Brite and fair (mostly)

[altivo]

Actually there were a couple of cloudy periods, which helped keep the heat down. We spent most of the day in the high 70s or low 80s which is just nice, though the humidity started creeping up pretty high.

We've been keeping the neighbors' many times strayed rabbit and waiting a couple of days to see if they'd come looking for it. It almost always heads straight for our barns and we catch it. Gary put it in a spare rabbit cage and has been feeding it and trying to make friends this time. It's very shy and doesn't seem to understand ordinary rabbit foods, like lettuce and carrots. I can't imagine what they've been feeding it. Anyway, he called them this afternoon and one of the kids came over to retrieve it. We're betting it will be back by tomorrow.

I've been browsing vehicle reviews and price options for much of the afternoon, and I still have no real basis for deciding between the Escape (Ford), the VUE (Saturn), and the Compass (Jeep). The VUE includes OnStar, which would be nice to have but you don't really plan to have to use it. The Compass looks like it would feel very similar to my present Cherokee, which I do like driving. The Escape I could get from a dealer that is near work and whose service department seems reputable. I really need to drive them all I think, but I may go looking tomorrow. (Auto dealers in Illinois are required by law to close on Sunday. That means you can browse through their lots without being pestered by salespeople.)

Reading Herman Hesse's Steppenwolf. I'd forgotten how good and real it is. I know those experiences.

Off to bed with me, now, I think.

Comments

[lobowolf.livejournal.com]

Eh..besides, after the free 6 months is up, OnStar comes with a monthly subscription fee...might as well just get a cellphone.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I haven't looked into how much the monthly fee would be. They include the first year now.

OnStar does have some good features that a simple cell phone lacks. It has GPS, so the car can be located if stolen. They can unlock your doors for you if you call them and give your ID and a password. It triggers an alarm if the air bags go off so an accident can be reported even if you are unconscious.

Of course there's the negative that, in theory, it could be used to track your movements if our ultra-paranoid and crazy Homeland Security decided you were a bad guy.

I knew they were including it as standard in GM luxury cars, but I was a bit surprised to see it as a standard offering on a low end SUV. The big attraction of these three cars, though, is EPA ratings of 29 mpg highway. My usual experience suggests that I'll get more like 32 from that, without giving up the extra space and flexibility that the Cherokee gives me.

The difficulty is that for that rating, I have to get the 4 cylinder engine and manual transmission, which is just fine with me, I'd rather have that. But they don't sell enough of them that way here for any dealer to stock them and I'll have to order one custom. It's ironic. The manual transmission is still the standard equipment, and you pay extra for the automatic, yet it appears that no one buys the manuals.

[lobowolf.livejournal.com]

OnStar is certainly nice if you don't mind the subscription fees. I don't know what the coverage area is either, but since it's satellite based, it could have issues with heavy tree cover (although to be honest, I've never heard of any problems with it).

You seem to do very in the mileage department. They put 10% ethanol in gasoline here since the state outlawed MBTE, and I've noticed a good 2 MPG drop since they did that. I can usually break even with what the window sticker says for mileage, but I've never been able to do any better than that. I seem to be averaging around 27 these days, but that's mixed driving, and my work commute includes about 10 traffic lights and 5 miles of constant road construction, which has really put a dent fuel consumption. I'm afraid next year I'm going to have to think about replacing 'ol Blue (the plow truck) with something S-10 sized.

Well, the US market has reached the point where the manual transmission has become an endangered species. Last time I read something about that, the majority of cars in the US were automatic, and in Europe, the opposite is true. But, then again, the motoring public also goes where it's led and it's usually difficult or impossible to get a manual transmission on many cars in the US, so I imagine many people just take the automatic because that's all they can get.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure OnStar covers all the continental US. It probably misses at least part of Alaska, but I'm about as likely to be driving up there as I am to try to swim to England. I'd have to look at what the fees were and exactly what you get. In theory it sounds good, especially if you don't have and don't want a cell phone. On the other hand, I do usually have a dual band radio in the car with me, so at least in theory, could get help. In practice, though, I've found that more and more of the repeaters around here are dead. No one listening.

I do get good mileage as a rule. Illinois also requires 10% ethanol. I'm matching the EPA rating with my 9 year old Cherokee when running on that. When I went to Michigan in April and put solid gasoline into it, my mileage jumped to over 35 mpg. Shocked even me. I guess I drive like an old lady (well, not if the old lady were my own grandmother, but...) according to most people's standards. Easy stops, gradual starts, always as if the back seat were full of loose eggs. I shift as soon as the engine will take it, rather than running the gears out as far as they can go, and almost never pass or drive faster than the posted limit. The only ticket I ever got was for riding my motorcycle without goggles. That was, oh, back in 1971 I think. I had a helmet on, but no faceplate. I didn't realize that Michigan law required either goggles or a faceplate at speeds of 35 mph or more. I was going 40 when stopped. ;p

As for getting a manual, you still can. The catch is, you might have to order it and wait for delivery, though I've never been forced to do that yet. Both cars that I bought new from dealers, I simply stayed adamant that I wanted the manual, and they hunted one down for me and transferred it from some other dealer. In both cases, I was also able to avoid the dreaded gray car syndrome. I will not buy a gray car. Told them so. Both times they found me a red one. :D If I have to, I'll pay the deposit, order exactly what I want, and wait for it.

I did find an Escape with the 2.3L engine and 5 speed manual yesterday. It's only 20 miles away. But it's gray.

[chibiabos.livejournal.com]

OnStar's been assailed for blatant bad business practices, especially on reports and shows about finances ... you get locked in a contract for years (which makes having a first year year free a bit of a joke) and for how much you pay, you will likely not get much use out of it. You are much better off with a cell phone.

Also there's this ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onstar#OnStar_criticism

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I already checked into it. The basic service is $16.95/mo and the shortest contract is only a year. That beats any cell phone contract I've seen. But no matter, I've pretty much ruled out the Saturn anyway. They've had poor maintenance records and the nearest dealers are inconveniently far away.

[chibiabos.livejournal.com]

Why are you looking for an SUV anyway? To me, SUVs seem to be more worthless "sport" than utilitarian. Can you haul hay easier in one than with a pickup?

And if an SUV, why not something that's rated well, such as the Toyota RAV4 (small SUV), Lexus RX330 (mid-size SUV) or Toyota Land Cruiser (large SUV) which were Consumer Reports' best picks?

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Good grief, you must think I'm made of money. A Lexus? A Land Cruiser? (starting at only $56,000...)

I like the RAV4 but the starting price is nearly $10K over my budget.

I'm 6 feet tall and 220 lbs. I don't fold up easily into tiny vehicles. I've been driving a Cherokee for almost ten years and I like it. It doesn't make me drive with my knees in my chest. It's high enough and has good visibility. I'm looking for a new car because 1) I want better fuel economy, and 2) the Cherokee is starting to build up costly maintenance as things wear out.

I considered light trucks, but the gas mileage is terrible on most of them and my hauling is more likely to be electronics, musical instruments, or live animals than building materials, so an enclosed cargo space is valuable.

If you associate "SUV" with Yukon, Expedition, 4Runner, and other heavyweight, fuel-guzzling pigs, then NO, that's not what I'm looking for. The Cherokee was lighter than most of that class, and I get 25+ mpg with mine on the highway. I've been looking at light weight SUVs available with small engines and better fuel economy. I like 4 wheel drive but can settle for front wheel drive. The three I've been considering (VUE, Escape, and Compass) are lightweights, available with 4 cylinder 2.3 liter engines, and with that engine get 29+ mpg. Does that seem so unreasonable? Though these are being called "SUV" they are build on automobile frames, not truck frames. The term has become a vague catch all for anything station wagon-like that has 4 wheel drive.

Oh, and all three can be purchased new for $20K or less, and currently have buyer incentives that will bring it down even farther.

[hellmutt.livejournal.com]

That's a neat rule about Sundays. I've never heard of that one before.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

It's handy if you like looking at cars without salespeople hanging over you, yes. But that was not the original intent. The law was only passed about 12 years ago, and it is downright stupid. You see, most businesses here in the midwest were closed on Sunday anyway, due to conservative Christian behavior and just plain tradition. But in larger towns, gradually Sunday was getting to be a regular business day. After all, most people are off work, and do not spend the whole day in church. Why not let them shop?

A few wealthy and powerful auto dealers got upset when some of the smaller ones started opening on Sunday. Pretty soon it started a huge political war. The ones who were closed on Sunday claimed that it was "unfair" that others were open that day. It seems to me that the obvious answer is if you want to compete, you open on Sunday too. But oh no, they couldn't do that, it was "against their religion". So they went to the legislature and bribed enough crooks to force a law through making all dealers stay closed on Sunday. This religion thing is really crazy and out of hand in the US. No doubt you've had that impression already, but it's true.

Much as I like having a chance to browse the offerings without a flock of eager salesmen descending upon me, I only buy a car about once a decade. I think merchants should be able to set their own hours to suit their needs and their best business practices, without anyone else's religious superstitions taking priority.

[hellmutt.livejournal.com]

Oh, in that case it does rather suck, knowing the context. Here I am imagining for some reason that it was set up with a sane, unbiased rationale. :D

[altivo.livejournal.com]

If sane and unbiased rationality were a required basis for law, the US and states could clear more than half of their laws off the books. What a concept!

[hellmutt.livejournal.com]

Yeah; I don't know WHAT I was thinking! :)

[lobowolf.livejournal.com]

Wow, I didn't realize anyone still had "blue laws." We had them when I was a kid in Mass., but they've since been overturned 'cause once folks are done prayin', the good Lord wants 'em to go shoppin'.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah. The midwest is full of them. Can't sell alcohol on Sundays until 11 or 12 o'clock. Some local areas have rigid laws that shut down virtually all businesses all day on Sunday. McDonald's in particular hates that and has fought it in court several times but always lost. Kansas still has dry counties where all sale of alcohol is illegal, and probably other states do too. There are all sorts of laws, some enforced, some not, about what is or is not permitted on Sundays.

Puritanism is still very much alive in the US it seems. It affects a great deal more than just attempting to distort the way we teach science in school.

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

I wonder if thats why they're shut here on Sunday too, or if its more a case of can't be arsed ^.^

Have a look at www.carsurvey.org and have a look at owner's reviews of their cars ^.^

I'd just have one of those GPS navigation things the seperate ones so they can be upgraded seperate to the car as the car ones can be real expensive to upgrade and that Onstar thing sounds a bit too much for me. Toyota offers something like that as well I forget what it is though.

It's a pity they don't sell the Ford Territory over there, it looks a bit better in my opinion to the Escape. But then again I'm not a fan of these types of cars :3

I can't imagine they'd be very peppy with small engines trying to lug two tonnes worth of metal and plastic O.O And they're all pretty hideous looking *chuckles*

The weird thing is that the Ford Escape and Mazda Tribute are essentially the same car but the 4wd manual transmission 4cylinder option the Tribute weighs half a ton less o.O How does that work?

Unless one is only curb weight and the other is Gross Vehicle mass
Still the escape weighs in at a whopping 5040lbs GCWR O.O
That's going to make that 2.3L 4cylinder about as responsive a family after christmas dinner manual or not.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I think you must be looking at a typo. The Escape shows as a little over 3000 lbs on the information I have. Yes, it's essentially the same vehicle as a Mazda Tribute, but there isn't a Mazda dealer anywhere within a reasonable distance of me, and having a service department that does warranty work is important.

We already know that you drive very differently than I do. "Peppy" is a concept that has no interest for me at all. I drive like a horse. Slowly. I don't like speed. I was perfectly happy with the performance (if you call it that) of a Volkswagen Beetle, but the trouble was my dogs didn't fit in it.

I have little or no use for GPS. I view OnStar as an emergency communication system, and I don't want a cell phone. However, as I told chibiabos above, I've pretty much ruled out the VUE anyway for other reasons.

Looks, of course, are a matter of taste. I'm not interested in streamlining or sporty style. I want a boxy cargo space that is enclosed from the elements, a fair amount of road security in heavy snow and ice conditions (something I think you probably don't see as much as I do,) and above all, reliability and fuel economy.

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

I'd be tempted to go for the Ford Escape, if the 2.3L is what I think it is , it's a mazda derived engine and used in their SP23 models and Mazda 6, very reliable I hear. It also looks to have more ground clearance and has less "frippery" in design from the looks of it.

But you're right you will need to drive them all.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Well, the Escape and the Compass anyway. I think the literature says the Escape 2.3L engine is a Duratec. It's an inline 4 anyway. I do want to drive one, even if it's an automatic, for the feel of the steering and the visibility, and most important to make sure I fit in the driver's seat.

The Compass is brand new this year, which may be a good reason to not get one. Bound to have some kinks in the design I think. And I don't like the Jeep/Chrysler service departments I've dealt with, though there are still others in the area I've not tried.