October 1, 2008 at 8:36 am
Wayne that is an interesting statement. Given my 6'2" hieight and a bad back i am very finiky about my seat. Have you tried a newer VW? Very form fitting nice buckets in the front and decent leg room in the back.
I on the other hand have tried a prius and other toyota\honda vehicles and do not like how light they feel nor the room in them.
VW still has the gusto of a solid feeling weight behind them like many larger american made vehicles which i like.
I am not willing to sacrifice the feeling of a vehicle for economy. Atleast not yet.
October 1, 2008 at 8:38 am
Wayne West (10/1/2008)
I have every gas purchase for my five most recent cars going back to 11/87 in a spreadsheet).
Maybe I should have you write a Car update!
I tried that at one point when I bought a new car. Lasted about 6 months and then I was tired of it.
October 1, 2008 at 8:51 am
Steve Jones - Editor (10/1/2008)
Wayne West (10/1/2008)
I have every gas purchase for my five most recent cars going back to 11/87 in a spreadsheet).Maybe I should have you write a Car update!
I tried that at one point when I bought a new car. Lasted about 6 months and then I was tired of it.
My dad keeps a little notebook and logs his mileage, but he calculated it right there. I also have a notebook, but being a data geek from way back, I also throw it into a spreadsheet and have it show me how many miles since my last oil change, alignment, tuneup, etc. I calculate a bunch of other stuff, such as an estimate as to how many miles were left in that tank, so I know I have about 30 miles remaining when the low fuel light comes on. I also log maintenance in it, so I know how much my car costs per mile for gas and maintenance.
It has come in handy for other purposes. A few years ago there were rumblings of discontent in my condo complex over the rising cost of insurance. I graphed the cost of gas versus what we paid for insurance over a 5-10 year period, the resulting graph wasn't pretty: gas went up at a much faster rate than insurance. Then recently when gas shot past $4/gallon, I did a graph of what I paid at the pump over 20 years versus the cost of a barrel of crude. A mildly interesting project.
-----
[font="Arial"]Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves or we know where we can find information upon it. --Samuel Johnson[/font]
October 1, 2008 at 9:36 am
They harrass the snot out of me at work for keeping a log for my vehicle. It makes resale nice when you can hand it to them and say 'Here is everything that has ever touched the car'
And of course a spreadsheet makes for a lot easier trending and calculating. Graphs are pretty 🙂
October 1, 2008 at 9:53 am
Steve, I love this post and waste the better part of an evening reading every post every time this drops. That said; I am still skeptical of hybrids. I drive a 1996 V6 Toyota Camry (275K miles). About 3 years ago, I couldn't afford to replace a faulty O2 sensor and I have averaged 38 mpg since. My only complaint is that I can’t keep up with the new Nissan Maximums, BMWs, etc. going up Floyd Hill, but I still beat Saturns, Cavaliers, Intrepids and the like. Friends have told me all kinds of horror stories about burning holes in my cylinder heads and such while I have gotten GREAT gas mileage for three years only sacrificing the top 10% of my power.
Why aren't more cars made this way from the get go? Has anybody done a minimum-power-requirement study based on the expectations of the American consumer? You could then change the fuel mixture to match the result or since it is computer controlled anyway, give me the ability to change it on the fly depending on the type of driving I am doing.
I will drive this car until it explodes. When it does, wouldn't it be cheaper to buy another used Camry, maybe an '06, and break the same O2 sensor than spend the extra for a hybrid? I also agree that buying a used hybrid is a bad idea because of the hit for the new batteries. So I would want a new hybrid. Also I like to keep cars for a very long time so I would have to factor in the new batteries anyway. Also, thanks to the people who brought up the new diesels; I almost forgot about them.
(I in no way condone others damaging their car for any reason.)
October 1, 2008 at 10:02 am
That is my biggest gripe with the American Made Hybrids. Lets hybrid an escalade... for what purpose...
they use it to simply boost horse power and hold the same level of MPG. I see an issue with that. Hold Horsepower and boost MPG.
Unfortunatley the American view on cars is skewed from our rich good ol' 4 barrel history.
October 1, 2008 at 10:10 am
Robert Hermsen (10/1/2008)
Wayne that is an interesting statement. Given my 6'2" hieight and a bad back i am very finiky about my seat. Have you tried a newer VW? Very form fitting nice buckets in the front and decent leg room in the back.I on the other hand have tried a prius and other toyota\honda vehicles and do not like how light they feel nor the room in them.
VW still has the gusto of a solid feeling weight behind them like many larger american made vehicles which i like.
I am not willing to sacrifice the feeling of a vehicle for economy. Atleast not yet.
I'm 5'7", and my wife is shorter, so headroom isn't as much an issue for me. One friend of mine is significantly taller, a little taller than you, and he fit in my Mazda just fine when I slid the moon roof shield back. But he's now 600 miles away, so no issue there. My wife's house is in snow country (8600'), so 4WD/AWD is pretty much a must, and I don't think VW has one except for their crossover/SUV, which is too big for our needs/taste. My wife's a Subaru fan, they work quite well up there. Had I spent more time driving her Subaru before we bought my 4WD Matrix, I probably would have gotten a Subaru. (A rock took out my transmission about a year after we bought it and my car was down for 45 days, I drove her Subaru and she borrowed a truck from the observatory.)
-----
[font="Arial"]Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves or we know where we can find information upon it. --Samuel Johnson[/font]
October 1, 2008 at 11:19 am
Subaru has also done a lot in terms of improving mileage as of late.
October 6, 2008 at 4:17 am
Our commute is just about 1 mile each way.
Then WALK!!!:) Or cycle, but please - don't drive 1 mile unless you've got a really, really big briefcase.
Viewing 9 posts - 46 through 53 (of 53 total)
You must be logged in to reply to this topic. Login to reply