Saturn Simon

Two cars at 14 is impressive! I do like your Felicia. There's something about the Felicia - it's an interesting car, being a hybrid of 'old-skool' communist Skoda and VAG-era design. Now that's a cool car.

I've noticed quite a few Japanese import Mustangs come up for sale on the internet, usually V6s, although they are very reasonably priced - especially compared to some of the optimistic prices you sometimes see asked for Mustangs by traders in Classic American magazine ads. There seems to be an abundance of Chevrolet Astro dayvans coming in from Japan too, but I don't want a van. My local garage just round the corner from me was happy to work on my American cars provided I supplied the necessary parts. I usually got these mail order from USAutomotive - which was usually the easiest, if not the cheapest, way.

Interesting lists so far... Keep them coming guys! Interesting that quite a few of you have migrated from Volkswagens. Allams, I see you like your long distance road trips. Nice to see a Capri fan on here too - that's an option I'll be considering as a second car if I can't stretch to running another Yank. Fuel prices were one of the reasons my old Pontiac Bonneville had to go. It returned 25mpg in my hands which isn't too bad, but it was sadly still a bit much at 16,000 miles per year on my wages! That, and it was near 20 years old so things were starting to wear out on it. I miss it though... Like I said I do plan another Yank but it will be as a second car - in which case fuel consumption won't be such an issue and neither will be waiting around for parts when the need arises. An SN95 Mustang is actually one of the options I'm considering... a V8 manual, ideally... but I don't think I'll actually have that much money to spend. If you want an economical American car I can recommend a Saturn S-series (see my post above). Mine got 32-35mpg, they handle well, and they're quite nippy too - 0-60 in 8.6 seconds for the twin cam 16-valve models. The downside with the Saturns is that they're so rare in the UK that even some of the Yank car parts suppliers haven't heard of them. Also, while Saturn is a GM brand none of the parts for the S-series were shared with any other GM cars so everything was special order. USAutomotive were very helpful at sourcing parts but never had anything in stock for them.

Just wanting to get to know you guys a bit better so I was wondering what cars you have owned over the years? Just thought it would be interesting to see how how many Skodas you've all had and what you had before your Skodas. Here's a brief history of what I've had, starting with my first car.... Car number 1: 1987 Toyota Starlet GL, 1.0 12-valve manual: Car number 2: 1987 Honda Integra DX, 1.5 litre 12-valve manual: Car number 3: 1993 Alfa Romeo 164 Lusso, 2.0 litre 8-valve Twin Spark manual: Car number 4: 1993 Saturn SC2, 1.9 litre 16-valve manual: Car number 5: 1992 Saturn SL2, 1.9 litre 16-valve manual: Car number 6: 1988 Pontiac Bonneville SSE, 3.8 litre 12-valve V6 automatic: Car number 7: 1999 Alfa Romeo 146 Junior, 1.6 litre 16-valve Twin Spark manual: Car number 8: 2000 Skoda Fabia Elegance, 1.4 litre 16-valve manual: The Fabia is my first VW Group car and so far I have to say I think it's a great car... Well made, pretty reliable, refined, fairly comfortable, well-equipped, handles well, rides OK, and the performance is OK. Overall it's a much better car than the Alfa 146 it replaced. It doesn't feel like I've traded down - it feels like I've traded up. The Fabia is probably the most complete car I've owned, if lacking in character and exclusivity compared to most of my previous cars. I think I'll be keeping hold of it for a long time to come, although I do plan to get another American car as a second vehicle.... eventually... when funds allow. By the way, I usually change my cars quite regularly... I'm 26 and have been driving since 2000. So what cars have you had over the years? Please do post pictures if you have them. If not just a list will be fine.

Thanks, that explains it then.

My Fabia 1.4 16v went into the garage today to have a new front wheel bearing fitted. Unfortunately the job isn't finished yet and the car will have to stay with them overnight to be finished the next morning as apparently the job is more complex than normal on my car. What's 'complex' about the Fabia's wheelbearings??

Thanks guys it's interesting to compare as is shows the trip computer figures must be at least semi-accurate. I'm getting 400-450 miles out of a tank. Nearly saw 500 miles out of one tank in the summer after a couple of long trips.

Hi all, I have been running my 2000 Fabia 1.4 16-valve since July. I have to say I am really impressed with the efficiency of this vehicle - the fuel economy is excellent. I am currently averaging around 45mpg. Admittedly I don't do much urban driving, but this is during winter driving conditions and as can be expected my economy has dropped off since the summer! In the summer I was getting an average of 48mpg. I'm really pleased as the whole reason I bought the Fabia was becuase I needed a more fuel-efficient car. Anyone else out there with a 1.4 16v Fabia Mk1? What fuel returns are you getting?

Hi everyone, Yesterday I part-exchanged my Alfa Romeo 146 for a 2000 (X-reg) Fabia 1.4 16v Elegance. Very pleased with the car so far. Better built, rides better, more refined, and easier to drive than the 146... Handles more-or-less as well as the 146 too and isn't too much slower. The Fabia is my 8th car in eight years of driving... and I've had quite a variety of cars too, ranging from a Toyota Starlet to an Alfa Romeo 164 to a Pontiac Bonneville. I love cars, me!

I like the Swift!