When I got my 2005 Trailblazer, the V6 and the V8 had essentially the same mileage. In fact, the Tahoe had essentially the same mileage and would have been more comfortable for adults (or large teans) in the back. I opted for the 6 anyway because it was a lot cheaper than a V8 and tons cheaper than the Tahoe.

Back in 92 I was looking for a ‘new’ vehicle and we were interested in a surburban. The ones we could afford were about 8 years old and all we looked at seemed to be kind of beat up and were running a little rough. A friend at a dealership had a 15 passenger van that was 3 years old and in a lot better shape (I think it came off the California coast and was driven on pavement the whole time). I think that he had expected to sell it to a church, but the church opted for something else.

We used it for many years, loading our four kids along with camping equipment giving them space to put stuff on the seat beside them to keep them busy on long drives. It was great for sightseeing since the seats were high in relation to the windows – even the little kids could see out.

Also our church borrowed it many times for taking people to camps. When it finally came time to replace it we donated it to a ministry.

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As for Datsun B-210s, the one I was driving one afternoon during my senior year of high school in 1983 was hit broadside by a dump truck carrying 14 tons of gravel. I was trapped in the car for over two hours, in a coma for 13 days, and had to learn to walk, talk, etc. all over again.

Thanks be to God I was able to fully recover, but I don’t care too much for those little (energy-efficient) 2-doors anymore.

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Nothing else I’ve had has lasted me past 125k.

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Our ‘98 VW Jetta TDI is still running pretty well, even with 264,000 miles, and gets about 42 mpg. Unfortunately, the only way we can fit all three kids in it is to put the not-quite-six-year-old in his booster seat in the front passenger seat, while either my husband or I squeezes into the tiny space left in the back beside the other two car seats. (The booster seat is too wide for the space.)

So when we have to take all three kids, we take the ‘96 Volvo wagon (195,000 miles), but that only gets about 23 mpg. Our old wagon, an ‘87 Volvo 240, got about 32 mpg, but the back seat floorboard was so full of holes the car wouldn’t pass inspection. Why is it that the older models got so much better mileage than the newer ones?

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My 92 Civic with less than 70k miles works just fine to get me the 2 miles I travel to work—non-freeway. It could be a bicycle if I lived in a warm year round clime. I don’t freeway dance with 18 wheelers and drive safely enough to avoid them if I do encounter one—at usually less than 30 mph. I gas it once a month with 8+ gallons of regular gas and taxes are less than $40/year. I don’t see nary a single tear falling here from wahhhhhh.

But, I do giggle a lot at the 5 ft. nothing ladies that have to wedge their husband’s ego prosthetic into a tiny parking place at the mall and at those in the gas station who were out pumping gas into a 38 gallon maw when I rolled in and are still there when I leave. And I absolutely roar at those who manage to have a flat before discovering their jack is entirely inadequate or those who get a tricked-out go-anywhere behemoth stuck in the snow.

Nope, not a tear —’cept for the laughs.

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Gas mileage will probably ensure that we go with a V6 rather than a V8, but size really does matter in our case. It’s worth paying more in fuel expenses for more in comfort, to be sure.

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