I bought a new car (the "I wanna be like Gugs" thread)...

[MFJ]

well this is what i get for doing business with Ford. fucking engine light is on... had this car for less than 6 months. hoping it is something really simple. i suspect that it could be bad gasoline. during the hurricane madness out here, on monday a lot of gas stations were closed and there was a lot of talk about the open places diluting the gas to stretch it all day. who knows.

 

[dorian gray]

Make sure the gas cap is on tight. Other than that quick fix, a check engine light usually has to be diagnosed. Blows. Take it an independent shop...should cost about $90.
Oh, another thing you can do is pull every one of your fuses and check for blown ones. I paid $90 once only to find out a $0.30 fuse was blown.

...to continue with my current crossover topic: Kia is making some nice ones. Their 260 hp 4-banger puts Ford's to shame. And their 191 hp version gets 32 mpg.

 

[lurch70]

The new Dodge Durango is pretty nice. Better looking than the Explorer. That's cool that the Explorer has a 243 hp four cylinder available though. 28 mpg in a seven passenger vehicle? Nice.
Where were these engines when I was younger? Oh, wait. Gas was $1 and no one cared.

yeah that Citadel? I did a double take when I first saw one also. really slick looking. let me check the interior ... hope it's not the Sebring one from a decade ago. Chrysler updates their interiors typically when dictatorships change in Cuba.

 

[dorian gray]

hahahaha @ Sebring
The Heat version is super slick....except it, strangely, deletes the third row. To have that style and the seats you got to step up to the R/T version.

 

[lurch70]

well yeah anything "super slick" will delete anything that accommodates "more kids"

haven't I been telling you this all along?

 

[dorian gray]

Yeah....but it doesn't make any logical sense to me....the interior dimensions haven't changed, it's just a cost-saving measure

 

[lurch70]

yeah just saw what you mean on their website... so almost 40K for a Durango? ... that's nuckin' futs!

"new refined interior"

dude check the Flex ...

 

[dorian gray]

Apparently people will pay tons of money for an American vehicle that will depreciate like crazy. I don't understand it myself

 

[lurch70]

did you see this new exercise in uselessness?
http://www.motoringfile.com/2011/09/03/mini-shows-off-the-coupes-boot/#disqus_thread

MINI releasing completely impractical vehicles in the worst economic times. best thing about it? there is like 2% improvement in ride and handling (not that it needed it) over the standard hatch.

 

[lurch70]

so in the end ... did you have/make a comprehensive list of 7 seater vehicles? kind of interested what such a list contains.

 

[dorian gray]

The MINI Coupe is completely pointless....but so is a Mazda MX-5, which is the only vehicle that comes to mind in that price range that might be a competitor. That said, I'd take a MX-5 over a MINI Coupe. The JCW version sounds pretty snazzy though....but it starts at $32,000 which is rather ridiculous for a two-seater that is not named Corvette or Boxster.

Toyota Highlander seems to be the 7-seater of choice
But I've read GM has some solid offerings
And the aforementioned Dodge Durango and Ford Explorer are nice. Seems you just can't go wrong with whatever 7-seat crossover you get; they're all solid. Except for the smaller crossovers that try and squeeze some seats in like the RAV4. I've read bad things about the truck-based 7-seaters like Pathfinder, too. The passenger compartment is just too compromised to really compete with the car-based ones. So, unless you're going off-road, seems like a waste. Fucking 18 mpg sounds like misery, too.

 

[lurch70]

so a Toyota? get the fuck out!

 

[dorian gray]

I'm just gonna go ahead and order one of these
http://www.toyota.com/landcruiser/

 

[lurch70]

man, I really feel for you if you are faced with this decision right now. seems like a real headache.

maybe just get like a 5+ year old Grand Caravan or something ... just for those times that you will ALL be out at the same time ... and have something else when not.

 

[dorian gray]

so a Toyota? get the fuck out!

Meh....I guess it's a little bigger inside than the rest of them and the engine is one of the more efficient. Expensive though.

I'd get one in beige.

 

[dorian gray]

man, I really feel for you if you are faced with this decision right now. seems like a real headache.

maybe just get like a 5+ year old Grand Caravan or something ... just for those times that you will ALL be out at the same time ... and have something else when not.

Yeah, it's really annoying. I don't want any of those vehicles. Crossovers are gay, minivans are gay, truck based utes get shit mileage. I want a big ass sedan that isn't an $80,000 BMW.

 

[lurch70]

this is what I would do (at least for the time being)

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.j...ype=p&num_records=25&cardist=6&standard=false

 

[dorian gray]

$7000 for under 38,000 miles?!?! hahahaha!! Remind me not to ever buy a brand new Chrysler product. Holy depreciation!

 

[dorian gray]

I really like this especially with the 260 hp 4 banger. Wonder how the back seat looks

 

[ChaosLee]

Like it was designed for midgets. A lot of midgets, to be sure.