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Post by jabba on Sept 13, 2007 7:18:20 GMT -5
Excursion. I traded it off on Saturday.
Got the wife a 2004 Suburban instead. Boy does she like it better. It's a good 8-9 inches shorter than the Ford, it a 1/2 ton instead of a 3/4 ton so it rides better, we expect an improvement from 11 mpg to 15 or 16 mpg, and the Subdivision er uh... Suburban is loaded with options to break. 4x4, Leather, 3 zone A/C, heated seats, driver memory settings, the fancy computer, CD changer and DVD player.
I am sure there are other options I left out.
The world has righted itself a little, and I am no longer a FORD owner, but am again back to being a 2 Chevy house.
I have a Honda motorcycle though... it WAS built in Ohio.
Jabba
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Post by deputydon on Sept 13, 2007 8:33:22 GMT -5
Sorry to hear about your loss Jabba..... but I don't expect to change your mind so......I'll just smile and keep driving my Fords........................
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Post by jabba on Sept 13, 2007 10:07:39 GMT -5
I don't REALLY have anything against Fords... I just like the ergonomics of a Chevy better. They just "fit" my butt better. Thats all. If I REALLY had anything against them, I would not have spent $25K on one 18 months ago. We really did not like the Excursion though. 10 MPG is hard to swallow.
Jabba
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Post by Bill on Sept 13, 2007 10:19:41 GMT -5
Nothing wrong with a Suburban Jabba. D-D looks at all 4X4 vehicles as off road vehicles. Some like the Suburban are only ment to be used off road every now and then and most of the time used as an all weather highway use vehicle. I can count on one hand the number of times I have used my Expidition off road but cannot count the number of times I am glad I had a 4X4 high ground clearance vehicle for when the snow gets too high for a car. Last winter if I would of had only a car I would of missed a lot of work but due to having the Expidition I got to work on time and was usually one of the few people there to work. That usually ment that you got your butt worked off as being close to the interstate and motels in the area means that people stranded came to shop. They probably had Suburbans too. ;D
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Post by dovehunter on Sept 13, 2007 14:20:28 GMT -5
Like DD, I'll stick with my Fords (and Jeeps) too. I had 2 GMCs & a Chevy pickup. My auto mechanic and body shop (for fixing rustouts) loved all of them!
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Post by Purebred Redneck on Sept 13, 2007 17:58:50 GMT -5
Jabba, I'm not singling you out so I hope it's not taken that way. But I think people put themselves in certain positions and then blame it on the car company. "Oh but I only get 11 miles a gallon" Well no kidding, it's a freaking Excursion Who the hell needs one of those Who the hell needs a Expidition for that matter An Explorer would actually fit the needs of 90% of people who own those prevouis makes mentioned.
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Post by Bill on Sept 13, 2007 18:56:13 GMT -5
Well Red, depending on how I drive the Expidition I can get anywhere from 20 MPG to 14 MPG. I have room and enough power to pull the camper or the boat without any problem along with all the other things I might need. I am looking to get rid of it though. NOT because of the gas milage but more because of the miles I am rapping up. I have 120K on it right now and have gone to driving my old pickup with the 302 and overdrive in it just to save the Expo from getting so many miles on it. I probably WILL drop down in vehicle size a bit but not sure it will be all that much in size. ;D
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Post by jabba on Sept 14, 2007 6:09:24 GMT -5
No worries Red. When I bought the Ford, it was $10K cheaper than a comparable Chevy. A friend of mine, who is a Ford parts guy told me the thing got 13 or 14. He is a liar. That would have been the same as the Suburban we traded in on it.
My wife was in a couple of serious car accidents, one in 1997 and another in 2002. She simply feels safer in a big SUV. Does that suck for someone in a little car that pulls out in front o her... sure. But, MY wife wants a big car. She makes more money than me. ANd I love her dearly so she gets one. She didn;t like the Ford MOSTLY because of the tall ride height and rough ride. After we had the Baby, she has a hard time getting him in his car seat in the MONSTER FORD. The Chevy is ALOT better for that. The increased mileage is just a bonus.
What I heard you say there Red was...
"I don't need (Can't afford) a big truck (SUV). I don't think most other people should have them either."
Jabba
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Post by bullseye on Sept 14, 2007 8:50:57 GMT -5
Jabba, about a month or so ago one of the guys in our bass club who drives a Surburban was in a accident while going around a 90 degree curve on a county highway. He was in the southbound lane and the northbound lane had the option of taking the curve or taking a road straight. A guy on a Harley was going straight. He accelerated the motorcycle to go straight and hit Tom and his wife almost head on going around 90+ MPH. The engine was relocated to the passenger's side of the engine compartment, the driver's side wheel and axle were pushed under the chassis of the Surburban. The force of the impact sheared the bolts on the boat trailer hoist and the boat came 7' into the back of the vehicle. The force of the impact started the Surburban to buckle as designed to absorb the force of the impact. There was really not much left of the front of the Surburban on the drivers side. It was pretty much taken out all the way to the firewall.While Tom and his wife were banged up and continue to need medical treatment, the police that investigated the accident said that had they been driving any less or lower of a vehicle if they had survived they would have had serious injuries. The driver of the motorcycle, needless to say, was pronounced dead at the scene. Unfortunately the memory Tom has left is the face of the motorcyclist about a foot away from his windshield before his air bag deployed. I think you and your wife have made a good choice if safety is her primary concern.
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Post by Purebred Redneck on Sept 14, 2007 22:19:33 GMT -5
You beat me to it; I was going to say a lot of people get SUVs because they feel safe... And then complain that they are too big, too tall, hard to park, and have poor gas miliage. If you have a big boat or a big camper, yeah, you need a f250 or a suburban size vehicle. We're talking about boats and campers that cost about 75,000 dollars and up. And if you can afford that, you can afford the big truck. But for any jonboat, bassboat, smaller camper, and trailer, etc --- a f150 or explorer (sticking with the ford makes) is going to do just fine. And if that's all people pull, it's overkill plain and simple. Some people I used to hunt with had big trucks. One had a f250 because he got a load of firewood each year --- overkill One had a diesel f250 because he pulled two atvs on a trailer --- overkill One had a expidition because...well he didn't pull anything...he just thought he had to have one to hunt with. These big trucks/suvs are not meant to be driven around the city by soccer moms and everyday run of the mill construction workers. These things are meant to be serouis work trucks and military use ------ not recreational vehicles. I see the trend the last few years has been the hummers. (I'll spare you guys of my feelings regarding hummer owners). If people can afford one or want one, that's fine. But if people really don't need it --- it's just a horrible move on all ends from a financial point of view and how they want other people to see them. Now that I have that out of the way...I can take a deep breath ;D Now, vans have obvouisly come to a point of almost nonexistance. So if you have 3 or 4 kids or travel with a lot junk on a regular basis, I can bless a "reasonable purchase" like a suburban or expidition. It really does replace the full size van. If you're constantly going on trips or hunting adventures...yeah get one. If you have two or three dogs you hunt with and don't want a campershell on your truck...yeah get one. But to own one just to own one...
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Post by jimiowa on Sept 14, 2007 22:46:47 GMT -5
If you really want to get down to what we need most of us could get by with a 2 seater(the second seat would likely be empty 80%of the time) econobox. Been there and done that for at least 500,000 miles(allright some seated4 barely). And I have to ask, just who the hell wants to do that? I once was out camping and a guy came in with a 34ft camper behind the Kenworth tractor he drove all week. I asked him why and he said he had a 3/4 ton Chevy with a 454. And the Kenworth idled along under no load and got 3 times the mileage. I also have a friend with a Fleetwood that gets 28 mpg on the highway. He would not have done much better with a Cobalt and it sure was not as nice a ride.
I kind of figure a guy works hard enough he ought to have what he can afford and likes. Good Luck with the Suburban Jabba!
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Post by Bill on Sept 14, 2007 22:55:09 GMT -5
Oh god Red, your on one of your rants again. Ya I see a lot of people driving things they don't need. I don't complain. I figure if thats what they want and can pay for it then thats what they shall get. I love my Expedition. Do I need a vehicle that big. Sometimes. 8-)Not often but sometimes. Its also why I have been looking for a replacement for it for some time now. I have a hard time getting rid of vehicles as I get attached to them and hate getting rid of them. Its also why I still own a 93 Buick La Saber and a 95 Ford F150 4X4. I usually drive something till it drops in its tracks. The last 3 vehicles I owned had to be hauled away when I got rid of them as they could not leave under their own power. Almost all of them had almost 200K or more on them. None of them owed me a thing. My 93 Buick has 165k on it and shows no sign of giving up and the 95 F150 has 152K on it and is the same way. Starting to get some rust but its still running like a top as long as I change the O2 sensor every year. ;D It has an oil lead from a pan gasket that has slipped but its got an appointment to be fixed soon. Now do I plan on getting rid of either of them. NO. I plan on driving them till they drop and finding something else cheap to drive but in the same category. Nebraska, the state of the junkers has caused me to be this way. Its a lot cheaper over a years period to drive junk and keep it going than it is to pay the high sales tax and annual vehicle tax on a new vehicle. So far though I haven't gotten myself convinced that I need to have a new vehicle and pay 7% sales tax, vehicle tax over $1000 and insurance out the kazoo just to get rid of something I own so I can make payments again. Besides, I like my Expedition. If it bothers you that I drive one. So be it. I don't give a crap. I'm happy. ;D
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Post by dakota on Sept 15, 2007 7:37:48 GMT -5
My daughter and my niece would have been killed in an accident if they were in a less of a vehicle than a suburban. The people in the car that hit them went through about $300,000 in medical bills. I have had several suburbans and I drove them until they coould not go further. The second one had over a quarter million miles on it. I was living in the Northern hills in those days. Snow, deep snow, was a common occurence. People should have the right to pck their vehicles just as they should have the right to pick their rifles. What works for one person isn't always the best for another. PS. explorers suck ;D
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bounce
Royal Member
Posts: 5,727
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Post by bounce on Sept 15, 2007 8:54:22 GMT -5
The only thing good about my explorer is gas mileage. My recent trip to the Grand Forks area cost me $158.00 if I still had my Suburban it would have ben around $300.00 Except from that fact I would rather have a Suburban every time.
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Post by dakota on Sept 15, 2007 10:00:18 GMT -5
BTW my Subs were the earlier style - 1990 and 1981. The '81 had a different cam than original - much more torque. I never complained about gas mileage on either. I think when the suburbans received their dropped frames in 1992 the became less of an off road vehicle but they had more creature comforts. I have had about 50/50 Fords and GMC's for four wheel drives. They each have their benefits and drawbacks. Right now, even though I really like the interior and creature comforts of the GMC's 4 wd's I don't like their ground clearance. Therefore, for the reasons I buy a 4wd, I will likely go Dodge or Ford on the next 4wd or perhaps Toyota. I tend to drive off the road a bit with the 4wd's. I think the GM people are targetting the market of people who do not do such things.
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