What type of car does everyone drive?

[ldm]

Originally Posted by lamecker

I drive a 2009 camry hybrid. I put about 60k miles a year just going to my Laundries and my personal driving. My previous vehicle was a 2005 Prius. I drove that car to 300+k miles and the only thing I did to it was break pads at about 250k miles.
The camry gets about 37-41 on the interstate and 42+ on 2 lane roads. I like the camry better than the Prius because it is bigger, I'm 6'3" and the Prius was just a little cramped. The mileage was better on the Prius and the thing could work like a truck but i still prefer the Camry.

The family vehicle it a 2002 Tahoe that can run on E85 and reg fuel. I get about 18-20MPG with that and the few times a year that I need to haul a trailer I just drive the Tahoe.

But "the only thing you did" department must have included the regular mileage work...30 /60 /90 K...etc.

[DaveLevenson]

Originally Posted by Howard

... Dave- I want my gas tank back!

Actually, 80 gallons of gasoline would weigh about 480 lbs. With that load, the car would be hard to handle, and would probably get far less than the typical 50 mpg or so!

Can you imagine the sight of a car with 80 gallons of gasoline in a tank hanging out of the hatch when it gets rear-ended on the NJ turnpike?

And you can have your tank back any time you want it! It only spent a day or so totally submerged last August! I found it on its side (it was empty when the flood waters rose) blocking what was left of the utility room door after the waters receded. I was able to salvage the pressure switch -- it was easier to clean and dry than the newer one on my heater.

[merlin3]

I have a 2008 (Pre Government Motors) GMC Sierra 3500 diesel pickup for my chores and pulling our camper.

Up until about a month ago, I had a 2002 Saturn SC2 with 180,000 miles on it that I used to run around the laundries.

I finally gave in and bought a new Hyundai Elantra. Great car and I've been getting 40+ MPG on the highways and around 33-34 in town.

All for $18,000.

[Duane]

We have 3 Hyundai Elantras, great cars. Had 4 but my daughter rolled the 2000 wagon at 195k miles. Sat upside down for 3 hours before I flipped it back onto its wheels. Started it up drove it back home.

My vehicle is a 2005 Toyota Tacoma, or as my daughter calls it, my "Toy Taco". This truck has been great as it is a 4x4 that does my snow plowing, pulls my trailers, is a 4 door that hauls the family and gets 20+ mpg on the highway. Pushing 100k miles and still looks and runs great.

Grew up in a "Dodge" family as my dad and all my uncles worked in the local Dodge factory. My new 2000 Dodge Stratus left me stranded several times before 10k miles. At the 5k service interval I told the mechanic that there was a clunk sometimes when you put it in drive. We found the rear engine mount never had a bolt in it from the factory. Half of the engine bolts were never put in when it was assembled. I paid $8k more for my 2000 Dodge than my wife's 2000 Hyundai. The Dodge had a poorer safety rating and higher insurance rating. And after 4 years of ownership my Dodge had a book value of only 75% of what my wife's Hyundai was worth.

Sorry to say, it will be a long time if ever I go back to a American car. And yes, I have owned many other American cars and they all lacked quality.

Duane.

[Howard]

Duane that reminds me of my 1981 Olds Cutlass. The thing pinged non-stop on premium unleaded from day one. In the first two year I went through five computers that controlled the ignition, three starter solenoids, two transmissions, and a host of other smaller problems.

[CanCanCase]

Well, the 110 mile round trip to #4 (at 16-18 MPG) really got me worked up, so I traded my trusty multi-purpose minivan for a 2012 Prius V. I drove one last week, decided it probably had enough room unless I needed to borrow the wife's Yukon or my neighbor's F150. Got the wife and kids in a Prius over the weekend just to see how everyone fit, and - especially the kids - everyone loves the "spaceship car."

I honestly wasn't planning to buy it until I started the renovation on #4 in the fall, but since the purpose is to be able to get to and from the remote store more efficiently, I went ahead for the impulse buy and just did it this morning...

Hey, now I can vote truthfully in the poll!

-Case

[MrMachine]

Originally Posted by STOUT

I haven't purchased one yet, however when I do I will seriously look at a pickup that is Natural Gas/reg fuel. With the price of NG well BELOW $2 it is a great deal. My brother is selling all he can get his hands on and he is picking them up used. There is also a State tax rebate for purchasing them.

Those dual fuel trucks (and soon to be cars) are the future for this country.
Honda makes a NG civic, but I don't think it's dual fuel so you have to also get a NG pump installed in your garage to refuel it.

This video was made in 2006, way before the huge price differential that we now have due to Fracking.
You can refuel your Honda Civic overnight for a 200 mile range in the tank.
Plus, these cars are allowed in the HOV lanes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AS23ax-huc

[CanCanCase]

Sorry, Paul... I don't have 3 1/2 hours to drive the 190 miles to the nearest CNG filling station. Nice idea, but not ready for prime time without the infrastructure out here in rural America.

As it is, it's illegal to walk your horse on the boardwalk in one of the neighboring towns, but I can park my Prius hybrid in an EV-only parking space which actually gets better placement than the ADA permits!

-Case

[MrMachine]

Originally Posted by CanCanCase

Sorry, Paul... I don't have 3 1/2 hours to drive the 190 miles to the nearest CNG filling station. Nice idea, but not ready for prime time without the infrastructure out here in rural America.

As it is, it's illegal to walk your horse on the boardwalk in one of the neighboring towns, but I can park my Prius hybrid in an EV-only parking space which actually gets better placement than the ADA permits!

-Case

Yes, I've seen those EV parking spots starting to crop up.

It'll take a few years for NG filling stations to become established. That's why the pickup trucks that are starting to come out of Ford and GM are dual fuel.

Right now, most gas utility companies have refilling stations, but There is a BIG push going on right now to strategically place refilling stations along our nation's highway system so big rigs can convert to NG, and T. Boone Pickins is the big money behind this revolution.

Also, many local trucking fleets are beginning to convert to NG, such as Metro buses and local govt garbage trucks.
UPS plans to have thousands of their trucks converted within the next 3 years.

http://gonaturalcng.com/news/122-ups...-vehicles.html

[surfflite]

They just installed 3 EV charging stations in the parking lot here at work. It is $1/hr with a 4 hour max charging time. It's been up and operational for about 8 weeks now.......................so far 1 Volt has been seen there 1 day (pretty sure it was staged). We have ~4200 employees.

I'm 1/2 tempted to bring in my RC car and setting it in a stall just for kicks.