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Sedans Mazda Protege Mazda Protegé
24037 messages, Last post on Nov 14, 2009 at 11:55 PM
You are in the Mazda Protege Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
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My wife keeps going back and forth on the issue. "Do we want another car payment? (My Accord has one more payment.) "Do we want something bigger that takes more gas to fill?" etc. Plus, she says people have sedans and babies all the time. When I say lets get rid of her car and get a bigger sedan so at least we both have comfortable cars, she doesn't want to do that either. To be honest, i am not sure when she wants to get rid of it all of a sudden. It appears from what you have posted that your wife is not the undecided one. She is pretty clearly saying that the Protege is fine for now. The right answer to practice is "that's fine, whatever you say". 
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Autonomous: There are several options here you should take time to think about. 1) The Accord is almost paid for.; 2) You could save the payments for a future trade up.; 3) Do with what you have until the gas problem settles.; and 4) Plan for your next car as if it will be the one you drive for a long time. Be sure it meets your needs. Generally, the small cars offered today don't seem to get any better fuel economy than the Protegé, maybe one mile per gallon more. My 2001 gets 26mpg city and 34mpg highway. Highest 36mpg. The seats are firm, but softer tires when replacing the Bridgestones made a hugh difference. Check Khumo touring tires. 
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Autonomous: There are several options here you should take time to think about. I'm puzzled, fowler3, why you are addressing these points to me. If I read Dave's message correctly, it is he that wants a new car ... it is not me (and apparently not his wife). Further to your pertinent point about fuel economy, you may want to check out the current Consumer Reports issue which reviews some excellent choices that offer real (25+%) improvements in fuel efficiency over our Proteges: the Elantra, the Corolla, the Prius, even the Mazda3 manual transmission. On the other hand, considering all of the attention in recent years on fuel economy I must declare that these improvements still have a long way to go. One area that disturbs is the continuing girth of cars. Several questions arise. Why do cars have to keep on getting bulkier and heavier? For example, why is the Mazda3s about 10% heavier than a Protege5? Why not feed our need for speed by lightening the vehicles? Why not advertise the weight savings as part of the performance enhancements? I will now leave the podium ...
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Autonomous: I got confused too that's why one reply addresses you. It isn't always clear who to reply to with these things. Add to that Apple's screwed up email app and you can see where it comes from. I agree there are more up-to-date compact cars which get better mileage than our Protegés. The Mazda3 is one IF you go for the manual tranny, I didn't on the Pro. Another thing about the MZ3 it's suppose to be bigger, yet I can barely get into it, and very comfortable in the old model. It strikes me as a car Mazda designed for purformance at all costs regardless of passenger comfort. If the buyer is too big go elsewhere. I'm 5' -11" 150 pounds. With reports the cost of oil will hit $200 a barrel I still see no need in trading. If you add the additional costs of insurance and local taxes to the difference in costs of the cars, it's a no-brainer. When you buy a better car you cannot buy insurance at the same premium you had on the older car. My Pro is clean, no dings, clean inside, and only 34,580 miles. Still on second tires. What I DID DO was sell my townhouse and move to an apartment closer to the services I need daily. Now, I use about four gallons a week instead of 10 gallons.
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Replying to: autonomous (Jun 12, 2008 1:29 pm) How many air bags, side impact beams and ABS actuators did the older cars have? Also, how well did those manual windows and vents w/o AC work? Manufacturers have made significant gains in weight reduction but the list of standard equipment seems to grow faster. Not to mention, cars have more integration yet get cheaper (relative to inflation). I'd like to have a car as comfortable as a Rolls, as roomy as an Excursion, as fast as a Bugatti, the towing capacity of an F550, and the economy of a Smart. When can i get it?
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Replying to: maltb (Jun 13, 2008 10:58 am) How about the Mini Clubman? I was rereading the June 2008 hatchbacks issue of Consumer Reports and noted the following stats about the mighty mite: weight: 2780 lbs. for the automatic; acceleration 0 to 60 in 9.7 sec.; braking 60-0 in 128 ft. overall mpg: 29 price: $24,700. My verdict: interesting if pricy package . |
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Replying to: fowler3 (Jun 12, 2008 4:06 pm) Kudos to you, fowler3! That makes so much sense that you'll end up saving dollars. 
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I have a 1992 Mazda protege 1.8L Manual Transmission. First Emission test HC Cruise limit 170 pass at 98, Idle limit 220 pass at 198. CO Cruise Limit 1.2 pass at 0.33, Idle limit 1.2 failed at 1.79. After I replace spark plus (found one cracked when I took it out), replace Rotor and Distributors. I did not replace Wires, they are fairly new-3 years and in great condition. But second test result got worse: HC Cruise limit 170 pass at 31 --much better, Idle limit 220 failed at 223. CO Cruise Limit 1.2 pass at 0.09 --much better, Idle limit 1.2 failed at 2.53. Both idle condition are much worse. I drove (at 9am) to the test center about 5 miles from my home after I replaced the parts a night before.
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Replying to: phteo (Jun 15, 2008 10:53 pm) |
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I have a check engine light on...I went to auto zone and recieved P code P0171..fuel system too leen....my car has been stalling and getting crappy gas milage..please advise...Thanks
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