My high gas price cure

Etroze said:
Ok since there are so many guys out there with smaller cars, are there any decent Eco cars out there that a guy can still look like a guy in?
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Hey, driving a tiny car at least the women can't say you are compensating...... maybe it works the other way to. :laugh2: I drive a Mini.:innocent:;);) nudge nudge.
 
Not going to lie I really would like to get a Mini but I have to teach my gal how to drive a manual first. Plus I have to see if there is is enough leg room since she is 6'3".
 
Etroze said:
Not going to lie I really would like to get a Mini but I have to teach my gal how to drive a manual first. Plus I have to see if there is is enough leg room since she is 6'3".
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They have lots of room (in the front) for long legged people unless you have people in the backseats. They also come in automatics ("Shiftronic") which is what I have. It is without doubt the best auto I have ever used (and I had a Getrag auto in the GT Cruiser that was great). It shift with paddle shifters on the steering wheel if you want, or just let it do it's own thing. It shifts like a talented driver with a stick would, and is a 6 speed tranny.
 
Fuel prices are crazy these days. I use premium 98 and it costs 1,78€ per liter. That is 9,98$ per US gallon.
A new increase as been anounced for next week.
 
Etroze said:
I was wondering about that auto. People say they are slow to shift on other cars. So it is pretty crisp huh?
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It is. Take one for a test drive, I doubt you won't want it after that. It does require premium gas though. The new ones use a turbo rather than a supercharger and get better mileage with almost zero turbo lag (as they use a twin spool turbo charger). They are rated (for the turbo, "S" model at 178 hp). About 120 for the normally aspirated one. They are not the cheapest small car, but then they don't feel, or perform like a cheap car either.
 
If driving a small car makes you feel self-conscious or less of a man, that's a personal issue you have to deal with, not any fault of the car. ;)

The vehicle does not make the man :D
 
Dustin said:
If driving a small car makes you feel self-conscious or less of a man, that's a personal issue you have to deal with, not any fault of the car. ;)

The vehicle does not make the man :D
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Nah not insecure about man hood lol, lots of women hoot and holler at you when you drive a buddy's wife's pink scooter around town :D
 
LOL, I committed blashphemy by buying a prius. You can't beat 50-55 mpg. I have a Venza too that gives around 25-27 mpg.

I get my acceleration fix with my FZ1.

Prius is great for commuting, piling miles on and taking the dogs out.
 
It is beyond me that there are people that continue to buy V8's and other guzzlers (MPG under 30). They spend away their retirement dollars, mortgage their futures to satisfy today's greedy and selfish desires. I personally know several guys that have muscle cars, full sized pick ups (and they nearly never haul anything), whose kids go without braces, whose wives go without, and all to feed their macho image, or lack thereof. Some of these guys rent their house/apt. THEY RENT, what losers! Instead of being responsible family husbands, fathers, their self absorbed selfish selves buy Hemi's and other such American craap and the family, and their retires be damned. What amazes me is the massive number of full sized pick ups one sees all over the midwest and you nearly EVER see these guys haul anything. My bud at work confided that he hauls something twice or three times a year, but really loves his F-450 4x4 V10...he is not along...his stupid type if found all over, and on every bike/auto forum site.

I would love to ride my FZ1 to work every day, but doing so would mean I would be burning more gas over driving my 2007 Toyota Yaris, which can get 46 MPG on the highway so long as I keep it at 60 or under.
 
meinschaft said:
I'm in the market to replace my wife's '04 SVT Focus. She's owned 4 Focuses, three of them SVTs (says it's her all-time favorite car). She drives about 10K miles/year. I'd like the new car to get as close to 40 MPG as possible and she is ready to give up the manual transmission of the SVT.

Anyway I looked at a loaded 2012 Focus 5-door. I didn't have a chance to drive it, but I looked it over well. It is definitely a couple of steps up from the 'old' Focus, and the mileage is rated 26/37, not too bad, but not as good as a current Civic. Fit, finish and overall quality of the seats, interior, dash, etc., is of better quality than her current car (which did come with Recaros). It's a nice little car and the design is growing on me.

But are you ready for this? Window sticker of $28,750. WTF???????

If this was a new SVT with 18"s, Brembos, Recaros and a few bits of CF, and a 265 HP turbo, I could see it (a 2011 MazdaSpeed3 can be had for $25K), but it isn't.

Is it just me, or does $29K for a well-equipped but regular Focus seem like a ridiculous price? No wonder FoMoCo just posted their best quarterly number since '98. I guess I should have kept the Ford stock.

Anyway, I told wifey I want us to look at a Mazda 3 5-door and the new Elantra.

BTW, I filled up yesterday morning for $4.09/gal. Later in the day, same station, and the price was $4.15.

So what are your thoughts about a $29K Focus?
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She owned 4 Focuses? What is wrong with the current 2004 focus? She drives about 10,000 miles per year, so you say. Given that trend of miles, she must have replaced each of those Focuses with very low miles...am I right? And you want to get into the 40 MPG range for the replacement Focus? To save money, right? So she is sick of the CVT tranny and wants out of that car? Is this desire worth making a financial damaging decision? And if you do replace the 2004 with a 2011 or 2012 Focus, how do you reconcile the MASSIVE loss in $$ with trying to save $$ by getting a 40 MPG car?

Do the math. If you want to save $$ and be wise, you'd keep the 2004 Focus and stop with this massively damaging practice of replacing cars so bloody often. This lack of delayed gratification is what is killing many American's retirement funds and futures. This massive waste of your $$ would make any financial planner cringe with disgust, and disdain. This habit of replacing perfectly good cars so often is a terrible thing this country does.
 
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Howard Roark is a man after my own heart. :)

Well said.

And hey, don't knock renters--if you do, there will be nobody left to make homeowners money!

If people want to rent, encourage it! That just means someone smart can sacrifice a few toys or a gas guzzler in their life and live a bit more simply so they can own two or three properties, all paid for by renters :)
 
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I just recently traded my 05 f-150 4.6l for a 2011 ram 1500 5.7l mpg is the same so far in the city and towing has gone up from 8.8mpg with the ford to 12-14mpg with the ram pulling the same trailer with the same bike in it.
So far im loving the ram.
My bike is getting 48-51mpg now with the new street tune.Its getting 36mpg on the race tune.
 
Dustin said:
Howard Roark is a man after my own heart. :)

Well said.

And hey, don't knock renters--if you do, there will be nobody left to make homeowners money!

If people want to rent, encourage it! That just means someone smart can sacrifice a few toys or a gas guzzler in their life and live a bit more simply so they can own two or three properties, all paid for by renters :)
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Oh I like Renters...I've got 3 sets of tenants of my own too LOL.

My beef are with renters that drive luxury cars and/or pick ups or anything that guzzles gas whilest throwing away $$ on rent every month, $$ they'll never see again.
 
I'm of the opinion, burn it as fast as you can. I have an overpriced, overweight, crap for aerodynamics '04 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited. 12 mpg around town, 18 hwy if I keep my foot out of it, which I don't. I say burn the oil as fast as possible so it runs out. Now I only put about 50 miles a week on that pup so I can afford to talk shite.
 
43.69

I just checked my KLR's mileage (my usual commuter) and it came out at 43.69 mpg (US gallon) in the city. I could get better if I didn't drive it as hard as I can. This is as good as it gets for me, short of riding a bicycle to work. I can ride to and from work for 19 days on a tank which costs $25.00 to fill at the moment. That equates to .66 each way or $1.32 per day. That is 1/4 of what the bus would cost me and takes 1/20th of the time.
 
Howard,

Thanks for the financial planning advice. What's wrong with the '04 Focus? In a word, nothing. However, it does have >103K miles on it. She used to drive 15-25K/year but is now self-employed and, as a result, drives a LOT less. I've invested much in the Focus to keep it in good shape. It runs well and is mechanically/cosmetically in very good shape.

So, having done 'the math', we face the possibility of putting more $$$ into the '04 Focus. She places a value on reliability, especially during the Winter months.

The '04 Focus has a Getrag 6-speed, not a CVT (never heard of a Focus with a CVT, by the way). The SVT model also requires premium fuel, another expense.

One of those Focuses (an '03 SVT) was totalled with <7500 miles when she was rear-ended by a full size delivery van doing 40+ mph, while she was stopped at a light.

Lastly, when those earlier Focuses were acquired, times were very different and I had the Ford discount which made for some very inexpensive leases.

And IMHO I still think $29K for a Focus is ridiculous.

Perhaps you'd be interested in buying a sweet SVT Focus, in very good condition?


Howard Roark said:
She owned 4 Focuses? What is wrong with the current 2004 focus? She drives about 10,000 miles per year, so you say. Given that trend of miles, she must have replaced each of those Focuses with very low miles...am I right? And you want to get into the 40 MPG range for the replacement Focus? To save money, right? So she is sick of the CVT tranny and wants out of that car? Is this desire worth making a financial damaging decision? And if you do replace the 2004 with a 2011 or 2012 Focus, how do you reconcile the MASSIVE loss in $$ with trying to save $$ by getting a 40 MPG car?

Do the math. If you want to save $$ and be wise, you'd keep the 2004 Focus and stop with this massively damaging practice of replacing cars so bloody often. This lack of delayed gratification is what is killing many American's retirement funds and futures. This massive waste of your $$ would make any financial planner cringe with disgust, and disdain. This habit of replacing perfectly good cars so often is a terrible thing this country does.
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