What Do You Drive?

DaFABRICATA

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jan 10, 2007
Messages
3,946
Location
Michigan
With the gas prices going up, I am wondering what people are driving and if they are changing their transportation habits such as riding a bike when possible or a Moped. I have not had a lisence for about 7 years now and am considering just writing it off completely. I live in a town/city where I can either walk or ride my bike to almost anything I need. I do own 2 cars and 4 motorcycles, but none ever get used. I find that riding my bike, I can make it across town almost as fast and depending on traffic, faster than in a car. Theres plenty of days that I remember back to the good 'ol times of cruzin around, doing burnouts and blastin the stereo. Oh how I miss those times! On the other hand, listining to my family/friends talk about gas and the other expenses with automobile ownership, I am feeling better about not driving. It also feels good knowing that I am not contributing to the problems at hand and saving pretty darn good money while in the process. I've considered selling my car, but it is already paid for and I like having it around "Just in Case"

SO.......What do you drive?

I use my would be gas money on flaslights now:twothumbs:crackup:

Heres my transportation.....

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My Project Car: 1978 Chevette-----Codename: Ecovette

Full tube Chassis, 2008 Pontiac GXP Engine and Manuel Trans. 260 Turbocharged HP:twothumbs

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Thats My neighbors yard:sigh:.....not mine:grin2:

How often can you say, you're tuckin' 13"s:crackup:
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schrenz

Enlightened
Joined
Mar 16, 2006
Messages
290
Location
Germany
Hey, I have never expected to see a good ol' Opel Kadett in the CPF :D.
A similar one had been my first car twenty years ago, now I'm driving its great granson an Opel Astra (sold in the USA as Saturn Astra,I believe).

But these old C-Kadetts are legendary cult-cars here in Germany, I'm missing it :candle:.

Beside this I've a semi-custom mountain-bike (low mountain-range here).

Best
Jens
 

mechBgon

Enlightened
Joined
Nov 3, 2007
Messages
567
I have a '95 Dodge Caravan (V6 engine) that I use 1-2 times a week. Driven gently, it can get about 20mpg in the city. The rest of the time, I ride either my commuting bicycle or one of my other two bicycles, which don't need to be driven gently :devil:

I sometimes consider getting rid of the Caravan altogether. With the money I saved on car insurance, I could buy lots of frozen pizzas :) But as you say, it's paid for and sometimes useful, so I guess I'll wait 'til it nukes a transmission or something.
 
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ttran97

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 12, 2002
Messages
1,212
Location
California
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Now, before you folks start hatin'....I just checked on Kelly Blue Book (kbb.com) and it's now only worth around $8,000. :( I bought this brand new 8 years ago... :thumbsdow Oh well. At least it still looks good. :)

Gas mileage isn't too bad...20 city, 30 highway....worse if the top is down, which it almost never is unless I'm impressing a date. :naughty:


And of course, upgraded the headlights and fog lights to HID's! Yay!

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jtr1962

Flashaholic
Joined
Nov 22, 2003
Messages
7,506
Location
Flushing, NY
I have not had a lisence for about 7 years now and am considering just writing it off completely. I live in a town/city where I can either walk or ride my bike to almost anything I need.
I'm in pretty much the same boat. Bike can be faster than driving in many places here. Walking is convenient for a lot of my errands. The places I usually go which are too far to walk can be reached easier/faster by subway than by car. Never owned a car, never had a license. Fortunately I live in a place where it's more of a convenience than a necessity. I really feel for the people for whom that's not the case. If I had to have some sort of motorized transportation, I would own something like this.
 

270winchester

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Aug 9, 2004
Messages
3,983
Location
down the road from Pleasure Point.
2006 Chevy HHR LT with a 2.4L VVT Ecotec.

175HP, 28 MPIG City, 44 MPIG Highway


a 2.4L engine car that gets 44mpg on the highway?

how does it work?

from Chevy's website:

ECOTEC 2.4L DOHC
HHR with five-speed manual transmission 20/28
HHR with four-speed automatic transmission 22/28
HHR Panel with five-speed manual transmission 20/29
HHR Panel with four-speed automatic transmission 22/28
 
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ttran97

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 12, 2002
Messages
1,212
Location
California
I'm in pretty much the same boat. Bike can be faster than driving in many places here. Walking is convenient for a lot of my errands. The places I usually go which are too far to walk can be reached easier/faster by subway than by car. Never owned a car, never had a license. Fortunately I live in a place where it's more of a convenience than a necessity. I really feel for the people for whom that's not the case. If I had to have some sort of motorized transportation, I would own something like this.

Owning a car isn't purely about getting from point A to point B. There's the enthusiasm that comes with driving that many people just love. For me, it's the purest feeling of freedom that I can experience...cruising down the highway, listening to music, leaving the stress of the world behind.
 

Chronos

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jan 27, 2006
Messages
1,757
Location
Tampa, FL
Our current stable consists of:

Epsom Green Range Rover (weekend/hiking/climbing toy)
Light Grey Cadillac SRX (family hauler)
Porsche Carrera (weekend/track toy)

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1wrx7

Enlightened
Joined
Mar 20, 2007
Messages
533
Location
SE MI
2003 Subaru WRX 2.0 turbo

Turbos really suck for gas mileage especially when I need to use at least 93 octane.

On the other hand..... turbo + AWD =:D:grin2::crackup:
 

jasonck08

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Sep 16, 2007
Messages
1,516
Location
Redding, CA
I drive a 125cc Yamaha SV Max scooter. It gets 70MPG city and my max MPG in the country (not highway because its illegal) was 103MPG. I run it on 95 octane. It is souped out and has some sweet neon blue decklights (my personal touch). I'll have to post pictures later...
 

orb

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
May 14, 2004
Messages
1,579
Location
UK
Nothing since I purchased a Spy 007 ......


:crackup:
 

jtr1962

Flashaholic
Joined
Nov 22, 2003
Messages
7,506
Location
Flushing, NY
Owning a car isn't purely about getting from point A to point B. There's the enthusiasm that comes with driving that many people just love. For me, it's the purest feeling of freedom that I can experience...cruising down the highway, listening to music, leaving the stress of the world behind.
I pretty much get all that minus the music with cycling, at least if I ride when the streets are nearly empty. 25 mph on a bike feels like 100 mph in a car.

If you lived here you wouldn't consider driving as anything more than getting from point A to point B either. I like living in the city but it's not a place to be if you like driving. Driving around here with all the congestion and idiot drivers is about as far from fun it gets. I can understand the joy of blasting along an empty Interstate at 125 mph but that's neither legal nor reality. Driving in traffic and within the speed limits is frankly boring to me. Most of today's cars are half asleep until you pass 100 mph. I had a learner's permit once. I didn't bother continuing because a) I couldn't afford to drive b) The speed limits put me to sleep c) All the other drivers doing stupid things annoyed me d) It's too easy to end up dead or crippled no matter how good you drive

Worst thing we ever did IMO was make driving easy and affordable enough so most people could do it. That bought the traffic laws down to the skill level of the least common denominator. I'd say based on observations that most people don't enjoy driving because they're not very good at it. Usually when people enjoy doing something they try to do it well.

I personally think driving a TGV would be loads more fun than driving a car but that's just me. If they ever come to this country, maybe I'll apply for a job.

One of my theories on why some people feel as you do about driving is that we lack control over most other areas of our lives except when we're in control of an automobile. Even that "freedom" is largely an illusion since you're controlled by traffic and traffic laws, but nevertheless it's a popular perception. Maybe if we gave people back more freedom in other areas of their lives their perception of driving might more closely match mine, which is basically an expensive way of last resort to get from point A to point B if you have no other reasonable alternatives. I personally like choice. This seems to be the theme of the OP. I like having the option to walk or bike or take a subway in addition to a car. Anyway, I'm glad you enjoy driving and live in a place where driving is enjoyable. Our differences make the world a more interesting place.

This should be an interesting decade. Many are predicting more changes in the transportation landscape in the next decade than in the last half century. The resurgence of freight railways has been well underway now for the last 20 years. We're actually finally adding public transit instead of taking it away. We'll hopefully see EVs become mainstream. I think the US will get a TGV-style network in time. Private transit will still of course exist, but it's daily role will be diminished compared to today. Stay tuned....

Sorry about the rant-transportation is one of favorite topics of discussion.
 

ttran97

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 12, 2002
Messages
1,212
Location
California
jtr1962...I'm not against public transportation. It's great for New York City and Chicago and other cities that have a well-thought out system. I've lived in both cities and used their subways and buses. But in much of the West and mid-West, no such system exists. Even in California, if you get away from downtown LA or SF, it's very time consuming to wait for a bus, do multiple transfers, etc etc. The news channels here are constantly doing comparisons between driving & mass transit, and the money saved isn't always worth it. Sometimes, it actually costs more to take mass transit (high ticket prices, parking fees...you gotta drive to the BART station, etc etc).

I guess people's views on driving will differ from region to region. And then there's the hobby aspect of cars too. Just like we're flashaholics and love our lights, there are millions of people that absolutely love their cars. I love my car, but I hardly put any time/money/effort into my car...while others work on theirs daily.

About the "perceived" freedom...I think it's more restrictive to wait for the bus. In my city, the bus only comes once every half hour or so...and 90% of the time, it doesn't even go to areas that I need to get to. And then waiting for the next bus to come along when I transfer...who knows how long that'll take. So my quick 15 minute trip might end up taking an hour! If I wanted to hop in my car now and drive to the library, I can just do it.

Riding a bike in California is just plain dangerous. haha. Sorry, but that's the truth. I love riding my mountain bike in the woods or parks, but doing it daily for work or your primary mode of transportation here...not something I'd try. I'm sure you heard about the cop that ran over the bicyclist back in March. Sucks.

But having said all that...I really can't wait until they make that darn bullet train from San Francisco to Los Angeles already! I'm tired of airports. haha. I'm telling ya...if they built a subway system as good as the one in New York, I would use it! :thumbsup:
 
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Joined
May 19, 2005
Messages
910
Location
Seattle, WA
I own a 1990 Jeep Cherokee, it's not good for gas mileage (about 14MPG city/18 highway), but it's a lot of fun. I mostly use my girlfriend's Corolla for city driving.

Here's my rig:
 
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jtr1962

Flashaholic
Joined
Nov 22, 2003
Messages
7,506
Location
Flushing, NY
But in much of the West and mid-West, no such system exists. Even in California, if you get away from downtown LA or SF, it's very time consuming to wait for a bus, do multiple transfers, etc etc.
I agree. I don't want people to use public transit if it means tripling their travel times. That's ridiculous. In most parts of the US you have to use a car if you want to get anything done. I know that. Even with NYC's great public transit system, don't you remember what a pain it can sometimes be if you're traveling within the outer boroughs? My brother lives in the Rockaways but works in Flushing. There are no convenient public transit options so he drives. The 15 mile trip takes him 30 to 45 minutes but taking public transit would take at least double that. But for going from the outer boroughs to Manhattan, nothing beats the subway.

Riding a bike in California is just plain dangerous. haha. Sorry, but that's the truth. I love riding my mountain bike in the woods or parks, but doing it daily for work or your primary mode of transportation here...not something I'd try. I'm sure you heard about the cop that ran over the bicyclist back in March. Sucks.
No, I didn't hear about that but that's horrible. Again, agreed 100%. Why do you think I ride at night? It's way safer with less traffic. I ride my bike for fun, but until there are more bike lanes, less traffic, and most importantly more places to securely park my bike, it's hard to use it for regular transportation. We're getting there. They just added more bike lanes by me but we still have a way to go.

But having said all that...I really can't wait until they make that darn bullet train from San Francisco to Los Angeles already! I'm tired of airports. haha. I'm telling ya...if they built a subway system as good as the one in New York, I would use it! :thumbsup:
And that SF-LA train actually looks like it's going to get built. I predict once the US has one line, every other major city will want one. That's exactly what happened in Europe when they built the first TGV in 1982. Those trains look like they would be a blast to ride in, too. Fastest I've ever gone on a train was 130 mph on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor when I was going to college in the early 1980s. The new Acela does up to 150 mph, but only for about 22 miles of its run. Most of the rest is at 125 mph, with 135 mph in a few spots.
 

houtex

Enlightened
Joined
Mar 7, 2007
Messages
896
Location
houston,tx
Here's my 05 F150. I love her...consider lettin her go after I join the academy(fingers crossed) it's 45 miles one way!
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