what are your thoughts? commuter car ?'s

[skeeter]

im looking for a car to drive back and forth to work. i live in cy fair (nw houston), and work in pasadena (se houston). 52 miles one way. I get 14mpg in my z 71. i have a pontiac grand am that i bought for my daughter, but she doesn't like driving it (frankly, i don't either.) i want something that gets good mpg, doesn't sit too low on the ground, but something i can still drive to the lease when i don't have a trailer to pull.

I found a 2012 dodge caliber. 15k miles. hatchback, back seats lay forward. (thats good. i can haul a few bags of corn or a ice chest if i want to) pwr lox and windows. tilt, cruise, blah, blah, blah. still has 21k miles and 2 years left on factory warranty. 4 cyl, auto, gets 28 mpg. very clean. michelan tires.

so, what do you drive to save gas? anybody have a caliber? what are your thoughts, likes, dislikes?

[axisbuck24]

Get a Camry!

[HuntForHorns]

Prius C. 50+ mph everywhere i go. one of the best decisions I ever made. I still have my dodge mega cab for when I need to pull the boat or a trailer but no longer have to deal with 12mpg and parking at work.

as a sidenote... i do realize that I wouldn't come out to good if I was in an accident in it.

[crazy8]

In for the comedy to soon follow.

[skeeter]

Get a Camry!

can i haul corn in it?

i actually looked at the camrys. i am hoping to find something thats a little more dual purpose. i know its gonna be tough to find something that will work for work and play, but I'm going broke driving that z71 over 100 miles every day!

wish they would put a 30mpg engine in a 1/2 ton truck!

[SmTx]

IMO you need to do better than just doubling mpg to justify the extra cost. After insurance, the car note, registration/inspection, tires, and maintenance you're probably money behind from just driving your truck.

[skeeter]

gonna be keepin my truck. my daughter is gonna drive it back and forth to school (woo hoo!) that way if i do need to pull a trailer, i still got a truck. she can drive the (whatever i buy) when i need the truck.

[Cuz]

Just had my truck in for some work and they gave me a Focus rental car. Got 35.5 mpg going to Oklahoma and back averaging 75-80 mph. I'd magine you could get 40mpg doing 65! Crazy to look down and see that when I watch my truck avg about 14mpg.

[Mike D]

can i haul corn in it?

i actually looked at the camrys. i am hoping to find something thats a little more dual purpose. i know its gonna be tough to find something that will work for work and play, but I'm going broke driving that z71 over 100 miles every day!

wish they would put a 30mpg engine in a 1/2 ton truck!

Supposedly Dodge does. Their new 1/2 ton diesel is supposed to get or get very close to 30 mpg.

[Okiehunter]

Have you considered CNG? There are a handful of CNG stations in the Houston area.

[Mike D]

IMO you need to do better than just doubling mpg to justify the extra cost. After insurance, the car note, registration/inspection, tires, and maintenance you're probably money behind from just driving your truck.

Yep.

[skeeter]

Supposedly Dodge does. Their new 1/2 ton diesel is supposed to get or get very close to 30 mpg.

dodge has a 1/2 ton diesel truck now?

[black42]

http://www.eliomotors.com/

[Mike D]

dodge has a 1/2 ton diesel truck now?

Yep. Not sure if it's readily available yet.

[No-Walkin STX Hank]

I went to a ford Fiesta and I am getting 37 on the highway.