Thinking out loud, large cars

[slowmover]

The only economy is the price of the car. A C-V is a perfectly good choice. The experience of fleet operators is not to be dismissed. Low demand means some great bargains are out there.

As to the luxury and safety bit, once a car is past 120" wheelbase and 4k curb weight, the curve has flattened for those two factors. A 5k luxo car on a 127" wheelbase is not better.

Any 2003 and later C-V would be my choice.

Good luck on the minivan.

[IsaacCarlson]

I would stay away from dodge. I have only had bad experiences with them. Too many powertrain problems and they rust out in a year or two.

[comptiger5000]

I'd agree with the CV suggestion. V8s get perfectly good highway mileage, provided they're geared tall enough.

[mystere485]

I have been part of ecomodder for a long time but have not actively partook in any discussions or forums. Lately with the increase gas prices i have been changing my driving habits to conserve fuel. Just changing from driving 100-120kph to 80-90kph has increased our average honda del sol mpg from 22-24 to 28-32 depending on how much city driving we do.

Beginning in april, we will take delivery of a 1994 crown victoria, a hand-me-down. It has 350,000 kms but is in relatively good shape as it was mainly used as a highway car for canada to usa vacation trips and other long highway trips.

Our plans with this crown vic are to use it as a highway car as our del sol is not very travel friendly. We plan to do some of the aero mods listed in ecomodder and hopefully we can get this river barge over the 30 mpg mark on average.

When we take deliver of the car we will start a new thread and we will see what a crown victoria can do. We are looking forward to future posts and suggestions on aero aids and mechanical mods.

Rod & Tiff

[Clev]

I'd love to have a Crown Vic with a 5-speed or 6-speed manual.

[usergone]

Originally Posted by IsaacCarlson

I would stay away from dodge. I have only had bad experiences with them. Too many powertrain problems and they rust out in a year or two.

I second the part about cheap. The inside cracks easily after only 17 years and the paint is bad... the wiring is atrocious. The seats tear and wear out.

It just happens to be that they have a Cummins (in only 2 models, or rather a few trims of one model) which only makes the rest look worse

Only get one if you have a real reason, or if you like to work on cars.

EDIT: also, as for minivans, pretty much any domestic minivan will only be good for 70K miles. I can speak from seeing 3 driven to the end of their short life. The suspension and transmission tend to be the weak points from my experience with minivans.

[Clev]

17 years? My son's Magnum is only six years old and already has broken power windows and the latches that hold the visors in place are broken.

[mcrews]

any car thast is intended as a road car: go up a size on the tires. This will lower the final ratio and lower the rpm at cruise speed. and dont start crappin about "wind resistance" .......gezzz we're talking about a crown vic.

OP, I drive a 4 door Q45. I drive it because I want to drive a decent size car. At the same time, I do all the right ecomodder things.

the slogan says: wrench smart, drive smart, save fuel

It doesn't say only ecomobiles welcome.

[comptiger5000]

^ Exactly. A good part of it is driving a vehicle you want and/or need, and then getting the most out of it. If it weren't for Ecomodder, I'd be getting about 10 - 11 mpg city, rather than the 13+ I'm getting currently commuting to work. I'd also still be doing 70+ on the highway getting 15 - 16 mpg tops.

The key to large cars is for them to be aerodynamic, and to primarily use them as highway vehicles. The weight is killer in the city, as is the poor idle efficiency of large engines. However, on the highway with good aero and tall gearing, they do fine.

[fjasper]

I know I'm late to this discussion, but my folks absolutely love their Cadillac DeVille (non-DTS). I think theirs is a 2003. It gets about 30mpg in highway driving, with the transverse Northstar V8 that shuts cylinders off under light load, and it's super-comfy, with lots of luxury features. It has lots of power when you want it. Nice car. I'm more of a small-car guy, but in the words of an old friend of mine, "It's like riding your couch into a 60" tv."

Probably not as cheap as a Crown Vic, but pretty cheap for how nice it is.

My folks are planning on taking theirs on a big road trip this summer, hopefully I can get a smooth belly pan on it before they leave, to bump the mileage up a little more.