minivan

buzzkill · Post by **buzzkill** » Mar 21st, '06, 21:02

Steve wrote:gotta tell ya..

The minivan was great to have this past weekend at kmart.
alex and the baby watched DVDs the whole time.. made the
trip a lot shorter for them.

I know you're loving this, you and that bulbous station wagon
are getting some big time press here. :)

MarieM · Post by **MarieM** » Mar 21st, '06, 21:45

RE: patriotism...

Back in 1985 I had a brand-new Volvo wagon...first genereation turbo. A guy walked into my husband's convenience store and said loudly to all who were there..."Hey...any Swedes in here buyin' coffee?"

Point taken...but in 1985, that turbo wagon was the balls...and no American manufacturer had anything like it.

And now the baby that was being driven to kindergarten in that is off the Northern Arabian coast in his fourth deployment in support of "Operation Iraqi Freedom!"

It's all about live and let live, isn't it?

SPORE · Post by **SPORE** » Mar 21st, '06, 22:13

Steve wrote:
HelmetCam wrote:
SkiDork wrote:Steve, is your new vehicle AWD or 4WD?
The Honda is 2WD. If they offered a AWD/4WD version I would have jumped on it. I went with the Toyota because of the AWD.
I learned this in my civic:
2wd w/Hakkas > 4wd with normal tires.

And I liked the performance of the Ody anyway.. my parents have a sienna and I always thought toyotas in general were a bit sluggish..

Can you tell me how you learned this when you stated that you haven't driven anything but a Honda...all of which were 2wd?

SPORE · Post by **SPORE** » Mar 21st, '06, 22:14

Steve wrote:
johnny the jibber wrote:so how come no honda pilot or another suv???
point 1: not as much for your money: $32K, and I got the Navigation, DVD, wireless headphones, XM, power sliding doors, leather, and a camera that points out the back so I can see where I'm going when in reverse. Try doing that in a mid-sized SUV.

point 2: SUVs get relatively lousy gas mileage

point 3: Like 99% of SUV buyers today, I'm never going to take it off-road. What's the point then?

point 4: This van with hakkapellitas will do better in the snow than most 4wds with radials..

Really? Are you speculating again?

buzzkill · Post by **buzzkill** » Mar 21st, '06, 23:15

MarieM wrote:RE: patriotism...

Back in 1985 I had a brand-new Volvo wagon...first genereation turbo. A guy walked into my husband's convenience store and said loudly to all who were there..."Hey...any Swedes in here buyin' coffee?"

Point taken...but in 1985, that turbo wagon was the balls...and no American manufacturer had anything like it.

And now the baby that was being driven to kindergarten in that is off the Northern Arabian coast in his fourth deployment in support of "Operation Iraqi Freedom!"

It's all about live and let live, isn't it?

I don't think anyone is questioning one's patriotism based on what brand of vehicle they drive, I'm certainly not, I drive a Honda.
What I do take exception to it the bias I detect in RJ's argument, American=bad, car, management, design,
workmanship, manufacturing process, it's a blanket slant. Millions of people buy American cars and are
very satisfied, they're all wrong? I don't see his view based on fact but opinion. And what's with the
kneejerk anger associated with bumper stickers and contrary view points? This is where I see the anti-
patriotism, the automatic put down of anything American, not in vehicle purchases.

lilywhite · Post by **lilywhite** » Mar 21st, '06, 23:40

my camry,then an infiniti had no problem going to VT with good all season tires..only bought hakkas when I had to start on a 40? degree grade to get to work for a season in VT. (and seeing mostly SUV's off road...in the ditches).
Looked at a ton of SUV's...though they look cool..and yes I like them-I think I still can fit more in the trunks of above cars than most SUV's.
yep-had a caravan & a beemer before. caravan..could also fit 4x8 sheets of construction stuff. Much as I don't care for the 12 bags of groceries and 5 kids concept--have to admit I might buy another one next time around.
it's all about branding and marketing...and seeing thru it.
yes, I'd love a Viper..but my license would likely get yanked before day 1 was over..and it wouldn't clear the potholes in K parking lot.

Steve · Post by **Steve** » Mar 22nd, '06, 07:10

SPORE wrote:
Steve wrote:
HelmetCam wrote:
SkiDork wrote:Steve, is your new vehicle AWD or 4WD?
The Honda is 2WD. If they offered a AWD/4WD version I would have jumped on it. I went with the Toyota because of the AWD.
I learned this in my civic:
2wd w/Hakkas > 4wd with normal tires.

And I liked the performance of the Ody anyway.. my parents have a sienna and I always thought toyotas in general were a bit sluggish..
Can you tell me how you learned this when you stated that you haven't driven anything but a Honda...all of which were 2wd?

From a stop, in a freakin Civic - I had no problem getting to speed in the same snow that had 4 wheels spinning on people's beloved SUVs.

Saw it a bunch of times.. All attributed to the tires.

Steve · Post by **Steve** » Mar 22nd, '06, 07:14

by the way, the best part of it was seeing the looks on these poor people's faces - being smoked by a 2wd civic having no problems in the snow that got their 4wd SUVs stuck.

2wd Hakkas > 4wd normal tires

Post by **SkiDork** » Mar 22nd, '06, 07:17

Steve wrote:by the way, the best part of it was seeing the looks on these poor people's faces - being smoked by a 2wd civic having no problems in the snow that got their 4wd SUVs stuck.

2wd Hakkas > 4wd normal tires

Thats strange.

I never ever had a problem with my 1982 Subaru Wagon.

I've also never had a problem with my 04 Suburban.

Both had stock tires on them.

I guess I've never driven in the nasty snow conditions you were in when you smoked em...

BTW - Are you talking about studded Hakkas or non-studded?

I guess if I threw Hakkas on the Sub, it would be a champ in the snow?

Steve · Post by **Steve** » Mar 22nd, '06, 07:32

non-studded (I still had problems in ice)
4wd w/hakkas would be unbelievable.

so this guy in an SUV is stuck in snow that was plowed into the side of the road at a mcdonalds driveway, right? We're both coming out. I pull up next to him.. where the snow is just as deep. smile and wave. and zoom off.

The look on his face was such that he was going to chase me down and kill me. Good thing he was stuck..

Bling Skier · Post by **Bling Skier** » Mar 22nd, '06, 07:34

Steve,
Your still driving a Mommy Box.
Sad....Hey do you have a magnetic socker ball on it yet?

Steve · Post by **Steve** » Mar 22nd, '06, 07:36

Bling Skier wrote:Steve,
Your still driving a Mommy Box.
Sad....Hey do you have a magnetic socker ball on it yet?

Magnetic soccer balls are only found on BMW SUVs.
Too bad they don't make magnetic rugby balls..

Post by **SkiDork** » Mar 22nd, '06, 07:38

Steve wrote:4wd w/hakkas would be unbelievable.

Which model would be good for a big SUV? link?

I'm gonna need new tires in the next few months...

Also, how long do they last compared to normal tires? About the same?

Steve · Post by **Steve** » Mar 22nd, '06, 07:41

http://www.nokiantyres.com/suv_wintertyres_en

I got 50k out of mine.
They're pretty much dead now..

Post by **SkiDork** » Mar 22nd, '06, 07:42

Steve wrote:http://www.nokiantyres.com/suv_wintertyres_en

I got 50k out of mine.
They're pretty much dead now..

which one of those 3 on that link?