What is the best vehicle for commuting?

[M_a_t_t]

In my opinion the best commuter is the one that fits the requirements with minimum extras. I.E. small car (hybrid, electric, gas, doesn't matter, just whatever you can afford). Of course bicycle if possible, but that can be hard for a lot of commutes.

I understand not everyone has the same viewpoint or capability (owning multiple cars, whether space or money issues), but I have a vehicle for different needs (kinda like Cowmeat). I have my small commuter, but also own a van that I can use for getting large materials, appliances, towing, etc. I also get tired of driving the same thing all the time and like to mix it up, but I don't want to be one of those people who never hold onto a car for very long.

I think the hybrid tahoe is aimed at the average consumer. Its like trying to take my van and car and smoosh them together. V8 makes for fun driving, but the hybrid means it can get better mileage when you don't need the power of the v8. While I see the desire for cars like that I would rather have something that is the best at what I use it for instead of moderate at everything. If you are using the extra interior volume everyday it makes sense.

Tahoe_Hybrid: Don't take this as a personal attack, opinions are like buttholes (pg-13 ) everyone has one. Unless you have a reason to get a different car just roll with it. I drove a van when I could only have one car and just had fun with driving it. I am always interested to see what I can get out of a car in regards to performance and fuel economy, but that isn't really the deciding factor when I buy a car because I don't do much driving anyway (average is less than 4k per year with all cars added together).

[oil pan 4]

They got a lot of nuclear.
If you could make electric work a bolt might be good.
Don't get a leaf, the heat there will fry the battery.

[oil pan 4]

Originally Posted by freebeard

Do you pay 5¢ or 10¢ per Kilowatt-hour? I have no idea how much an MPGe is in kilowatts.

edit:
Nevermind

173.7/33.7 is 5.1543.... something. Kilowatt-hours per mile?

'$0.30 per KwH' is 6x 5¢.

5 miles per kwh is way too optimistic for highway driving. Expect around 4, depending on speed and temperature.

[Xist]

Originally Posted by freebeard

173.7/33.7 is 5.1543.... something. Kilowatt-hours per mile?

freebeards, obviously. Always lowercase.

The average residential electricity rate in Show Low is 11.96¢/kWh.

https://www.electricitylocal.com/sta...zona/show-low/

[redpoint5]

There's very few reasons I wouldn't accept as worthwhile rationalizations to purchase a particular vehicle, as long as people are being honest about them. You can't say you bought a Land Rover for fuel economy and reliability, for example; unless you're very lazy, gullible, and ignorant.

Regarding work; priority #1 is to provide for yourself. Once that's covered, pursuing your passion is the key to success. We're good at what we're interested in, and leveraging interest is often the best way to serve both you and the community. That said, occupations like professional gamer are highly competitive. Certain occupations require being the top 1% of 1% of 1% to even make a modest living...

I don't know why speech therapy would be priced much lower than other therapies, like physical therapy. Perhaps the occupation isn't as tightly controlled by a cartel as others? Can you just be an independent speech therapist? I would, and I'd depreciate the cost of a new vehicle over 7 years or whatever the government regs are on that, and deduct mileage, and a laptop...

[me and my metro]

I commute 60 miles a day. I have worked this job for the last 15 years. So I have had many commuter cars. I am a mechanic for a major electric utility and I have owned my home and property for 30 years. I am close to retirement so I am not moving.
I enjoy playing with cars but I don’t have time to work on a beater. If I can’t make it reliable I move on. I drove various Metros for about 8 years. My adventures were chronicled on Geometroforum during those years. It was good to drive a 40+ mpg vehicle during the $4+/gallon days. I had lots of fun with the Metros but they were getting tired and I was ready for a nicer ride.
I also towed the Metros behind my motorhome when vacationing.
So nicer car, good fuel economy and can flat tow behind my motorhome. My car dealer friend said come look at this Saturn LW300 he had just bought and it had towbar brackets. I had never paid attention to Saturns and didn’t know much about them. Research time.
Yes you can flat tow all Saturns and that was part of their sales pitch. So I bought the wagon and started driving it. I stopped by Roadmaster in Vancouver Washington and had them make and send the missing pieces to the towbar mounts on the front of my car. I then shopped for a used Stowmaster 5000 towbar and found a used one in Portland for a fraction of the new price. I can now tow my wagon behind my motorhome.
L300 Saturns get in the upper 20s mpg and this was a fair example of the car, it was a little rough but my first one.
I really wanted another stick shift since all the Metros were sticks. The L series Saturn was available with a stick but only with the 2.2L 4 cylinder not the V-6. So I started to look for a nice L200/5 speed car, I didn’t care if it was a wagon or a sedan. The stick shifts turned out to pretty rare. So I bought and repaired the engines on several L200/Automatics before I found my car. The towbar brackets bolt on so I could always tow whatever I drove back and forth to work.
I even bought a few just for parts, I bought a rollover for $100 just for the engine. In fact that is the engine I have been driving for the last three years in my stick shift car.
I learned a lot about the trim level options and what else uses the same parts as these cars. Saab was bought by GM back in the 90s so the 9-5 and the early 9-3 use the same basic chassis as this Saturn. The late 9-3 is an Epsilon chassis but uses the same 4 cylinder engine and transmissions as the L. The wheels fit so I have some nice 16” Saab wheels on my Saturn.
My stick shift car is the high line leather sunroof with almost all the options. I paid $400.00 for it with 200,000 miles and a bad engine. New clutch and after a couple years new struts , a little low and an alignment. I love it and it gets 30 mpg all day long. It is a medium sized sedan with a big trunk and it is quiet on the road. Lots of air bags, antilock brakes, traction control, ice cold A/C, nice leather.
My point is since you can work on it yourself and you seem to like Hondas, find one you can live with and give it a try. Hondas hold their value quite well so if you don’t like it move on until you find what Fits. Sorry I couldn’t resist.
Thanks for listening
Andy

[freebeard]

Originally Posted by oil pan 4

5 miles per kwh is way too optimistic for highway driving. Expect around 4, depending on speed and temperature.

EVTV have a rule of thumb that involves watts, pounds and miles. Estimates will converge around a one-ton vehicle.

Saab was bought by GM back in the 90s so the 9-5 and the early 9-3 use the same basic chassis as this Saturn.

An interesting factoid, potentially useful.

I'm trying to get myself into a 1990 Metro. Leather and sunroof for $400?

[oil pan 4]

If you drive 75mph you're not going to see 5 miles per kwh in something with tennis shoe aerodynamics like a leaf or bolt. That's all there is to it.

At 11 cents per kwh that is some pretty cheap power.

[Xist]

I do not know what that district pays for other therapies. It is probably similar, if not the same. I posted about it in a speech therapy Facebook group and a lady complained about a district offering her $18.50 an hour.

My first job paid $37 an hour, but I only had six clients. My second job paid a little better and I averaged 13 hours a week. The state pays about as well in Show Low as anywhere else, much better than the Phoenix area, but my clients are usually closer here than they were in Phoenix, without traffic.

Some lady responded "If anyone is looking for home health speech, Phoenix area, I can pay 55.00 per home visit SLPA" to my post about the school paying $12.58. I do not have any idea why she put this as the fourteenth comment in someone else's post instead of making her own post.

I found one agency paying $22 an hour to start and another offering $25+, but a number of places pay at least $40 an hour. My first employer advertised $46 as a W2 employee. We are usually 1099 contractors.

To truly go rogue you would need to be an SLP. It is crazy how much the state pays for therapy. Until I saw that lady's comment my agency had the best advertised pay that I had ever seen, but still kept half for overhead. When I become an SLP I will receive a nice raise, but if I started my own agency I would earn double.

[freebeard]

At 11 cents per kwh that is some pretty cheap power.

[Not to brag but...] twice what I'm paying.