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| My New Car |
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This is for my mom. She wanted to know what my new vehicle is and if I am enjoying it.
First let me say that my Dodge Durango had 240,000 miles on it. I gave it to one of the guys at the church. After spending way too much money getting it to pass the Maryland inspection, I honestly think he should be able to run it for another 100,000 miles. It was a very good vehicle.
I have two rules about buying vehicles. First, they have to be "proven". I never buy something that is within the first couple of years of production. I drive about 800 miles a week, so I need a vehicle that is tried and true. Second, I never buy any "extras" on it. The only things I need are a good stereo and air conditioning. Since these are now pretty much considered "standard items", I typically buy the low-end package. My experience has shown me that the "extras" always add cost to the maintenance of the vehicle...a cost I certainly don't need.
As my readers will know, I am very sensitive to all the gas I purchase that goes to support the terrorist. I am very glad to see Sunoco take a stand to say they will buy (and sell) only terrorist-free gas. I will be purchasing gas as much as I can from them - there are a handful of Sunoco stations in southern Maryland. I was determined to make my next vehicle one that didn't require gas. Well, the car manufacturers are not there yet - even though I was. I did my research and decided that the hybrid was the way for me to go. All the stop-and-go driving I do across DC would burn a lot less gas, and that is very important to me. I still needed a vehicle to carry a family of five.
There is only one vehicle on the market right now that met all my requirements - the Toyota Highlander Hybrid. It had been on the road since 2000. It is essentially the same size as my Durango and it would get about 50% better gas mileage. I had never bought a foreign-made vehicle, so this was a major step for me.
 The only color I could find was something they call Iced Magenta. I call it lavender.
I have had it for three weeks now and have almost 3000 miles on it. I drove it western Pennsylvania on a business trip recently. On the whole trip I averaged 29 miles per gallon. Since I bought it I have averaged 26.2 miles per gallon. It has a neat little computer that tells me all these things so I no longer have to do math in my head.
The only downside to the vehicle that I have experienced is that it isn't quite as rugged as the Durango. Since we live on a dirt road and I do spend time driving on gravel roads in our area, I am hoping the wear and tear will not be excessive.
I know the hybrid is not for everyone. There are claims that they are too expensive to pay for the added cost of the hybrid engine. There are also claims that for high-mileage folks like me, they pay for themselves in a couple of years. I will see how well this one lasts. Will it give me 240,000 miles?
So, mom, that about covers it. I am enjoying it a lot. To date, it has exceeded my expectations. It is a lot of fun driving a car with no keys...makes me feel like I am riding a bike with no hands... |
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| To add a comment to "My New Car" |
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| June 29, 2008 |
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| Nice purple car voice!! hehe |
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| June 29, 2008 |
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| Matches my orange hair, Cheryl!! |
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| June 29, 2008 |
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My son and daughter in law have a hybrid. They love it!
Nice car Voice! I too love the purple. I mean lavender....oh, iced magenta! |
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| June 29, 2008 |
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| Does your mom know you have orange hair?? |
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| June 29, 2008 |
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wow! I love it!!!!!! Daughter n love has a Durango....she loves that vehicle!
We bought an HHR last year.....I love it! We get 33 mpg. and believe it or not....it rides wonderful. I like the computer gas mileage thingy too.......LOLOL |
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| June 29, 2008 |
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Cheryl, only because she reads my blog ;^)
Good to know the HHR is a good vehicle, too, Cindy. |
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| June 29, 2008 |
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| Makes sense to me... |
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| June 30, 2008 |
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| I love it! My one request, when you're ready to get rid of this one, pass it along to us? Hehehe. I can't wait until we're out of debt... because we'll go into it again to get one of those "gas-free" cars... in about 10 years. :D |
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| June 30, 2008 |
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| June 30, 2008 |
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| Too funny Amanda! However, I totally understand. The whole time I was in the military I struggled financially. Moving every few years kept taking any savings we had... |
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| June 30, 2008 |
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| Love the purple vehicle and the contrast it has with the orange hair. As that it is a Toyota I think you'll be able to get 240,000 miles out of it easily. |
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| July 01, 2008 |
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I've driven Toyota's for years! We have a Red Toyota Echo. Since I can't drive, Greg drives it to work.
The kids used to call me the lady with the Crackerjack Car. hmmmph! Gets 40mpg!
Yours is great!! Come get me for a Dr. Pepper...
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