Gasoline prices - gold as a hedge
 

Eisboch wrote:
"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...


JohnH wrote:

The wife will retire in Jan '08. We'll probably doing some serious
traveling then. She's not seen much of this country, and I've some
favorite
spots I want to show her - not by air!
--


John, if I were shopping for a car in that price range and were planning a
lot of driving, I'd sure take a new BMW 530x for a test ride. Of all the
cars I've driven in the last five years, the BMW was the most "driver's
car."


The Caddy *is* a nice car, as is the BMW, both the 5 and 7 series. My wife
drives a 750il and it's probably the best touring car I've ever driven. I
won't comment on the M5 - it's just too crazy.

However John, if traveling the country is in your future, you might want to
consider something else.
Mrs.E. and I just returned from a very pleasant trip to Norfolk in our Dodge
Sprinter mini-RV. I've tried big class "A" motorhomes and Fifth-wheel
trailers and didn't like either for a number of reasons. We got the little
Sprinter last summer and it's perfect for two. It's easy to drive ... not
tiring (I did 582 miles in one day and didn't feel exhausted from driving)
and has a number of advantages over big RVs. They include:

Small size (21 feet) allows parking anywhere you could park a pickup.
Little Mercedes diesel delivered 17-18 mpg on our trip, pulling a 13'
Haulmark trailer.
You can stay at campsites, or stay at a hotel without worrying about where
to park.
The power sofa easily opens at the touch of a button into either a
king-sized bed or two singles.
(The bed is bigger than any of the beds in our other RVs)
It has all the amenities of a big RV - stovetop, refrig, microwave, LCD TV,
bathroom and shower.
Mrs.E. has no problem driving it. On our last trip she sat on the rear sofa
for a while watching a DVD while I drove. On the way back we left the bed
set up and she took a long nap during part of the trip.

For trips of 3 or 4 days there's enough storage space for clothes, food etc.
within the RV. I bought a small Haulmark trailer and set it up to carry
extra stuff in the event we want to travel further. The rig will tow up to
5000 lbs. The Haulmark trailer we got is one size up from the smallest and
has a GVW of 3000 lbs.

The Sprinter is actually made by Mercedes and is marketed in the US under
the Dodge, Freightliner and Mercedes badges. Most of the major RV
conversion manufacturers are introducing their RV versions based on this
chassis due to it's popularity and relatively high fuel mileage. Ours was
built by Pleasure-Way, but there are several others available.

Pics at:

www.eisboch.com/sprinter

Eisboch



When the Sprinters were introduced here a few years ago, they all seemed
to be cargo type vans available in two or three roof height models.
A number of them are used as delivery vehicles here in the city. I was
interested right away...but thought they were a bit pricey.
http://www-5.dodge.ca/vehsuite/dispatch.do

Gasoline prices - gold as a hedge
 

Our local FEDEX terminal bout a few Sprinters, and have had bad luck
with them. But I can imagine that. Not due to poor quality or
engineering. But the "Cowboy" or "Loose nuts behind the wheel"
syndrome,


Don White wrote:
Eisboch wrote:
"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...


JohnH wrote:

The wife will retire in Jan '08. We'll probably doing some serious
traveling then. She's not seen much of this country, and I've some
favorite
spots I want to show her - not by air!
--


John, if I were shopping for a car in that price range and were planning a
lot of driving, I'd sure take a new BMW 530x for a test ride. Of all the
cars I've driven in the last five years, the BMW was the most "driver's
car."


The Caddy *is* a nice car, as is the BMW, both the 5 and 7 series. My wife
drives a 750il and it's probably the best touring car I've ever driven. I
won't comment on the M5 - it's just too crazy.

However John, if traveling the country is in your future, you might want to
consider something else.
Mrs.E. and I just returned from a very pleasant trip to Norfolk in our Dodge
Sprinter mini-RV. I've tried big class "A" motorhomes and Fifth-wheel
trailers and didn't like either for a number of reasons. We got the little
Sprinter last summer and it's perfect for two. It's easy to drive ... not
tiring (I did 582 miles in one day and didn't feel exhausted from driving)
and has a number of advantages over big RVs. They include:

Small size (21 feet) allows parking anywhere you could park a pickup.
Little Mercedes diesel delivered 17-18 mpg on our trip, pulling a 13'
Haulmark trailer.
You can stay at campsites, or stay at a hotel without worrying about where
to park.
The power sofa easily opens at the touch of a button into either a
king-sized bed or two singles.
(The bed is bigger than any of the beds in our other RVs)
It has all the amenities of a big RV - stovetop, refrig, microwave, LCD TV,
bathroom and shower.
Mrs.E. has no problem driving it. On our last trip she sat on the rear sofa
for a while watching a DVD while I drove. On the way back we left the bed
set up and she took a long nap during part of the trip.

For trips of 3 or 4 days there's enough storage space for clothes, food etc.
within the RV. I bought a small Haulmark trailer and set it up to carry
extra stuff in the event we want to travel further. The rig will tow up to
5000 lbs. The Haulmark trailer we got is one size up from the smallest and
has a GVW of 3000 lbs.

The Sprinter is actually made by Mercedes and is marketed in the US under
the Dodge, Freightliner and Mercedes badges. Most of the major RV
conversion manufacturers are introducing their RV versions based on this
chassis due to it's popularity and relatively high fuel mileage. Ours was
built by Pleasure-Way, but there are several others available.

Pics at:

www.eisboch.com/sprinter

Eisboch



When the Sprinters were introduced here a few years ago, they all seemed
to be cargo type vans available in two or three roof height models.
A number of them are used as delivery vehicles here in the city. I was
interested right away...but thought they were a bit pricey.
http://www-5.dodge.ca/vehsuite/dispatch.do

Gasoline prices - gold as a hedge
 

If their engines are as badly designed as those in Chrysler minivans, they
should be blowing blue smoke by 50K miles, thereby making them candidates
for the junkyard at an early age.


"Tim" wrote in message
ps.com...
Our local FEDEX terminal bout a few Sprinters, and have had bad luck
with them. But I can imagine that. Not due to poor quality or
engineering. But the "Cowboy" or "Loose nuts behind the wheel"
syndrome,


Don White wrote:
Eisboch wrote:
"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...


JohnH wrote:

The wife will retire in Jan '08. We'll probably doing some serious
traveling then. She's not seen much of this country, and I've some
favorite
spots I want to show her - not by air!
--


John, if I were shopping for a car in that price range and were
planning a
lot of driving, I'd sure take a new BMW 530x for a test ride. Of all
the
cars I've driven in the last five years, the BMW was the most "driver's
car."


The Caddy *is* a nice car, as is the BMW, both the 5 and 7 series. My
wife
drives a 750il and it's probably the best touring car I've ever driven.
I
won't comment on the M5 - it's just too crazy.

However John, if traveling the country is in your future, you might
want to
consider something else.
Mrs.E. and I just returned from a very pleasant trip to Norfolk in our
Dodge
Sprinter mini-RV. I've tried big class "A" motorhomes and Fifth-wheel
trailers and didn't like either for a number of reasons. We got the
little
Sprinter last summer and it's perfect for two. It's easy to drive ...
not
tiring (I did 582 miles in one day and didn't feel exhausted from
driving)
and has a number of advantages over big RVs. They include:

Small size (21 feet) allows parking anywhere you could park a pickup.
Little Mercedes diesel delivered 17-18 mpg on our trip, pulling a 13'
Haulmark trailer.
You can stay at campsites, or stay at a hotel without worrying about
where
to park.
The power sofa easily opens at the touch of a button into either a
king-sized bed or two singles.
(The bed is bigger than any of the beds in our other RVs)
It has all the amenities of a big RV - stovetop, refrig, microwave, LCD
TV,
bathroom and shower.
Mrs.E. has no problem driving it. On our last trip she sat on the rear
sofa
for a while watching a DVD while I drove. On the way back we left the
bed
set up and she took a long nap during part of the trip.

For trips of 3 or 4 days there's enough storage space for clothes, food
etc.
within the RV. I bought a small Haulmark trailer and set it up to
carry
extra stuff in the event we want to travel further. The rig will tow
up to
5000 lbs. The Haulmark trailer we got is one size up from the smallest
and
has a GVW of 3000 lbs.

The Sprinter is actually made by Mercedes and is marketed in the US
under
the Dodge, Freightliner and Mercedes badges. Most of the major RV
conversion manufacturers are introducing their RV versions based on
this
chassis due to it's popularity and relatively high fuel mileage. Ours
was
built by Pleasure-Way, but there are several others available.

Pics at:

www.eisboch.com/sprinter

Eisboch



When the Sprinters were introduced here a few years ago, they all seemed
to be cargo type vans available in two or three roof height models.
A number of them are used as delivery vehicles here in the city. I was
interested right away...but thought they were a bit pricey.
http://www-5.dodge.ca/vehsuite/dispatch.do

Gasoline prices - gold as a hedge
 

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...

If their engines are as badly designed as those in Chrysler minivans, they
should be blowing blue smoke by 50K miles, thereby making them candidates
for the junkyard at an early age.



The engine is a 5 cylinder Mercedes diesel. In fact, the whole rig, other
than the name badges is built by Mercedes. They've been used for years in
Europe but the engines didn't meet US emission requirements. After they
bought Chrysler, the US market justified cleaning up the engine to meet the
standards. They have replaced the traditional Dodge Ram 1500, 2500 and 3500
van series.

Eisboch

Gasoline prices - gold as a hedge
 

"Eisboch" wrote in message
...

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...

If their engines are as badly designed as those in Chrysler minivans,
they should be blowing blue smoke by 50K miles, thereby making them
candidates for the junkyard at an early age.



The engine is a 5 cylinder Mercedes diesel. In fact, the whole rig, other
than the name badges is built by Mercedes. They've been used for years in
Europe but the engines didn't meet US emission requirements. After they
bought Chrysler, the US market justified cleaning up the engine to meet
the standards. They have replaced the traditional Dodge Ram 1500, 2500 and
3500 van series.

Eisboch


Well, that's a good thing. I can identify the older minivans on the road
ahead with almost 100% accuracy, based just on the stink. :)

Gasoline prices - gold as a hedge
 

On Fri, 04 Aug 2006 11:20:45 GMT, Shortwave Sportfishing
wrote:

On Thu, 03 Aug 2006 22:46:27 GMT, Jack Goff wrote:

On Thu, 03 Aug 2006 19:23:49 GMT, Shortwave Sportfishing
wrote:

On Thu, 03 Aug 2006 11:13:43 GMT, Jack Goff wrote:

On Thu, 03 Aug 2006 10:35:58 GMT, Shortwave Sportfishing
wrote:

On Thu, 03 Aug 2006 01:39:01 GMT, Jack Goff wrote:

On Wed, 02 Aug 2006 14:20:24 GMT, Shortwave Sportfishing
wrote:

On 2 Aug 2006 06:11:49 -0700, "basskisser" wrote:


Shortwave Sportfishing wrote:
Slow steady wins the race.

I don't think John Force would buy into that.

John Force is an idiot.

And drag racing sucks - unless it's on the street and it's a Mustang
or some crappy rice burner.

That's when the 'Vette teaches 'em a lesson. :)

You got a C6R? Anthing less and the new Mustang Cobra will show the
'vette the door! :-)

Highly unlikely. 645 hp before the NOX. :)

Ahhh... traction is your problem.

Um....I don't have a problem.

Not with traction? It's tubbed?

As Jack Burton said "Like I told my last wife, I said, "Honey, I never
drive faster than I can see, and besides... it's all in the reflexes."

Especially with Mustangs. :)

Yeah... well, only little boys wear bowties.

Careful there - I'm a blue oval guy from way back. :)

I just don't like Mustangs.

You did see the smilie I put after the bowtie comment, right? Anyway,
I like the new Mustangs, and briefly considered one, but then a friend
told me that I'd regret it. I'd soon see them everywhere, and mostly
with kids driving them. I listened, and ended up with the Boxster.
No regrets. :-)

Strange thing about classic/muscle cars...

GM lovers seem to like anything GM. A guy with a Camaro will look at
and appreciate an old Malibu, or whatever.

Ford guys seeem to divided into two camps. The Mustang guys, and
everything else. The Mustang guys will hardly even glance at an old
Torino, and act like everything else Ford is less than their precious
pony car. Kind of sickening.

Mopar guys are just crazy.

Myself, I like 'em all, pretty much. Old Mopar, Ford and even GM
products. I draw the line at Chevelles, though. Fat-fendered, ugly,
and everybody and his brother who doesn't have a Mustang has, or lusts
after, a Chevelle. Yech.

Gasoline prices - gold as a hedge
 

"Jack Goff" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 04 Aug 2006 11:20:45 GMT, Shortwave Sportfishing
wrote:

On Thu, 03 Aug 2006 22:46:27 GMT, Jack Goff wrote:

On Thu, 03 Aug 2006 19:23:49 GMT, Shortwave Sportfishing
wrote:

On Thu, 03 Aug 2006 11:13:43 GMT, Jack Goff wrote:

On Thu, 03 Aug 2006 10:35:58 GMT, Shortwave Sportfishing
wrote:

On Thu, 03 Aug 2006 01:39:01 GMT, Jack Goff wrote:

On Wed, 02 Aug 2006 14:20:24 GMT, Shortwave Sportfishing
wrote:

On 2 Aug 2006 06:11:49 -0700, "basskisser"
wrote:


Shortwave Sportfishing wrote:
Slow steady wins the race.

I don't think John Force would buy into that.

John Force is an idiot.

And drag racing sucks - unless it's on the street and it's a Mustang
or some crappy rice burner.

That's when the 'Vette teaches 'em a lesson. :)

You got a C6R? Anthing less and the new Mustang Cobra will show the
'vette the door! :-)

Highly unlikely. 645 hp before the NOX. :)

Ahhh... traction is your problem.

Um....I don't have a problem.

Not with traction? It's tubbed?

As Jack Burton said "Like I told my last wife, I said, "Honey, I never
drive faster than I can see, and besides... it's all in the reflexes."

Especially with Mustangs. :)

Yeah... well, only little boys wear bowties.

Careful there - I'm a blue oval guy from way back. :)

I just don't like Mustangs.

You did see the smilie I put after the bowtie comment, right? Anyway,
I like the new Mustangs, and briefly considered one, but then a friend
told me that I'd regret it. I'd soon see them everywhere, and mostly
with kids driving them. I listened, and ended up with the Boxster.
No regrets. :-)

Strange thing about classic/muscle cars...

GM lovers seem to like anything GM. A guy with a Camaro will look at
and appreciate an old Malibu, or whatever.

Ford guys seeem to divided into two camps. The Mustang guys, and
everything else. The Mustang guys will hardly even glance at an old
Torino, and act like everything else Ford is less than their precious
pony car. Kind of sickening.

Mopar guys are just crazy.

Myself, I like 'em all, pretty much. Old Mopar, Ford and even GM
products. I draw the line at Chevelles, though. Fat-fendered, ugly,
and everybody and his brother who doesn't have a Mustang has, or lusts
after, a Chevelle. Yech.



http://www.seriouswheels.com/classif...5000_220_1.jpg

Drool ;-)

Gasoline prices - gold as a hedge
 

JoeSpareBedroom wrote:
"Eisboch" wrote in message
...

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...


If their engines are as badly designed as those in Chrysler minivans,
they should be blowing blue smoke by 50K miles, thereby making them
candidates for the junkyard at an early age.



The engine is a 5 cylinder Mercedes diesel. In fact, the whole rig, other
than the name badges is built by Mercedes. They've been used for years in
Europe but the engines didn't meet US emission requirements. After they
bought Chrysler, the US market justified cleaning up the engine to meet
the standards. They have replaced the traditional Dodge Ram 1500, 2500 and
3500 van series.

Eisboch



Well, that's a good thing. I can identify the older minivans on the road
ahead with almost 100% accuracy, based just on the stink. :)


Hey... my '95 Plymouth Voyager resents being called stinky!

Gasoline prices - gold as a hedge
 

On Fri, 4 Aug 2006 14:42:04 -0400, " JimH"
jimhUNDERSCOREosudad@yahooDOTcom wrote:


"Jack Goff" wrote in message
.. .
On Fri, 04 Aug 2006 11:20:45 GMT, Shortwave Sportfishing
wrote:

On Thu, 03 Aug 2006 22:46:27 GMT, Jack Goff wrote:

On Thu, 03 Aug 2006 19:23:49 GMT, Shortwave Sportfishing
wrote:

On Thu, 03 Aug 2006 11:13:43 GMT, Jack Goff wrote:

On Thu, 03 Aug 2006 10:35:58 GMT, Shortwave Sportfishing
wrote:

On Thu, 03 Aug 2006 01:39:01 GMT, Jack Goff wrote:

On Wed, 02 Aug 2006 14:20:24 GMT, Shortwave Sportfishing
wrote:

On 2 Aug 2006 06:11:49 -0700, "basskisser"
wrote:


Shortwave Sportfishing wrote:
Slow steady wins the race.

I don't think John Force would buy into that.

John Force is an idiot.

And drag racing sucks - unless it's on the street and it's a Mustang
or some crappy rice burner.

That's when the 'Vette teaches 'em a lesson. :)

You got a C6R? Anthing less and the new Mustang Cobra will show the
'vette the door! :-)

Highly unlikely. 645 hp before the NOX. :)

Ahhh... traction is your problem.

Um....I don't have a problem.

Not with traction? It's tubbed?

As Jack Burton said "Like I told my last wife, I said, "Honey, I never
drive faster than I can see, and besides... it's all in the reflexes."

Especially with Mustangs. :)

Yeah... well, only little boys wear bowties.

Careful there - I'm a blue oval guy from way back. :)

I just don't like Mustangs.

You did see the smilie I put after the bowtie comment, right? Anyway,
I like the new Mustangs, and briefly considered one, but then a friend
told me that I'd regret it. I'd soon see them everywhere, and mostly
with kids driving them. I listened, and ended up with the Boxster.
No regrets. :-)

Strange thing about classic/muscle cars...

GM lovers seem to like anything GM. A guy with a Camaro will look at
and appreciate an old Malibu, or whatever.

Ford guys seeem to divided into two camps. The Mustang guys, and
everything else. The Mustang guys will hardly even glance at an old
Torino, and act like everything else Ford is less than their precious
pony car. Kind of sickening.

Mopar guys are just crazy.

Myself, I like 'em all, pretty much. Old Mopar, Ford and even GM
products. I draw the line at Chevelles, though. Fat-fendered, ugly,
and everybody and his brother who doesn't have a Mustang has, or lusts
after, a Chevelle. Yech.



http://www.seriouswheels.com/classif...5000_220_1.jpg

Drool ;-)


hehe... Miss Piggy would love it.

Gasoline prices - gold as a hedge
 

On Fri, 4 Aug 2006 10:11:09 -0400, "Eisboch" wrote:


"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...

JohnH wrote:

The wife will retire in Jan '08. We'll probably doing some serious
traveling then. She's not seen much of this country, and I've some
favorite
spots I want to show her - not by air!
--


John, if I were shopping for a car in that price range and were planning a
lot of driving, I'd sure take a new BMW 530x for a test ride. Of all the
cars I've driven in the last five years, the BMW was the most "driver's
car."

The Caddy *is* a nice car, as is the BMW, both the 5 and 7 series. My wife
drives a 750il and it's probably the best touring car I've ever driven. I
won't comment on the M5 - it's just too crazy.

However John, if traveling the country is in your future, you might want to
consider something else.
Mrs.E. and I just returned from a very pleasant trip to Norfolk in our Dodge
Sprinter mini-RV. I've tried big class "A" motorhomes and Fifth-wheel
trailers and didn't like either for a number of reasons. We got the little
Sprinter last summer and it's perfect for two. It's easy to drive ... not
tiring (I did 582 miles in one day and didn't feel exhausted from driving)
and has a number of advantages over big RVs. They include:

Small size (21 feet) allows parking anywhere you could park a pickup.
Little Mercedes diesel delivered 17-18 mpg on our trip, pulling a 13'
Haulmark trailer.
You can stay at campsites, or stay at a hotel without worrying about where
to park.
The power sofa easily opens at the touch of a button into either a
king-sized bed or two singles.
(The bed is bigger than any of the beds in our other RVs)
It has all the amenities of a big RV - stovetop, refrig, microwave, LCD TV,
bathroom and shower.
Mrs.E. has no problem driving it. On our last trip she sat on the rear sofa
for a while watching a DVD while I drove. On the way back we left the bed
set up and she took a long nap during part of the trip.

For trips of 3 or 4 days there's enough storage space for clothes, food etc.
within the RV. I bought a small Haulmark trailer and set it up to carry
extra stuff in the event we want to travel further. The rig will tow up to
5000 lbs. The Haulmark trailer we got is one size up from the smallest and
has a GVW of 3000 lbs.

The Sprinter is actually made by Mercedes and is marketed in the US under
the Dodge, Freightliner and Mercedes badges. Most of the major RV
conversion manufacturers are introducing their RV versions based on this
chassis due to it's popularity and relatively high fuel mileage. Ours was
built by Pleasure-Way, but there are several others available.

Pics at:

www.eisboch.com/sprinter

Eisboch


Thanks for all that info! I like the Sprinter, and the fact that it's
powered by that Mercedes diesel. But, the wife isn't wild about getting an
RV. We'll see what she feels like once she's retired. The extra $30K spent
on an RV would buy a lot of motel rooms!

In Europe we camped everywhere we went, almost always on two motorcycles.
Now she thinks she deserves a motel. Sheeesh!
--
******************************************
***** Have a Spectacular Day! *****
******************************************

John