Came across a 2013 Chevy Spark top trim with everything ($17.5 new) and only 11k miles for $12.4 at a dealer down the street. Went in next day and it was already gone. Not all that interested in a normal priced Spark, but with all the bells for less than base model I wanted to give it a look. Most people are getting over EPA estimates so I was interested. Kind of a penalty box, but the reviews were good despite the entry price bracket.

New 2013 Prius Cs have $2k on the hood making a model 3 (lowest model I'd be interested) around $18k. I'd seen one in person last year, but at that time I was well into the 'has to have full size rear seat' mindset. With the recent interest in the first gen Insight I decided I was ok with a squeeze in the back (yes I know Insight was a 2 seater) so I might give the C another look while there is old inventory rotting. Logically this is the exact car I SHOULD get as my driving is perfectly suited to it's strengths, but it's still an appliance, mostly hard plastic interior and all. Give me a Prius C with trim and handling of a Golf for $20-22k and I'm good to go.

Still in wait mode for Golf information. GTI is out and some people have them. Globally the MKVII has had some odd problems including wipers that are awful, cracks in the paint all the way to the metal leading to rust, and the over-eager emergency stop system when large vehicles are in adjacent lanes which could ironically CAUSE an accident by your car slamming on the brakes and the person behind you rear-ending you. This is defeatable, but shouldn't have to be... it is a feature, you know, something that sells the car!

I feel bad any time I get the 'ahh fuck it' notion and start searching the first FR-S or similar car that comes to mind, knowing I'm not a race car driver, and my average speed is about 20mph since beyond 3 trips a year, 95% of my driving is city where the gas burning during lights and lost braking energy just feels wasteful. The Golf is supposed to be a compromise assuming the mileage is up to par. I think people are expecting around 28-30 city and 35-38 highway. Something a bit more on the 'fun' side than economical, but with the stop/start system helps minimize waste.

Kia's EV Soul started production recently and is expected to hit near 100 miles of range, but like the Spark EV (85 miles), will only be available in California and Oregon then other CARB states, and probably never Oklahoma. 100 miles would be enough for me, I think. 80-85 from the Leaf and Spark is cutting it just a bit too close if I have any surprise trips across town. The EV Soul is expected to be around $40k before tax credits anyway, so it's out by price already. Looking forward to seeing what happens with the new Tesla soccer-mom-mobile and if the quality of the Model S carries through to the X (and logically to the next one - the one I will be interested in). Tesla just opened up all of their patents to open source today, so that is interesting.