Middle lane drivers and learn how to merge

I wonder about the newer smart cars, electric cars, and hybrids. I'm going to be in the market for a more fuel efficient vehicle next year, but it has to have enough power to get on the highway.

Ted, shop (online for reports) very carefully.

do not choose a Hybrid for instance, that only has a 3 cylinder engine, mated to the electric one.

make sure that it is a 4 cyclinder.

also when thinking about actually buying, check the prices for any factory extended warranties, NOT some Schmucko 3rd party warranty"

you wouldn't want to parlay all that cash, or monthly payments, and when done, the battery is done, and you'll need about $5,000 to $10,000 for a new battery.

i think the "average" life expectancy for some batteries are now "up to" 10 years..??

some may be LESS...!!

(check that out, i need not)

good luck
 
I wonder about the newer smart cars, electric cars, and hybrids. I'm going to be in the market for a more fuel efficient vehicle next year, but it has to have enough power to get on the highway. I've been in cars that, well it feels like they can't accelerate fast enough to merge properly in some situations, and I wouldn't want to drive one on a daily basis. I try to be aware that this may be a factor for them when I'm on the highway watching a tiny car try to merge. I had a VW new beetle with a 2.5 liter 5 cylinder which got 28 or 29 mpg even with me gunning it all the time. That thing was surprisingly quick, and I'd have happily sacrificed some of the speed for better fuel efficiency. Then I joined the union and was scared not to buy 'merican.

I've also known a few people that would never floor their vehicle. It scares them when that transmission drops to the lower gear and the engine revs and it starts to take off. They think it's bad for the car, I've tried to explain to them that the car was actually designed to do that, and the engine could take the higher rpm without falling apart. They don't believe me.

And sure enough, when I come up behind someone doing 5 mph under the limit, and I decide to pass them, more often than not they are talking on or staring at their cell phone.

I bought a Kia and have been very impressed with it. But next car I buy is going to be a Ford. By then I should be able to afford the 1986 model I wore out. I remember when I was in the UAW and we got the employee discount if we bought a GM product but now everyone gets that discount so it doesn't mean anything.

I will admit, I like the Fiat 500. But why pretend? I can't fit in one of those! I need my Buick Electra back!
 
If ya liked vw ( I myself do. Mine has 187000 on it) but want to by Amerikin. :-/. The Passat is built in Tenn.
Comes with ether a new 1.8t or diesel.
Also some hybrids (vw has one too) and diesels. You can get a big check back from your Uncle Sam 1300 of I'm not mistaken.
 
If ya liked vw ( I myself do. Mine has 187000 on it) but want to by Amerikin. :-/. The Passat is built in Tenn.
Comes with ether a new 1.8t or diesel.
Also some hybrids (vw has one too) and diesels. You can get a big check back from your Uncle Sam 1300 of I'm not mistaken.

I like German cars and BMW motorcycles. I remember when the VW diesel got 162 million miles to a gallon.....I may have been hallucinating but it seemed like it.

Check this out.

Royal Enfield

I refuse to get back into motorcycles! But if I did......this would be sweet. or

http://royalenfield.com/motorcycles/classic-desert-storm

Or maybe this jewel from Great Britain.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/joaoromao/2371193253/sizes/l/in/photostream/

I like Marshall and Laney guitar amps......SO SUE ME! Ha ha ha ha ha.
 
Also, the middle lane is usually the best chance to keep from putting a tree through your reefer unit and possibly through the windshield of the car that is following you far too close.
 
I leased the vw... never lease again. I wanted a diesel, but none were available and a long waiting list. Also the extra cost of the diesel engine would not be outweiged by the extra fuel economy, so no winners that day. However, I hear that diesel engines are so much simpler for the mechanics to work on, because of the lax emissions and such, and oh yeah, no spark plugs and crap like that I guess. I want a diesel truck now, and I'll be able to afford one when I drive a fuel efficient vehicle for ten years or so. You know what, scratch all that, there's trucking companies near my house, I'll just sell my dodge and walk to work from now on.
 
I leased the vw... never lease again. I wanted a diesel, but none were available and a long waiting list. Also the extra cost of the diesel engine would not be outweiged by the extra fuel economy, so no winners that day. However, I hear that diesel engines are so much simpler for the mechanics to work on, because of the lax emissions and such, and oh yeah, no spark plugs and crap like that I guess. I want a diesel truck now, and I'll be able to afford one when I drive a fuel efficient vehicle for ten years or so. You know what, scratch all that, there's trucking companies near my house, I'll just sell my dodge and walk to work from now on.

I have heard that the lease can get tricky. I remember the diesel rabbit got about 100,000 per gallon. So they quit making it. "And I'll be able to afford one when I drive a fuel efficient vehicle for ten years or so". If I ever buy another new car I will go through the credit union first and get my financing approved first! But by then I will be too old to drive and too broke to retire. I used the dream of driving a BMW. Now I and happy with a good BM.

My main squeeze is a 1990 Ford F-150. It is paid for and in just two short years I will have replaced every part on it. All I need is a drivers side door and that will make me happy......for awhile.
 
My main squeeze is a 1990 Ford F-150. It is paid for and in just two short years I will have replaced every part on it. All I need is a drivers side door and that will make me happy......for awhile.

I had been looking for a used truck for almost a year, I kept trying to find a low mileage 1 but, the prices were outrageous, then I found 1 with an unbelievable 440,000 miles on it, owned by a Marine tank mechanic for 2k bucks. He had literally replaced everything at some point throughout his ownership, and it was near mint but, the mileage still scared everybody off. It's actually just as nice as a new 1 I had several yrs ago that was $34k but, without the payment book.
 
I have heard that the lease can get tricky. I remember the diesel rabbit got about 100,000 per gallon. So they quit making it. "And I'll be able to afford one when I drive a fuel efficient vehicle for ten years or so". If I ever buy another new car I will go through the credit union first and get my financing approved first! But by then I will be too old to drive and too broke to retire. I used the dream of driving a BMW. Now I and happy with a good BM.

My main squeeze is a 1990 Ford F-150. It is paid for and in just two short years I will have replaced every part on it. All I need is a drivers side door and that will make me happy......for awhile.

I had been looking for a used truck for almost a year, I kept trying to find a low mileage 1 but, the prices were outrageous, then I found 1 with an unbelievable 440,000 miles on it, owned by a Marine tank mechanic for 2k bucks. He had literally replaced everything at some point throughout his ownership, and it was near mint but, the mileage still scared everybody off. It's actually just as nice as a new 1 I had several yrs ago that was $34k but, without the payment book.
Everything was replaced because it was a ferd, sharpshooter, that Marine must own a ferd, if it were a Mopar it would have 200k on it and nothing replaced, because everything still works...LOL!!!!
 
My daddy owned a ford and a chevy. He said that fords were easier to work on, but you had to do it more often.

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk
 
Well, this has 354,000 more than 87k, does it look like it's falling apart?..lol

And it rides the middle lane all the way to work too!!

2014-06-08162020_zpse7852c3c.jpg
 
Well, this has 354,000 more than 87k, does it look like it's falling apart?..lol

And it rides the middle lane all the way to work too!!

2014-06-08162020_zpse7852c3c.jpg

Thats cute...it must have a Mopar engine, drive train, brakes, bushings, door handles, steering wheel, its just got a cheby body retro fitted on the chasis, I'll be watching you! I know the deal Mister!

No cheby gasser has that many miles without 6 engine swaps, 12 tranny swaps, lets not even talk about the other stuff underneath, the money you would spend getting a cheby to that mileage you coulda bought a new Dodge that would run that long to begin with!
 
Thats cute...it must have a Mopar engine, drive train, brakes, bushings, door handles, steering wheel, its just got a cheby body retro fitted on the chasis, I'll be watching you! I know the deal Mister!

No cheby gasser has that many miles without 6 engine swaps, 12 tranny swaps, lets not even talk about the other stuff underneath, the money you would spend getting a cheby to that mileage you coulda bought a new Dodge that would run that long to begin with!
I don't know man...buying Mopar, is like buying tools at Harbor Freight, you need 2-3 to do the job of 1 Snap-on...lol..and that's just for 1 job, forget about using em twice

And Sysco can run the middle as much as they want cause, they have the coolest and brightest foglights of everybody!!
 
I don't know man...buying Mopar, is like buying tools at Harbor Freight, you need 2-3 to do the job of 1 Snap-on...lol..and that's just for 1 job, forget about using em twice

And Sysco can run the middle as much as they want cause, they have the coolest and brightest foglights of everybody!!

And you should see GT's bright and twinkly good buddy lights...:shift::woot2:

You guys really know how to get to GT, ya had to mention fog light didntcha? Talk about my Mommy and Daddy, even my Grammie but ya don't have to accuse me of having fog light, you really know how to hurt a fellow.
 
Thats cute...it must have a Mopar engine, drive train, brakes, bushings, door handles, steering wheel, its just got a cheby body retro fitted on the chasis, I'll be watching you! I know the deal Mister!

No cheby gasser has that many miles without 6 engine swaps, 12 tranny swaps, lets not even talk about the other stuff underneath, the money you would spend getting a cheby to that mileage you coulda bought a new Dodge that would run that long to begin with!

I had a 1975 Chevy C30 Dually, 454, Turbo 400 that had several hundred thousand miles on it when I sold it. As far as I could tell the engine was the original one, but I did yank the tranny and rebuild it once during the 200,000 plus miles I owned it. Lack of proper maintenance and using it to tow heavy loads without a tranny cooler had taken their toll.

I also rebuilt the differential shortly after I bough tit, as a previous owner had ignored a leaky wheel end seal and ran it until the bearings seized, causing some major damage to the axle housing. It was not repaired correctly, so it continued to leak, and whoever "fixed" it did a very poor job. I tore it down, replaced all the bearings, the spiders and thrust bearings, set the whole thing up correctly, and repaired the damaged threads on the wheel end of the housing.

It has been 14 years since I sold it, and I still see it around town several times a year. The cab corners are starting to rusty away, and the doors too. Otherwise it is still a good pickup, although getting about 5mpg means it must cost a small fortune to drive.

The 2001 Dodge Ram 3500 that replaced it (bought spankin' new) now has 130,000 miles on it, and the Cummins diesel engine gets 15 to 18 mpg.
 
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