Betsy impresses

[nemo]

Originally Posted by basjoos

Any money you save on commuting costs is the equivalent of getting a salary raise at work.

Without the aditional taxes.

[Xusn96]

Yeah I'm planning on going back to an economy car after the old girl runs her course, for now she's still kicking. Biggest debates right now is whether to invest in new struts on all 4 corners, other suspension components, tires coming due, wheel bearings. It's reaching the point of how far will further investment take this ride. Harsh salty, snowy winters and rear wheel wells that are starting to rust out.... Reminds me of friends who were struggling with having to put down one of their dogs(cancer).

[Miller88]

Best mileage I got out of my Vulcan was 34MPG on a few different tanks.

Cruising along at 70MPH nonstop. I'd get mid 20s with it - not too bad for what it was.

[The Other Andy]

Congrats, that's some darn nice mileage.

Originally Posted by Xusn96

Yeah I'm planning on going back to an economy car after the old girl runs her course, for now she's still kicking. Biggest debates right now is whether to invest in new struts on all 4 corners, other suspension components, tires coming due, wheel bearings. It's reaching the point of how far will further investment take this ride. Harsh salty, snowy winters and rear wheel wells that are starting to rust out.... Reminds me of friends who were struggling with having to put down one of their dogs(cancer).

Take the plastic rocker panel covers off once (it's easy). Mine is just starting on the dog legs (rear wheel wells), but my driver's side rocker has a nice long crack. You may find them in very rough shape.

As the owner of an '04 that recently had a set of Gabriel struts and springs put on (along with front wheel bearings and a ball joint), if you replace 'em you'll probably not want to go to an econobox after enjoying the ride Say what you will about the fuel economy, but these things are fabulous highway cruisers.

[hummingbird]

Methinks you should go for that economy car as soon as possible. that kind of commute on that kind of a guzzler is criminal! If you were hauling something, it would be justified, but just to haul your ass, not justifiable. I would even think of shifting to somewhere near the workplace if it is just for commuting to work that you have to travel that long. If the commute is the part of work, well, that is a different story!

[Xusn96]

Criminal only in your mind. I am a Field Service Technician for a company that manufactures, sells, and provides maintenance, and repair for high volume mail opening, scanning and sorting machines. From desktop high speed cutters to "Capital" machines that fill a room and sort up to 40,000 pieces an hr, or open, sort, image and process up to 10,000 an hr. Think any recurring bill you pay with an envelope containing a coupon/statement and check. I carry manuals for each type of machine I service (13 different models) plus spare parts kits for sites that do not have their own warehouse(parts cabinet). Not to mention tool case, specialty tools, luggage type cart for lugging these items from the vehicle to the buildings where the machines are located ranging from 10 yds to as much as 1/4 mile depending on parking availability. So I take offense to your apparent smug tree-hugger accusations of criminality. I have the car I could get at the time i needed it. Not the car I would have preferred. I used to drive a 1999 Ford Escort,(35 MPG), which served me well for 5 years and 194,000 miles before the engine threw a connecting rod. that was replaced for a time with a 2000 Windstar which I hated (best MPG of 23)... Now its me and my Taurus which I'm getting the best I can with. SO if you would like to comment on my vehicle choices you can encourage, try to help, or just simply try not to be an Eco nazi. Some of us aren't tree huggers, just people trying save money. Yes I have a long commute, but I also have to regularly travel to multiple sites ranging from 32-52 miles from my home. Last week I even had to travel farther to a site 154 miles from my home to provide experienced assistance to another tech who was having difficulty solving an issue.

I'm not picking a fight, a simple explanation or apology will suffice, or not.

Just don't be a jerk. Community is not built on smug elitest attitudes, but by people of many different backgrounds working toward common goals. Yours may be saving the environment or the whales or whatever, mine may be just saving money on my work expenses... but so long as we as individuals do our part with what we have towards the ecomodder goal of using less fuel to live our lives, then we have a common goal.

Have a great fuel saving day.

[thomason2wheels]

Ouch....

[PaulB2]

An Insight is a city car, isn't it? A nice TDI Passat is what you need. Doing that amount of miles in an econobox sounds unpleasant.

[hummingbird]

Hey, peace, bro! I just connected "commute" "round trip" and "every day" to form a conclusion! But had I not posted my smug little comment, I would not have known your fascinating background!

Agree in toto with your choice of vehicle based on what you do!