Anyone trade-in/sell the SUV to get a more practical car?

No, but at the begining of summer I bought another Vespa motor scooter. It gets 75-80 MPG and does 60 so I use it for my local transportation.

Erands are so much fun now! :)
 
'65 Plymouth Valiant for an '03 Civic. The Valiant sucked a lot of gas (with the 273 V8) and it needed too much work to keep it road worthy. After spending three years rebuilding a '65 VW I wasn't too keen on the idea of spending three more under the old Mopar. Too bad, it was a cool car, one of the few to roll out of the factory with a V8, console shifter and bucket seats. But even the base model Civic is loaded compared to the Valiant. I'd love to trade the Baja Bug in for a CRV or a RAV4 but I'm think I'm stuck driving it till the Civic is paid off.

I understand that in some parts of the country you NEED a truck. My uncle used to live out in the boonies of Missouri and drove a Scout. Made perfect sense. But I see a lot of street queen monster trucks in the city that don't fit in parking places. I'm just sick of seeing 4 door longbeds park diagonal, take up three parking places and STILL stick out 4' into the isle. In SoCal the Escalade IS a status symbol. You have no idea how many SUVs with 22" spinners and skinny street tires there are here. It brings a smile to my face whenever I see an honest working truck instead of giant poser mobile.

Okay, I said my peace.

Frank
 
tallpaul said:
and BTW it is good to see you Brits sticking together...
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Actually i'm not British. I just happen to be here in the UK right now.

SilverFoxKnows said:
I'd love to trade the Baja Bug in for a CRV or a RAV4 but I'm think I'm stuck driving it till the Civic is paid off.
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The CRV is a superb vehicle. Good mileage and quite practical too. My dad used to have it but now it's my sisters. The first time he saw it on the road he fell in love with it. When he bought it he was so impressed that he recommended it to the rest of the family. So now 3 of my relatives have it and also my sister's mother in law just bought it. It doesn't have permanent 4WD though. The 4WD only kicks in when the front tyre begins to slip. So i don't think it'll be suitable for certain situations. But i heard the Nissan X-Trail is a better vehicle in terms of robustness though.
 
Point44 said:
The CRV is a superb vehicle. Good mileage and quite practical too. My dad used to have it but now it's my sisters. The first time he saw it on the road he fell in love with it. When he bought it he was so impressed that he recommended it to the rest of the family. So now 3 of my relatives have it and also my sister's mother in law just bought it. It doesn't have permanent 4WD though. The 4WD only kicks in when the front tyre begins to slip. So i don't think it'll be suitable for certain situations. But i heard the Nissan X-Trail is a better vehicle in terms of robustness though.
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So have any of you used it "off road" as in fields or access roads, not real hardcore trail use but normal hunting/farm access? They are nice looking although they look a little fragile to me and I am not sure if I'd fit in one comfortably or even somewhat. They and a suburu forester seem like decent 4x4 for light duty. But in reality the VW front wheel drives I have had went about anywhere they had ground clearance...
 
I don't think that Maximus Otter said anything wrong at all.

But concerning the topic:
I really don't like SUVs very much anyway, but I do like trucks!

I have always had a truck until about spring of 2001.
I traded my old Ford Ranger for a Chevy Impala (2000 model) and after just several months I came to despise the thing.
I was so glad to get rid of it and buy another truck (although it took four years to do so).

I can honestly say: I will never be without a truck again regarless of gas prices.

Allen.
 
As a home owner I don't see how I could get by without a truck. Anytime there is a repair job I end up taking stuff home from Lowes that just ain't going to fit in an econo-box.

Like allenC I had a car for a while and hated it. They're so limiting.
 
Point44 said:
But i heard the Nissan X-Trail is a better vehicle in terms of robustness though.
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The X0trail looks pretty good. Is it available in the U.S.? What kind of gas mileage does it get?
 
TheKnifeCollector said:
...And as side not, I am sick of people bitching about "behemouth SUV's". It is my right to buy a huge SUV if I so choose. If you don't like them, DON'T buy it, but quit complaining about them, and leave the people alone who choose to buy one!! And I am not just talking about here, I am sick of hearing this on other forums.
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I agree with you. And I drive a Honda.

(You might get a kick out of this website: www.fuh2.com, entirely devoted to posting obscenities about the Hummer H2! Quite entertaining.)
 
If I had a shower in my office I don't think I would drive anywhere. Unfortunately, I'm a sweater (not literally) and so coming in to my office and sweating for an hour before seeing patients isn't an option. Plus, my town's bike path planner is psycho, so if I stick to the path, I have to cross the same major road about half a dozen times, so what should be a 15 minute ride takes about 30 minutes. :grumpy: And people drive like idiots here, so I won't wade into traffic with these Dutch nutcases! :D

I have a RAV4 and I like it a lot, but it has a 4 cylinder engine, so I think it's underpowered and therefore a bit of a hog.
 
THe us does not 'quasi/semi- subsidize our fuel prices. We just are not taxed at the rate that the socialist countries of Europa are. I prefer it that way!
 
tallpaul said:
So have any of you used it "off road" as in fields or access roads, not real hardcore trail use but normal hunting/farm access? They are nice looking although they look a little fragile to me and I am not sure if I'd fit in one comfortably or even somewhat. They and a suburu forester seem like decent 4x4 for light duty. But in reality the VW front wheel drives I have had went about anywhere they had ground clearance...
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Doesn't get much off road use. It gets the most use during out of town trips where we need the storage space. We rarely go to farms but out of town roads ain't that great in Malaysia. Some are practically dirt roads. So it's nice to have that extra clearance. Plus it's great during flash floods or heavy rains when we can just breeze through the deeper puddles that slow other cars down.

The CRV is not in the same league as a Defender/Land Cruiser/Discovery so it won't be able to handle certain things. But we don't have snow in Malaysia so that's not a problem. If i really wanted to go off road i'd choose a Discovery or a Land Cruiser.

Nowadays my sister goes about more in her tiny and crappy Malaysian Car ...Perodua Kelisa. It's disgusting but she likes being able to park easily without fuss.

shootist16
I don't know whether the X-trail is available in the USA but it is in Canada. Mileage is something like 26/35 MPG (city/highway). Combined i think 29-ish.
It's a nice car when you don't need an all out 4wd.
 
What you Yanks need is a 3L Turbo Diesel with super clean emissions, an Alu cab and body with a well engineered frame. This would do a lot of things

1: Give you lots of carry and pull power
2: Reduce fuel costs drastically
3: Give you the ability to give the finger to the nay sayers. (Have the spec on a business card)

A 3L TD will absolutely fly, loads of low end grunt and great MPG, WhyTF isnt one being made?
 
I can't believe the Hummer H2 hasn't been mentioned more often in this thread! ;) After finding that wonderfully funny website, www.fuh2.com last week, I went over to the EPA website and put together this little list:

Current EPA Ratings - City
----------------------------------
Hummer H2 13mpg (optimistic factory specs)

vs.

Dodge Ram 1500 9mpg
GMC Sierra 2500 9mpg
Nissan Titan 10mpg
Ford Explorer 11mpg
Chevrolet Suburban 11mpg
Chevrolet Silverado 12mpg
Mercedes-Benz S600 12mpg
Infinity QX56 13mpg
Lexus LX470 13mpg
Chevrolet SSR 13mpg
Mercedes-Benz C240 Wgn 14mpg
Ford F-150 14mpg

My totally unscientific conclusion: the Hummer H2 looks bad compared to these others that get worse, or similar, mileage. The automotive version of racism? ;)
 
In the month or so that I have had my 2005 F-150 Lariot I have gotten a solid 16.5 MPG in combination city/highway driving. Closer to 18+ if it is just highway. Good solid 4x4 truck for my needs as a homeowner, commuter, backwoods dweller. A mini just will not cut it for my needs. So I will pay for the gas and enjoy a great vehicle. A damb sight better looking than a H-2 and I will bet just as well as equiped! ;)
 
No SUV here, thank god. Our Chrysler Long Voyager (1998 I think) does about 8 liters diesel/100 km. Dunno about the Toyota Yaris Verso, much less I hope. (also diesel btw)
I don't understand why people in the US use such "drinking" cars ? Here in Europe, the less a car uses, the better it is. In the US, people didn't seem to mind, until very shortly.
Btw, diesel here is less expensive than gas.
 
Zwaplat said:
No SUV here, thank god. Our Chrysler Long Voyager (1998 I think) does about 8 liters diesel/100 km. Dunno about the Toyota Yaris Verso, much less I hope. (also diesel btw)
I don't understand why people in the US use such "drinking" cars ? Here in Europe, the less a car uses, the better it is. In the US, people didn't seem to mind, until very shortly.
Btw, diesel here is less expensive than gas.
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29.4 MPG, not _that_ much different than american _cars_, which is what many commuters drive here. The vehicles that 'drink' are trucks and larger SUVs, which are entirely necessary in some cases and completely overkill in others.

Anyway, here's an interesting site:
http://money.cnn.com/pf/features/lists/global_gasprices/
From the above:
" The main factor in price disparities between countries is government policy, according to AirInc, a company that tracks the cost of living in various places around the world. Many European nations tax gasoline heavily, with taxes making up as much as 75 percent of the cost of a gallon of gasoline, said a spokesperson for AirInc."
 
CONGRATS on the 2005 F-150!! GREAT truck!!! I LOVE the F-150. Did you get an Xl, XLT, Lariat? What color? I am a diehard Ford fan!!
 
TheKnifeCollector said:
CONGRATS on the 2005 F-150!! GREAT truck!!! I LOVE the F-150. Did you get an Xl, XLT, Lariat? What color? I am a diehard Ford fan!!
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I got the LOADED Lariot! It has everthing I could hope for in a truck/or car. The captians chairs in the front are huge and electricaly adjustable in every conceivable direction. Heated, and leather to boot. The color is called stone. It is sort of a cross between a metalic brown and grey, with the lighter color of tan on the lower area. It is the extended cab with the short 5 1/2' bed and the bed extender. It handles like a dream, and when my lady and I are in the brush, nature watching, I can travel with confidence. Those 18" wheels give great ground clearance, and with the limited slip rear end I rarely need the 4x4 engaged.
 
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