To visit my daughter, we do that already once or twice a year. Right now I usually just rent a car which I might do instead of buying a new car. I have a couple years to decide. Do I need a hybrid? No, but it can help with lowering monthly costs with fuel. I will have to run the numbers to see if it is worth it or not after I see how much I actually drive in retirement. I might possibly move also which would put me farther from my church, doctors etc and I might end up driving a lot still. I live in the greater Houston area and 60 minute drives one way are not abnormal.
My experience with vehicles over the last 40 years
- Thread starter mrvmax
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I lost interest in new BMWs when every most every function was moved to the (awkwardly styled) touchscreen and buried in a submenu. The ergonomics of the C43 required a bit of a learning curve but I can access most every function from the touchpads and switches on the stering wheel. In addition, the HVAC and drive modes are operated by physical switches.
Lexus GS may be the pinnacle of midsize sedans. We had a ‘14 and I liked it very much. Sold it within a stones reach of what we bought it for.
Not sure why most of the sedans disappeared. Is it really true that everyone prefers an SUV of some sort? Was thinking about it the other day when having to park the CR-V in a somewhat sketchy area. Would have been nice to have been able to hide everything in the trunk. Plus, I have yet to ride in an SUV that provides the comfort of a sedan on long trips. The higher driving position is helpful, but that's about it.
Sedans aren't dead up here yet in the urban areas. Lots of people seem to prefer them.
I do like how my Impreza sedan drives, and there are some fractional advantages to NVH and chassis stiffness of a sedan, compared to a wagon or SUV. Also I guess its kind of common for SUV's to run quite stiff springs and sway bars, at least on the front axle to keep them understeering and not going sideways and upside down. The suspension tuning on the Impreza is softer than the Outback even though it has half the clearance and suspension travel. But the lack of cargo space for large items is deal breaker for me, and I'm going to be trading it for wagon or SUV again.
My all time favorite was a 2007 Hyundai SantaFe bought new. It was very comfortable, smooth riding and solid. The V-6 provided great power. It also had just the right amount of tech in it. The interior was well appointed in detail.
I think it hit the sweet spot before cars became appliances.
Looking back I should have bought two of them, one for wife and one for me. I really miss that car.
I think it hit the sweet spot before cars became appliances.
Looking back I should have bought two of them, one for wife and one for me. I really miss that car.
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I've owned about 20 cars in my 48 years of driving. Probably the best car bought from new was a 2006 Honda Accord EXL 4-popper. I got 360,000 hard miles out of that car and that was back when I wasn't as neurotic about maintenance as I am today. The worst car bought from new was a 2016 Kia Soul. The engine on that POS suffered catastrophic failure at 70,000 miles. Thankfully Kia replaced it with a reman engine and I traded it in shortly after getting it back.
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That "fancy" radio is what our 2018 Legacy has. They don't "die," but go berserk and start changing stations by themselves and hitting other buttons without anyone actually touching it. It's a common failure item, unfortunately.
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I don't know if I can narrow down my thoughts, so:
- 1982? Pontiac J2000/Sunbird convertible. Not sure exactly what the thing was called; it had a nameplate on the dash that literally had "Sunbird" glued over the top of "J2000," but I believe the title was still "J2000". It was mostly rust. Surprisingly comfy though.
- 1986, 1987 Pontiac Fieros. '86 was a parts car, I drove the '87. Slow as molasses, but you never had to use the brake in turns.
- 1992 GMC Safari. Hand-me-down. Great vehicle, even at the end of it's life. Rust holes around the windshield killed it.
- 2001, 2004 Ford Tauruses. Fantastic cars, if a bit finicky sometimes. The '01 was the first car I bought from a dealership. Had a bit of a hard life before me, and wound up trading it in a few years later on the '04. Both needed camshaft position sensors replaced and springs. Both had a weird issue where the door wouldn't always latch in cold weather. The '04 ran to 200,000ish miles, when I no longer wanted to deal with it (failed emissions and needed a heater core)
- 2001 Chevrolet Astro. Another hand-me-down. Beat. Didn't have it long. Nice enough
- 2010 Chevrolet Cobalt. Accident repair. Well, moreso "accident cover-up". Fun car though.
- 2015 Nissan Versa Note. God, what a dull vehicle. Loved the shape and versatility, but no soul whatsoever. I also think the CVT might have been starting to die when I got rid of it. But zero issues during my ownership.
- 2015 Chevrolet Malibu. Needed a more comfortable car to put 60-70 miles a day on. Threw a code and started stumbling 8 hours after the worst dealership experience I've ever had. Never trusted it much after that. Same sensor went out a year later. Threw a few random, unsolved check engine lights at me that would quickly disappear. Traded in on my Trailblazer rather than do brakes/tires/plugs and a few other things.
A bit of a shame though, I could've loved it if we didn't have a bit of a rocky relationship .
- 2022 Trailblazer. Love it probably more than I should. Have replaced emissions purge pump myself, and GM replaced the coolant control valve after it broke. Great package and fun to drive, though. Sheet metal is where they cut costs; so I keep as far away from other cars as possible.
- 1982? Pontiac J2000/Sunbird convertible. Not sure exactly what the thing was called; it had a nameplate on the dash that literally had "Sunbird" glued over the top of "J2000," but I believe the title was still "J2000". It was mostly rust. Surprisingly comfy though.
- 1986, 1987 Pontiac Fieros. '86 was a parts car, I drove the '87. Slow as molasses, but you never had to use the brake in turns.
- 1992 GMC Safari. Hand-me-down. Great vehicle, even at the end of it's life. Rust holes around the windshield killed it.
- 2001, 2004 Ford Tauruses. Fantastic cars, if a bit finicky sometimes. The '01 was the first car I bought from a dealership. Had a bit of a hard life before me, and wound up trading it in a few years later on the '04. Both needed camshaft position sensors replaced and springs. Both had a weird issue where the door wouldn't always latch in cold weather. The '04 ran to 200,000ish miles, when I no longer wanted to deal with it (failed emissions and needed a heater core)
- 2001 Chevrolet Astro. Another hand-me-down. Beat. Didn't have it long. Nice enough
- 2010 Chevrolet Cobalt. Accident repair. Well, moreso "accident cover-up". Fun car though.
- 2015 Nissan Versa Note. God, what a dull vehicle. Loved the shape and versatility, but no soul whatsoever. I also think the CVT might have been starting to die when I got rid of it. But zero issues during my ownership.
- 2015 Chevrolet Malibu. Needed a more comfortable car to put 60-70 miles a day on. Threw a code and started stumbling 8 hours after the worst dealership experience I've ever had. Never trusted it much after that. Same sensor went out a year later. Threw a few random, unsolved check engine lights at me that would quickly disappear. Traded in on my Trailblazer rather than do brakes/tires/plugs and a few other things.
A bit of a shame though, I could've loved it if we didn't have a bit of a rocky relationship .
- 2022 Trailblazer. Love it probably more than I should. Have replaced emissions purge pump myself, and GM replaced the coolant control valve after it broke. Great package and fun to drive, though. Sheet metal is where they cut costs; so I keep as far away from other cars as possible.
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