What's your next car?

[koko64]

Makes a wagon fun!

[caperix]

Runs same engine and auto drive train as WRX, which in Australia means 197kw/350Nm.  Its still...... adequate 

Does that mean it has the CVT? How is it, I have not been impressed with the one in the standard imprezza? I have been looking for a new wagon for the wife, the WRX was high on the list but they stopped importing the wagons in 2014 to the us. Fingers crossed this makes it over.  We almost got a BMW 328d but they are only imported in awd and the transfer case has proved to be very unreliable.

[DarkMonster620]

Yup.... seems to have fun in it . . .  Enjoy it . . .

[Popeye the Sailor]

Mmmm, slogernubbins.

Sadly, six months of attempting to build a house has convinced me that my next car is whatever cheap but not beat to death pickup truck I can find on Craigslist for a couple of thousand less than I can clear on the sale of my dream car, my 1985 Toyota Land Cruiser. 

Uh...pics of the Landcruiser?

[DesmoDiva]

It must be that time of year....

Congratulations on the new wheels Steve and Mike's wife.

Try to keep your foot out the pedal.

We just turned in the Velositer Turbo and went with a Kia Forte5 SX hatch with same engine/trani as the VT.  Still peppy, but with a bit more weight to smooth out the ride.

[triangleforge]

Uh...pics of the Landcruiser?

Probably my favorite - out elk hunting last December in Arizona's White Mountains, just before we went to explore down a long, steep logging "road" that was all ice, mud, and snow, punctuated by 1-2' deep meltwater puddles that we discovered only by breaking through the ice on top. Nellie the Elephant pulled through it all like Hannibal crossing the Alps. No problem.

20151223_140750 by triangleforge, on Flickr

And another from last night - one last trip to the water station (one of the big reasons I need a pickup instead) before I drove it from the cabin site where she's been living lately, back down to Prescott to get ready to sell:

2016-09-19_07-13-39 by triangleforge, on Flickr

[Popeye the Sailor]

How much? I'm uh, asking for a friend.

[MendoDave]

I'm pretty satisfied with the trailer method with my Ute. No need to haul around an empty truck bed most of the time. When I need a bed I just go hook it up, takes 2 minutes. Then I have a 4 seat vehicle with a large "trunk" that can be converted into a 2 seater with an even larger "trunk" most of the time.

[ducpainter]

How much? I'm uh, asking for a friend.

It'll be junk in 2 years in the northeast.

[Popeye the Sailor]

I'm pretty satisfied with the trailer method with my Ute. No need to haul around an empty truck bed most of the time. When I need a bed I just go hook it up, takes 2 minutes. Then I have a 4 seat vehicle with a large "trunk" that can be converted into a 2 seater with an even larger "trunk" most of the time.

Yeah, but those Landcruisers have a pretty low tow capacity.

It'll be junk in 2 years in the northeast.

I was going to give it four.

[ducpainter]

I was going to give it four.

Either way...just a matter of time.

[MendoDave]

Yeah, but those Landcruisers have a pretty low tow capacity.

Mine will Tow 5,000 Lbs but I rarely pull anything more than 1,500 Lbs. If a guy regularly hauls  4,000 Lbs or more, I guess it's a good idea to get a truck.

[triangleforge]

I'm pretty satisfied with the trailer method with my Ute. No need to haul around an empty truck bed most of the time. When I need a bed I just go hook it up, takes 2 minutes. Then I have a 4 seat vehicle with a large "trunk" that can be converted into a 2 seater with an even larger "trunk" most of the time.

That's the route I was hoping would work out, and it's been OK but not quite there. Towing capacity - as Dave mentioned - isn't beastly, but it's been adequate; I've hauled a bobcat excavator & trailer out of Flagstaff up over a the steepish Mt. Humphries pass and then back. It did fine at around 45mph (OK, 35 on the steepest parts), but was pretty annoying to the folks behind me in a hurry to start their Grand Canyon vacations. A V8 would be better for towing, and a pickup bed would mean a lot less hauling an empty trailer a hundred miles just to pick up a picture window or a half dozen straw bales.  The bigger issue is that water tank - I don't have a good way to lift the tank off the trailer unless it's completely empty. If I need the trailer for something else, we have to dump out the water & muscle the tank to the ground.

It'll be junk in 2 years in the northeast.

Yeah, but it'd be a glorious two years. When I lived in the DC area with my first Land Cruiser - a rusty 1973 FJ40 I bought for $500 in Northern PA, just a few miles from the NY Finger Lakes - the Cruiser folk I got to know would all speak in reverent, hushed tones about this mythical beast we called the "Arizona Truck." The sun down in the Valley around Phoenix will strip the clearcoat off some new cars in just four or five years and roast tires, but rust isn't something I think much about any more.  

Dave - I'll send you a PM with details later today.

[Speeddog]

Here's the plan for my next car.

1) CHEAP
2) RWD
3) Stick
4) Sporty
5) 20+ MPG
6) Not a ragtop
6) A/C
7) Not a maintenance pig

Anyone have any bright ideas?

[DarkMonster620]

Here's the plan for my next car.

1) CHEAP
2) RWD
3) Stick
4) Sporty
5) 20+ MPG
6) Not a ragtop
6) A/C
7) Not a maintenance pig

Anyone have any bright ideas?

You going back in time?