dROU (very fast picket) Heretic Bought a Blue One Because They Didn't have a Black One*
Talk about a shock to the system. After the INDUSTROTANK, everything else felt tiny. The 'tank was a hard act to follow, and I have to admit I felt quite homesick for the old girl for a while. However, they assured me she went to a good home, and my funky new Holden Astra CD took over admirably.
You really can't compare the two. Hell, this thing ran for nearly two weeks (or more than 450km) on one tank of petrol, and filling it up from empty only cost about $35. The Industrotank sucked down an average of about $30-40 a week (remember these were 1999 dollars! ;)). Plus, I bought it new but out of demonstrator stock, so it had 900km on the clock and several grand off the price. Even with repayments, the Astra cost less to keep mobile than the 'tank did in the end.
Sorted :)
* The title is an Iain M. Banks "culture" reference - all the Culture spacecraft have crazy names.
Specs: 2000 Astra CD (the 'posh' model), auto (including a "sports" mode which actually changed the revs), 5-door/hatch option (I often called it The Tardis - drop the seats and you can fit stacks of stuff in there), electric everything, CD player with 6-speaker surround...
Besides all that I think it looks cool.
Plus, it feels like a real car; not a tin can like some others I test drove - the door "thuds" rather than "clangs".
Even the rakish angle of the aerial is just right. I love this car! :)
postscript...
Funny thing happened after I bought the Astra. About three million other people suddenly discovered Astras too...! They promoted it more or less as a Chick Car too, which was a pity for the large proportion of male Astra drivers.
It was a pleasure to drive, smooth and the engine had a nice burble to it on the freeway (seriously!).
In the end this car was just a bit of a hassle to keep serviced. After five years it seemed to be visiting the mechanic an awful lot. It went through two CV Shaft replacements, had the aircon replaced, chewed through brake discs, threw a window winder with a most spectacular bang, had the CD player replaced twice and there was a groan in the suspension that a series of mechanics were unable to locate.
I just got sick of the Holden service centre ;) It was in at least three times during the last couple of months before the extended warranty ran out (thank goodness I bought the extension!).
The real crunch came when an airbag warning light came on when I hit the little bump of the gutter while leaving the service centre. It was a loose connector in the seatbelt pre-tensioners.
But anyway, I decided it was a bad risk to keep it without a warranty; so I traded the Tardis in. I was a little sad to see her go. The car salesmen described her condition as "immaculate".