You and your Car..

[Smoke]

I don't own a vehicle anymore. My truck needed more work done than I was willing to pay for, so I gave it to my brother-in-law. He can do the work himself, so it didn't cost him what it would have cost me, and he needed a vehicle because his sons were using the ones he owned.

I'm driving an old green Silverado that belongs to my dad. It's too big and doesn't get great mileage, but I mostly just drive to work and back (3 miles each way), so it's no big deal. I buy gas a month or so.

Dad suggested I buy a Corolla, but I told him I don't want to buy anything else for a while.

"What are you going to do when I take my truck back?"

"Walk to work, I guess."

I'm not into cars and trucks at all. It's nice to have one that works, but I'd be a lot more upset about not having a refrigerator than not having a car. I like subways. I think we should have trains everywhere.

 

[Smoke]

I'm kinda a wuss when it comes to reaching speeds that, if caught, would be considered wreckless driving.

I've been arrested several times, and didn't care for it at all. Reckless driving seems like a lose-lose proposition to me.

 

[Ozzie]

In general, what makes you drive different? How would you rate yourself as driver?
What would annoy other drivers about your drivingstyle?

I find bouncing balls generally distract me and cause me to slow down in expectation of colliding with a kid chasing the ball. Apart from that I don't care what I drive so long as it works and gets me from A to B.

 

[sandandfoam]

I have one of these. No alloys on mine though

Bought for €0 - take it away job!
0-60 in mmmmmmm quite a while.
Excellent on petrol. A good bit of rust since it was sitting for a few years before I got it, but a few spray cans and some fillers and now it looks, mm kind of ok if it's dirty.
It brings home the shopping and gets the kids to school. So it's perfect really.

Now for actually going anywhere

 

[Kathryn]

Here's my car - a 2004 Lexus es 330 in Black Cherry. I LOVE IT!

It's so quiet that sometimes I think it's died at a red light, or that I haven't turned the key in the ignition yet in the morning (gotta be careful about that). It's so smooth that I feel like I'm gliding down the road.

It's got an upgraded sound system in it which is really important to me.

It's also got a lot of kick to it when I need it. However, I've never maxed it out speedwise, because frankly I don't see the point in taking that sort of risk. I do know that when I am on the interstate and need to pass someone, it's very responsive and leaps past them with just a touch of the gas pedal.

It gets decent gas mileage - about 24 MPG.

Love the interior. MMMmmm, sweet!

Frankly though - it was the color that caught my eye. It looks black, but there's a sheen of cherry that shines through.

86,000 miles and I haven't had one problem with it. The next car I'll buy will be another Lexus.

 

[sandandfoam]

Nice looking car

It gets decent gas mileage - about 24 MPG.

That's savage mileage.

 

[Kathryn]

Hey, I had a Tahoe before this - to me, 24 MPG is ok. Not great, but OK.

I only drive the car to and from work which is just 3 miles each way. The rest of the time, I'm usually hanging out with my husband and we take his vehicle.

I base my car buying decision more on comfort and quality rather than gas mileage. Also, I keep cars forever cuz I love it when I get to the part where I don't have a car payment. So it's very important to me that a car last a long, long time.

I haven't had a lot of cars in my lifetime since I keep them for so long - so I've had some really good ones. I had a Volvo forever - I finally traded it in when it had 240,000 miles on it. Believe it or not, the interior and exterior both still looked great on it! I also had a Mercedes 350 Diesel for a long time - it also got way over 200,000 miles - closer to 300,000. It held up great too - and I ended up giving it to a family, who couldn't believe that someone just gave them a Mercedes! That was pretty cool.

So I plan on keeping this car for a long, long time. It better get over 200,000 miles on it before it gives me any trouble!

 

[Engyo]

Tell us all about it..

For the men, what car do you have? rwd, fwd or 4wd? Have you ever reached the topspeed and what was it? What is the record of your speedingtickets? Soundsystem?

2007 Honda Ridgeline RTX. All-wheel drive. I haven't topped it out. # speeding tickets - just not paying enough attention while on the freeway. Factory headunit with upgraded speakers, added amp/subwoofer.

For the ladies, what color is the car? Is it small enough for easy parking? Got any nice accesoires like flowers or so? Did your first accident change your drivingstyle?

It is"Dark Cherry Pearl". Parks OK now that I am used to the size. No frilly accessories, but I did add a push bar, hitch step, taillight guards, vent visors and bugflector.

In general, what makes you drive different? How would you rate yourself as driver?
What would annoy other drivers about your drivingstyle?

I consider myself a reasonable driver. My pet peeve is I wish people would stay out of the left lane except for passing.

Pics are before all of the adders..............

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

That's savage mileage.

... for Europe. For North America, it's decent.

My van is supposed to get 24-25 mpg. Lately, it's been getting closer to 18 mpg and I need to figure out why.

Edit: my wife got a new vehicle over the weekend. A Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo, with a diesel(!) engine.

It looks something like this, but in black:

With the diesel, it was more fuel efficient than anything else the dealer had on the lot except the Caliber.

 

[enchanted_one1975]

My van is supposed to get 24-25 mpg. Lately, it's been getting closer to 18 mpg and I need to figure out why.

It's because the government keeps playing games with the fuel and everyone's emission systems. "It burns cleaner with less harmful emissions," they say. Yet you have to burn more of it, thus creating way more harmful emissions, than if you had left the thing alone in the first place.

 

[whereismynotecard]

Tell us all about it..

For the men, what car do you have? rwd, fwd or 4wd? Have you ever reached the topspeed and what was it? What is the record of your speedingtickets? Soundsystem?

For the ladies, what color is the car? Is it small enough for easy parking? Got any nice accesoires like flowers or so? Did your first accident change your drivingstyle?

In general, what makes you drive different? How would you rate yourself as driver?
What would annoy other drivers about your drivingstyle?

I've got a 1993 Oldsmobile Royal. It's a maroon colour. I've never gotten a ticket and I've never been in a wreck while I was driving. I don't have any pretty accessories in my car, but I do have some air fresheners. I've got some bumper stickers too. One is an alien sticker. One is a weenie dog magnet that says "I love my dachshund," and one is a sticker that says "Eat Well, Stay Fit, Die Anyway."

I drive slower if I see a cop and when I pass that big sign cops hide behind sometimes.

What annoys other drivers? When I get road rage and drag race them, and when I have to slow down to pull into my driveway. They speed passed me in the no passing zone when I slow down. I'd love to see them wreck into a semi and die. I hate impatient douchebags who cannot wait the 10 seconds for me to pull into my driveway. I cannot just keep going 60 mph through that sharp turn....

 

[blackout]

I drive a total piece of ****
because I can't afford anything else.

The only thing my vehicle says about me is
I'm not making enough money.
(and I partnered badly)

But I'm working to fix that.
(yeah, and that too.)

 

[whereismynotecard]

It's a frontwheel drive, 2007 Kia Spectra. Rumor has it *cough*Ihaven'tfoundoutmyself* that it hits 110 MPH at 4K RPMs. It accelerates like a sissy little ***** though, so I'm hoping to trade it in in about a year or two for a real car. Preferably a Camaro.

My sister had a 1995 Camaro for a while. She had my dad sell it when she was in Australia the first time though, because she ran out of money and was still over there for a month. Then when she got back, she didn't have a car for a while, and my mom and I had to drive her EVERYWHERE.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

It's because the government keeps playing games with the fuel and everyone's emission systems. "It burns cleaner with less harmful emissions," they say. Yet you have to burn more of it, thus creating way more harmful emissions, than if you had left the thing alone in the first place.

Actually, I'm thinking it may be a problem with the cooling system. The engine temperature usually seems to be too cold.

Or maybe it's the fuel filter - I've been coming to the realization that the previous owner really neglected the maintenance, so I doubt it's ever been changed.

 

[Engyo]

Actually, I'm thinking it may be a problem with the cooling system. The engine temperature usually seems to be too cold.

Or maybe it's the fuel filter - I've been coming to the realization that the previous owner really neglected the maintenance, so I doubt it's ever been changed.

It really helps to read the manual in these instances. If the engine temp is too cold, then you are losing energy trying to compensate for the low running temp. Running cold can be due to a faulty thermostat or possibly incorrect coolant/water misture or coolant type.

Other factors that make more difference than you might think especially with today's engines: clean air filter, clean fuel filter, proper and equal tire inflation, oil changes at ~7500 miles max., aggressive driving habits, traffic conditions, leaving the engine idling for long periods of time while not moving (drive through lanes, waiting while someone runs in to the store for a few minutes, waiting to pick kids up from school, etc.).

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

It really helps to read the manual in these instances. If the engine temp is too cold, then you are losing energy trying to compensate for the low running temp. Running cold can be due to a faulty thermostat or possibly incorrect coolant/water misture or coolant type.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that my temperature issues are from the thermostat; I just haven't gotten around to changing it yet. It's complicated by the fact that my coolant drain seems to be plugged, so changing the thermostat would be more of a chore than it normally should be.

During the summer, it wasn't much of an issue because the temperature would be in the proper range. The weather's starting to get colder, though, so it's starting to become an issue again.

Other factors that make more difference than you might think especially with today's engines: clean air filter, clean fuel filter, proper and equal tire inflation, oil changes at ~7500 miles max., aggressive driving habits, traffic conditions, leaving the engine idling for long periods of time while not moving (drive through lanes, waiting while someone runs in to the store for a few minutes, waiting to pick kids up from school, etc.).

Yep, I know. Pretty much the only one that might apply to me right now is the fuel filter, which I've kinda ignored lately because the filter for my van is really expensive and annoying to change.

I'm usually pretty good about the other stuff. And I tend not to do short trips or idle for long periods - if I'm going somewhere close enough to walk, I walk... and I'll turn off my engine if I'm parked for more than 10 seconds or so.

 

[Wandered Off]

Wife's new ride on the first road trip. Yeah, it's a Buick... We know we're old.

 

[Revoltingest]

For the men, what car do you have? rwd, fwd or 4wd? Have you ever reached the topspeed and what was it? What is the record of your speedingtickets? Soundsystem?

For the ladies, what color is the car? Is it small enough for easy parking? Got any nice accesoires like flowers or so? Did your first accident change your drivingstyle?

In general, what makes you drive different? How would you rate yourself as driver?
What would annoy other drivers about your drivingstyle?

I have a black 1999 Ford 4WD F350 Crew Cab with 2-ton suspension upgrade, manual trans, manual hub lock-out, V-10 gas engine,
full-length bed with a Cargobody Texan utility body filled machinery moving & rigging tools...& a place to sleep. Parking is tricky
sometimes because its 22' long (without the trailer), but it's not a dually, although I now wish it were.

I drive a little more slowly than most than everyone else, & some find that annoying. I try to avoid using the brakes, since that's a
costly repair. I double-clutch when down shifting, so I have negligible clutch wear. Usually I'm towing a 15,000# Advanced Metalworking
Products Lo Riser 2-axle trailer.

Accidents & near accidents in days of yore make me very cautious. Even so, somethings scare the bejesus out of me, especially when I've got 20,000# rolling.