In 2003, I purchased a Kia Rio Cinco, the wagon, which is now called Rio 5. I paid the car off in April of 2008. On June 2, 2008, I was the 3rd car hit in an 8 car accident. The accident happened on a 6 lane highway going the freeway speed limit in NJ – NOT SLOW. The 1st hit was in the rear passenger door in such a way that my car immediately went into a 360 degree spin. A second car hit the rear passenger door on the drivers side as it spun into the lane to my right. The second hit spun me again in the opposite direction and the front of my car I believe hit another car. The car was totaled, but none of the inside passenger area was damaged at all. I WALKED AWAY FROM THAT ACCIDENT AND WENT TO WORK THAT DAY. I left work early of course and went to the hospital to be examined. No injuries!! KIA has won numerous awards for safety and consistently maintains 5 star awards for safety even on the Rio. God and that KIA saved my life on June 2, 2008.

With gas prices at or above $4.00 a gallon. Guess what I bought yesterday, a 2006 Kia Rio. I already know about the great gas mileage and have experience with the safety. So the purchase was a no brainer. This is my 3rd Kia. I had the 2001 Sportage also. I still don’t have power windows & doors, but thank God my lazy butt is still alive to reach over and roll down the windows and unlock the doors. It’s an automatic and I do have air and a banging stereo system, which I had in the 2003 Rio.

When I buy a car, it’s based on dependability, initial purchase price and cost of maintenance and parts over the life of the car and durability. Value is important. I still have to eat after buying the car. Not to mention the 28 city/38 hw mpg and great pick up for entering the highway without having to floor the gas pedal. The cabin of the 2006 Rio is a lot quieter than the 2003 that I just lost.

I test drove the base model 2008 RIO which now comes standard with the power package (windows & door locks) and the stereo has the aux connection for the iPod. I LOVED IT, but I don’t want to pay over $15,000 for a car since I just paid off my other car a couple months ago. I was looking forward to being car note free for at least 3 years. :-(

If I ever need a more expensive car just to show off to my friends/family who aren’t paying for it any way. I’ll just bump up to the more expensive KIA Optima or Amanti.

I LOVE MY KIAs and no I don’t work for or have any affiliation with KIA Motors.

My first car had crank windows, I like them on vintage cars or entry level models. Adds character and charm. :-)

Now, if I can’t reach all the winders from the drivers seat I’ll take the pushbuttons, thank you very much.

But I can think of more useless options to rant about.

How about rear window defrosters? Anyone ever use theirs? The last time I ever used one was in my old Geo Metro because the AC was broke. Get caught in the a humid rain storm without AC in one of those things and you’re taking your life in your hands because it’s near impossible to keep the windows clear. Outside of that, I have never needed to use it on any of my other cars.

How about rear wipers and washers? Got those on my minivan. Never needed to used them.

Are those fancy nav systems really that useful? I never had one so I have no idea. My idea of a nav system is a good road atlas or map and a few printouts from MSN Maps that zero me in to my intended destination.

And what’s with these in-dash DVD players? If I wanted to watch a movie I can think of better places than sitting in a car watching a 7″ screen.

I’m sure I’ve missed one or two here, but that’s good enough for starters.

Oh, and as for the Rio I’d rather buy the Hyundai Accent hatch. Why wear four doors to make it look like you can actually carry humans in the back seat when no one shy of a circus midgets or small children would dare sit back there. Besides, the hatch makes much better use of the available room.

RE: Packages
Speaking of having to buy entire packages just to get one feature, Kia is playing the same game with the Rio. If you want the hatchback, you’ll have to also pay for alloy wheels, leather-wrapped steering wheel, sport pedals, etc.

RE: Power windows
My buddy owns a Subaru, and we usually take his car when we head into the mountains for hiking/camping. At some point he’ll stop to buy gas. After about 30 seconds I realize that I am roasting in the car, so I reach to roll down the window… but I can’t! Furthermore, I can’t understand these people who demand power windows. Our nation is 2/3 overweight and 1/3 obese; are we really so lazy that we are unwilling to move our arm in a circular motion for 7 seconds?!?! The exercise will do you good, people!

Now you are sounding like Bob Elton when he claimed that manuals are more dangerous than automatics. If you can not roll down your window while driving, please do not chew gum and walk at the same time. You might hurt yourself.

Ditto.

I had a Mustang GT that had express down AND up windows. Now I have a Charger that only expresses down and it annoys the hell out of me. The car I had before the Mustang didn’t even have a cassette tape, but now with ‘only’ one CD instead of the GT’s six switcher, I feel deprived.

My Dad totalled his pickup into a black angus on a dark dirt road. He thought of getting one of those “WT” Chevrolets, but realized he couldn’t live without all the LT level accoutrements to which he had grown accustomed. He stumbled on a sweetheart used Laramie level Dodge Ram and snapped it up instead of a new stripper – he blesses that day.

Live through an Arizona or Texas summer without AC, and then you may be permitted to comment about your AC preferences.
When the temperature inside your car is around 130F with the hope you have is to lower it to 110F (outside temperature) you will want to sanctify the AC inventor.

And if you had to use a car for a 20 mile daily commute in stop and creep traffic where you never generated enough speed to create a breeze in the 98 degree summer heat, you’d find yourself rushing to the nearest shop to have an aftermarket AC unit installed!

Wait a few years, the strippers will be next to nothing.

For things like power doors and windows: I started of in a 1979 Toyota pickup with manual everything. Hated that truck. Next was a Ford Escort with AC and power steering, manual everything else, my first new car and I loved it. After that it was progressively up the food chain with new and improved gadgets. It really all comes down to what you are used to. My last car had power up and down windows, navigation and a seat that moved back when I turned the car off. That was a damn good car and I am missing every one of those features now in my new car. I think I’d be offended now if I had to crank a window down by hand or if I couldn’t unlock my car before I got it or heaven forbid put the key in the door. My current car has keyless ignition and I don’t know that I’d buy a car without it now. My wife’s van has a backup camera and I love that now too; but to each their own.

And it’s not to save gas, wear, etc., or anything like that. I normally use a motorcycle for day to day commuting. If I have to use the car, I prefer the breeze, not sitting in a climate controlled coffin.

I’d prefer to buy my cars without A/C, if that were possible – and I live outside of Richmond and travel to Daytona Beach often.

Syke
Deranged Few M/C

It amazes me how some people concentrate on the resale/retained value of a car. Many folks are like myself – I keep my cars a minimum of 10 years, 250k….so retained value is of little concern.

My ol’ Granny, God bless her, bought the top of the shelf Buick Regal back in ‘77….every possible option except for power windows. She had to wait 3 months for them to build it special for her. “Why no power windows, Gram?” we would ask. “Oh honey, just in case I have a heart attack and drive into the river while crossing over the bridge (and the statistical chances of that happening are….)” she said with a serious face. “Um, Gram, don’t you think the heart attack, or in the very least, the fur coat you always wear, won’t take you down first????”.

I really like the little triangular windows too, they’re great for sweltering summer driving.

The reason car manufacturers don’t use them any more is because they make it extremely easy to break into a car. With a good strong punch or elbow you could knock one of those windows out and the door handle is usually right below, granting easy access to the car. I used to have an early 90’s Jeep and my stereo often grew legs because of the little triangular windows.

True enough, but with rebates, “regional” promotions and”factory to dealer” incentives that seem to change on a daily basis we have to go on the MSRP because we can’t guess what the “selling price” for a particular car may be on any given day. However, the difference between invoice and MSRP on the Rio isn’t very large so unless there are some incentives to help there isn’t a lot of dealing room.

At the risk of dating myself, I remember when power windows operated with the car off and the keys gone. Circa 1968 neighbors bought a 1962 Buick Electra 225 with power windows. This was hot stuff for most of us kids growing up in a working class neighborhood. We played with those amazing windows the day our neighbors took delivery. The next day, the proud new owner had to bum a ride to Gambles to buy a new battery!

der_rote_tornado:

Check out the brand new Studebaker National Museum next time you are in South Bend. It just opened this year after about 3 decades of planning and I understand it is fabulous.

All:

Point of information: The first Studebaker to be equipped with power windows (and seats too) was the special mid-year 1955 “Ultra-Vista” Studebaker!

http://www.normannobody.com/

That Rio seems expensive in comparison…

When power windows get some reserve power source of their own (and I know it’s been done), I’ll like them.

The only potential hole in the final price summary is that you’re assuming buyers are paying full MSRP for these Kias with options.

Personally I’d look at a Hyundai first if I was looking for cheapest possible transportation.

My mother lives in SB. I always visit the Stude museum when I’m there. On my last visit there they had a Lark Daytona in the airport lobby. It had a Mr. Ed tv show display behind it to commemorate Stude’s sponsorship of the Mr. Ed show.

Plus, I know how mean I am to my car…

For that insurance and convenience there will be a premium. Which obviously Hyundai is obssessed with quality lately to bring down the costs of their big warranties. There are other advantages as well, like if their mechanics fix hyundais and kias all day long, they are going to be extremely fast and have all the parts right there.

This is insane.

You want insane? I used to have an ‘80 Chevette with crank windows, no A/C, no power steering or power brakes. For a while the window washers didn’t work, so I kept a squirt bottle on the passenger seat and when I’d reach a red light I’d lean out the window, spray the windshield, and hit the wipers.

That was my favorite car ever, mostly because it only cost $500 to buy and took whatever beatings I gave it. I also autocrossed it, regularly beating escorts and MGs. Anything that broke or wore out was very cheap to fix (if they advertised tires for $19.99 and up, I got them for $19.99 :-)

I think new cars today are simply too complicated and costly to be properly enjoyed. If that makes me insane, so be it.