Toyota Corollas and Honda Civics have become used car gold. Excursions and Tahoes are lepers, sent to live apart from society. As someone who has owned and driven vehicles on both sides of the fuel economy scale, I wanted to spend some time and do a breakdown of actual fuel savings yielded by switching from a Tahoe to a Civic.
First, I used www.fueleconomy.gov to get the combined mileage for both vehicles. The Civic with auto transmission gets 29 MPG compared to the Tahoe that gets 16. If we assume that you drive 10,000 miles per year at $4.25 a gallon, switching from the Tahoe to the Civic will save you $1200 in fuel. In order to achieve this same saving by simply reducing use, you would have to drive the Tahoe only 5,500 miles per year.
Now since fuel economy is only a portion of a vehicles cost, lets take a look at the price for a used Civic and Tahoe on Craigslist, lets say a 2004 with around 50,000 miles on the clock. As of August 14th, 2008 the Civic will cost you around $14,000, the Tahoe has a bit more of a range, but 13-16k is pretty common. I think it is safe to call this one a tie, as shopping around for either car could yield a similar deal.
You get a lot more vehicle with the Tahoe, but the Civic will save you $1200 a year. Now the question becomes, are you ok with packing the family into the Honda and heading down to the river?
For me I think the choice is clear, figure out how to drive fewer miles and get the Tahoe so I can tow my racecar in comfort!
When I first saw Marty McFly hop behind the wheel of Doc Browns DMC-12, I was hooked. At that time I had no idea the man behind the version without a flux capacitor was the very same man credited with hatching the Pontiac GTO in 1964. There are few things as magical as sitting behind the wheel of a midsize American sedan with a long wheelbase (115″), a ton of power and absolutely stunning visual style. Although I don’t actually own a GTO, I have two examples of the Chevrolet version of the A-body in my stable, and one day when my wife forgets that I already have 2 hotrods, maybe I can sneak in a 1965 GTO Tri-power. Maybe the DMC-12 would have sold better if it had the big bad rumble of a v8 engine?
Enough treading down memory lane, lets set the time circuits forward, and see what lies in store. According to an article on BBC News, James Espey of Delorean Motor Company in Texas is producing around 20-25 hand made DMC-12s each year for sale to hard core Michael J. Fox fans. Hopefully Mr. Espey and his crew give the car a bit of a performance upgrade, because according to the ever reliable Wikipedia, these things take over 10 seconds to hit 60mph in stock form. That’s slower then my wife’s Escape Hybrid, which although it may have a flux capacitor, does not inspire the mind of the performance enthusiast.
When you spend as much time in the junkyards as I do, you start to develop irrational affection for a number of somewhat obscure vehicles. Back before Toyota introduces the Lexus line of automobiles , their Flagship car in the United States was the Cressida. Known on “the street” as the 4-door Supra, these cars are an easy swap away from a 5 speed and 1JZ or 2JZ powerplant.
Currently I own and drive a Lexus LS 400, but I have decided that the car is a bit too sophisticated and refined for my taste. It is smooth, quiet, and reasonably fast, but I think the automotive fanatic in me requires something that stands apart from the crowd. I think a Third generation Cressida with a slight drop and some nice wheels sounds about right.
The British Petrol Heads over at Top Gear put their test driver, “The Stig” behind the wheel of the new Nissan GT-R. Read his blog with his impressions of the car: The Stig’s Impression of the GT-R
Last night I was playing GTA IV via xbox Live with my good friend and I had a realization, the vehicle design team for this game not only loves cars, but they love them in the same way that I do. The cars are not just copies of run of the mill street cars, they manage to capture some very unique elements that speak to the petrolheads out there.
Let’s take for example the Corquette. It’s easy enough to see that this car is based on the c5 Corvette, but upon closer inspection is appears that the wheel/tire package and front Aero are derived from the Top Secret V12 Supra. Taking things a step further, when you crash the Corquette and peer under the hood, it appears that it is powered by a 2JZ. If the devil is in the details, I just found satan!! For those that are not inflicted with the sickness, the 2JZ is the motor found in the Toyota Supra, at least before Smoky Nagata gets his hands on it.
Next up lets take a look at the dig that the GTA team takes at the venerable Ford Mustang. Long a symbol of American performance cars the Mustang has achieved a cult following and iconic status here in the United States. Across the Atlantic Ocean, the Mustang is a rare bird, but one of its Ford cousins, the Escort has made a bit of a splash as a performance enthusiast car. Since GTA must cater to an international audience, why not set the two up in a swank hotel with some fine liqueur and see what happens! Of course the offspring does not always get the most desirable traits of each parent, just the dominant ones, hence the Uranus in GTA IV is a FF car.
The last car on my list if the Faction. This car is pretty much a straight copy of the early 80’s Buick Turbo Regal. Throw in a little Grand National for flavor, and you have one of the coolest cars ever made. A turbocharged V6 sedan with bold slab sides and a profile looks fast, even when parked. I have not yet had a chance to jump on of these through a line of hookers and pimps in real life, but in GTA is sure have.
I grew up in a small town called La Canada Flintridge. A nice, quiet community in northen Los Angeles, nestled at the base if the Angeles National Forest. A benefit of growing up there was the quick access to one of the west coasts finer driving roads. Clean, smooth pavement, banked turns, and if you avoid Saturdays and Sundays, you can make it from La Canada to Palmdale without seeing another car. I just got done taking the drift 5.0 Mustang for a 4th gear glide, a little slice of heaven.
If you have never driven this road, I recommend it, just avoid the weekends, it can become a demolition derby of weekend warriors laying down their shiny new crotch rockets.
Someone who figured a stock VW Bug was not short enought