Greetings from the mountians of Colorado :-)

[thynk]

What a wonderful site, I'm learning a lot. Unfortunately, living where I do requires 4wd for 6 months out of the year, and I have plenty of kids to haul around, so my (for now) only vehicle is an 07 Jeep Commander. Fuel economy wasn't a primary concern for me until just recently, as I worked from home - taking the kids to and from the bus stop (about a mile) was the majority of driving I'd do. Now I have a 95 mile round trip commute that I perform daily, and while I can average 26mpg there, I only average 17mpg on the ride home (several thousand foot difference in elevation). I'm pretty careful while driving, the EPA rates my vehicle at 18MPG on Highway.

I'll be looking for a commuter car, probably a used metro or the like. Since my Jeep is late model (and not fully paid for), I think it would irresponsible for me to make any major mods to it, but once I pick up a daily driver, I hope to put a lot of what I've learned here into practice.

Stu

[doviatt]

Greetings from the other side of the mountain
My job for the last year has me driving just over 100 miles every day. I feel your pain.

I got a car pool partner to split costs and then I got a Metro. Most importantly I signed up here. Good company.
What ever you get, car wise, you can improve on it. Even with your Jeep.
Ever feel jealousy over the telecommuter people? I do.

Welcome

doviatt

[MetroMPG]

Welcome to the forum.

Maybe you've seen Pillzilla's post today in the Success Stories forum - find a used, fuel-efficient car and it'll pay for itself in fuel savings over a thirsty vehicle, even if you can only run it in the warm part of the year.

[Daox]

Welcome to the site. You got the right idea with a new vehicle. Use the right tool for the job!

That is one heck of a commute. Best of luck to you.

[elhigh]

Wow. In the Appalachains we have gentler grades - older mountains+millions of years of erosion=slopes instead of cliffs - and a milder climate where I am, so the AWD or 4WD is optional. Where you are, you're stuck for it.

Like MetroMPG said, if you can find a sound used econobox for the warmer months, you might want to switch to that until the snow flies, save the Jeep for the tough stuff.

+1 on Jeeps though. Mom's got one. I'd get one but I can't quite justify all that capability. If I had acreage it'd be a foregone conclusion, a Wrangler in the yard and a smile on my face. Ah well.