Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 4/1/2016 8:23 AM, Keyser Söze wrote:

...while waiting for routine service to be completed on my wife's car, I
test drove a 2016 Toyota Tacoma truck. What a sweet ride...made even
sweeter by the presence of its six speed manual transmission. The last
time I drove a pickup truck with a stick shift, it was back in the late
1950's, at my dad's boat store. I think it was a four speed, but you
started in second because first was there only to get the truck rolling
if you were pulling something really heavy.


I just bought a new ride. I've been thinking of getting a more
comfortable vehicle for a while and tried out several of the "mid-sized"
offerings. Ended up with a Nissan Altima SL. It's the four-banger with
the continuously variable transmission. Nissan also
offers a 3.5L six but I don't know why anyone would need the extra
horsepower. The 2.5L four moves the car along surprisingly well. After
almost two weeks of driving a mix of highway and around town it is
averaging between 32 and 33 mpg. Far cry from the 12 to 13 mpg with the
Ford Superduty. Gonna hold onto the truck though, at least for a while.
Sometimes only a truck will do.




Got to have a pickup. Even when I drove a Rabbit as a daily driver, had an
S10 pickup. Looking at an around town car. Rented a Kia Forte in Seattle
last fall. Nice car, great milage, not sure how much, but did not take a
lot of gas for the amount of running around. Went we pick d it up at the
Airport, was not sure of it, but drove nice, quiet, peppy.