What kind of car should I buy?

I'll bump your topic even though I haven't purchased a car in a while.

Question: how many people/how much stuff would you normally be transporting? E. g. do you need to carry a family of 12 or anything like that?

A friend of mine recently bought a 2009 Toyota Corolla. He had concerns
similar to yours (primarily mileage and reliability) and is quite happy with the
car.

not too many people or stuff. mostly just two people, or even one person, and, ya know, groceries and what-not.

Thanks for the corolla advice

The Honda Civic is also a good reliable small car. Do some comparisons of cars that are recommended like gas mileage, reliability, size, standard equipment, and price. Good luck.

McCain Palin will be drilling everywhere soon and within months....gas will be back to 1.00 a gallon. Get a Hummer.

You're nasty! LOL

Late 80's Porsche 911, or depending on your budget, splurge and go for an early 90's.

LOL, great advice. A hummer it is, especially since he or she said it was hard to park in his/her area.

There have been a lot of good suggestions, I'd throw in Mini. I’ve known a few drivers of both the standard and the S models and they’ve been happy all around. For a gas engine they get superb mileage, and you would not believe the parallel parking you can accomplish...I used to car pool with a friend who has one.

Then again, a hummer could just ram the surrounding cars to the front and back, also making it easier to parallel park...

I recently bought a Ford Escape Hybrid. Its a lot of fun with all kinds of technology that, if I read the owners manual, I wouldnt keep being surprised by the built in burglat alarm and motion sensors. It gets about 43 mpg and has all kinds of information screens that distract you while driving, like a SUDOKU game. It only has one problem, when it goes into hybrid mode, the AC shuts down and the car heats up, so I have to manually turn to override. (DUMB FEATURE THAT)

I elt so virtuous and smug until I parked in a spot and a LEXUS hybrid prked next to me. I asked what he got in MPG and he said "about 20 in the city" (HYbrids actually get better MPG in stop and go driving)