So...like...I own a truck now
We had really hoped to wait a year on this decision, but unfortunately my 300m decided it was time to be put to pasture. Then came the debate about what to buy. Do we go ahead and do what we had planned to do down the road and get a truck and trailer to tow our horses? Or do we just get a sedan that gets good mileage and get the truck later?
I drove a truck prior to my 300m. A Ford Ranger. Certainly not the biggest truck in the world but I still loved the ride. I enjoyed the additional vision it gave you on the road. Yeah, I liked the Charger, or the new Altima or Maxim, and I had wanted to test drive the Challenger when it came out. The Challenger probably wouldn't have been practical for me on most fronts, but it just looked fun to drive. In the end, the allure of the truck kept calling. While the fuel economy is an issue, buying the truck now would kill two birds with one stone. Owning three vehicles (and possibly 3 car notes, even if one was pretty small for an older used truck) just doesn't seem viable, or cost effective right now. A nice truck gets me a work vehicle and gets us the ability to take our horses places whenever we choose.
To abate some of the fuel economy issues, I tried to find a diesel that might give me a slight edge over the traditional gas guzzler. No luck there. New diesels that offered some decent economy were way out of my price range, and the used ones either had way too many miles or the engines were so huge that the fuel economy was illusory. One of the used diesels might have even been an option if biodiesel were remotely available in the area. No luck there either. The closest biodiesel station to Stanley (or Charlotte for that matter) was 24 miles away.
So I looked at all the non-diesel options for a full size truck: Ford, Chevy, Dodge, and Toyota. Yeah, Toyota. the 2007 Tundra is actually considered a real full size truck these days. After researching the performance and reliability of all trucks in that category, the Tundra stood out clearly as the best option.
I'll spare folks the boring details at the car dealership, it was a pretty typical experience. On Friday I drove away with a brand new 2007 Toyota Tundra, double cab edition with a 5.7 liter V-8, 381 horses and 10,600 pounds of towing capacity. I'll try and get some pictures soon, but its forest green in color. Its a beast of a truck but a lot of fun to drive. I'm amazed at how smooth it is for a truck. Ironically, it gets the best fuel economy of all the engine options, in spite of being the largest engine they carry.
My 300 was a good car to me, 153,000 miles and 8 years of service. Now a new chapter begins. Pretty exciting stuff, I think.
Guess we'll have to start looking at trailers now...
I drove a truck prior to my 300m. A Ford Ranger. Certainly not the biggest truck in the world but I still loved the ride. I enjoyed the additional vision it gave you on the road. Yeah, I liked the Charger, or the new Altima or Maxim, and I had wanted to test drive the Challenger when it came out. The Challenger probably wouldn't have been practical for me on most fronts, but it just looked fun to drive. In the end, the allure of the truck kept calling. While the fuel economy is an issue, buying the truck now would kill two birds with one stone. Owning three vehicles (and possibly 3 car notes, even if one was pretty small for an older used truck) just doesn't seem viable, or cost effective right now. A nice truck gets me a work vehicle and gets us the ability to take our horses places whenever we choose.
To abate some of the fuel economy issues, I tried to find a diesel that might give me a slight edge over the traditional gas guzzler. No luck there. New diesels that offered some decent economy were way out of my price range, and the used ones either had way too many miles or the engines were so huge that the fuel economy was illusory. One of the used diesels might have even been an option if biodiesel were remotely available in the area. No luck there either. The closest biodiesel station to Stanley (or Charlotte for that matter) was 24 miles away.
So I looked at all the non-diesel options for a full size truck: Ford, Chevy, Dodge, and Toyota. Yeah, Toyota. the 2007 Tundra is actually considered a real full size truck these days. After researching the performance and reliability of all trucks in that category, the Tundra stood out clearly as the best option.
I'll spare folks the boring details at the car dealership, it was a pretty typical experience. On Friday I drove away with a brand new 2007 Toyota Tundra, double cab edition with a 5.7 liter V-8, 381 horses and 10,600 pounds of towing capacity. I'll try and get some pictures soon, but its forest green in color. Its a beast of a truck but a lot of fun to drive. I'm amazed at how smooth it is for a truck. Ironically, it gets the best fuel economy of all the engine options, in spite of being the largest engine they carry.
My 300 was a good car to me, 153,000 miles and 8 years of service. Now a new chapter begins. Pretty exciting stuff, I think.
Guess we'll have to start looking at trailers now...