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$6,000 Geo Metros

Posted May 16, 2008

Perhaps I spoke too soon. Just a couple of weeks after my Crappy Car of the Month blog, USA Today reported that econoboxes like the unlamented Geo Metro and Ford Festiva are seeing record resale values — even approaching $6,000.

It's all a part of the inevitable knee-jerk reactions to gas prices we thought we'd only see if we pissed off the OPEC nations again. It's a logical step, though — these cars make a Civic look like a gas hog. But is a few lousy mpgs worth your safety?

I ask that because many other drivers must not have received the memo that gas prices are only going to go higher. Their insistence on driving vehicles several times larger than what they need — or can afford — have turned driving into a game of chicken with soccer moms in Tahoes who refuse to put the cell phone down while making roads unsafe for everyone.

Even on a five-minute commute to work, I often feel my safety jeopardized by a few motorists out there lacking even the tiniest shred of common sense — or skill in using turn signals. So unless you want to avoid becoming a hood ornament on an Escalade, your best bet in saving fuel and staving off the undertaker is a larger — and more expensive — Camry hybrid. After all, our freedom to purchase whatever vehicle we choose isn't free.

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