Good points. Also it'd help if the USA allowed people to buy tiny little
microcars like they have in Japan that get 70mpg. These would be
especially good for urban dwellers. Also, if we had more solar and wind
turbine generated electricity to power more electric cars. Also, better
mass transit, the list goes on.

A diesel powered microcar would be cool for an urban dweller. Diesel
engines put out more torque than comparable gasoline engines, and torque is
what you mostly need in stop and go driving. And if these ran on
biodiesel, even better.

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On 1 Feb 2007 22:09:57 GMT, PerfectReign <perfectreign (AT) xr4ti (DOT) tinfoilcat.com>
wrote:
I became a "believer" after I saw a show about deisel
on the DISCOVERY channel.

Diesels will run on damn near anything !
peanut oil, turpentine, cooking oil, soy-bean oil, etc.
and it doesn't need the level of refinery process to produce.

Our "Big Three" focus on electric, hydrogen, etc. etc.
when what they really need is a good 2.5L diesel engine.


<rj>

"Grappletech" <noone (AT) yodoor (DOT) biz> wrote in message
Saw yesterday that the Smart (Swatch and Mercedes, 3 cylinder diesel) is to
begin
importation into the USA in about a year. Claim only 45 MPG however.

Avalanches are built in Mexico. That's more of a foreign car than my
brother's Ohio built Honda, in my opinion. I'd suggest buying a Dodge with
the Cummins TD in it. Maybe not the newer Dodges which are ugly, but the
model right before. A family friend has a 1992 Dodge Ram 3/4 ton with the
Cummins. It has 400K on the original engine -- engine hasn't even been
opeend up yet. And his Dodge sees severe duty -- constantly towing a large
car carrier. He runs synthetic oil in it and has a K/N filter.

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Minivans haul a lot of people too and are superior cargo haulers when you
remove the seats. An AWD Pontiac Montana would be cool.
Do Suburbans offer a rear row seat? If not, they can still seat 6, albeit
uncomfortably. My sister's 1996 E series Mercedes wagon has a 3rd row seat
and she can carry 7 people.


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Grappletech wrote:

Don't praise them until you actually own one, I made the minivan mistake
once, won't do it again. Its a vehicle trying to be everything and not
doing a very good job at anything.

Eugene <no (AT) spam (DOT) com> wrote in
news:8LCdnc8Lqsqwbl7YnZ2dnUVZ_uTinZ2d (AT) wideopenwest (DOT) com:


I've owned 2. Sure, no vehicle can perfectly do ALL things well, but a
minivan is a great compromise if you haul/people cargo regularly. They are
great people haulers. Can haul a mess of kids or 4 adults (with the kids
in the rear) in great comfort (if you have captain's chairs in the middle).
You sit up a lot higher than a car, so driving position is better than in a
car. Plus you can remove the seats and haul tons of cargo. And a minivan
handles better and is easier to park than a full size van.

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"Grappletech" <noone (AT) yodoor (DOT) biz> wrote

I might be mistaken, but I am almost certain I have seen an AWD Montana.
That and an AWD Aztec, on EBay.

Yup. So do Yukon's. When you have something that big, you can almost have a
4th row. ;-)

<Snip>

Yeah, all the GM minivans were/are available with AWD (even the lowly
Venture). When I said "an AWD Montana would be cool", I wasn't
fantasizing; I meant owning one would be cool.

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PerfectReign <perfectreign (AT) xr4ti (DOT) tinfoilcat.com> wrote in
news:52k6svF1or14cU1 (AT) mid (DOT) individual.net:




So you had a Kia Sedona. We have one too -- an '05 EX model. It's sage
green (2 tone, sage green/tan cladding). Has every option except the
DVD system/sunroof. But it has power seats, leather, etc.. It has
13,000 miles, owned it a year and a half so far. I didn't want it. I
wanted a Chrysler Voyager, but my wife wanted the Sedona. It hasn't
given us ANY trouble at all. If I had my way, I would have bought the
$3500 cheaper LX model, white or silver. The EX package is just a bunch
of unnecessary fluff -- alloy wheels, 2 tone paint, chrome accents, etc.,
but the "BOSS/wife" wanted the fancy model.

Should I get it zebarted? I'm from the west coast and never had to worry
about rust. But we live in the frigid midwest now, with its salty roads.
The Kia technician said it's unnecessary, that it already comes from the
factory rust-proofed. What do you all think? I just want to keep the
van for maybe 7 years (when it'll be over 100K miles and thus out of
warranty). Would it rust out within 7 years? I don't really care if it
rusts out after 7 years, because it'll be almost worthless by then
anyway. And also, we'll be moving back to the West Coast within a year,
so it'll have 2 midwest winters under its belt.

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