Suggestions for a cheap commuter?

[I<3Bacon]

Howdy gang.

Maybe it's because I'm getting older, but I'm tired of driving the manual trans 2 seater to work. I'd like to keep it in the garage until the weekend, so I'm looking for something purely for commuting. Here's my rough criteria:

1. Auto trans for rush hour
2. Sedan
3. Relatively easy on the gas (~20+ on 87 or ~25+ on 91... something like that)
4. Not going to care when it gets door dinged in the work parking lot (because it will)
5. Reliable (nothing to worry about other than putting in gas)
6. $5k-6k price tag ballpark

Stuff like fun-to-drive, comfort, sportiness, etc. aren't necessary, but nice to haves. Suggestions (I'm sure they'll vary wildly depending on age and mileage)? Thanks!

 

[Flambeur]

Older *** sedan?

Although I would choose a early-mid 90s s-class. You can pick one up for $3000-6000 with well under 100K miles and they are actually relatively bulletproof, especially compared to 2000-2006.