[Big Dave]

responses:

Somebody beat me to all the local restauranteurs. I'm not willing to bid up the price of inedible grease for biofuel feedstock.

No way I'm gonna have a unibody car. Low top sills (for torsional stiffness) defeat me. I'm a body-on-frame kinda guy. Hence the F350 and Imp.

My truck is not 4x4, which makes it unusual. I rely on good tires and good driving (just like the state police) to get around in the winter. I like it because it is roomy, solidly made, reliable, a diesel and a manual transmission. Phil Knox (aerohead) drove it and found the combination of gearing and engine torque to be satisfactory.

Do I ever think of getting a smaller vehicle to replace the F-350? Yeah. Every time I park it. It's like parking the USS Nimitz. I muse about a Ranger with a Benz OM 606. The trick is mating up the DIN engine with a SAE bellhousing and transmission. Can be done, but will take some custom machining. As with many denizens of this site, I find an automatic to be unacceptable.