O/T Large SUV's

[jscorse]

Our wonderful little Forester is in the collision shop. Some bozo in a Ford Explorer was "looking at his hands" and didn't bother to see the line of a dozen cars at the stop light in front of him!

She'll be alright, just a little pull on the frame and a new bumper and it'll be just fine.

So...we get a rental. Yup..its a brand new Explorer. 20 miles on it. What a beast!

What a pain to get in and out of. The rear end is so tall I had to scramble up on to the bumper to get the last bit of groceries out of the back. Do people really use these behemoths day to day?

And what about the REALLY big ones, like the Expeditions or god forbid the Excursion????

I may gripe from time to time about the limited space in our be-loved Forester, but for day to day stuff, it's the right machine for the job.

[Landshark]

sorry to hear about the Forester. we almost got a Forester, but i thought even THAT would be a waste of space most of the time (no kids). i could have used it a year ago, when i was fixing up the new house, but i just didn't see the need for an SUV now. besides my dad has a pickup, and my brother has a PT Cruiser if i need to transport anything large. the everyday fun of the WRX outweighed the once-in-awhile cargo capacity of a sport-ute.
i used to go to Home Depot in my Porsche, fold the rear seats down, and fill it full of wood trim and stuff. people would stare and i'd say, "its just for hauling supplies."

[jscorse]

The Forester is great for our 5 and 1 YOs. I used to haul all sorts of wood on the roof rack, but now we have a large carrier up there and I'm 'forced' to use my neighbor's truck. She gave me a key so I can use it ANYTIME I'd like.

She bought the truck (a plain jane white Ranger) soley for these purposes, because her daily driver is a V6 Passat. The truck is a terrible driving machine, but it's a great little hauler. Evertime I turn a corner one of the rear wheels lets out a screech. I can't BELIEVE people drive those things everyday.

[mohrds]

<<i used to go to Home Depot in my Porsche, fold the rear seats down, and fill it full of wood trim and stuff. >>

I can only imagine that sight. I've hauled some stuff in my SVX, but realised quickly that we needed something bigger. First came the Explorer. It was great on long trips, very comfortable, but undersized. We still ended up using a trailer a lot of time.

The came the Denali, a little bigger, didn't drive that well but had more power for pulling out stumps. Still needed more room and a trailer.

Now we have a F150 long cab / long bed. That will haul a lot more stuff, but is not good for long trips.

Next on the list will be an Excursion when the price comes down a little further. Great ride, lots of room for hauling and it fits our roof rack cargo holder.

Doug

[Landshark]

Originally posted by mohrds
<<i used to go to Home Depot in my Porsche, fold the rear seats down, and fill it full of wood trim and stuff. >>

Next on the list will be an Excursion when the price comes down a little further. Great ride, lots of room for hauling and it fits our roof rack cargo holder.

Doug

i DID put a blanket down so i wouldn't mess up the interior! if you get an Excursion, you can have an extra parking space for your SVX (inside the Excursion).

[mattski]

Originally posted by mohrds
<<i used to go to Home Depot in my Porsche, fold the rear seats down, and fill it full of wood trim and stuff. >>

I can only imagine that sight. I've hauled some stuff in my SVX, but realised quickly that we needed something bigger. First came the Explorer. It was great on long trips, very comfortable, but undersized. We still ended up using a trailer a lot of time.

The came the Denali, a little bigger, didn't drive that well but had more power for pulling out stumps. Still needed more room and a trailer.

Now we have a F150 long cab / long bed. That will haul a lot more stuff, but is not good for long trips.

Next on the list will be an Excursion when the price comes down a little further. Great ride, lots of room for hauling and it fits our roof rack cargo holder.

Doug

My Aerostar is a great people/pet hauler. Lots of room fro the 2 kids plus friends and 2 dogs when we go skiing. I hook up a trailer for more stuff and a home made bike/windsurfer rack on top. I still do not understand why Ford discontiued them in 97. Hey, isn't that the year the SVX was discontinued? Coincidence?

[seasvx]

Originally posted by jscorse
So...we get a rental. Yup..its a brand new Explorer. 20 miles on it. What a beast!

...be careful to not back over any of the pink flamingos while yer drivin' that thing...

[jscorse]

<<...be careful to not back over any of the pink flamingos while yer drivin' that thing...>>

Or my SVX......

LOL

[benebob]

Originally posted by seasvx
...be careful to not back over any of the pink flamingos while yer drivin' that thing...

Or worse yet any kids! I read an article in Crain's Auto News a few weeks back. Basically said that the number of deaths from backing over of children has risen 350% since 1990 and that SUVs and Minivans accounted for over 75 percent of these deaths. In 90 percent of the cases the driver knew the child.

[jscorse]

I'd bet those statistics are up as well. I lost a wheel to my father's truck when I was a kid so I understand.

Loosing a kid that way must be a horrible thing to have to live through. To be at the hands of your child's death must be the worst that that can happen to a parent.

Whenever the kiddies are out and about I make DAMN sure they are in sight when I'm backing out. ... ... Obviously!....

[Shadow248]

I think alot of those cases may have been Minivans...because now the big minivan manufacturers are all putting backup warning systems (beepers) on their minivans. The new explorers and trailblazers/envoys got it too.

I used to sell Ford then switched to GMC then quit altogether...i have to say i definetly saw a big difference between the two brands. GMC is $2000-$4000 more expensive than ford, and i can see why. GMC's line of engines is unmatched. Their big V8 can outperform Ford's V10 by a good margin and it still gets better gas mileage. The V10 Excursion has a trip computer in it that tells you your gas mileage (being smart i would have thought they would have left this out of the V10 at least), the excursion's advertised gas mileage is 10 City 16 highway....i NEVER saw it get better than 8.5, even on long highway trips. THAT'S BEYOND RIDICULOUS. I'm not an environmentalist or anything, but i can understand someone who has a problem with that. Anyway, i now tell anyone in the SUV market to steer towards the Yukon XL/Suburban instead of the Excursion. Better ride, 5 engine choices, more room inside, and it still doesn't "feel" as big as the Excursion.

[mattski]

Shadow, we currently own an AWD Aerostar but the body rot is likely to drive it to its grave soon. I will be looking for another large AWD vehicle and would certainly value your advice.

I am somewhat reluctant to buy GM due to their terrible repair record in Consumer Reports. Not that the Ford has been any better. Its repair file is three times thicker than anything else that I have owned.

What are your thoughts on the diesel engines? They should get better MPG but the downside is the driveability in the winter.

Thanks,

Matt

[mohrds]

<<i now tell anyone in the SUV market to steer towards the Yukon XL/Suburban instead of the Excursion.>>

Unfortunately since GM went to the "mini" full size SUV design in 2000, our dog crates will no longer fit through the cargo doors. The rounded design in the back prevents us from using it. That's why we bought the 2000 Denali, the last one built on the full size chassis. Unfortunately after a trip to the dealer a month for warranty repairs and recalls for two years straight, we through in the towel and sold it.

That leaves us with only three choices now: Expedition, Navigator, and Excursion.

The downsizing of a full size truck is another GM "improvement" that led to a lost customer. Pity, they do build some decent cars.

As for the 8.5 MPG, who cares? My Mustangs get worse than that. Gas is cheap compared to all my other expenses and cheap compared to a lot of other free countires.

Doug

[Shadow248]

Why is it that one bad vehicle can change someone's opinion so easily? The new "mini" (as you call them) GM SUVs are hands down the highest rated in all their classes. They have won every contest in which they were pitted against other's of their kind. The bottom line is, with mass production, you will always have defects. When a company builds 100,000 of a vehicle in a particular year, even with a defect rate of 0.1%, that's still 100 vehicles, and if they all end up in your area, then you'll probably have a bad impression of a good company. But in this case, switching from GM to Ford for that reason is only going to give you two more years (if you're that patient) of recalls, services, and god forbid blown tires, to deal with.

While your mustangs may get bad gas mileage, they have an excuse...they're over 30 years old!!! A brand new vehicle has no excuse!!!

Lastly, the Excursion is a lame duck...2003 will be it's last year. 2002 was the last year for the Villager, Mountaineer, and the Navigator is being dropped for 2004. With the kind of financial situation they are in right now, Ford is the last company you want to buy from if you are concerned about quality. Now price, that's a different story.

Mattski - i would highly recommend looking at the Traiblazer/Envoy...you will be very impressed. You can get them in extended sizes if you need the third row or more storage. And if that's not big enough, go to a Tahoe/Yukon. They are the most well-mannered SUVs out there. When i sold GMCs, those things sold themselves. Our customers often came over from Ford lots saying how the Expedition was cheaper, and how they were told this and that was better. We simply told them, "Let's go for a ride", one mile down the road it1 was all over, they were sold.

As for diesel engines, the 6.5L Allison/Duramax drivetrain is a mechanical marvel. But it's definetly built more for power...not real economical if you don't need the pulling power, plus you will PAY PAY PAY for it. But like i said, if that's what you need, there's nothing better out there. For the fullsize trucks, i would go for the 5.3L V8. A bulletproof design (no ridiculous OHC/DOHC system to worry about) and with the Vortec heads, they get the best gas mileage in their class. Remember when comparing, GM is definetly more expensive. You don't want to buy one if your main concern is money. But if it's quality your looking for, then it's the only American SUV that will fit.

Hope that was somewhat informative.

[Landshark]

how about a Toyota Landcruiser? they're pretty big, and i'm sure the quality is much better.