OT: Getting a new car

[Junior 1]

Think bullet train for the highway! Like they say with Harleys "If ya gotta ask why, ya don't get it"

[Hardtail]

Originally posted by Geoff Byrne:

I don't understand this need for huge engines in this era when we're trying to cut down on carbon emissions.

 

I have a 1.4l Seat which will cruise at 90 and at 60 will return 54mpg.

 

My partner has a diesel Volksagen Passat Estate (station wagon) with a 1.9l turbo. This will easily cruise at over 100mph, and doddering around the leafy lanes of Devon will return 64mpg.

 

(dons fire-proof suit and runs for cover)

 

 

Geoff

I agree, actually.

 

But... the wife has never had a car this nice and she wanted one. She works everyday just like me so if this is what she wants, that's cool.

 

My next car will definitely have to have excellent gas mileage as I drive 60 miles/day to get to/from work. Because of this requirement, I'll probably have to look beyond the domestic choices.

[Eric Iverson]

And it depends on how much you drive, too. I don't need my car to get to work, and a month may go by when all I do is move it for alternate side of the street parking rules. But I do need it for the occasional gig, and once in a while my wife and I go somewhere.

 

So I keep the '85 Plymouth Horizon for now.

 

New car? It would be something with good gas mileage, but big enough to put the guitar and amp and wife in! No Volkswagen bugs!

[LPCustom]

Originally posted by TheOtherLee:

Wow, one of my main customers down at the computer place I work has one of those. I swear you could run over a small clan of scottish highlanders and not even notice. Its HUUUUUGE. It takes up a loading bay big enough to fit a 40ft truck I guess that size car isnt unusual in the states but he gets alot of grief over here for having one... I think firstly because its American LOL And secondly because its so extremely large I reckon it must have a nuclear fusion reactor under the hood/bonnet to keep it going

Lee, like you said, by American standards this is not a large car. It's the size of a compact car from the 70's. Compared to my old '96 Ford Crown Victoria, it's small. Compared to a 1974 Cadillac Fleetwood, it's positively tiny.

 

But compared to many of the cars I recall from several visits to England, it seems pretty large, though. The Sterling we rented last time we were there was pretty small. About the size of a Honda Civic.

 

If you haven't been to the US, I think you'd be amazed at how much bigger most cars in the US are compared to the average car size in England. It seems like most people here have SUVs instead of cars, now. It's one thing to see it on TV. It's another thing to stand on a street corner and see them go by (or, as in the case of what most Americans drive, SUVs, _lumber_ by ).

 

Geoff, I think with most Americans it's that size translates to comfort. As much as we (Americans) typically drive we want a vehicle that doesn't make you feel every little bump and ripple in the road. Otherwise, by the time you get there, you feel like you've been flogged. Most of the vehicles I see on the road, though (SUVs) are just complete overkill in that regard.

 

The last time I drove an econobox on a 300 mile trip (we drove my wife's old Toyota Tercel because my Crown Vic was in the shop) I felt like I had pushed the car all the way there by the time we got there. I was exhausted from the 5+ hours of constant jostling inside the car. In contrast, the same trip in my Crown Vic was a pleasure and I felt fine when we got there (and back home).

 

Okay, the Tercel got 41 miles to the gallon on the trip. But my Crown Vic got 29 miles to the gallon on the same trip. And the cost differential, then, was only $4 (about $12, now). An amount that was totally justified (to me and my family) by the difference in the ride.

 

As for the "pollution", the Crown Vic put out about 45% more exhaust than the Tercel. But I didn't drive that car like that all the time.

 

I stopped driving my car to work over three years ago. I now drive to the bus stop (about 8 miles away) and ride the bus the 45 miles to and from work. It's cheaper, better for my car and better for my nerves. I'm fortunate that I can do that. Mass transit doesn't work for most people who live in the suburbs because it doesn't go where they want to go without taking two to five times as long as it would take if they just drove their own vehicle.

 

I will never drive that far to work ever again. Partly because of the wear and tear on my car and the fuel costs. Partly because of the stress of having to deal with idiot drivers. But the biggest part is the waste of time commuting takes. Sure riding the bus takes longer (about 50% longer for me). But I can read my newspaper on the way to work. And I can read a book or do something with my laptop on the bus on the way home. I can't do that in my car. I can also leave work a little early and do my remaining work for the day on the bus. And when I get home, I don't have the urge to twist someone's head off because of stress induced by morons on the highway.

 

We don't drive our cars around just "joy riding" like I see a lot of other people do. We also don't own behemoths like a Ford Expedition just to go to the grocery store or haul our kid around (my wife has a Toyota Matrix). Sure, I have a full size Ford F-150 pickup. But that's because I use it for my cabinet business to pickup materials and make deliveries.

 

My wife has had her Matrix (34 mpg highway) for 13 months, now. She has less than 9,000 miles on her car. I have had my F-150 (19 mpg highway) for 12 months, now. My truck has less than 6,000 miles on it. We just don't drive anywhere unless we have to.

[Junior 1]

I drive a Toyota Scion XB 110 miles a day going back and forth to work here on Long Island. I get 35 mpg most of the time and I drive the dreaded Long Island Expressway! LP is right, I wish I had a mass trans option! That commute takes 3 hours out of my day, but ya do what ya gotta do. I'm not complaining, but it does cut into the pickin time. My wife is considerate about it and it doesn't hurt when it comes to GAS time!!!

[Hardtail]

You drive into the city each day, Junior?

 

I go from Port Jeff to Bethpage and back each day. It's a hike but nothing like what you're doing. I do about 60 miles a day.

 

Someone I work with goes from Southold to Bethpage each day. That's about the distance you're covering.

[caprae]

Originally posted by Geoff Byrne:

I don't understand this need for huge engines in this era when we're trying to cut down on carbon emissions.

 

I have a 1.4l Seat which will cruise at 90 and at 60 will return 54mpg.

 

My partner has a diesel Volksagen Passat Estate (station wagon) with a 1.9l turbo. This will easily cruise at over 100mph, and doddering around the leafy lanes of Devon will return 64mpg.

 

(dons fire-proof suit and runs for cover)

 

 

Geoff

When I worked for a french company 4 of the French came over for a week long meeting. They rented something akin to a Ford Escort. I would rent something larger than that when I was by myself. Its the European vs American mentallity.

[Hardtail]

I finally drove the car myself this morning. I just got back. I loaded the CD player with some Megadeth, Johnny Winter, and Iron Maiden and went for a nice little Sunday drive.

 

This is one fast car! It's definitely going to be a fun one. I'll snap some "daytime" pics today and post.

[Hardtail]

We spent so much time driving the car this weekend that I nearly forgot to take some better pics. Here's one (in the same spot as before) that I snapped just before dark:

 

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f191/kboruff/000_0100.jpg

[Guitarzan]

looks good HT.

[Dreamer]

Wow, that car is amazing! Looks almost as imposing as the Batmobile...