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Comments
Dinu
I commute 80 miles daily, and am feeling the gas price crunch in my Jetta, let alone an SUV. There is one person who commutes further than I do, and she just bought a Honda Pilot the other day! What's wrong with these people?? She's having a baby soon, and claims she needed room for the baby that her 99 Civic Si didn't have. I wonder how big that baby's gonna be??
It cracks me up when people with 1 or 2 kids need all this room in an SUV or minivan. I know kids "come" with alot of stuff, but just how much room does one need??
And since I change the oil at 4000kms (2500 miles), this could be done as early as tomorow morning.
Dinu
Since I drive a lot (30.000kms or 18.000miles per yr), and in c-c-c-c-cold weather at times, and at high speeds on the highway for 60%+ of the time, I guess I fall on the "severe" schedule.
Now I know 4000kms might be overkill, but by 5000kms the oil will get dirty. If you see dirty oil, it already caused some damage, albeit minor perhaps.
Considering this, what do you think I should go with: 2500 miles, 3000 miles or something else?
Dinu
If you really want to see how the Mazda exhibit looks like for this year, goto Mazda.ca, they uploaded a very nice Flash presentation of the 2003 Mazda stand.
BTW, here's my theory, if there are 9 concepts in Toronto, what is Mazda going to show in Geneva (which comes directly after Toronto)? Maybe a prototype Mazda3?
Guess the 3 will début at Geneva then
Dinu
The real PINCH came during the Oil Embargo of 1974-75 when gas prices jumped from 36-cents a gallon to $1.00 a gallon. That was when few car companies had small cars for sale, with the exception of Honda dealers. They got rich fast! It wasn't unusual to have to wait 6 to 8 months for a new Accord hatchback. Any car, new or used, that had 4-cylinders sold at premium prices.
Long lines at gas pumps stretching for miles. Service stations limited the amount you could buy. Many people topped off their tanks, not letting them get below 3/4ths full. The fuel went from tank farm storage to rolling storage in cars.
It can happen again -- for SUV owners. Very happy I don't drive one of those. My cousin was complaining about filling up her Ford fullsize conversion van, which has a V8. Her husband bought it thinking they are safer with ladder frames. It gets 13mpg! Way too big for two people to go to the supermarket.
fowler3
Meade
I went over 5K before changing last time (which is the reason I went to the quickie place), and I got a little paranoid too. I drive 7/8 highway though, so my oil lasts a little longer.
Gas here is running 1.75 for 89 octane, which is what I am suppose to use. Any higher, and I am knockin' down to 87. I am really feeling it though, since I commute about 80 miles daily. Time for a hybrid or diesel, I suppose.
My one co-worker just sold her 1999 Civic Si and got a Honda Pilot. Her reason? "We will need the space when I have the baby." How big is this baby gonna be??
2 of my other co-workers got Odysseys when they had their second child. I guess I just don't see the point.
I have a Jetta now, in which I carry my best friend's 2 toddlers pretty often, complete with car seats. I could see them outgrowing my back seat at some point, but not until they are 10 or so (7-8 yrs. from now). Of course, I also don't carry them all the time either. But still...
I own a Jeep Cherokee. I get decent fuel economy considering the engine design is 30 years old (18/24). Unfortunately, I have had to use the frozen weather capability of this vehicle on numerous occasions. In a couple of instances, an AWD Protege couldn't have gotten through. As it was, with 24" of snow, my differentials were dragging. I will probably always own one of these, unless I move farther south. That said, my next one may be a gas/electric hybrid. We'll see what is available in 5 years.
I agree with you about having a 4WD vehicle. I am also to the point of considering snow tires for my car, and I never even thought about getting those ever! We are close to record snowfalls in MD, and I am totally tired of it now!
Can anyone beat that?
As for trucks/MVs, I'm with Paul on this one: just how much space is needed for a kid? Of course people buy trucks b/c of more "safety".
As far as gas prices go, someone that can afford an expensive truck (say a Navigator), can also afford $50 more at each fill-up.
Now PRO-related, I will have to change the bulb myself (today) as warranty does not cover those.
Dinu
I'm sure we don't "need" anything more than a 2 room house, but we all have as big as we can afford since it's nice to have the space.
So it really isn't need, it's ease of use, comfort, all that stuff.
Also, shopping trips with my friend get a little tight sometimes too. If she goes on a "shopping binge", I almost have to stand on the my trunklid to get it closed.
I prefer to stay off the roads in the snow, at least until the plows hit and clean stuff up.
(Because of the rake of the rear window, the space above the P5's removable parcel shelf is really negligible. And with Sean's car seat in the back seat, we can't take advantage of folding both rear seats down.)
Meade
Meade
Meade
Meade
Meade
Sorry dude. the argument fails to justify the need for a larger vehicle just because you go on a vacation, away from your home, carryiing all your belongings with you, just for 2 days.
Having the ablilty to haul 6 or 7 people is a great big advantage to many people.
I've got more, if you need them.
I know I've been doing that whenever I have a planned road trip that requires very long drives
Simply having a kid does not necessitate the need for a larger vehicle(the mazda protege does a great job). But Yes. if you are REGULARLY hauling friends (and now you have to make up your mind which friend is going to buy the larger vehicle, because obviously if everyone buys a larger vehicle, you need a party of 50 all the time), and going on vacations every month for 3 days or more.
Most of the people I know take an extended vacation only twice in a year. They have kids and a normal car suffices for routine weekend breaks.
Unless of course you intend to go camping and you also NEED to take your 32" TV along with you.
better if the vehicle which is going to take a beating from the potholes be a rental than your own.
But it's America and when did we ever base anything on need? If that was the case, we'd just eat rice and beans, drink water, sleep on the floor, and the beat goes on and on.....
My dad tried to get me to rent a car to go to NC, because he likes to smoke in the car on a long trip and I won't let him in mine. We ended up taking my car though, simply because I couldn't see paying $200 for a rental car for 2 days (they charge an underage fee to me, since I am 24) just to be able to smoke in the car.
I also had a loaner VW Beetle that I drove to Chicago. You talk about light packing! I went with a friend, and he ended up having to put his luggage in the back seat.
This is freaking Viper V10 engine with wheels attached back and front. My goodness gracious...