Grex Cars Conference

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Grex Cars Item 72: New Windstar
Entered by mcpoz on Fri Oct 27 22:16:00 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.

8 responses total.

#1 of 8 by scg on Mon Oct 30 07:54:09 1995:

That cup holders and storage pockets bit sounds like my parents' Dodge
Caravan.  Maybe it's a minivan thing.

#2 of 8 by n8nxf on Mon Oct 30 13:12:00 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.

#3 of 8 by omni on Tue Oct 31 04:10:07 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.

#4 of 8 by scg on Tue Oct 31 07:20:04 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.

#5 of 8 by mcpoz on Thu Nov 16 00:17:32 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.

#6 of 8 by mcpoz on Tue Nov 12 02:11:54 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.

#7 of 8 by scg on Tue Nov 12 04:42:15 1996:

Traded it in after only a year?  Wow.  What did you replace it with?

#8 of 8 by mcpoz on Wed Nov 13 01:58:56 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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