[mattb123]

Not my ride, but some years it sure would be fun! Not necessary this year but maybe for last year's 12+ feet of snow.


These tread kits are getting more common, more reliable, and more affordable!

[cooltouch]

1) On The Grand Tour the other day Jeremy Clarkson was reading from a survey of US car buyers and fuel efficiency was the 27th-highest rated attribute when buying a new car. Presumably several spots below the material used in the headliner, and the color of the tire's valve stems. Diesel's primary reason to exist in small cars is fuel efficiency.

2) Car-based diesels of a generation or so ago were miserable. Many still remember 1980s Oldsmobile diesels chugging out smoke like a locomotive and sounding like a tractor, while getting 16 mpg instead of the gas version's 12.

3) People concerned with fuel efficiency in the US tend to buy hybrids. Maybe in part due to #2 leading to nobody buying them, so then companies stopped offering them.

4) Taxes. In a lot of countries diesel was favored in tax structures, so it was a lot cheaper then gas/petrol. Not sure if that's still the case. Not true in the US, where diesel is usually pretty comparable to gas.

5) Performance. Diesels don't rev as high, but have more torque. Great for pulling out stumps, or your 12,000 lb fifth wheel. But a diesel Mini, for example, is the slowest Mini offered in Europe. They don't sell it here.

I think that perhaps one reason why diesels in passenger cars are not more popular here in the US is that diesel fuel sells at a premium at the pump. It's typically priced close to or more than premium octane gasoline. So the notion of fuel savings may be lost on your average car owner. You know, seeing how Audi ruled the 24 hours of LeMans with their diesel race cars, it seems to me that manufacturers would take a page out of Audi's book and market performance diesel vehicles to the segment of the buying public who like performance vehicles.

This lack of popularity doesn't appear to be the case, however, for folks who like big pickup trucks. Down here in Texas, where just about every other vehicle is a pickup, It isn't unusual at all to see 3/4 ton and 1 ton pickups with great big Cummins engines in them or whatever. Actually, I think Cummins engines are available only in the Chrysler Ram trucks. GMC and Ford have their own flavors. Nonetheless, regardless of the make, diesels are much more popular in pickups than they are in passenger vehicles.

[mattb123]

Right, the rednecks here (Western Colorado) need diesel for their coal rolling rigs! But small diesels are pretty much nonexistent. That segment seems to be going electric and/or hybrid.

[monochrome]

Right, the rednecks here (Western Colorado) need diesel for their coal rolling rigs! But small diesels are pretty much nonexistent. That segment seems to be going electric and/or hybrid.

The term ’Redneck’ is extremely disparaging. Some people actually do physical work, outdoors, in the sun.

[mattb123]

The term ’Redneck’ is extremely disparaging. Some people actually do physical work, outdoors, in the sun.

I guess at its roots it is. Maybe it's not the correct term in this case.
The people who are labeled redneck here are generally fake cowboys who do not necessarily work outside but like to sport the look as well as having huge trucks (for cruising town) modified to roll coal (burn too much fuel as a way to annoy everyone else). They typically don't ride horses or farm.

My dear old friend who spent much of his life digging post holes for cattle fences may have sometimes had a red neck but was by no means a redneck as the term is understood here.
Sorry if I offended you, that was unintentional.

[Just1MoreDave]

... I retired at the end of 2017, and this Wednesday we are taking off for a 45 day driving and cruise vacation. (11 days from Minneapolis to LA, with stops at various places along the way, then a 15 day cruise from LA to Hawaii and back, then another 2 weeks or so back, with additional stops at National Parks and other places of interest.) We plan on putting about 5k miles on the car. It handles pretty much the same as the Golf did, but has the additional benefit of all wheel drive when needed (a good thing in this part of the country).

We had hoped to put about 300k miles on the Golf - it'll be fun to see how much we can put on the Alltrak before it needs to be traded in.

That is a heck of a trip. I tried to talk my parents into a similar cruise to Hawaii when we lived there, because my dad was afraid of flying for that long. I thought they should take a train cross-country, then a cruise.

... Actually, I think Cummins engines are available only in the Chrysler Ram trucks. GMC and Ford have their own flavors...

This year the Nissan Titan has an optional Cummins.

My brother says that a lot of the tech that has raised power for gas engines, like direct injection, originated in diesels.

[cooltouch]

The term ’Redneck’ is extremely disparaging. Some people actually do physical work, outdoors, in the sun.

I think you'll find that most rednecks don't mind the term. I are one and I don't care what others think.

[sibyrnes]

Here's my latest vehicle(Hint: it's the one on the left):

[Ratmagiclady]

Hey, everyone. Still sort of waffling on what to do about the Ratmobile's sound system, I might possibly take this new one my sis sent for my birthday and hook up to a modern amp and run all-different wires the old fashioned or patch in where the old one was. Kind of need to swing by a pawnshop where they do audio and sort of see what they think, and if they have some old connectors that would come in handy fussing around.

In other news, our household got a little 4x4 for the stable, and will be an ongoing project. (For some reason the iphone camera I borrowed for this one got confused when I uploaded, he's actually pretty green, but that blue-green you used to see so much.) Real strong engine and transmission feels pretty good, body and frame are nice, so optimistic. (And as much as I'm a sucker for spunky-looking wheels, they may have to go, depending what I need to do about the offset there. ...Got to deal with someone else's mods, but this is why flippers didn't snap it up, which has been a problem when trying to get a trip together to see like the occasional d21 Nissan or whatnot.

Anyway, think we'll like this one. Small ish and body-on frame, needs some attention in a bunch of areas but left us a good budget-buffer.

[Just1MoreDave]

What is that, 1997ish? The nice thing about wheels is no matter how ugly, someone out there wants them. I have some S10 PTSD because I hydroplaned a 1987 into the path of a Ford LTL9000 on the highway. Totalled that, the car and car trailer I was towing, and $12,000 damage to the Ford. Also got fired but that was a plus. The S10s were a lot better when they ditched the 2.8 V6.

[Ratmagiclady]

What is that, 1997ish? The nice thing about wheels is no matter how ugly, someone out there wants them. I have some S10 PTSD because I hydroplaned a 1987 into the path of a Ford LTL9000 on the highway. Totalled that, the car and car trailer I was towing, and $12,000 damage to the Ford. Also got fired but that was a plus. The S10s were a lot better when they ditched the 2.8 V6.

This is the 95 with the cut-down smallblock 'Vortex' V6, so different from the 80's ones. (It's like a 4.3) And actually I really love these rims but that offset just can't be right, I don't think, and there's spacers in the rear, possibly cause they did a disc-brake conversion with an axle from a later Blazer and there just would need a bigger rim to fit around them. I'll work that out for longer term eventually: we don't tend to do tons of miles, so I'll possibly measure for and order up a set of steelies just right for each axle for winter tiresand put this setup back on (with some fresher tires up front) for muddy seasons.

The real thing is we'll want the four wheel drive for when just nothing else will get us up this drive in what's left of winter around here, and to go get stone and dirt and compost and other pickup things into places we'd rather not tear up or couldn't get at otherwise. And it's got a 4wd low range (even if it's on a switch: I'd really rather just have a lever but you can't have everything. Normally I just wouldn't bother with 4wd, two wheels and a good diff is usually quite enough, but special circumstance here. )

(Also, sorry bout your S-10 but this one does seem very different from the 80's ones. I didn't care for the 4wd on one of those I drove briefly but they make cute town trucks if they're 2wd and in nice shape. )

[cooltouch]

Good catch!

I test drove one of those S-10s with the 4.3L back in 1993 and was quite impressed. Ended up getting a Ford Ranger XLT with the 3.0L. In retrospect I wished I would have gotten the one with the 4.0L instead, but it served me well enough. It was a good truck. I find that body style and size to be ideal. Sometimes -- actually most of the times -- I don't need some honking big full-sized truck to get done what needs to get done. I miss that old Ranger, though. I'd still like to find a clean used one -- either Ford or Chevy, heck, even Dodge for that matter -- to put back into my stable.

[RookieGuy]

Now I miss my old Ranger. Thanks guys.

Little 1/4 ton trucks are wonderful getting around town trucks. They'll carry a load of mulch for the garden, lumber for a homeowner project, couch for a buddy, and any deer is going to look much bigger in a smaller bed. They drink fuel rather than guzzle it like a full size. And you can park them in many more places.

[cooltouch]

Right enough. And they're just big enough to fit a motorcycle or two.

[lesmore49]

Here's my latest vehicle(Hint: it's the one on the left):

Nice bike....TW 200. I saw one at the local Yamaha dealer a number of years back and I've always found this model intriguing. It's been around so long that it must be in a tie for longest lived modern motorcycle with the KLR 650 Kawasaki. Both bikes don't need much revision...they work well for their intended audience. I think If I lived on a farm or ranch...either the Yamaha or the Kawasaki would be a great general purpose utility machine.

---------- Post added 02-24-18 at 12:44 PM ----------

Good catch!

I test drove one of those S-10s with the 4.3L back in 1993 and was quite impressed. Ended up getting a Ford Ranger XLT with the 3.0L. In retrospect I wished I would have gotten the one with the 4.0L instead, but it served me well enough. It was a good truck. I find that body style and size to be ideal. Sometimes -- actually most of the times -- I don't need some honking big full-sized truck to get done what needs to get done. I miss that old Ranger, though. I'd still like to find a clean used one -- either Ford or Chevy, heck, even Dodge for that matter -- to put back into my stable.

We had a '97 Chevy Astro, factory ordered with the heavy duty suspension/ over size tires, 3.42 rear drive axle, G80 Eaton locking axle. Great vehicle. Had it for 10 years. Hauled our folding RV trailer through the Rockies through western Canada, north western USA, mid west, NW Ontario, etc.

It had the 4.3 liter Vortec V6, named so for the enhanced heads on the engine. The Vortec head design came out first in '95 on the 4.3, then a bit later on the small block Chevy V8 and the big block Chevy V8 (big Rat motor as described by hot rodders) . These heads made a significant difference in HP and torque back then. As many know the 4.3 was a a Chevy 350 cube V8, with two cylinders cut off. The small block Chevy V8 is a legendary engine and the 4.3 V6 is part of that family.