You have one vehicle to drive, and rebuild for a lifetime, which one?

[jamesqf]

Wouldn't even want to try to get by with just one, because that one would have to handle the 10-15% of my driving that involves hauling, rough dirt tracks, and/or deep snow. (Occasionally all three.) That would make it pretty darned inefficient for the 85-90% of my driving that doesn't.

So I wind up doing the 85-90% in the Insight at 70+ mpg, and the rest in the '88 Toyota pickup, at about 25 mpg. Don't know about the rebuilding, though: despite the Toyota being almost 30 years old, the only "rebuilding" I've done (besides adding a CD player and heavy-duty hitch) has been things like fan belts and a couple of tires.

[beatr911]

My life changes over time and probably will continue. Transportation needs change over time and vary by the day as well. I think the question is what is the most flexible, efficient vehicle.

So far I've found that a motorcycle/small pick-up and trailer combination has all the flexibility that I could want. Once I feel that the house and yard projects taper off, maybe the pick-up will go in favor of a small car. The truck is paid for and cheap to own and I'm hoping planned MPG improvements will make it cheaper still.

I do not see any one vehicle suiting all the needs with efficiency as a top priority. I do not want to drive a gas guzzling 50mpg car when I can enjoy the commute more on an 80mpg motorcycle. If we lived in town, I'd rather ride my bicycle. The truck and trailer combination is used for heavy hauling of soils, gravel and firewood. Can't pull 3000lbs of wood with a FWD Jetta up a 17% grade gravel driveway, traction issues.

[PaleMelanesian]

Originally Posted by jamesqf

Wouldn't even want to try to get by with just one, because that one would have to handle the 10-15% of my driving that involves hauling, rough dirt tracks, and/or deep snow. (Occasionally all three.) That would make it pretty darned inefficient for the 85-90% of my driving that doesn't.

So I wind up doing the 85-90% in the Insight at 70+ mpg, and the rest in the '88 Toyota pickup, at about 25 mpg. Don't know about the rebuilding, though: despite the Toyota being almost 30 years old, the only "rebuilding" I've done (besides adding a CD player and heavy-duty hitch) has been things like fan belts and a couple of tires.

That's an excellent pair, the Insight and the old Toyota truck.

[Daox]

I agree I'd much rather have more than one and/or at least the ability to borrow or rent larger vehicles when needed.

Other than that though the Prius really meets every need we currently have besides hauling 4X8 sheets of building supplies. It fits 8ft lumber in it with the hatch closed and could fit longer (haven't tried it yet). I'm sure it wouldn't have any problem pulling a small trailer too. As stock you can get 50 mpg on the highway by setting the cruise to the speed limit (no fancy driving techniques necessary). IMO this is a huge plus as I can beat my Prius' mileage in my Paseo, but its a heck of a lot more work. In town under 40 mph you're looking at 70-100 mpg with easy P&G due to automatic start/stop. Add an aftermarket plugin kit and you can double that mileage and have a short range EV that uses no gas. Its also a very clean burning vehicle unlike a diesel or lean burner (both of which I'd love to own as well). Of course the down side would be the battery pack which would eventually need to be replaced/rebuilt at some point in the future. I'd fully expect it to last 15+ years though. At that point you could probably replace it with a beefed up pack of your own... The only other bad thing to say about a 2nd gen Prius is that the seats aren't the most comfortable for long trips.

[slowmover]

Originally Posted by Steaming

LOL I like this idea--by "essential supplies" I assume you mean an arsenal of automatic weapons & ammo and a stockpile of nonperishables?

Yeah, yeah

I could have written the same thirty years ago. One may need to leave ahead of, or lieu of, all sorts of problems natural and man-made. As this is America, imagine that you've been fired and your wife now has a serious type of cancer. Credit is already maxed. There is, literally, no other viable way to move you all and the kids back home to parents several states away because you'll receive no other help. Or that a Force 5 hurricane is inbound. Exposure, hunger, thirst, are basic needs to always have covered. What society can do, and what one must be able to do for ones self are tied together. Surprises at this level have serious consequences.

Imagine whatever scenario you want, the point of one vehicle is that it have the ability to be useful at this level. First. Foremost. Transitions between states of existence leave one open to more problems at at time when resources to deal with them are lowest.

Along this line it is notable that in mass evacuations that the vehicles with the smallest fuel tanks are the ones at greatest risk. A trailer can more safely haul fuel (in approved containers) than in the main vehicle. Lots of great teadrop trailers and design plans out there.

One can eliminate a lot of dead-ends by working from Boy Scout principles.

And I'd say owning a panga machete trumps an AR-15 for the very long future. Sell the latter, IOW, if an emergency demands it. Some "tools" are overrated, especially when cash is king.

We could end this thread right now by linking to aeroheads truck/trailer combo.

Otherwise, for those interested in pursuing this -- in a world of Camry's -- a custom hitch receiver and hitch rigging for the right trailer would be benefical. Vehicle manufacturer tow ratings aren't realistic, have no force of law, and are only a first step in determining what a vehicle can tow for given situations.

Happily for the OP a TDI Jetta would be a great start. It can tow a 23' Airstream with inconsequential reservations. Etc.

.

[Arragonis]

The original question is a very good one - the problem is that cars we assume will be around forever just aren't - their numbers drops and with them go the parts supply required to keep them going.

That tapped if I was going for a car to keep forever then I would probably go for one of 2 extremes. The higher end would be a top end BMW or Merc simply because (early 90s Mercedes rust buckets aside) they tend to last a long time and dealers stock parts for even the older ones - W123 fuel rail, no problem sir... Not exactly fuel efficient though and some of the older diesel BMWs need a lot of money to keep going - a new fuel pump for a 1995 BMW 325TDs is more than the value of the car and they are locked to the ecu of the car itself.

The other extreme would be a simple kit car - not very practical though. The reasoning behind this choice is that I could simply drop in a replacement engine / gearbox combination from a different car to keep it going - like one of those old 1960s Lotus 7s where the original engine was a BMC A-Series or a Ford Pre-Crossflow "Kent" but now they have a motorbike engine and box for extra "go".

[UFO]

My pickup or my 240D. Both seem timeless, and if I have to keep it a while I don't want to do a lot of maintenance; both fit that bill. And the Mercedes can be run on vegetable oil in pinch.

[ChrstphrR]

I've already plans to re-body my 2000 Jetta TDI's mechanical/electricals into a City Jetta (2006-2009) when the time comes. I'm figuring I'd have to transfer over the VIN everywhere from the old to the new body too, to technically avoid putting an older engine in a "newer" car.

[Frank Lee]

I'd go for the one that will always have parts support. That means probably something with a small block Chevy engine, or air-cooled VW.

[slowmover]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

I'd go for the one that will always have parts support. That means probably something with a small block Chevy engine, or air-cooled VW.

3D printing might cover a bunch of this.