Quote:
Originally Posted by CFECO
That is my driveway! Well it looks like it anyway, when it runs. No, as to the bridge question. There are probably hundreds of paved road wash crossings in the County, many are very shallow, but when the water flows it can be a hundred feet wide and over a 1 foot deep. They used to put culverts in these areas, sometimes 20 in a row, but when it ran the debris brought downstream by the water would have to be removed, every time. Big $ for govt. labor!
Daily driver Expedition, usually No, but a family with several kids, soccer equipment, that goes camping, up the mountain to ski, pulls a boat to the lake,etc. One vehicle to build that does everything the family needs, in a diesel?
I'm not a fan of Government telling people what they HAVE to drive, insurance they HAVE to buy, or how small a house they HAVE to live in, it should be a personal choice. If the government would ALLOW any vehicles we want, into the country, we'd have many better choices, Japanese Mini trucks for example.
|
Ok, cool. You can do what our family does. We have a '99 Yukon for pulling the horse trailer and the Boy Scout trailer (my dad's still active in the troop, but I "aged out" years ago). My mom drives an AWD Subaru wagon and my dad has a Passat wagon. When we need the SUV we have it, but otherwise drive more economical cars.
You don't "have" to do anything. In the summer I have three car options: 15mpg 1965 F100, 28mpg VW Rabbit and 40mpg Ford Probe. Each has its pros and cons. If I'm reading your post correctly you're more frustrated at the government regulations than you are at the Vogn's lack of offroad capability. That's fine, but you have to realize this is America- you can have almost anything you want if you're willing to pay for it. You've got to "pay to play" as it were. Of course a larger house will be more expensive. If you don't have the money for a mansion you will be "forced" to live in a smaller house. C'est la vie.
The reason we don't get so many cars here is that after they legalize them for crash, headlight, emissions and other regulations, not to mention importation and exchange rates, the cars would be prohibitively expensive. They couldn't compete in the marketplace. If you want a minitruck, fine. You live in Arizona. Go pick up an old SWB Hilux for $2000- we in the Northern climes can't find a clean one to save our lives. At any price. Talk about being forced to buy a certain vehicle. My Probe is younger than I am and it's got rust holes in both doors. We can't daily drive classic cars year round because the salt kills them. How's that for personal choice?
Sorry, that turned into a rant. I guess it comes down to the fact that you can have anything you want if you want to pay for it. One thing you don't want to pay for is someone without insurance t-boning your Avalon. Right?
PS- Due to daily cleaning, my own body has avoided oxidation. Humans fare much better than cars in this climate.