$36.46

Joe wrote:
> "Michael Johnson, PE" > wrote in
> :
>
>
>>Wound Up wrote:
>>
>>>>Donna wants a Mariner now. She likes the smaller size. I think
>>>>Ford designed that SUV with females in mind. Most guys don't go
>>>>for it. Not manly enough, I suppose.
>>>
>>>
>>>They sure didn't target their advertising of it to females,
>>>considering the girl on the commercials.
>>
>>Maybe they already sold the females on it and now they are trying to
>>mop up the males.
>
>
> The wussy ones at least...
>
> If I had to downsize from the Dak I'd go right to a bike.


There really isn't much of a difference in mileage between an Explorer
and an Escape.

"Michael Johnson, PE" > wrote in message
...
> Wound Up wrote:
>>>Donna wants a Mariner now. She likes the smaller size. I think Ford
>>>designed that SUV with females in mind. Most guys don't go for it. Not
>>>manly enough, I suppose.
>>
>>
>> They sure didn't target their advertising of it to females, considering
>> the girl on the commercials.
>
> Maybe they already sold the females on it and now they are trying to mop
> up the males.

Yeah, quite possibly. It sure as heck got my attention. Oh, and let's not
forget the "swing votes" on each side. Why both? Some men identify with
women more easily, and the Ford pickup / Home Depot commercial might have
seemed threatening to them. =)

--
Wound Up
ThunderSnake #65

"Michael Johnson, PE" > wrote in
:

> Joe wrote:
>> "Michael Johnson, PE" > wrote in
>> :
>>
>>
>>>Wound Up wrote:
>>>
>>>>>Donna wants a Mariner now. She likes the smaller size. I think
>>>>>Ford designed that SUV with females in mind. Most guys don't go
>>>>>for it. Not manly enough, I suppose.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>They sure didn't target their advertising of it to females,
>>>>considering the girl on the commercials.
>>>
>>>Maybe they already sold the females on it and now they are trying
to
>>>mop up the males.
>>
>>
>> The wussy ones at least...
>>
>> If I had to downsize from the Dak I'd go right to a bike.
>
>
> There really isn't much of a difference in mileage between an
Explorer
> and an Escape.

That's interesting. Just from size and weight alone I'd have thought
that the Escape got at least 5mpg better...

Joe wrote:
> "Michael Johnson, PE" > wrote in
> :
>
>
>>Joe wrote:
>>
>>>"Michael Johnson, PE" > wrote in
:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>Wound Up wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>>Donna wants a Mariner now. She likes the smaller size. I think
>>>>>>Ford designed that SUV with females in mind. Most guys don't go
>>>>>>for it. Not manly enough, I suppose.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>They sure didn't target their advertising of it to females,
>>>>>considering the girl on the commercials.
>>>>
>>>>Maybe they already sold the females on it and now they are trying
>
> to
>
>>>>mop up the males.
>>>
>>>
>>>The wussy ones at least...
>>>
>>>If I had to downsize from the Dak I'd go right to a bike.
>>
>>
>>There really isn't much of a difference in mileage between an
>
> Explorer
>
>>and an Escape.
>
>
> That's interesting. Just from size and weight alone I'd have thought
> that the Escape got at least 5mpg better...

The combined fuel economy for the Escape is 19 mpg and 17 for the
Explorer. The hybrid Escape has a 31 mpg combined rating. It actually
gets better mileage in the city than on the highway. For a measly 2 mpg
penalty, I would rather have the Explorer than the garden variety Escape.

The Escape hybrid really is quite an achievement for Ford, IMO. I
wonder what mileage they would get if they used that technology in a
light weight car. Plus, I would like to see a hybrid that takes braking
energy and stores it mechanically in a spinning flywheel. Then used
that stored energy to get the car moving again. I think it would be a
more efficient use of that energy than trying to charge batteries from
it in the short time frame that braking occurs.

Wound Up wrote:
> "Michael Johnson, PE" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>>Wound Up wrote:
>>
>>>>Donna wants a Mariner now. She likes the smaller size. I think Ford
>>>>designed that SUV with females in mind. Most guys don't go for it. Not
>>>>manly enough, I suppose.
>>>
>>>
>>>They sure didn't target their advertising of it to females, considering
>>>the girl on the commercials.
>>
>>Maybe they already sold the females on it and now they are trying to mop
>>up the males.
>
>
> Yeah, quite possibly. It sure as heck got my attention. Oh, and let's not
> forget the "swing votes" on each side. Why both? Some men identify with
> women more easily, and the Ford pickup / Home Depot commercial might have
> seemed threatening to them. =)

Isn't it the new "Metrosexual Male" that is supposed to be what women
want now?

Joe wrote:
> AGuyNamedSteve > wrote in
> nk.net:
>
>
>>
>>Michael Johnson, PE wrote:
>>
>>
>>>If you don't drive much, the annual additional cost of gas between
>>>a 20 mpg and a 30 mpg vehicle isn't that much. I would rather pay
>>>the extra $500 a year and drive what I want. I used to put 20,000
>>>miles a year on but now that I work from home I probably don't
>>>drive 8,000 miles a year.
>>> For me driving a 30 mpg vehicle verses an 18 mpg vehicle is $550 a
>>> year
>>>assuming gas is $2.50/gallon. That isn't a big enough savings to
>>>plant my butt into a shoe box with four wheels.
>>
>>That's something I need to sit down and figure out - about how much
>>I spend per year on gas now, and what differences there will be
>>based on different vehicles, octane requirements, etc...
>
>
> Something else to consider is the cost of these hybrids and where your
> break-even point is. You'll pay x number of dollars more for the
> technology, but you won't make that back in fuel savings for many
> years.


I don't have to consider it. I have no plans of having a hybrid, they
weren't even on my radar screen. In fact, just figuring out the
combined mileage that my wife and I put on our cars, it looks like it's
around 12,000 miles total! She's only put 3000 miles on her car since
January. Her drive to work is about 5 miles, and my drive to the park n
ride is only a few beyond that.

Steve
72 Skylark Custom455

WindsorFox[SS] wrote:
> AGuyNamedSteve wrote:
>
>>>
>>>
>>> Yup, that seems to be everywhere. Lots of people are doing it on
>>> Freshalloy.com which is the largest of the Nissan and Infiniti
>>> forums, and caused me to try it in my Murano.
>>>
>>
>> I do like the Infiniti FX35 too, although my wife doesn't like it as
>> much. Maybe we'll have to hit the next auto show and get some "seat"
>> time.
>>
>> Steve
>> 72 Skylark Custom455
>
>
>
> Oh yeah, the FX definately makes me stop and look, especially if
> it's an FX45 with Borla exhaust. One thing, before you sign on the line
> for an FX35 be SURE you sit in and drive a Murano. Best scenario is to
> put them side by side. The Mo looks good, the FX looks better, but they
> are very different on the inside. The Mo has a lot more room inside.
>

I do not like the looks of the Murano at all. Incredible how cars so
similar can look so different to me. It's all about that rear window
line pointing upwards instead of running downwards with the body line.
It took me a long time to figure out the difference, then finally I saw
two close enough together to realize what it was.

Steve
72 Skylark Custom455

"Joe" > wrote in message
.. .
> "Michael Johnson, PE" > wrote in
> :
>
>> Wound Up wrote:
>>>>Donna wants a Mariner now. She likes the smaller size. I think
>>>>Ford designed that SUV with females in mind. Most guys don't go
>>>>for it. Not manly enough, I suppose.
>>>
>>>
>>> They sure didn't target their advertising of it to females,
>>> considering the girl on the commercials.
>>
>> Maybe they already sold the females on it and now they are trying to
>> mop up the males.
>
> The wussy ones at least...
>
> If I had to downsize from the Dak I'd go right to a bike.


Ah, you're all wussies. Drive a 5,000+lb. Bronco that gets 10mpg in the
city, 15mpg on the highway. I might be looking at an Escape. Sure, I won't
be able to crush a Dakota anymore, but I'm not sure it's worth it.

Brad

AGuyNamedSteve > wrote in
nk.net:

>
>
> Joe wrote:
>> AGuyNamedSteve > wrote in
>> nk.net:
>>
>>
>>>
>>>Michael Johnson, PE wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>>If you don't drive much, the annual additional cost of gas between
>>>>a 20 mpg and a 30 mpg vehicle isn't that much. I would rather pay
>>>>the extra $500 a year and drive what I want. I used to put 20,000
>>>>miles a year on but now that I work from home I probably don't
>>>>drive 8,000 miles a year.
>>>> For me driving a 30 mpg vehicle verses an 18 mpg vehicle is $550
>>>> a year
>>>>assuming gas is $2.50/gallon. That isn't a big enough savings to
>>>>plant my butt into a shoe box with four wheels.
>>>
>>>That's something I need to sit down and figure out - about how much
>>>I spend per year on gas now, and what differences there will be
>>>based on different vehicles, octane requirements, etc...
>>
>>
>> Something else to consider is the cost of these hybrids and where
>> your break-even point is. You'll pay x number of dollars more for
>> the technology, but you won't make that back in fuel savings for
>> many years.
>
>
> I don't have to consider it. I have no plans of having a hybrid,
> they weren't even on my radar screen. In fact, just figuring out
> the combined mileage that my wife and I put on our cars, it looks
> like it's around 12,000 miles total! She's only put 3000 miles on
> her car since January. Her drive to work is about 5 miles, and my
> drive to the park n ride is only a few beyond that.
>
> Steve
> 72 Skylark Custom455

I'm with you, Steve. Personally, I think hybrids are a fad. The
_real_ future will be something like hydrogen-powered vehicles and not
'half-and-halfs'.

Joe
Calypso Green '93 5.0 LX AOD hatch with a few goodies
Black '03 Dakota 5.9 R/T CC

"Michael Johnson, PE" > wrote in
:

> Joe wrote:
>> "Michael Johnson, PE" > wrote in
>> :
>>
>>
>>>Joe wrote:
>>>
>>>>"Michael Johnson, PE" > wrote in
:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>Wound Up wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>>>Donna wants a Mariner now. She likes the smaller size. I
>>>>>>>think Ford designed that SUV with females in mind. Most guys
>>>>>>>don't go for it. Not manly enough, I suppose.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>They sure didn't target their advertising of it to females,
>>>>>>considering the girl on the commercials.
>>>>>
>>>>>Maybe they already sold the females on it and now they are trying
>>
>> to
>>
>>>>>mop up the males.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>The wussy ones at least...
>>>>
>>>>If I had to downsize from the Dak I'd go right to a bike.
>>>
>>>
>>>There really isn't much of a difference in mileage between an
>>
>> Explorer
>>
>>>and an Escape.
>>
>>
>> That's interesting. Just from size and weight alone I'd have
>> thought that the Escape got at least 5mpg better...
>
> The combined fuel economy for the Escape is 19 mpg and 17 for the
> Explorer.

19 for the Escape is horrible. Hell, even our '96 MPV Shoebox gets
around 17 or 18 overall.

> The hybrid Escape has a 31 mpg combined rating. It
> actually gets better mileage in the city than on the highway. For a
> measly 2 mpg penalty, I would rather have the Explorer than the
> garden variety Escape.

Right. Not to mention rwd, a bit more metal surrounding you, and more
room.

> The Escape hybrid really is quite an achievement for Ford, IMO. I
> wonder what mileage they would get if they used that technology in a
> light weight car. Plus, I would like to see a hybrid that takes
> braking energy and stores it mechanically in a spinning flywheel.
> Then used that stored energy to get the car moving again. I think
> it would be a more efficient use of that energy than trying to
> charge batteries from it in the short time frame that braking
> occurs.

For now, true. But long term I don't see hybrids as viable solutions.
I think we'll see technology that hasn't been developed yet in the
not-too-distant future.