response 23 of 66:

Jun 21 07:01 UTC 2004

My friend Nigel drives one of these in the course of his
work, and I like it. Does anyone sell something like this in
the U.S...?

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/njs.cube/photos/axion/photos/hoovering.jpg

                      ...it's a Vauxhall Corsa Combo Van.  I
understand that the chap with the vacuum cleaner is an
optional extra ;-)

response 25 of 66:

Jun 21 16:49 UTC 2004

Diesel engines produce soot as well as stinking.
I thought you said your wife had her own car.  How can she veto what you get
for yourself?
Did you look at cars, or vans/SUVs?  Fuel efficiency rules hold only for cars.
Half of new private motor vehicles sold are not cars (roughly).

response 27 of 66:

Jun 21 17:32 UTC 2004

Re #25: Suffice to say that she can. Whether that's right or
  not is a topic for another conference. We looked at trucks
  and SUVs.  I would like a /real/ utilitiy vehicle (RUV?)
  though.

response 29 of 66:

Jun 21 18:41 UTC 2004

Re #28: I wouldn't feel comfortable buying a Ford, in part
  because of their reputation for poor reliability.  I hear
  good things about Toyota though, perhaps I'll be able to
  find a manual, Diesel Toyota truck.

response 31 of 66:

Jun 22 14:58 UTC 2004

Re resp:9: Keep in mind that a Civic is an unusually low car.  Most
cars, including my 240, have a couple inches more ground clearance than
a Civic.

Re resp:12: "Mainly the problem I've had with a 2WD truck is getting
started at icy intersections (especially those on hills).  It really
doesn't take much to get stuck with 2WD if you aren't careful."

A limited-slip differential helps quite a bit.  So does adding weight to
the rear.  If you don't have a limited-slip diff, sometimes applying the
parking brake slightly when trying to get started on a slick surface
will help.

Re resp:20: Most current 2-door hatchbacks aren't rated for towing,
unfortunately.  My Civic's manual just said towing was "not recommended."

Re resp:29: I don't think Toyota currently sells diesels in the U.S.  VW
does, but they don't make a truck.  All the other diesels you're likely
to find will be V-8s or bigger.  The company I work for has a Chevy 2500
diesel pickup truck.  It gets about 25 mpg, which is far better than the
same truck would get with a gas engine, but still not impressive.  There
is the Dodge Sprinter (aka. Freightliner Sprinter, aka. Mercedes
Sprinter), which is available with a 5-cyl. inline diesel, but that's a
full-sized van.

Basically, diesels were briefly popular here during the two major oil
shortages.  After that, they fell out of favor.  GM produced some really
terrible V-8 diesel cars in the 70s that were unreliable, smokey, and
hard to start, and that pretty much turned people off on the whole idea.
 Then there were the early diesel VW Rabbits that were underpowered and
kept blowing head gaskets.  Basically, your typical American's opinion
of diesel engines is not very high.

response 33 of 66:

Jun 28 02:56 UTC 2004

Diesel fumes are particular bad for innocent bystanders who have asthma, as
well as smelling terrible.  The soot is what bothers people with asthma. 
Minimizing driving would work better than getting something diesel.

response 35 of 66:

Jun 30 06:48 UTC 2004

Re #33: As a person with Asthma, I think it's nice that
  you're considerate of that.  All the talk about soot &
  smells may be appropriate to large, poorly maintained old
  engines, but it doesn't sound like any of the modern small
  Diesels that I have experienced.

  I would love to minimise my driving.  My last job had me
  based in an office literally just across the street from
  where I live.  I could walk to the recycling centre with
  the office recyclables, to the post office to collect mail
  and to the bank to deposit my paycheque.  There were times
  when I actually had to remember to drive my car just to
  'stretch its legs'.  Unfortunately those paycheques that I
  mentioned dried up, forcing me to take a job at a factory
  twenty miles away.  I wish that I could afford the luxury
  of minimising my driving.

response 37 of 66:

Jun 30 16:10 UTC 2004

Re #36: No, especially not on my shift (16:00 - 24:30)

response 39 of 66:

Jul 1 06:33 UTC 2004

Re #38: It is fairly awful, and speaks of the difficult
  position that I find myself in.  I lack the financial
  resources to go into business for myself, although it's an
  option that is frequently suggested to me. I can only hope
  that things will improve once I have an Associate Degree
  to go with my existing British vocational qualifications.

  A new Ballmobile would take me to work, to earn money to
  pay car payments, other bills, tuition fees, buy textbooks
  etc.  It would also take me to college (at least 20 miles
  in the opposite direction) for those classes that I must
  take face-to-face.  I certainly couldn't afford to run one
  of the hideous gas-guzzling trucks I saw at the dealer
  -ships.  :-/

response 41 of 66:

Jul 1 17:15 UTC 2004

Re #40: Yes, that's why I wrote it ;-)  I certainly plan to
  buy a used vehicle, a brand new one would be prohibitely
  expensive.  Even a used reliable vehicle represents a
  significant financial burden.

  Yard work would not bring in a sustainable income.  There
  are other obstacles, but the most obvious one is that I
  can't expect to compete with the teenage kids who can
  afford to work for pocket money.  Child care a similarly
  unrealistic option.  My wife works in another town, North
  of us (although not so far North as my college).  She has
  the distinct advantage of a Master's Degree.

response 45 of 66:

Jul 3 23:51 UTC 2004

I hope you eventually find a place to live that is the same as the place where
you both work.  Maybe a degree will help get a closer job.

response 47 of 66:

Jul 7 19:45 UTC 2004

I'm looking at the Toyota Matrix.  It's not a truck, it's an
estate car/station wagon.  Its stated fuel economy reflects
that.  It has room in the back for modest loads, and ground
clearance looks better than that of my Civic.  It lacks a
Diesel engine, but apparently many of them are stick shift
and some even have six forward gears.