New Car Incentives

[Dale W.]

Fishseller,
I might add that the "running gear" will outlive most gasoline engines but I have found that rust and wear dont care if you have diesel or gas. The rest of the vehicle is the same.

Joe,
Its not just the rich that are buying the gas hogs here. I know people that can barely keep their rigs on the road because of expenses but they still do because of the American way. Gas guzlers are part of the "big boy" family (which I am not a part of ).

 

[mishi8]

If I didn't have a family of 5, I'd definitely go for a Smart Car. It'd be great for commuting (though taking the bus works well!) Maybe when I have money to spare, I can get one just for me...but that's not happening anytime soon! :

 

[FishSeller]

Dale,
You are exactly right. You live in Hawii, I live in Tampa..."salt air" is great for tourists. For those of us that live in this crap, it can be one giant pain! In my experience, Running your vehicle through one of the $8.00 car washes with an undercarriage rinse/spray will certainly prolong the life of the vehicle (although pressure washing U-joints leads to more maintenence...but one pump of grease will fix that). I also rinse the underside of my truck the same way I rinse a trailer after putting it in the water. Aside from this, rust isn't really a huge issue. It isn't like people are intentionally throwing salt down on the roads the way they do up north.

 

[slipknottin]

Off topic---
i'm hoping there will be a trend not only to small cars (honestly i dont like small cars, i miss having a pickup and i would love a 4 door pickup)...but to more hybrids as well. i was impressed by the Honda and Toyota hybrids.

They wont sell many hybrids in america, simply because they are not any more efficient than normal cars. Hybrids excel in short communtes, with lots of stopping and going. Most americans spend the majority of their time driving a somewhat steady 65-75 on highways, where hybrids offer no advantage (and several disadvantages) over conventional engines. Its the same reason why hybrids do sell well in europe and japan.

 

[125gJoe]

Hybrids cost way too much...

One study on them said it would take approx. 10 years to see cost benefits from the cars.

Hybrids seem like a "modern oddity" rather than a practical means of transportation.

 

[Timmain42]

I am dying to buy a used BMW/Cooper Mini. Can't find them used yet, tho. Just biding my time...

 

[NikkO]

In my area, I'm actually starting to see many more hybrids and smaller cars now... maybe its all the L.A traffic thats forcing people to get them other than the high gas prices, lol. Can someone remind me of how diesel prices went way up? I remember when diesel used to be just a little cheaper then regular unleaded.

Fishseller I'm JW, what kind of boat do you own? BTW, nice truck.

 

[happychem]

The argument of safety in driving a bigger vehicle is a fallacy. Yes, it's true that it you're in the bigger vehicle you're safer. But if the trend was for everyone to start driving smaller, more sensible vehicles then collisions would more likely be between smaller vehicles and not small vs. large.

While there are some very good uses for 4x4s and SUVs, my parents for example need one because where they live they'll often be driving through a foot of snow, or towing a trailer load of wood, etc. However, I doubt that 90% of the SUV drivers that I see in the city can make the same argument. I'll never argue with anyone owning one who puts it to good use, heck, even if it's just a lot of recreational offroading. But if you just want to drive around in a big truck because it's fashionable (or you saw one in a hip-hop video), then I'll argue.

 

[FishSeller]

Nikko,
I live in the Tampa area and have several boats...My primary boat is a 1974 23' Aquasport. It has been fully restored from the bottom of the hull up- replaced stringers, transom, fuel tank, floor, rebuilt deck cap, wiring, hardware, tower, 70 gal. livewell, etc. etc. etc. It's definately a West Florida boat- designed to run very shallow, but with enough bow flare and freeboard to handle fairly choppy water when fishing inshore or netting bait around bridges.
My second boat is a 13' Panther Airboat. It has a stroked 383. It can run dry ground with three people in it.
My dad has a 27' Baha Cruiser with an inboard 454. It's a great offshore trolling and bottom fishing boat.

So, to make a long story short, I tow boats all over the place.

 

[saltyc]

SUV's

Happy, I agree with you! When I lived down in Texas, it seemed like more people in town had SUVs than the ones who lived out of town! And couldn't settle for the mini-SUVs, no, they had Suburbans and such. Foolish!
As for the small car survivability-I may be an exception, but my PT Cruiser got me through a 60mph T-bone with only some sore muscles. Just to clarify, I was on a 65mph highway, & a kid made a left turn in front of me. I had time to hit the brakes, swerve just a bit, then BAM! Both airbags went off. I was still traveling straight down the road-my car sort of scooped his Cougar up & spun it out of the way. Did over $10K of damage to my car, but the insurance fixed it, cause trying to replace it at that time was a year-long project!
I still have the car-the kid's cougar was totalled-frame bent.