Traded in my Ford F 150 4 dr 5.2ltr. I am now the owner of a Toyota Prius. I've went from 13.4 mpg to 48 mpg. Screw 'em!
LOL Terry. I didn't do this for the environment. It was done for my wallet. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smug_Alert!
I was going to make a joke asking where one would mount a rifle rack on a Prius, but I Googled it first, and sure enough I found discussions on that very subject. I don't know how much you drive, Rodney, but if you do drive a fair amount, then good for you for doing something to counter high gas prices.
BDR, TB lives in Georgia. Texas is the state that is BEST known for residents having a love affair with their weapons. :wink:
Indeed. It was from a Texan that I first heard that "gun control" means hitting what you're aiming at.
I still have my Ford F-350. But with my injury and the cost of driving the beast it has sat still until both batteries are dead. I'm planning on using it to pull our camper for a camping trip in late June.
Good luck with that Bill. You're not driving yet? I began to drive (albeit very uncomfortably) around 9 weeks after the injury when I had about 60 degrees of flex in my right leg brace.
I do wonder how these high gas prices are going to affect people like you Bill who need a big truck to pull the 5th wheel. Or people who own those road Yachts, there are 2 huge dealerships just west of me on I-10 they are loaded with big 5th wheels and road Yachts. This has got to be killing their business. Also what about people who own big boats, those suckers really burn the gas/diesel.
MCG, I'm driving and walking almost normal. It's just that we haven't had any use for the big truck and it's just been sitting there. I expect to get it going over the weekend. But because of the cost of gas I don't expect to use it often to just drive to town. As far as my leg I've exceeded the movement they told me to expect, I can bend it almost as far as the other leg. The weakness right now is in the quad muscle but that's coming along. I walked almost a mile on an outing last week.
I feel your pain TB, although I didn't go quite as radical as you did. Last year I was changing jobs to a much longer drive, so I dumped my pretty and comfy F150 (15mpg) for a base model 4-cylinder Tacoma (26mpg). Not quite the mileage gain you got, but I still have a place for a gun rack, and a bird dog in back if I want 'em!
Excellent news on the leg Bill. I too am walking quite a bit but I can say that uneven surfaces can still feel pretty awkward at times and going up steps I still bring the right leg up after the left instead of pushing off on the higher step with the right leg. I need to strengthen mine as well.
Although I claim no conspiracy to drain money from my account, I will admit that spending close to $1000/month on our work commute, does place a strain on our fuel budget. Ya think??? I have, for the most part, parked the 2005 Chevrolet 2500HD Club Cab 4WD Duramax Diesel in favor of the 2004 Chevrolet 1500 5.3 liter Standard Cab 2WD pickup. The two vehicles both average 17.5 mpg but the price of Diesel being over $4/gal is the difference. The 2500 is a necessary vehicle as long as we have our 5th wheel trailer. Like Bill, I may have parked it, but can not sell it. Cindy and I are considering selling either her 2004 GMC Envoy (18 mpg)or the 2004 Chevrolet 1500 and buying a fuel efficient vehicle. I am leaning toward selling the Envoy. I have asked TB (in an e-mail) about his feelings so far on the Toyota. I've received no reply. Anyone else done any research that they would like to share? I don't know that I want to go hybrid. I do want 27+ mpg. At 27, that would be a 50% increase in mileage for one of us. That should drop our fuel costs to under $750 per month. I may be ready to buy a second fuel efficient vehicle around 6 months later when I have had time to evaluate the first one.
Tom, I have a good friend who also owns a Prius. She loves it, and it tears up the gas mileage as TB noted. One thing to consider: if you do a lot of highway driving, a hybrid really isn't going to gain you that much over a regular hi-efficieny gas car. On the highway, they both use the gas engine 100%, so there's no diff there. It's stop and go traffic that lets the hybrid shine. Also remember that if you buy one, and decide to sell/trade it in say 6 years, the batteries are going to be an issue. They will be nearing the end of their lifespan, and no one really knows yet how that will affect resale value.
Scott, Thanks for mentioning the highway issue. I had heard that somewhere before. We each travel 40 miles one way each day to work. Of that 40 miles, 38 miles are highway miles. That is why I stated that I don't think we will go hybrid. If the high mileage vehicle will be for me, it will most likely be a fuel efficient mini truck. If it is for Cindy, it will be some front wheel drive car... is the mini cooper front wheel drive? :wink:
MCG, I am not completely comfortable on uneven surfaces or going up and down stairs. However I'm getting better at it every day. Last week we went to Whitewater Falls state park, it's about a half mile walk uphill from the parking lot to the viewing area. I made it up and back fine. On stairs I try to put one foot in front of the other and do so with some success but still have to do what you do sometimes. I think I have an advantage in rehab in that I don't have to work and I can gear my life around going to rehab and exercising it on off days also. Of course my age is a negative factor. I don't know about the operation I had as compared to a partial tear. I do know that there has been very little paid on the operated area, it's all the surrounding tissues. All in all I am very happy with the way my recovery is going.
Tom, speaking of my rehab I always get a chance to read a magazine for about ten minutes at the end when I am iced down. One of the articles I remember was about several car companies coming out with small diesels that will be competitive with they hybrids. About 40 mpg. Even with diesel being more expensive the cost per mile for one of those cars would be smaller. I'm going to get the truck running this weekend. Right now there are a couple of times a week where we both need transportation.