Looking for a new car or truck ?
Godfather.
Posts: 12,504
Good up to date new car info.if you happen to be shopping or just like to keep up with what new in the auto industry.
http://www.insidercarnews.com/
Godfather.
http://www.insidercarnews.com/
Godfather.
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I get we live in completely different types of cities, though.
Interestingly enough, a news story this morning still names LA as worst smog in the nation (auto-related) - despite vast improvement vs years ago.
Where we live now we need a car but we don't have a long commute and ride share. Also feel good about getting 45 MPG and knowing I will drive this same vehicle 30 years or more (if I'm around that long). And we also have regular "no drive days" which are always great. I like the feeling of not needing to always be having to go somewhere.
Godfather.
Keep your old one on the road. Even with worse MPG better than all CO2 creating a new one.
Godfather.
My fav would be 71 C10 350 4sp ac pearl white with Crager SS's. And yeah white letters. See I'm old like you. HA!
NOW HOLD ON, GF!! Before you get all excited about Prii being dope smoking commie pinko yuppie liberal tree hugger cars, perhaps it will help if I tell you I know a couple who are hard-core Republican conservatives who drive a Prius for the reason I'll try to explain here briefly.
1. The money you save on gas will help pay for a Prius. My wife and I earn well below the median USA wage scale and we bought a new Prius in 2008.
2. With regular proper maintenance a Prius will EASILY run for 300,000 miles or more.
3. Restoring an older vehicle often means having to settle for inferior replacement parts, rebuilding engine and transmission and other major repairs that will probably not give your vehicle great longevity or reduce environmental impact. I found this true during the years I lived in my van and struggled to keep it running. At one point I spent the last of my saving having the motor rebuilt and was lucky to get my life on track before that motor's fairly short life expired. I expect my Prius will last right up to about the point where the kids will take the keys away anyway... and I expect to keep going a while myself
4. The Prius is a pleasure to drive and very comfortable.
5. With the back seats folded down I have fit as many as 16 banker boxes full of books (that's a LOT!) in the car and because it has a cavernous hatch back, loading and unloading is a breeze.
6. My Pearl Jam CD's ROCK on the standard sound system that came with the car.
My sister has a Prius. When looking at the car and feeling very hesitant about buying it I asked her if she was glad she bought hers. She said, "I don't understand why anyone would by any other car." I totally agree.
And NO! Toyota is not giving me a kick back for telling you all this. I tell you because I care.
As to replacement parts, many are rebuilds, recycling major assemblies but yes there are a lot of cheap parts out there.
Depending on year make and model, some older cars are very reliable and require very few parts.
As to fuel mileage, newer cars don't get that much better mileage though the Prius does
Like to see the environmental impact comparison between building and running a car for 20 years versus buying a new car every 5 years. Just the disposal of cars is major.
We buy avg 20 million cars a year in US. 20 million.
I really had to ponder buying a new car because somebody in a sustainability workshop I was taking at the time pointed out that building new cars takes a lot of energy and resources. It wasn't too tough a choice for me because my van was an old 8 cylinder Dodge that got crappy gas mileage and and had already nickle and dimed me to death. I knew going further with it was a bad choice so I gave it to one of my nephews who can fix any car anywhere with chewing gum and string (seriously, the kid is amazing). And I really spent a lot of time studying car makes and models with the intent to get the most for my money with the least environmental impact and Prius was the top choice.
We almost bought a used first generation Prius -we didn't because they hold their value amazingly well and the new one was not all that much more. That used model still had the original big expensive HV battery so I knew they last a good while. The Prius also has a regular 12 volt battery that works like a normal car battery that is more expensive than some but not a shit load of money like the big HV that runs the engine when on battery.
There are other good choices but for me the key is maintenance and longevity. I wanted a car that would run efficiently for the longest time possible- hopefully my last car. I'm fanatical about regular maintenance, keeping records, and driving carefully and having regular no-drive . Another thing I've done is to establish a good relationship with the dealer and paid a little extra for a warranty that covered the first couple of years maintenance covered. Since then, they always give me a break on costs and take good care because we stayed with them.
Godfather.
Damn things don't have trans dipsticks to check oil. Have to raise it and plug in computer to get to certain temperature then pull hex plug while it's running. No oil dip sticks for later models. Drain intervals so long at recommended schedule guarantees sludge. Run flats. Can't fix. No spares. Have to reprogram computer when putting in new battery. Lifetime trans fluid. Yeah right! Can go on and on.
Yes other makes suck as bad.
Perfect BMW. 1988-1991 535i or 735i.
Godfather.