What is your priority in vehicles?

[642mx]

Re: What is your priority in vehicles?

I've found that no single vehicle can do everything I want.... thats why I have 5 of them...

I have a 2002 Toyota Tundra 4x4 that I love, but it sucks gas too fast. I use it when I go boating, go dirt bike riding, or if the weather is bad enough to need 4WD.

I have a 91 Olds Cutlass Ciera thats ugly, cheap looking, but it gets 30 mpg. I drive it back and forth to work (70 mile round trip everyday)

I have a 2006 Toyota Solara thats pretty much my wifes car. She drives it to work everyday, I only drive it when we go somewhere (like to dinner or something) on the weekends.

We also have a 1999 Mitsubishi 3000GT, its quick, looks awesome, but rides like crap. I only drive it to keep the tires from flat spotting... its my wifes baby and she won't sell it.

We also have a 1978 Z-28. Its really fast (402 big block, 4:11 gears, 4 speed, ect, ect) I only drive it when I want to go really fast in a quarter mile, or to the occasional car show.

I get up in the morning and pull whatever car out of the garage that fits my needs for the days activities.

 

[arks]

Re: What is your priority in vehicles?

I've found that no single vehicle can do everything I want....

Yeah, that's how I feel too. I've narrowed it down to 3.

The work truck:
2008 Ford F250 XLT. Basic but reliable and it'll tow anything. My daily driver.

The car:
2001 BMW 530i Sport- stick, Dinan stage 2 package. It's a hot rod with great handling that seats 4 adults. Oh yeah, it gets 26 around town and 37 on the highway! The wife's daily driver (yes, she's lucky. Wish I could drive it daily!).

The SUV:
1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.9 Limited- guzzles gas but goes anywhere in any conditions with luxury and mega power. The backup tow vehicle. An added plus- it's collectable (only made 'em 1 year). This one is a garage queen most of the time.

 

[mthieme]

Re: What is your priority in vehicles?

I can't imagine life without a pickup truck. Cheap and reliable are the main criteria. My preferences tend to lean toward a full bed, no extended cab, few extras (electric everything), a powerful 6 cylinder that got say 200mpg, no 4WD, and LT tires 8 or 10 ply). 1/2 ton model is sufficient although I usually have to beef up the rear leaf springs.
My dream truck would have stash spots for all my stuff I like to stash and have a 40-20-40 seat. It would also have cup holders that actually are able to hold cups (32 oz) and did not splash my coffee out over every little bump.
Of course it would be able to tow anything I have.
It would have a 4 speaker sounds system with a USB port and stereo in jack. No eamps, no sub-woofers, no gajillion watts, basic - that I would never have to reset the time on or have to pay for a service.
It would not break or wear out any parts...or at least have a lifetime warranty that had someone pick it up and delivery it and supply a loaner is necessary.
It would always pass the ridiculous tailpipe test that Maryland still has. Insurance would be $100 a year.

Although it would be cool to tool down road (or wherever I d*mn well pleased) in a deuce and half.

 

[bassboy1]

Re: What is your priority in vehicles?

8 foot bed
Manual tranny
Diesel engine
3/4 ton
long cab
must have that "truck like" feel that everybody hates (I hate the car like feel even of the 1/2 tons over the 3/4s)
Chevy (I guess I could live with a GMC)
tow package
4 x 4

Enough for my dream truck......

Something with an 8 foot bed that tows my boat and doesn't act like a car will be just fine.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: What is your priority in vehicles?

Good choice JB. If you were not comfortable or happy you made a good choice.

If I did not have a position where I drove so much....... I am more comfortable in a good size SUV....... or luxury car.

 

[ne7800]

Re: What is your priority in vehicles?

i require 2 vehicles #1 the truck it's job is to pull the camper, pull the boat, pull a car trailer (when needed for my dads buissnes), and plow snow. so what is it? a 1999 dodge Ram 1500 4x4 ext cab short box extra leaf out back and super coils in front #2 the car it's job is hauling mail i am a RCA (rual carrier associat) for the united states post office it has to have a collum shift auto and a bench seat so i can drive from the passenger side so what is it? currently it is a 2000 Buick Century, but i perfer a Ford Taurus just parked a 2000 Taurus with 214,000 miles on it i wanted to make it to at least 250,000 but it just got to the point that it needed to much to fix

 

[i386]

Re: What is your priority in vehicles?

1. Creature comforts and up high seating.
2. Price
3. Reliability
4. Performance

There's the answer to JB's question. The rest is probably more than you want to read, but here goes anyway.

I had a 2 door Ford Explorer. It was the first vehicle I ever had with power anything. It felt like a Cadillac to me what I first got it. Over time, it felt smallish inside to me. I have back problems, and it wasn't so good for that. I also had to hook up the utility trailer every time I wanted to haul something. Doing do is a PITA in my yard.

So I wanted something comfortable. I really enjoy the high seating of a truck or SUV. I really liked the Chevy Tahoe (and still do). But I knew I'd still be hooking that trailer up if I went with an SUV.

First I looked at small trucks. Ford Ranger, Toyota Tacoma, and Nissan Frontier. The Ranger was nearly identical to my Explorer. I felt like it was a good truck, but it would be lacking comfort-wise just like my Explorer. Next I looked at the Chevy Colorado, which I though was a really good looking truck from a distance. Upon closer inspection, it did not appear to have the fit and finish of the Ford. Not even close. And they were proud of it too. I then looked at the Tacoma. It was a little roomier. I was disappointed that leather and XM were not available. Also it was difficult to see when backing up. And Toyota was real proud of it based on the sticker. Next was the Frontier. It was really nice. You could get one with all the luxury features. It was roomy enough but it seemed to sit a little low.

It was while I was at the Nissan dealership that I noticed the Titan. I'd seen them on the road, wasn't too impressed with the looks and didn't like the big plastic thing on the tailgate. Well I went over and checked it out. First, I was really impressed with the tie-down system in the bed. I'd seen others, but this one was made with really heavy duty quality stuff. Then I checked out the inside. I was blown away. The leather. The captains chairs. All the places to store stuff. How the seats folded up. I was amazed. Then I looked at the sticker. I thought, hell, this isn't that much more than the small trucks.

So then I decided I wanted a full-sized truck. I went and looked at Ford's F-150. Real good looking truck. I found one similarly equipped to the Nissan and it was WAY out of my price range. Hell, the loaded Titan even gives the King Ranch a good run for it's money in creature comforts and has a bigger engine.

I went on to look at the Chevy Silverao and GMC Sierra. Same story as the Ford. Really nice trucks, but to get it equipped like the Nissan it was many many many thousands more.

Again, Toyota was really proud of theirs. Besides, it looks like a bit catfish to me.

I had read about some quality problems the Nissan had and I had my concerns. I spent a few weeks asking questions in the Nissan Titan forums. I wanted to get answers from owners instead of relying on reviews. As it turned out, most of those problems had been worked out by the time the '07 model came out. The few remaining problems left were being taken care of quickly through Nissan's warranty service.

I wasn't too thrilled that it wasn't an American truck but I was consoled by the fact that a bunch of Americans in Canton Miss. had a job building these trucks.

I ended up negotiating a really good deal on the truck. Shortly after I got it, I noticed a ticking noise at 1200RPM. The dealership replaced my catylitic converters under warranty. Since then, I have had no other issues. The truck is so nice and comfortable. I still feel very fortunate to have such a nice vehicle to drive. It's a shame they won't be making any more. I always try to talk to other Titan owners when I see them out and about and they all just love their trucks.

 

[david_r]

Re: What is your priority in vehicles?

when i was a kid........anything i could hotrod or turn into a hotrod


now i look for comfort , reliability , and enough juice to pull my boats......and it has to be a full size truck!

i didnt like the idea of electric cars when they first started to hit the market but now...if they made an electric truck that was strong enough to pull my boat im all in

i haul and pull too much to drive a car!

 

[Kiwi Phil]

Re: What is your priority in vehicles?

Anita had a top of the range Ford sedan for 9 yrs, and changed to a Mazda Tribute Luxuray AWD. 3L V6 column auto.
I was against the change.....just a girls car. But after a yr, I must admit, the height is a major benefit.
Had a rental car for a week just 2 weeks back...Toyota Corolla....and I had forgotten just how hard it was to get in and out of a sedan, and how much it took to straighten out the back and joints.
So I now look on Anitas' choice in a different light.
She is right.
My choice is a Nissan Patrol Ti with the big 4.8L petrol and LPG gas.
I loose 20% economy on LPG but gas is 50-60cL while petrol is $1.40-$1.50 and diesel 20c more again.
Drops my fuel bill well below diesel.
The barn doors give you easy access to the boot.
Luxuary fit out with every Nissan factory extra.
Tows 3,500kg.

Only problem is Anita...she reckons it is too big for the shopping centre...so will keep the Mazda.

Cheers
Phillip

 

[Mike Robinson]

Re: What is your priority in vehicles?

We have 2 vehicles, a 04 Subaru Forester and a 99 Ford F250 Superduty 4x4(extra cab).

We use the Subaru for commuting, (about 10 kilometers) it gets pretty good gas mileage and the AWD is great for winter conditions. When the rear seats are folded down there's a fair amount of room for storage.

The Ford is not so good on fuel (obviously) but we can load it down with firewood and haul our boat. Most of our roads are gravel logging roads so we also use the truck for backroads (mushroom picking, hunting, etc.) We're also renovating our house so we sometimes take the truck to the mainland to load up on supplies.

Both vehicles are great in their own way, neither is perfect.