I've heard that before, that the average millionaire drives a visibly used car. I may have even heard it was an old pickup. I'm glad to see it's very likely true.

But if I have to wait until my car is 40+ years old before I'm a multimillionaire, and my current car is a '99 ... *sigh*

The richest guy I ever knew, a multi-millionaire named Marshal Templeton, drove a beat-up Volkswagen Beetle. He also lived in a modest home, although he did have a butler who would serve food and drinks. I worked for Marshal one summer to help him as he tried to create a nature trail that would connect the largest nature sanctuaries in Westchester County, New York. I don't think the trail project was ever completed, though, because a few key landowners (including the actor Frank Langella) refused to have it cross their property.

Basically, I think that the richer you are the less you have to prove, so things like status symbols become less and less important (if they ever were).

He also lived in a modest home, although he did have a butler who would serve food and drinks.

I'm envisioning a guy in a trailer house with a butler named Jethro whho brings him Cheet-os and Moutain Dew.

hahah! Well it wasn't THAT modest...it was a simple but very nice and comfortable old house on a large plot of land a few miles outside of Mt. Kisco, New York. The butler was the only obvious indication that Marshal had money.

Wasn't it on GRS that there was a posting about Scott Adams (of Dilbert fame) that when his comic became such a success that he could afford any car in the world, it stopped to matter to him?

squished

you obviously enjoy driving, otherwise you woulda bought a regular imprezza and not an sti... so why look at a fit?

consider something that can be fun to drive and you can still modify... like a golf or jetta tdi... you can still get 50+ mpg out of them, they are better in the long run for the enviornment then a prius and you can do an aftermarket turbo swap, manifold, chip and exhaust and get a ton more hp out of them... and if you are really bored, you can convert it to run biodiesel

i figure if they can race the audio diesel's... they must be good for something.

Diesel is actually pretty bad stuff environmentally speaking: it's those fine particulates and NOx emissions that are the problem. If you look at any of the green car guides, diesels don't get high ratings because of it, despite their excellent fuel economy.

http://www.greenercars.com/faq.html#diesel

It's getting cleaner, but not there yet. I remember seeing a study a while back estimating that diesel trucks and cars were responsible for something like 40 percent of the deaths from cancer and respiratory illnesses in urban areas.

ill tell ya' what... ill take that over the $7,000 cost to replace a prius battery after 70k miles or so, and we won't even start the discussion of where / how to dispose of them.

again, you can always run biodiesel through vw tdi's w/ very lil modification.. and the motors will last for 400k+ miles, 10k mile oil changes, etc.

I love to drive... when no one else is on the road at least

I've test driven the yaris several times. It drives fine. not great, not special, not horrible. Not piss your pants fun like I find the STi, but hey.. I could buy 3 or 4 yaris's for the STi.

My uncle owns a very nice mercedes amg. I love that car too, for many different reasons. I'd love to own one. But I think the STi is my price/performance(or price/luxury) ratio limit. The STi compared to cars that perform similar was a steal imo. But realistically it is still a $48k (cad) car!

The yaris could be fun with some mods and stuff... I am pretty certain... and even with mods it would be getting nearly double the mileage of the STi and runs on regular gas while the STi drinks ultra premium! The yaris RS model here has very nice seats, has a really awesome hatch with flat folding rear seats for a TON of storage space... the Fit has more storage space but crummy seats and drives even worse then the yaris... Although in Japan the Fit is popular, comes with the CVT tranny which makes the car much more fun to drive...

If we went to the yaris, I'd probably end up spending money on modifications, which would mean that moving from the TSX to the yaris would end up costing us some money...

We are getting some flak for the idea from all angles - my wife's parents think it can't be safe... they love the acura tsx because it's got power, 4 doors and is safe... The yaris is too small and has no power so it can't be good...

My biz partner can't believe I'd trade DOWN cars to the yaris, he feels the TSX is comparable to a BMW with half the price tag...

The majority of our peers drive nice new cars (though nothing above $50k) and none can believe we'd downgrade to a yaris...

I'd drive a scooter but I'm afraid to die on our streets filled with morons and self righteous, no signal no shoulder checking lane changers...

As for the environmentalist comment, yah... I think most west coasters like to talk a lot but can't fathom actually doing something about it. I mean, in Frankfurt I saw solar panels on so many roof tops, in Vancouver, I see none. Come on. I think solar isn't even allowed due to bylaws!

We don't have a monthly payment on the TSX, so this is a tough decision for us. My wife loves her car and she also loves to drive. Because we live in the 'burbs with friends and family all over the lower mainland, we need two vehicles... I think economically giving up the STi for the yaris makes the most sense but my wife won't let me do that...

I really wish that we had more options in the car market. Why are there no electric vehicles? Where is an economically priced Tesla (http://www.teslamotors.com)? Why do the hybrids look so ugly, suck so badly and have a huge margin?

I am a very frustrated guy right now

lostmind: you should check out the Toyota Matrix. It's like the Yaris' big brother. Same design, slightly bigger body, slightly more powerful engine.

Actually what was more fun to drive than the Yaris was the Echo Hatchback, which was only available in Canada before it was discontinued and replaced by the Yaris.

The Matrix is very different -- that's what I drive -- it's really a Corolla with a different body; considerably bigger than a Yaris (I've slept in my Matrix and I'm 6'4"). The Matrix is a nice car but feels underpowered, not that I care one bit about power, but I notice it when I'm driving in the hills of Vermont. Plus it has an unusual design that I personally think is quite ugly but I don't care. The fuel economy is great. I drove from Montreal to a town south of Boston a few weeks ago (a 7 hour drive) on 3/4 of a tank of gas. I love the Matrix, but I'm into fuel economy, practicality, reliability, affordability...in other words exactly the kind of boring guy that buys Toyotas, although this in fact is the first Toyota I've ever owned.

lostmind, I honestly think you're too much into performance and appearances to be happy with a Yaris; you should stick with what you've got, otherwise you'll always feel a pang of regret at your decision. By the time you have to truly have to replace your STi, there might be some new choices available.

I'm still really torn. Maybe we need to put it all into a spreadsheet

What's the mileage of the Scions versus the Yaris? Going quirkier let's you bypass much of the status issue.

Im gonna tell your brother.

Julie's bestest married friend-couple owns a Matrix and its wonderful for them, very reliable, which is good.