Yes, in case you were wondering, that is my ‘93 Ford Taurus in the background of FlatEric’s WRX picture. For some reason, everyone’s scared of it. I can’t imagine why.

Last Saturday, FlatEric, myself, and a few other friends got in a conversation about military vehicles. The vehicle that was recommended for me was the M36 light cargo vehicle. (Picture here is of an M37, but should be similar.)

My roommate, on the other hand, was told he should drive a ‘Deuce-and-a-half’ cargo vehicle. Let’s just say it’s a monster. When a plasticized SUV sees something like this on the road, they turn tail and RUN! And yes, that is a rather large gun mounted on top.

Personally, there’s a little bit of fisherman in me, so I’m also fond of the DUKW “Duck” amphibious vehicle. As I understand it, most Motor Vehicles departments require both a license plate and nautical numbers on this one. But the convenience…

But then again, there I am with my Taurus. Yay for the Taurus.

Jason

I love the G35.  It’s between that and the Audi TT as my favorite coupe, I think.

Many “Ducks” have been sold as surplus and are used as tour vehicles in some cities.  Here they actually utilize the amphibious part of it; not sure that’s true everywhere.

I think its more that just the vehicle.  I think its the driver too.   

[quote author=“FlatEric”][quote author=“Jason Varner”]Yes, in case you were wondering, that is my ‘93 Ford Taurus in the background of FlatEric’s WRX picture. For some reason, everyone’s scared of it. I can’t imagine why.

I think its more that just the vehicle.  I think its the driver too.   

Yeah, as a pedestrian it’s a little scary seeing *any* car coming down the sidewalk on two wheels.

I have been tempted more than once to trade in one of my vehicles for a Toyota Prius, the one that’s a hybrid.  Especially when we went looking at a dealership for one just to do a test drive.

It drove REALLY nice, cornered great, acceleration wasn’t too bad.  Had a little problem at first getting used to the brakes - it’s as much of a difference as going from non-power brakes to power brakes.  I had to learn to brake even more gently.  I did manage to scare the salesman a little,  I was thinking “Going to have to work to get used to the brakes”, but what came out while trying to make a left hand turn into busy traffic was “Going to have to get rid of the brakes”.    Luckily my sweetie was able to translate for me before the guy got too upset.

I think I’m going to surpress my new car buying urges for a year or more, becuase I’m really lusting after a new computer, and 23” Cinema Display.  Hopefully the 970’s are here next week and then I’ll get the 23”  a month or so later…

[quote author=“iShadow”]I have been tempted more than once to trade in one of my vehicles for a Toyota Prius, the one that’s a hybrid.  Especially when we went looking at a dealership for one just to do a test drive.

It drove REALLY nice, cornered great, acceleration wasn’t too bad.  Had a little problem at first getting used to the brakes - it’s as much of a difference as going from non-power brakes to power brakes.  I had to learn to brake even more gently.  I did manage to scare the salesman a little,  I was thinking “Going to have to work to get used to the brakes”, but what came out while trying to make a left hand turn into busy traffic was “Going to have to get rid of the brakes”.    Luckily my sweetie was able to translate for me before the guy got too upset.

My father was a toolmaker-turned-engineer in the automotive industry. He knows how machines get built, the process, etc etc etc. His advice is ALWAYS ‘never buy the first version of a new technology’.

The hybrids may work out in the future, but the first round of them will probably have a lot of teething troubles.

[quote author=“tbone1”]
My father was a toolmaker-turned-engineer in the automotive industry. He knows how machines get built, the process, etc etc etc. His advice is ALWAYS ‘never buy the first version of a new technology’.

The hybrids may work out in the future, but the first round of them will probably have a lot of teething troubles.

I believe the Toyota Prius has been out since 1997.  For some reason that figure sticks out in my head.  They weren’t released in the US until 2000ish.  So it’s not exactly new technology any more.

Wow, great thread! Congrats on everone’s new and impending purchases, nothing more fun than a new (or new to you) car.

Since I’m a Motor city resident I’ve got all sorts of thoughts (some even coherent ).
Being a 3rd generation GM child I have almost always owned GM hand-me-downs/new vehicles; I can take or leave them at this point, but it’s hard to resist 10% under dealer cost when shopping around.

I currently drive a 97 Jimmy that is in the shop today getting $1000 worth of 4WD transfer case work done.  My wife has a 97 Camry that is a riot to drive, but has become inappropriate for our needs and we are now looking for something new. 
We are looking for a small SUV (well, smaller than my midsize Jimmy anyway).  We have 2 big dogs, tow boats, pack for long trips in the back woods of the Canadian North, etc.  My GMC handles the heavy work, but she doesn’t want anything too big and we’d like to save some gas $.

As I mentioned before, I can buy or lease any GM product for a big discount; I can also buy any Daimler Chrysler product (including a Jeep Liberty) for dealer cost PLUS a free weeks paid vacation! 

The problem is, we have narrowed our choice down to a
Subaru Forester , and everything else that ISN’T a Subaru Forester.  The Forester is small, has all wheel drive,  a 4 cyl. engine, great safety ratings (wife might be pregnant soon which is the impetus for this whole thing! :o) etc.  We both really like it, but we can get so much MORE vehicle for the same $.  It’s a quandry.

Any Ideas?

Based on what you described, the Subaru seems like a good choice. My sister has had two of them (not the Forester, but AWD wagons) and has been very happy.

The only possibility I can add that has any personal experience behind it would be to check out the Toyota RAV4. I test drove one and liked it a lot. Consumers Reports thinks highly of it, too. I had two reasons for not buying one - I have a 25-mile commute and a good portion of it is freeway. I also have to travel for work once in a while. At 80mph, it performed very well, but it just felt like it had to work harder, having been used to driving a 3.5L V6 for the past several years. Also, the rear seating was a little short on legroom. But for around town, occasional freeway driving and carting kids around, it’s a great vehicle.

I can understand the desire to go with something you can get a deal on, though. Is the Vibe too small for you? They make an AWD version. Too bad the Aztek is the world’s butt-ugliest vehicle because it does seem to have practicality in mind.

If gas mileage is a concern, you might not be happy with any of the V6’s out there. I don’t think any of them do nearly as well as the 4’s.

I would actually disagree with bweels about the 4-cyl’s.  Many of them are wimpy, but Subaru uses flat-4s instead of inline-4s like most Hondas and Toyotas use.  It gives them a significant edge up in torque over inline 4s.  (At least on the high performance engines.)  The Toyota Celica GT-S makes 180 HP and 130 lb-ft.  My WRX makes 227HP and 217lb-ft.  Thats just for comparison.  (Yes, I know the turbo helps )

In the vehicles you might be interested in, the standard Subaru engine makes 165HP and 166 lb-ft.  But there is a turbo version of the Forrester coming out that makes 210HP and 235lb-ft.  Thats pretty nice.  In comparison, the RAV4 makes 148HP and 142lb-ft.

Now we’ve gotten the specs out of the way.  I’ve driven a RAV4 before.  It belongs to my mom, and is a maunal tranny.  Its a nice enough car, but stability and feel wise, it does not even come close to my WRX.  I would have to believe that feel carries over to the Forrester.  You seem impressed enough with the Forrester, but I’m not sure what else out there might be something you would want.

Hopefully you were able to pull something useful out of my rambeling. 

[quote author=“bweels”]
The only possibility I can add that has any personal experience behind it would be to check out the Toyota RAV4.

Yes, they are pretty fun!

About twice a year for a week my current jailer loads up our parking lot with every car, truck, and minivan sold in the U.S.
It’s test drive mania!

It’s a good thing too because I’m very picky and insist on going over every feature/square inch with a fine tooth comb.  I think I tested every small (relatively affordable) SUV/wagon there is this spring.

For those interested:
Toyota Rav4 = fun, strains a bit under load or at high speeds, good toyota quality, but just barely.  small.
Toyota Highlander = better build, larger, yawn factor, expensive.
Honda CRV = great build, comfier than the Rav, kinda boring compared to previous models, expensive.
Jeep Liberty = true off road ability, powerful engine/lesser mpg, good build, rides very truck-like.
Saturn Vue = interior appears “cheap”, decent build, capable engine, somewhat uninspiring.
Buick Rendevous = slightly less but-ugly sister to the Aztek, Detroit is swimming in them (GM must give them away at company picnics or something).  An all around capable vehicle if only driven in the dark.
Ford Escape/Mitsubishi Eclipse = highly rated, all around capable,  boring vehicle that my brother-in-law drives.  I may risk being disowned from the family.
Huyundai Santa Fe = weird looking, semi-cheap appearing fit and finish, ok engine, good warranty.
Kia Sorento = good build, semi-powerful, nice looking, not much info on reliability as yet, really expensive. (may replace my Jimmy someday)
Chevy Tracker = please, I do have SOME standards.

My mental list goes on and on so I won’t bore you anymore!

This is my wifes car and she doesn’t car that much what she drives anymore (no she’s not sick or anything ).  She just insists on good traction, heated seats, and room for her sailing gear.

Still looking for more +‘s and -‘s from some owners out there.

Thanks for the 4-cylinder tutorial, FE. So Subaru may have the edge there, if power is what you need. I thought the RAV did all right. BTW, what year is your mom’s? I haven’t driven the old pre-2001 model, but apparently there’s a huge difference between the old design and the current one, a stronger engine being one of the changes.

Jabberwock, it sounds like you’ve had a chance to try out a lot of vehicles. I don’t think I have much to add. The only thing I can think of is to tell you why I just bought a Murano. I was looking for a small to midsized SUV. I started out small - RAV, CRV. I quickly decided I needed something bigger. The Escape/Tribute looked good for a while, but I heard the early ones were having some reliability problems, which spooked me a bit. Then I looked at the Highlander and the Pilot. Both are very nice.

One night I stopped and looked at a row of Muranos when I thought the dealership was closed. A salesman surprised me by being there and I took one for a ride. I fell in love with it. Ever since I had first seen one back in about February, I thought they were real head-turners. But for some reason, I never seriously considered looking at them.

It handles like a sports sedan. In fact, it’s built on a modified Altima platform. There’s no top-heavy swaying around tight corners, or that “I’m sitting way up in a truck” feeling. That’s what sold me on it. It’s an SUV for the most part, but it’s built for the road. If you never (or rarely) go off road, there are no compromises. I think they advertise it as an “Urban SUV”  “for your adventures in on-roading” or something.

It really is fun to drive. It’s got a proven 3.5L V6 that can really roar, but it gets better gas mileage than a lot of other similar vehicles. The back seats flip down with the flip of a handle near the tailgate, which is very convenient for hauling stuff.

Pricewise, it’s right there with the Highlander and Pilot when comparably equiped. I had to stick pretty close to the base model to make it affordable for me. But even the base model has a lot of nice extras, like dual thermostat temperature contol, power windows/doors/mirrors, remote entry/security system, auto-dimming mirror, ABS, shoulder and side curtain airbags, alloy wheels, leather steering wheel, cool-looking brushed aluminum trim to match your new PowerBook , etc.

OK, I got carried away a little. Sorry if this sounds like showing off or something. That’s not at all my intent. I truly think it’s a great vehicle and I highly recommend it if it fits your needs.

Check out Car & Driver’s road test.

Thanks for the info bweels, you’re not showing off at all; I think you’re just being enthusiastic about a car that works great for you.
I’ve only looked VERY briefly at the murano, seemed a bit pricey, and the dash turned me (mostly my wife) off a bit.  I may revisit it though based upon your experiences.

The wife will not be off roading, so that will not be a big issue.  When I worked in Kazoo, during the winter it was impossible to get out to work (in the middle of a swampy woods) unless you had a real SUV.  I still use mine in the north country, but have to laugh (or cry) at the 99lb soccer moms driving their Hummers around here in SUB-urbia. 

Thanks again for the info bweels(& FE), I will probably replace MY vehicle in a year or 2 as well, so I feel like I’ll be car shopping forever!

Well, I’ll say this, I’m not 100% sure that the engine configuration makes the difference, but I will point out Porsche also uses the flat engine configuration.  (Flat is sometimes called boxer.  Its like a V engine, with a 180 degree V.)  I know part of the reason the torque is needed is to move that AWD drivetrain.

As for the RAV4, its a recent model.  I’m thinking 2002 or 2001.  So I’m afraid I can’t give any info about older models.