Skuzzy

I was in Garland (N Dallas Suburb) the other day visiting family. According to my Uncle, the parking lot of the light rail is always full, along with grass field next to it...

Triple-H

I totally understand your point, but for me at only 8,000 miles per year, I would have to own the Titan for 25 years to see 200,000 miles, and that ain't going to happen...

As I say, it's all about the number of miles an individual puts on their vehicle in a year.

vader1

Maybe somebody mentioned this already, but I was watching a NBC news story about this national reaction to high gas prices and one of the people in the story, a dealership manager, stated another reason people were switching in droves to smaller cars.

He basically said alot of people were switching not because they could not afford gas but because they were mad. They felt like dopes going up to the pump and throwing away $100 to fill up a full size SUV and they did not want to do it anymore. Makes sense to me.

My dad offered me his Grand Cherokee for free a couple years ago and I said no. It was a 2004 with 55,000 miles on it and he wanted to get rid of it. I had borrowed it for a month and babied it but could only manage 15 mpg. I felt like an idiot filling the thing up because there was so little return on the tank. Sounds like a lot of people are getting the same feeling.

He wanted to trade this same car in recently with his Lexus and get a Highlander Hybrid but the dealer said they would not take his Jeep on trade so he gave it to my younger cousin when he turned 16.

Skuzzy

Not to mention that the vast majority of people don't own their cars for 200k miles, and definitely arent going to decide to do so with an SUV @ 5dollars a gallon.

QUIKAG

At 15,000 miles/year, it's an extra $4k/yr to drive a 12mpg SUV over a 34mpg Fit.

So, the question is whether your pride is worth $4k to roll around in a midget Fit instead of a Cadillac Escalade. I'd personally pay the $4k/yr.

vader1

Fortunately there are plenty of choices in between. $30k buys a very nice Accord or TSX that get pretty close to the same milage as the Fit.

I never understood the appeal of the Escalade. I read the C&D long term update online yesterday and the tagline was something like "Escalade finds it hard to endear itself to staffers." At $60k? Great.

Poindexter

Yeah...well...I'm back in a Bimmer and we're just selfish MF'ers

QUIKAG

My boss just bought a new Escalade. It's big, black, and chrome. It rides nice, has a great 403hp motor, smooth shifting automatic, very comfortable inside with 4 captains chairs, rear DVD entertainment, Nav, heated/cooled seats, etc. It's personally not my style (I prefer the more understated Yukon Denali), but I can definitely see it's appeal as a comfortable and luxurious SUV.

Triple-H

Ok, this rings home for me! I typically fill up, run the tank down to about empty and then refill. The Titan's tank is 28 gallons, and a typical fillup is 25, so 25 x $4.159 = $103.98. WTF!!! You bet I'm f'ing mad... It does not matter how long it may take me to use that amount of fuel because I'm driving the CRX-SiR way more often these days, the key is it cost me a f'ing hundred bucks to fill up, I'm aware of the cost, not aware so much as to how long it willl last. Back in 2005 prior to Katrina my typical fillup was only $50.

vader1

To each there own. Most of that stuff does nothing for me but I have far more choices to be comfortable. I am 5'6" and the wife is 5'2". The Outback turbo I bought has a nice interior, more features than I ever use. (I don't even use the heated seats in MN winters) Carries and tows what I need. It only has 250 hp but as far as the escalade goes, its faster than to 405 hp beast, gets twice the milage and is half the upfront cost and offers me the fun of a stickshift which is a plus for me. Thats why I don't get the caddy.

But maybe if I was 6'4" I would have a different view.

The Outback is not exactly small inside though.