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peepl_r_dum wrote:

Also, as mentioned twice before but missed by several posters, we get little snow but very icy streets. When you say you've made it through a winter with a RWD vehicle and winter tires without problem, it means nothing until you've driven these streets. I've made it through Quebec and Ontario winters (which will rival ANYTHING you see in the U.S.) with a RWD vehicle. Snow is never an issue. Ice is. I always put on Blizzak tires, front and rear. I am a safe driver, never having had a speeding ticket nor causing an accident.

You don't have after market ice skates for your trucks up there?

jeff-o wrote:

Please reconsider the "need" for an SUV.  We don't need more of those giants on the roads.  Consider getting a nice wagon like the Mazda6 or toyota Matrix or the equivalent...  hey, even Mercedes makes a car in this style now (B-class, I think).

Gah, SUVs.  Boooo.

I love the Mazda6 and the utility of the Matrix, though the latter is kinda ugly IMHO.  I hope to god this silly SUV craze will pass.  Being a nanny of sometimes up to 6 children I can fully appreciate the need for something larger than a sedan but there are so many family friendly, fuel efficient, very safe minivans out there. 

As far as safety ratings go, I would never tell somebody to go out and buy a car with a poor mark.  Crash tests are only a rough idea of how a vehicle will do in an accident. So many other factors exist.  But this guy will feel safer with one that has a statistically higher rating.  No one is refuting his stance there.  Personally, I feel safe in a car that is of high quality and won't break down.  Statistically (and the numbers are out there to prove it) a Toyota fits my need.  Sure, there have been bad Toyotas.  Even a GM salesman (one of the people I work for) has been trained to simply say that their cars are a "better value for the dollar" when approached with import reliability claims. 

http://tinyurl.com/a3kwb
http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/bestbet/ … stcars.5.*
http://www.mycarstats.com/auto_recalls/Auto_Recalls.asp (Add up GM's totals)
http://autos.yahoo.com/consumerreports/ … again.html

Tell me I just made all that up.

imikus55 wrote:

peepl_r_dum wrote:

Also, as mentioned twice before but missed by several posters, we get little snow but very icy streets. When you say you've made it through a winter with a RWD vehicle and winter tires without problem, it means nothing until you've driven these streets. I've made it through Quebec and Ontario winters (which will rival ANYTHING you see in the U.S.) with a RWD vehicle. Snow is never an issue. Ice is. I always put on Blizzak tires, front and rear. I am a safe driver, never having had a speeding ticket nor causing an accident.

You don't have after market ice skates for your trucks up there?

Yes but there is no place to get the skates sharpened.

jeff-o wrote:

peepl_r_dum wrote:

imikus55 wrote:

You don't have after market ice skates for your trucks up there?

Yes but there is no place to get the skates sharpened.

That's why most of us drive ski-doos in the winter.  You can fit three skidoos on a road normally meant for two cars, so traffic eases up a bit in the winter, too.  We need fuel warmers, though, otherwise the gas freezes in the tank.

Sure...
http://weatheroffice.ec.gc.ca/city/page … ric_e.html

Looks like you'll get snow anytime there.

I can't believe the heat in ON this year. My parents in Wasaga Beach said they still have people at the beach during the week, swimming! It's snowing here right now.

peepl_r_dum wrote:

jeff-o wrote:

peepl_r_dum wrote:

Yes but there is no place to get the skates sharpened.

That's why most of us drive ski-doos in the winter.  You can fit three skidoos on a road normally meant for two cars, so traffic eases up a bit in the winter, too.  We need fuel warmers, though, otherwise the gas freezes in the tank.

Sure...
http://weatheroffice.ec.gc.ca/city/page … ric_e.html

Looks like you'll get snow anytime there.

I can't believe the heat in ON this year. My parents in Wasaga Beach said they still have people at the beach during the week, swimming! It's snowing here right now.

Yeah, I know, just messin' with the Americans. 

It's about 26 degrees C out right now, it's fantastic!  This is by far the warmest, longest summer I remember.  It made riding my bike to work very easy...

W

Go Subaru, you can't lose. I don't know a whole lot about the forester, but my family has 3 subaru legacys because it is the best all around car for handling on slick roads, steep hills and has a nice cargo capacity while getting relativly good gas milage compared to other SUVs. They handle beautifully. I would recomend the legacy to the forester because the legacy won't roll like suv's do, it's much more stable going round corners. And I doubt you would need to pack much more then a legacy can hold, our family of 7 can fit about 90% of our camping gear in the back. Unless of course you need to somehow fit your TURBO XXX Quarda-Flame Hell BBQ like all americans have.

Last edited by Greywolf (2005-10-03 7:58 pm)

Get one of those sexy new Land Rovers.

imikus55 wrote:

Peel why don't you brake down and just buy an Armored Personnel Carrier. Guaranteed 5 Star crash rating. Excellent traction. Not good on gas but you said that wasn't a factor in another post, plenty of room the dogs and the rest of the squad, external mounting points for driving lights, snowboard rack, .50 Cal machine gun, tight turning radius, people will give you plenty of room in traffic.

I don't like green or brown.

longboy wrote:

What's the safety ratings on the Impreza wagons? I'd consider one of those for my wife's next ride...those turbo'd 4cyls are the hotness.

Heck, I'd drive one if I could fit in it. Being 6'7" kinda limits my vehicles though. Unless I pull a 'Hightower' and put the front seat in the back.

The Impreza has a 4 and 5 star rating for front, 4 star for side. This was in 2005. The 2006 models are reputed to have a 5 star rating and come with side airbags but I have yet to confirm that.

I am seriously looking at the Subaru Legacy. Good amount of room, good on gas and good safety. If I can get a decent deal on my car as a trade in and if their financing is decent (I can always go through my  own bank) then we may have a deal. I need to test drive it. The only issue will be the visibility.

Subaru makes one of those cars that, like a Mac, people just get excited over owning.  You don't see too many "OMG, look at my utterly unique Pontiac" sites.  You wanted percentages on recalls-wish I were near my local car dealership right now. Toyota had fewer than 1 percent of its cars recalled this past year.  Toyota also does more voluntary recalls.  That's another thing I detest about GM.  "Oh, 4 people died so we'll fix the issue.  We guess."  The sites I showed you kinda had to include data on used vehicles since new vehicles haven't had a chance to prove their reliability much.  Then again, my boss' Envoy is just leaving the shop for the third time at 36k. Sure, it's under warranty but it's a hassle and it has to be embarassing to be picked up from the dealership in a rusted out VW because your $35,000 car broke down yet again.

Wow...how very literal you are.

nannyandnutro wrote:

Wow...how very literal you are.

Wow...how very biased you are.


Unique Honda's:
• Element
• Insight

Unique Toyota's:
• Prius