Re: new car plans

Posted by Manfred Klein on Apr 27, 2004

Nancy, bless your heart for mentioning U.S.-made cars. In fact, there are several excellent choices and these days, the prices are right! One of the ones I'd personally recommend is the Ford Escape. We have an '01 V6, gets 19-22 mpg around town and 24-28 (documented!) on the highway; handles and rides beautifully. It's an excellent bargain if you have someone who can get you on an "A" or "Z" plan with Ford. If you want extreme fuel economy, get the new hybrid; more expensive, though.

If you need a back seat and want a pick-up, I'd suggest the Ford Ranger 4-door; it has two jump seats in back; get the 3.0 V6 if you want good gas mileage. Otherwise, there's the Dodge Dakota which has two full rows of seating, and a variety of engine options.

It really burns me that no U.S. manufacturer offers a diesel engine in its small SUVs and pick-ups; in Europe, these are all over the place, and, no, they're not loud and they don't stink.

Good Luck!

In Response to: Re: new car plans by Nancy on Apr 26, 2004

Replies:

• Re: new car plans by Mark Camp on Apr 27, 2004