I have a friends that have driven Neons and have been totally satisfied with them. They are great for what they are, cheap, econimical transportation with (for their time) good driving dynamics especially if they’re optioned right. Many wish that Chrysler had updated the Neon instead of going with the Caliber.

Once the new head gaskets were implemented the issue pretty much disappeared. I believe in your case the place that installed the new gasket didn’t do it properly. It’s not a simple bolt on procedure. That is the number one reason new head gaskets fail, it’s almost never a faulty gasket.

Hence, DaimlerChrysler finally threw in the towel on designing four cylinder engines and utilized Hyundai technology on the new all alloy engines built in a co-owned factory in Dundee, Michigan. (Interestingly, neither Hyundai nor Mitsubishi are using engines built in this plant – they just own 1/3 each).

Hyundai is busy building their own 4 cylinder engine plant at Montgomery. They’ve already got a vastly improved version of the engine which was all new for 2006, in their early 2009 cars.

Mitsubishi may end up using Dundee built engines once they either move Lancer production to Illinois, or when the all-new Lancer based Galant is introduced in a year or two (presumably it will resemble the Galant ZT show car).

1998 – 2000 model year

1) Mitsubishi Mirage
2) Suzuki Esteem
3) Dodge Neon (assuming the head gasket’s been replaced by a factory unit)
4) Mazda Protege

Get a 4-cylinder, 5-speed base version with less than 100k on it and you may be looking at another 10 years of joy free motoring if you live in a temperate climate.

However, if you’re amongst the 6% of the population that actually buys a new car, this study is still an exercise in fantasy. First, as many of the folks here have pointed out, real market purchase prices have to be taken into account. Then you have to estimate the average life of the vehicle which, indeed, has a bit of variance to it. An Aveo would probably be around 175k. A Lexus LS430 may average out at around 275k. There are ways of justifying these measurements (DMV records, salvage sale data, etc.) but you would need an independent collector of information such as Carfax or Autocheck to make it legitimate.

I can see the Ranger/B2300, Corolla, Aveo, Mazda 6, and even a 4-cylinder Sonata perform particularly well for that type of study. All you really need is…

1) A vehicle that is heavily discounted vs. it’s competitors
2) Has been made for several years (lower insurance and parts costs) and
3) has an economical 4-cylinder engine
4) A transmission with gearing that gives the nod to fuel economy and
5) A powertrain that can reasonably last 200k.

A lot of vehicles fit that bill. However, it’s really the driver that has the greatest influence on costs by far based on their driving style and maintenance regimen. In baseball terms, the driver of a car has as much of an impact on ‘cost’ as a pitcher on a team.

……………………

Oh, and I already know the answer to this study.

Answer: A 3-cylinder, five-speed Geo Metro XFi that has been towed by an elderly couple for virtually it’s entire life, thereby 90+% of the miles were never recorded. It was maintained with synthetic fluids, has premium tires put at their maximum pressure, and the new owner has a travel route that goes on steep downhills both ways.

When on long trips, the driver pulses, coasts, and drafts their way into mileage levels that would make Ralph Nader blush. They also have the physique of Calista Flockhart (or Ralph) and have stripped the Metro into it’s absolute base form. They wear ear muffs, put ice cubes in their mouth (heaven forbid you use a/c), and have a fold out bike that has an electric motor attached for those times where the thing needs to be towed (who needs AAA?

Damn, I actually had one of these last year. Something tells me it’ll be a wee bit harder to find this time.

By the way, the title should read either “Korean Domestics Top Operating ECONOMY Study” or “…TRAIL Operating Cost Study”.

Lumbergh: The gas was calculated at $1.10/L. Converted to USD, it’s about $4.25 a Gallon. So I’m not sure how much $5/Gallon would change.

So you guys are right, they totally leave out maintenance and depreciation, as well as insurance. Admittedly, these tend to vary a lot between individuals, and this is a way of getting exact numbers for ownership, but the info should be taken with a grain of salt at the least. I do like how La Presse put all their info out there, though. bravo for that.

Edit:
Had some fun and found the cheapest way to pump the max amount of CO2 into the air. The Kia Sorrento wins with 0.22 kg of CO2 emmitted per dollar of ownership cost.