real quiet
 

On Apr 12, 10:47 pm, Bill Tuthill wrote:
Siskuwihane wrote:

Rumor has it that Honda may bring its 2.2 litre diesel CR-V to the US
in 2008.

That's good. CR-V is a nice vehicle and I like spare tires on the back.
Although did Honda move the spare tire in the new 2007 model?


Yes they did move it inside. It also doesn't come with the little
picnic table that covers the rear storage area (now spare tire
storage). Not that it would be a deal breaker with me, but it's very
convenient having that "waterproof" under-the-picnic table storage
area where I can throw wet things. I've only got 90k on my '99 so I'll
hold on to it for a little while longer.

real quiet
 

Bill Tuthill wrote:
Siskuwihane wrote:
Rumor has it that Honda may bring its 2.2 litre diesel CR-V to the US
in 2008.

That's good. CR-V is a nice vehicle and I like spare tires on the back.
Although did Honda move the spare tire in the new 2007 model?

The Jeep Liberty diesel only gets 18 mpg according to Consumer Reports.

Toyota Highlander hybrid is due for revision in late 2007 (2008 model)
and expectations are that fuel economy will improve dramatically.

Possibly a Toyota Tacoma with 6-speed manual would get decent mileage
on the highway, though not in town. A friend gets 24 mpg in his Tacoma.
The crew cab has a fairly comfortable back seat, and with gate down,
the cargo bed is long enough for me to sleep in, although my feet would
get wet in the rain, sticking out of a camper shell.

Bill, you may want to have a look at the VW Passat wagon, if you want
more room than the Jetta. They come in a 4X4 version and have several
(pretty powerful) diesel engines. I have the Skoda Octavia, with the
same VW 4X4 system, but based on the Golf/Jetta undercarriage. I'd buy
another one in a heartbeat (Did so already, this is my third Octavia 4X4
:-)).


--
Wilko van den Bergh wilkoa t)dse(d o tnl
Eindhoven The Netherlands Europe
---Look at the possibilities, don't worry about the limitations.---
http://kayaker.nl/

real quiet
 

On Apr 14, 2:34 pm, Wilko wrote:
Bill Tuthill wrote:
Siskuwihane wrote:
Rumor has it that Honda may bring its 2.2 litre diesel CR-V to the US
in 2008.

That's good. CR-V is a nice vehicle and I like spare tires on the back.
Although did Honda move the spare tire in the new 2007 model?

The Jeep Liberty diesel only gets 18 mpg according to Consumer Reports.

Toyota Highlander hybrid is due for revision in late 2007 (2008 model)
and expectations are that fuel economy will improve dramatically.

Possibly a Toyota Tacoma with 6-speed manual would get decent mileage
on the highway, though not in town. A friend gets 24 mpg in his Tacoma.
The crew cab has a fairly comfortable back seat, and with gate down,
the cargo bed is long enough for me to sleep in, although my feet would
get wet in the rain, sticking out of a camper shell.

Bill, you may want to have a look at the VW Passat wagon, if you want
more room than the Jetta. They come in a 4X4 version and have several
(pretty powerful) diesel engines. I have the Skoda Octavia, with the
same VW 4X4 system, but based on the Golf/Jetta undercarriage. I'd buy
another one in a heartbeat (Did so already, this is my third Octavia 4X4
:-)).

Your third? In how many years? Why did you get rid of #1 and #2? How
many miles did they have on them when you got rid of them? How much
maintenance didi each require?

Saying you're on the "third" of any vehicle does not necesarily mean
they are good vehicles. It could mean you're just making the same
mistake over and over! ;-)

John Kuthe...

real quiet
 

JohnKuthe wrote:
On Apr 14, 2:34 pm, Wilko wrote:
Bill Tuthill wrote:
Siskuwihane wrote:
Rumor has it that Honda may bring its 2.2 litre diesel CR-V to the US
in 2008.
That's good. CR-V is a nice vehicle and I like spare tires on the back.
Although did Honda move the spare tire in the new 2007 model?
The Jeep Liberty diesel only gets 18 mpg according to Consumer Reports.
Toyota Highlander hybrid is due for revision in late 2007 (2008 model)
and expectations are that fuel economy will improve dramatically.
Possibly a Toyota Tacoma with 6-speed manual would get decent mileage
on the highway, though not in town. A friend gets 24 mpg in his Tacoma.
The crew cab has a fairly comfortable back seat, and with gate down,
the cargo bed is long enough for me to sleep in, although my feet would
get wet in the rain, sticking out of a camper shell.
Bill, you may want to have a look at the VW Passat wagon, if you want
more room than the Jetta. They come in a 4X4 version and have several
(pretty powerful) diesel engines. I have the Skoda Octavia, with the
same VW 4X4 system, but based on the Golf/Jetta undercarriage. I'd buy
another one in a heartbeat (Did so already, this is my third Octavia 4X4
:-)).

Your third? In how many years? Why did you get rid of #1 and #2? How
many miles did they have on them when you got rid of them? How much
maintenance didi each require?

Saying you're on the "third" of any vehicle does not necesarily mean
they are good vehicles. It could mean you're just making the same
mistake over and over! ;-)

John Kuthe...


The first two were lease cars, John. After they get to their maximum
amount of miles (usually 100K miles) you have to hand them in and pick
another (new) car (or buy the lease car). I drove 1 year and 10 months
in the first one, then it reached its maximum miles, and I drove one
year and 11 months in the second one before it reached its maximum. The
third one I bought, it now has 100K on it as well.


--
Wilko van den Bergh wilkoa t)dse(d o tnl
Eindhoven The Netherlands Europe
---Look at the possibilities, don't worry about the limitations.---
http://kayaker.nl/

real quiet
 

On Apr 16, 3:07 am, Wilko wrote:
JohnKuthe wrote:
On Apr 14, 2:34 pm, Wilko wrote:
Bill Tuthill wrote:
Siskuwihane wrote:
Rumor has it that Honda may bring its 2.2 litre diesel CR-V to the US
in 2008.
That's good. CR-V is a nice vehicle and I like spare tires on the back.
Although did Honda move the spare tire in the new 2007 model?
The Jeep Liberty diesel only gets 18 mpg according to Consumer Reports.
Toyota Highlander hybrid is due for revision in late 2007 (2008 model)
and expectations are that fuel economy will improve dramatically.
Possibly a Toyota Tacoma with 6-speed manual would get decent mileage
on the highway, though not in town. A friend gets 24 mpg in his Tacoma.
The crew cab has a fairly comfortable back seat, and with gate down,
the cargo bed is long enough for me to sleep in, although my feet would
get wet in the rain, sticking out of a camper shell.
Bill, you may want to have a look at the VW Passat wagon, if you want
more room than the Jetta. They come in a 4X4 version and have several
(pretty powerful) diesel engines. I have the Skoda Octavia, with the
same VW 4X4 system, but based on the Golf/Jetta undercarriage. I'd buy
another one in a heartbeat (Did so already, this is my third Octavia 4X4
:-)).

Your third? In how many years? Why did you get rid of #1 and #2? How
many miles did they have on them when you got rid of them? How much
maintenance didi each require?

Saying you're on the "third" of any vehicle does not necesarily mean
they are good vehicles. It could mean you're just making the same
mistake over and over! ;-)

John Kuthe...

The first two were lease cars, John. After they get to their maximum
amount of miles (usually 100K miles) you have to hand them in and pick
another (new) car (or buy the lease car). I drove 1 year and 10 months
in the first one, then it reached its maximum miles, and I drove one
year and 11 months in the second one before it reached its maximum. The
third one I bought, it now has 100K on it as well.

Must be nice! I guess United Statesians aren't the only ones who are
filthily rich, eh? ;-)

John Kuthe...

real quiet
 

On Apr 16, 4:07 pm, Wilko wrote:
JohnKuthe wrote:
On Apr 14, 2:34 pm, Wilko wrote:
Bill Tuthill wrote:
Siskuwihane wrote:
Rumor has it that Honda may bring its 2.2 litre diesel CR-V to the US
in 2008.
That's good. CR-V is a nice vehicle and I like spare tires on the back.
Although did Honda move the spare tire in the new 2007 model?
The Jeep Liberty diesel only gets 18 mpg according to Consumer Reports.
Toyota Highlander hybrid is due for revision in late 2007 (2008 model)
and expectations are that fuel economy will improve dramatically.
Possibly a Toyota Tacoma with 6-speed manual would get decent mileage
on the highway, though not in town. A friend gets 24 mpg in his Tacoma.
The crew cab has a fairly comfortable back seat, and with gate down,
the cargo bed is long enough for me to sleep in, although my feet would
get wet in the rain, sticking out of a camper shell.
Bill, you may want to have a look at the VW Passat wagon, if you want
more room than the Jetta. They come in a 4X4 version and have several
(pretty powerful) diesel engines. I have the Skoda Octavia, with the
same VW 4X4 system, but based on the Golf/Jetta undercarriage. I'd buy
another one in a heartbeat (Did so already, this is my third Octavia 4X4
:-)).

Your third? In how many years? Why did you get rid of #1 and #2? How
many miles did they have on them when you got rid of them? How much
maintenance didi each require?

Saying you're on the "third" of any vehicle does not necesarily mean
they are good vehicles. It could mean you're just making the same
mistake over and over! ;-)

John Kuthe...

The first two were lease cars, John. After they get to their maximum
amount of miles (usually 100K miles) you have to hand them in and pick
another (new) car (or buy the lease car). I drove 1 year and 10 months
in the first one, then it reached its maximum miles, and I drove one
year and 11 months in the second one before it reached its maximum. The
third one I bought, it now has 100K on it as well.

--


So do you think owning is preferable to leasing? If this was a lease
car, you'd be on the verge of replacing it with a new car. It seems
that you're committed to driving your current car into the dirt now.

--riverman

real quiet
 

riverman wrote:
On Apr 16, 4:07 pm, Wilko wrote:
JohnKuthe wrote:
On Apr 14, 2:34 pm, Wilko wrote:
Bill Tuthill wrote:
Siskuwihane wrote:
Rumor has it that Honda may bring its 2.2 litre diesel CR-V to the US
in 2008.
That's good. CR-V is a nice vehicle and I like spare tires on the back.
Although did Honda move the spare tire in the new 2007 model?
The Jeep Liberty diesel only gets 18 mpg according to Consumer Reports.
Toyota Highlander hybrid is due for revision in late 2007 (2008 model)
and expectations are that fuel economy will improve dramatically.
Possibly a Toyota Tacoma with 6-speed manual would get decent mileage
on the highway, though not in town. A friend gets 24 mpg in his Tacoma.
The crew cab has a fairly comfortable back seat, and with gate down,
the cargo bed is long enough for me to sleep in, although my feet would
get wet in the rain, sticking out of a camper shell.
Bill, you may want to have a look at the VW Passat wagon, if you want
more room than the Jetta. They come in a 4X4 version and have several
(pretty powerful) diesel engines. I have the Skoda Octavia, with the
same VW 4X4 system, but based on the Golf/Jetta undercarriage. I'd buy
another one in a heartbeat (Did so already, this is my third Octavia 4X4
:-)).
Your third? In how many years? Why did you get rid of #1 and #2? How
many miles did they have on them when you got rid of them? How much
maintenance didi each require?
Saying you're on the "third" of any vehicle does not necesarily mean
they are good vehicles. It could mean you're just making the same
mistake over and over! ;-)
John Kuthe...
The first two were lease cars, John. After they get to their maximum
amount of miles (usually 100K miles) you have to hand them in and pick
another (new) car (or buy the lease car). I drove 1 year and 10 months
in the first one, then it reached its maximum miles, and I drove one
year and 11 months in the second one before it reached its maximum. The
third one I bought, it now has 100K on it as well.

--


So do you think owning is preferable to leasing? If this was a lease
car, you'd be on the verge of replacing it with a new car. It seems
that you're committed to driving your current car into the dirt now.

I think it depends. I became a student after working for the past 7
years, so leasing is not an option any more. Also, I stopped driving to
work every working day and I stopped driving to the Czech Republic every
second weekend, which cut my annual miles from 65K to roughly 10K now.
In my view leasing in this country is only interesting if:
-your company pays for the lease contract with a tax free personal budget,
-you can afford it and
-if you drive (a lot) more than what your lease contract is for.

In my case, I'd pay the lease company (through the company I worked for)
for 25K miles a year and drive well over 65K miles a year. If I had to
pay the lease company out of my own pocket, I'd pay using after taxes
money (bye bye 42%) but still have to pay the full amount (1150 euro
incl. fuel per month, add roughly 33% for the price in US$).

I can afford my own car, since I drive miles less now than what a
minimum lease contract goes for and since this car is used. I couldn't
afford the 65K miles a year, especially not out of my non-existent paycheck.

--
Wilko van den Bergh wilkoa t)dse(d o tnl
Eindhoven The Netherlands Europe
---Look at the possibilities, don't worry about the limitations.---
http://kayaker.nl/

real quiet
 

JohnKuthe wrote:
On Apr 16, 3:07 am, Wilko wrote:
The first two were lease cars, John. After they get to their maximum
amount of miles (usually 100K miles) you have to hand them in and pick
another (new) car (or buy the lease car). I drove 1 year and 10 months
in the first one, then it reached its maximum miles, and I drove one
year and 11 months in the second one before it reached its maximum. The
third one I bought, it now has 100K on it as well.

Must be nice! I guess United Statesians aren't the only ones who are
filthily rich, eh? ;-)

Hmmm, I bet that you make a lot more money than me this year, John!

In my view, keeping a relationship going, especially a long distance one
like I had, requires investing in it, even if that means investing most
of what you earn. In my case I invested a lot of time, money and energy
to do the 600mile (one way) trip every second weekend for so many years.
On top of that I had dirt cheap living accomodations (76 euro/month rent
for one tiny room).

--
Wilko van den Bergh wilkoa t)dse(d o tnl
Eindhoven The Netherlands Europe
---Look at the possibilities, don't worry about the limitations.---
http://kayaker.nl/

real quiet
 

Siskuwihane wrote:

That's good. CR-V is a nice vehicle and I like spare tires on the back.
Although did Honda move the spare tire in the new 2007 model?

Yes they did move it inside. It also doesn't come with the little
picnic table that covers the rear storage area (now spare tire
storage). Not that it would be a deal breaker with me, but it's very
convenient having that "waterproof" under-the-picnic table storage
area where I can throw wet things.

Grumble.

I've only got 90k on my '99 so I'll hold on to it for a while longer.

Good plan.

I just did a Compare Models with a Toyota RAV4 on the Consumer Reports
website. The RAV4 4-cylinder gets better mileage in the city, 17 vs 15,
but the same 29 mpg on the highway. The RAV4 has much more cargo space,
probably due to the spare tire design. The RAV4 is faster, 9.8 vs 10.6
seconds to 60 mph. In the gov't crash test, the CR-V scored better for
front passenger safety, excellent vs good. The RAV4 is slightly longer
but weighs less.

real quiet
 

"Bill Tuthill" wrote in message
...
Matt Clara wrote:

What do you want to talk about? I'm interested in a discussion
of vehicles with good fuel economy that can carry a lot of gear.

I suppose you'd have to define "a lot," because a car may not be big
enough
and you need an SUV, etc., but if a car will do, I'd recommend a
Volkswagen
Passat TDI stationwagon. They're full sized cars and the TDI with manual
transmission gets upwards of fifty miles to the gallon. You can drive a
Passat from Michigan to Florida and back on a tank and a half of fuel.
The
engines will last 250,000 miles and more if treated properly. The rest of
the car will fall apart around it, but that engine'll just keep on
goin...
I have a Jetta TDI, and it's too small. The Jetta wagon would have been
a
better choice.

TDI means diesel, right? Have you experimented with biodiesel?

Currently I have a Trooper that never gets over 21 mpg. If I needed to
replace it before the 2008 Highlander Hybrid appears, I guess my choice
would be the Ford Escape hybrid or Toyota RAV4, both 29 mpg.

Jetta wagon isn't really big enough for rafting.


What about the Passat wagon--it's a full sized sedan/station wagon--?

--
www.mattclara.com