I'll jump with something completely different. Mine is rigged for touring, gets 23 mpg with a 5 cylinder Mercedes diesel and has 250 k miles
“I think it is the stupid CAFE standards that screwed our cars up more than anything else.”
Very true. The CAFE standards didn’t apply to light trucks and SUVs initially. We used to purchase three-seat station wagons for our growing family, but CAFE put those vehicles out of business. So we switched to SUVs about 15 years ago, because they are safer by far, are much more comfortable, and in our case buying several Chevrolet Avalanches, we have a luxury pick up capability as well. With their LS engines, these vehicles run a couple hundred thousand miles easily. They are 4 wheel drive so we can go skiing or haul debris off of our hillside property. And at the end of the day, the convenience outweighs the fuel bills for us. Just wish GM would put the Avalanche back into production, because we have one of the last one’s built (2013) and it now has 80,000 miles on it.
I have an Avalanche. I love it. The wife has a Tahoe and loves it too. I do wish I could buy a new American car the size of a Crown Vic.
I'll jump with something completely different. Mine is rigged for touring, gets 23 mpg with a 5 cylinder Mercedes diesel and has 250 k miles
Back in 2000, with one child and planning on another, my Chevy pickup of 20 years was on it’s last legs. In looking for a new vehicle I was lamenting that they didn’t make the large station wagons that we always had growing up. My dad was a builder, and was always picking up some plywood or whatever. Put the seat down and get it all in out of the weather.
I wanted an 8-foot bed, wanted the two rows of full seats, but didn’t want a huge pickup. I had even thought about getting a short-bed and having a welder try to do something with cutting out the back of the cab, etc.
Then - sitting in the doctor’s office was reading about the Avalanche that would be coming out the following year. Almost every sentence and I would think “This is exactly what I need!!”
So I waited until they came out and got one. Bought it right after 9-11. Still have it. Compared to my 1980 truck, the Avalanche is much better built, still going strong with the normal repairs. I have started to use the car more though - thinking the the Avalanche is going to have to last me another 5 years.