Car Board.

In the immortal words of Theodor S. Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss: One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish.

Chevrolet CAVALIER Z24 Price: $18,490 Engine: 2.4-liter I4, 150 hp, 155 lb-ft Curb weight: 2676 lbs Drivetrain: fwd, four-speed automatic Seuss so brilliantly captures in those eight simple words an ocean of basic choices we must make every day. Sure, there's the Atlantic cod, the star puffer and the lamprey, complicated fish all. Similarly, there are Ferraris and Porsches and Lambos, et al. Compare those with the simpler choices in life, like soup or salad, aisle or window, right or left. The Chevy Cavalier belongs to a group of cars where utility, multipurposefulness and trend-setting take a back seat to the basic need of getting where you've got to go when you need to get there. The engine puts out a decent amount of power for a car of the Cavalier's size. Its handling ability won't blow you away, but it won't annoy you, either.

Toyota COROLLA S Price: $15,859 Engine: 1.8-liter I4, 125 hp, 126 lb-ft Curb weight: 2520 lbs Drivetrain: fwd, four-speed automatic Webster could easily rewrite the dictionary entry for ``basic transportation'' to read ``n. 1 Toyota Corolla or similar,'' without altering folks' current understanding of the concept too much. That's because Corolla is a steady, reliable and predictable choice for those in need of an everyday car without the baggage of fads or conspicuousness. Its little four-banger howls when pushed, but so do we. It handles the road with a fair amount of confidence. It basically provides everything a 15K car is expected to, with the assurance that it won't leave you stranded on your way back from the ...