I think the cheaper versions of cars look nicer purely because they're not covered in fifteen square feet of chrome. The only chrome on that car is the hamburger and it looks BETTER for it.

That did impress me. That's why I de-chromed my green truck. Chrome on most cars looks gaudy to me. The black trim understates the car and keeps it subtle, I don't like attracting attention.

[nissangirl74]

Congrats on the gas-sipper. Utilitarian cars are great for their intended purpose. I would have picked a color other than silver, but I don't have much room to talk. My Insight is silver too. I've been driving my Frontier as a DD for the past week and I feel your pain. It really does suck to go from 60+ mpg to 16-ish. I almost don't like driving it anymore. ALMOST. It's still a blast to drive. I'm just hyper-aware now how much it costs to drive it.

[float_6969]

Congrats on the blandmobile and $ in the bank. Not a bad tradeoff IMHO. Also Jesda is right about the audio. I can drive just about anything for a long time if the tunes are respectable.

Also, window tinting tends to keep the pointing and laughing from other down. Well at least they don't know who they're pointing at, LOL!

[Bubba1]

Congrats on the blandmobile and $ in the bank. Not a bad tradeoff IMHO. Also Jesda is right about the audio. I can drive just about anything for a long time if the tunes are respectable.

Also, window tinting tends to keep the pointing and laughing from other down. Well at least they don't know who they're pointing at, LOL!

That's true. The window tinting + upgraded stereo could help. Then all you need is a "got bass?" window sticker, instant detailer, plus a L'L Wayne CD and you'll be ready to creep out...er pick up female University of Hartford students.

[Rev_D21]

It's funny because the car is turning heads of older women while it goes down the road. At first I was confused but after doing some reading there are not a lot of these cars in the area yet combined with it being a 2012, I am not used to driving something so new and people squint wondering what it is. +1 on window tint but the stereo works just fine for me. If it begins to buzz I will upgrade it but for now just hearing something is OK with me. Remember that I have no tach so I need to hear the motor to know when to shift.

[float_6969]

[MinisterofDOOM]

It has always seemed silly to me that cheap cars with automatics almost always have tachs, but cheap cars with manuals often don't.

[float_6969]

I've noticed that too. I had an automatic gauge cluster in my civic (it was a rustly ole daily) for that reason.

[alms24sebring]

I could absolutely agree that thats a badass car. Its a turtle but it will last forever, and its a NIssan!

[mechanicalmoron]

It has always seemed silly to me that cheap cars with automatics almost always have tachs, but cheap cars with manuals often don't.

Because cheap cars with automatics are targeted at people who don't know how to drive, but want to be cool. Not to say than nobody driving a cheap automatic is respectable, but that's who the target market is.

The target market for cheap standards is people who know how to drive, know what they want in a car, shift at low RPM and don't shift down until the car's about to be shaking, hyper-mile and get 90mpg, etc.

Tiny motors without any sporty driving in mind don't require a tach, just a speedo and an idea when to shift, and a bit of time driving to get the feel for it. So in cheap cars it's just a gimmic, to make people feel like they're really driving, with

The average driver in an auto with a tach has NO idea what it means, and the guys putting the tach in the auto design know this. It's marketing.

IMO, anyways.

[Rev_D21]

Daydreaming how this would look in the car makes me laugh. Someone would key the door if they saw that sitting on the dash.

PS: 90 mile commute to and from work, the trip computer read 39.9MPG average. Awesome!

[MinisterofDOOM]

Daydreaming how this would look in the car makes me laugh. Someone would key the door if they saw that sitting on the dash.

That's because a tach like that belongs out on the hood, '60s Pontiac style.