Hm, I don't understand why you people are advising against Chevy Cavaliers. New, any car is good. Why? Because it's new. As a used car, things may be a different story as to which cars you should be looking at, but that also depends on the year of them.

I drove a 1993 Mercury Villager (my Big Tan Sexy Beast) for roughly 6 months. I was getting 11 miles a gallon. Of course, it started having problems with the fuel lines (is that the right term?) and other things. That's bcause it was 12 years old. My dad and I went car shopping and we looked at many different cars. I knew what I wanted in a car, but I didn't want know where to begin. We looked at a Civic (way too expensive!), Focus (I just didn't like it...), Aveo (good price, but I didn't like it), Cobalt (too expensive for me), and a Neon (decent price and I liked how it drove, but it just didn't "click). Then I laid eyes on a black beauty.. a 2005 Chevy Cavalier Coupe. I fell in love, and I've been VERY happy with it. We only paid about $11,000 for it (it was originally $17,000) after the trade in of my van. I get roughly 30miles a gallon IN town, and even better on the road. And that's important to me because next year, I'll be doing a lot of back and forth from college and home. It's been nothing but reliable for me and I really love it because it's "me", if you can understand that. It's small, black, two doors, automatic (I'm still a loser and can't drive stick), and just "me". Just thought I'd tell you my story with Cavaliers. I don't think anyone should really diss them unless they'd personally owned one.

If you're buying something new, good luck! The prices will blow you over if you think $1000 for a head gasket is a lot.