In this thread, we'll have car buying scenarios. They'll describe past or present fictional car buyers. You can post your own scenarios, choose cars in other people's scenarios or do both. So, here is the first one from me: Imagine it's late 1980 ('81 model year). You are a 34-year-old married Arizonian with a 3-year-old daughter. You want to replace your 1976 225 ci Plymouth Duster with an automatic RWD small truck, leaving the child-carrying duties to your wife's '77 Corolla wagon. But which truck should you buy? You want reliability, decent performance and good on-road behaviour. The options that seem the best are: - Plymouth Arrow 2.6 (good equipment), - Dodge Ram 50 2.6 (good equipment), - Chevrolet El Camino 305 ci (decent equipment). Which one would you buy? I'd get the Plymouth. Maybe less power than the Chevy, but probably better reliability. And do you have any of your own scenarios?
It's 2017. You are a 49 year old man who is happily married with two kids and a Golden Retriever named Rover and happily living in the suburbs. You promised your older son that once he turned 18, you would buy him a car, and wouldn't you know it? His birthday is only a few days away, and he's expecting that car! He's been dropping hints that he really want's a bright red Ford Mustang so that he can impress Becky and go on a date with her, but your wife on the other hand is telling you to get him something safe and economical, like a Toyota Camry. Your wife is really against your son driving a Mustang and would not be happy at all with you if you got him one, and this could possibly lead to a divorce. Your son does not want to be seen in a Camry because that would destroy his popularity at school and ruin any chance that he has with Becky. As you hop into your black 2002 BMW 325i to go to your buddy Rick who owns a used car dealership, your younger son, Timmy, wants to join in. You happily tell him he can join in on the ride and go see Uncle Rick! The moment you arrive, Rick greets you and high fives Timmy. As you look around the lot, you see a 2011 Ford Mustang GT Convertible in bright red. It's obvious that it's been cleaned and shined to make it stand out from the other cars, and this is exactly what your son wants. You also see a 2010 Toyota Camry XLE in deep blue. It doesn't stand out as much, but you know for a fact that your wife would approve of this car. Rick says that what if you buy yourself a new car, and give your old one to your son. You start to contemplate the idea and as you look around the lot, you see a 2009 BMW 550i in silver. You are really liking this car and are thinking that your son would probably like your older car. Your wife also wouldn't be that angry with you. She may actually like the idea because it's a car that she already knows. As you are thinking about all this, Timmy yells at you in excitement and grabs you by the hand and takes you to a car. Once you arrive you see a 1994 Jeep Wrangler Sahara with the Jurassic Park vinyls on it. Timmy is hopping up and down screaming, "Let's buy it! Let's buy it!!" You also find it pretty appealing for some reason. It may be because you like Jurassic Park. Maybe you can take the Jeep for yourself, and still give your son your old car. Now you have a choice of four cars: 2011 Ford Mustang GT Convertible - Your son's dream car and it would make him super happy, but may lead to a ruined family. 2010 Toyota Camry XLE - Your son would hate you and never impress and be able to date the girl of his dreams. Your wife would be happy. 2009 BMW 550i - You get an upgrade, your son gets your old car, he may or may not be satisfied with it, same with the wife. 1994 Jeep Wrangler Sahara - Your wife and older son would probably hate it, but you and Timmy would have a blast with it. Your current 2002 BMW 325i.
I think I'd rather search the internet for the V6 version of the Mustang convertible, buy one, and then swap all the GT badging onto it.
Option 4. A support vehicle. --- Post updated --- Imagine it's 1985 ('86 model year). You are a 39-year-old married Arizonian with an 8-year-old daughter and a 2-year-old son. You have a 1980 Plymouth Arrow Truck, but your wife has had enough of her '82 Toyota Corona being the only actual family car, and you don't really need a truck. You're buying an automatic compact minivan - size of your truck, interior space of a midsize wagon, and taller cargo space than one. It has to be spacious, safe, well-equipped and decently powerful, in that order. Your options are: - Plymouth Voyager 2.6 LE, - Dodge Caravan 2.6 LE, - Ford Aerostar 2.8 XLT, - Chevrolet Astro 2.5 CL, - GMC Savana 2.5 SLE, - Toyota Van 2.2 LE. Which one would you buy? I'd go for the Dodge, because the Toyota isn't safe enough - your legs are the crumple zone.
