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vehicles

M

medako

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we're in the market for a new car (obviously) and are having a hard time deciding what to get. Once we replace his car, we'll probably look into replacing mine too.

so, tell me what you think about your vehicle. Let's hear the good, bad, and ugly!
 
we have always been a Ford family - yeah I know - Found On Road Dead - or -
Fix Or Repair Daily - and yes I have had my share of lemons

I have a 2005 Ford Taurus and I have to say - I am very pleased with it

with the gas prices, etc. - I would look for a car VS a van, truck or SUV - but only you know what you need for your lifestyle

and never buy from a family member or friend - go to a reputable dealership - even though it has been said that used car salesmen are 3 steps below child molesters on the social scale - but there are some good ones out there

your hubbie must know a heck of a lot more about cars than i do - i'm just a dumb blonde! LOL
 
he needs something that gets great milage and something we'll all fit in. He's been tossing around the idea of a Malibu, just hasn't come across the perfect one yet. I've also heard him mention Grand Prix, Impala, Intrepid, Stratus, and who knows what all else.

I drive a truck. A full sized, single cab, big motor truck. There's not too many positives about it right now other than there's nothing mechanically wrong with it. It serves it's purpose right now, there's just not a lot of space in it and it's not all that good on gas.

I'd kinda like to have a small SUV of some type eventually, but I don't want anything that gets less than 25 mpg, minimum. I've looked at the Vue's a little and apparently they have a Honda motor and a Honda transmission, 5 star crash ratings, and are supposed to get 30 mpg. I wonder if they're really all that nice though.
 
Medako, my Dad srives a Vue and he loves it. He gets great mileage and hasn't had a problem with it since getting it last year. My husband has an Ion which we got used and he loves it. The mileage they both get is about 26-30 highway miles. Not sure about around town as for they both commute. I on the other hand have a Ford Escape. When I get a chance I am going to trade it in. I am not happy with it but I have to keep it for about another year. I am thinking about getting the Honda CRV or the Vue myself.
 
the CR-V was the top of my list until I saw that the Vue has a Honda motor, but is an American car. best of both worlds, right?

of course, it'll still be a little while before I'm ready to get something new(er) - and that's okay because I don't drive much anyways.
 
Consider the Toyota Prius.

We bought a Toyota Prius about 2 weeks ago. It's an absolutely amazing car that has great handling, and incredible gas mileage. We got it because of my wifes commute. It really gets 51 miles to the gallon. It's very roomy, has good cargo space, and it's a hatch back so you can put your groceries in back. Plus the back seats fold down, and that offers a huge amount of space. You couldn't get a wide screen TV in there but it measures about 48" x 48 x 24" (I'm guessing and didn't actually measure) and that's really a lots of space.

To top it off, the car has a real time display of your gas mileage plus a bar graph what you got in MPG in the last 30 minutes in 5 minute increments.

With gas prices never seeming to lower, and what's happened to them since we got the Prius, I think this car is *magic*. We really are getting 51 - 53 MPG on the freeways. It's supposed to get 61 MPG in city driving but that's not where we drive.
 
I also commute to work and I was thinking about getting a hybird. However, I am not sure just yet what I will be getting. I really want a mercedes but I don't see that happening anytime soon...LOL...Since I cant have the mercedes I am looking at the Vue or the CRV. Hopefully they will start coming out with the hybird option soon.
 
I saw an ad for a Vue hybrid, I think. :)

Well, we bought a car tonight. It's a 30mpg Buick Regal. Not my first choice for cars, but he seems to like it, and that's what really matters.
 
You don't want to know about our cars. We have a 30 year old F-150 and a Kia Spectra with almost 100K miles.

We will probably get something new (well, new to us, we'll never buy a NEW car) within the next year or so. Likely a Ford Escape or other small SUV.

About the hybrids, awhile back I got curious about the price difference, so I did an analysis of how much you would save on gas, considering the current MSRP and MPG of each model, the current price of gas, and my estimated annual mileage (20K). I found that it would take 17 years to break even. ;)
 
I've also heard it takes quite a while to make up price difference for a hybrid. I guess if you have the money to throw around, then it would be worth it - environmentally, and I think you can even get a tax break from buying hybrid, right?

I kinda look for the price of hybrids to start coming down as more and more are available, but they'll probably still be pretty pricey for some time.
 
Oh I agree about the Hybrids. The price will go down on them. I think you are correct about the tax break. Also in California if you have a hybrid you are able to ride in the carpool lane without the minimum of 2 people. It might be worth it just to be able to ride in the carpool lane...LOL
 
My family is a "buy American" family. And I agree with that to an extent. If American car companies would offer the service, quality and overall value that some of the foreign manufacturers did, then I would stick with American. But I have a Ford Ranger now that I have dumped a ton of money into. Anyway, I lost my keys to the truck. Couldn't find them anywhere. Called Ford, They said I had to tow my truck in so they could make a new key. A locksmith couldn't do it because the key had a chip in it. Well, the same thing happened to my husband last year. He called Honda, they came to the house with a machine and made the key in the driveway. The charge was $50. I asked did Ford have this service? No, we can't take our key machines out of the garage. I paid $70 for the new key and $120 in towing. I will never buy a Ford again. That experience taught me what company values its customers.
 
we don't have carpool lanes around here. Are they really that much of a convenience?
 
medako said:
we don't have carpool lanes around here. Are they really that much of a convenience?
Click to expand...

When you're sitting on the 12 lane freeway and only one is moving, yes, it's nice to have 2 people in your car. Be happy you don't have them as that means your not sitting in traffic.
 
The Hybrid decision depends on how much you drive. We drive a long way to work each day and it was costing a lot in fuel. Now we can drive about 600 miles on 11 gallons of gas (about 50 MPG average). I don't think the hybrids cost too much more comparabily to other cars -- they may be a little smaller but are loaded with features. With the price of gasoline in this flux for the last few years, we feel more comfortable that should the price continue to rise, we'd be okay paying more. Certainly the future price of gas is uncertain, and the comparisions don't account for the increases we've seen lately.
 
medako said:
I saw an ad for a Vue hybrid, I think. :)

Well, we bought a car tonight. It's a 30mpg Buick Regal. Not my first choice for cars, but he seems to like it, and that's what really matters.
Click to expand...

I like GM vehicles and have had great satisfaction with them. We had a Pontiac that we drove 360,000 miles without a problem, and a Chevy Blazer that just passed 100K without a problem. I hate the constant criticism of GM they make darn good cars and have some fuel efficient cars coming. Our choice on the Prius was fuel economy and our driving habits. If GM had a car similar, we would have bought it.
 
Most people who get hybrids get them for an environmental statement as there is not a $$ advantage and won't be until the price comes down considerably. We'll probably get there but I think it's quite a few years into the future.
 
Like Lila - we are a "buy American" car family - but answer this for me please - IS ANYTHING MADE IN AMERICA ANYMORE????

I have had Fords (yeah - the troubled cars with the bigger troubled company) all my life - just like everyone else in my family - and I was surprised to hear that many of the parts are not made in America.

At this rate - couples will need to leave the country to conceive babies - they won't be made here either.........LOL!!
 
it really is sad that even the "made in America" vehicles aren't even totally made in America.

We're an American made family too. Most of the family drives Chevy's, my dad and I drive Dodges and now my husband has a Buick.
 
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