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| Author |
Message |
mcpoz
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New Windstar
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Oct 27 22:16 UTC 1995 |
I just picked up a new 96 Windstar LX and it is pretty impressive. I will
soon take it on a trip to the Southwest and put on 8000 miles. I'll be back
with mileage, handling, comfort, and other impressions. I have never had a
minivan before. ps: this one has more cup holders and storage pockets than
you could ever use.
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| 8 responses total. |
scg
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response 1 of 8:
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Oct 30 07:54 UTC 1995 |
That cup holders and storage pockets bit sounds like my parents' Dodge
Caravan. Maybe it's a minivan thing.
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n8nxf
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response 2 of 8:
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Oct 30 13:12 UTC 1995 |
I don't care for all the pockets and cup holders. More things to clean
out and lose stuff in. The cup holders are OK as long as you only put
non-sticky drinks in them. Otherwise they get all gummed up and don't
pop out any more. Only the driver really needs a cup holder since s/he
should shold be driving. With todays stomp & go / stomp & stop cars
the driver has no real need for cup holders either.
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omni
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response 3 of 8:
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Oct 31 04:10 UTC 1995 |
I don't agree. I happen to need a cup holder, since most of my day is
spent in a car, driving from pillar to post. They are not a panacea, however
since stopping quick or a sharp turn can spill your coffee all over the place
and that ain't too cool.
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scg
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response 4 of 8:
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Oct 31 07:20 UTC 1995 |
Right. My first experience driving with cup holders was when my parents got
their van, and I hadn't yet realized how loosly they hold cups. I took a
corner too fast and my almost full large cup went flying, landing upside down.
I spent the next half hour, at least, cleaning a rather large quantity of
Mountain Dew out of a week old minivan that wasn't mine. It wasn't fun.
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mcpoz
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response 5 of 8:
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Nov 16 00:17 UTC 1995 |
Well, 6500 miles later, the van seems pretty nice. No problems noted. I
started out at 20.8 mpg first tank and then ended up with the last 4 tanks
between 24.4 and 25.7 mpg. This is mostly non-stop driving at 65-70. Also,
at 5000 miles, no visible oil level drop (That's when I had the oil changed).
We did a lot of back road driving on roads marked "Not recommended - proceed
at your own risk." It seemed fine on these roads. Some were extremely steep
and I think the "traction control" feature added a lot of ability to drive
through sand and loose gravel on steep inclines. We did bottom out on a
couple of roads to old mine shafts, but nothing seems awry.
Having a 25 gal tank is a nice feature for western driving. We had 3 or 4
fill-ups in the 550 mile range.
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mcpoz
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response 6 of 8:
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Nov 12 02:11 UTC 1996 |
Later update - I traded in the Windstar with 42,000 miles at the end of last
month. It was a solid quiet car and it saw som pretty rugged use. I did not
have any problems with it. My overall mileage was in the 23-24 range and
25-27 on trips. No visible oil consumption, no strange noises. Because of
the hi miles, it sold at a give-away price. It was $27,000 retail new and
it sold for $15,400 last month.
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scg
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response 7 of 8:
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Nov 12 04:42 UTC 1996 |
Traded it in after only a year? Wow. What did you replace it with?
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mcpoz
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response 8 of 8:
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Nov 13 01:58 UTC 1996 |
It was a lease from work and I lease each year. I replaced it with a Taurus
LX station wagon with the 4V engine and leather seats. My first impressions
are that it is flawless. My first 3 tanks of gas yielded 23.9, 24.0 and 24.9
mpg, mostly highway. It is quiet, good on performance, and excellent on
handling.
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