Vechicles

[Brettski]

Town & Country with my Thule Alpine (anyone know that model?) with new all seasons...never had a problem.

BUT! In the old days my Jetta with manual tranny was very nice....3rd gear...4th gear...3rd gear...4th gear

I don't think I used the brake until I got to the Mountain

 

[snowmaker4191]

2004 ford f150(snow is nothing for this beast)
2005 ford escape hybird (alright in the snow)
2004 ford focus
2005 VW bug convertible!

 

[ALLSKIING]

2003 Land Rover Discovery. Great SUV in the snow or on the beach or what ever you need to get through. The down side is that it gets about 12mpg...Premium :blink:

 

[bvibert]

The down side is that it gets about 12mpg...Premium :blink:

Ouch, makes me feel better about my truck...

 

[Bumpsis]

Looks like quite a few sedan drivers here with a smattering of Jeep drives here, yet the true picture of what skiers drive is quite disheartening.

Take a look at any ski area parking lot and you'll see it chock full of effing SUVS.

Man, for people who supposedly love snow and nature, they will actively chose to drive a vehicle that puts out 2- 3 times the pollutants of an average sedan.
Yes, Virginia, global warming is real and it is or will have adverse effect on yearly snow cover.

I can point out many reasons why people should not drive these automotive abominations, but to a skier/boarder driving one couldn't be a greater conflict of interests. :angry:

As to my own wheels: VW Passat with winter tires.

I know I'll get flamed for this one, but I really feel that SUV drivers have a major case of emperor's new clothes.
There are some narrow market nitches where a choice of having driving an SUV makes perfect sense, however majority of people could easily do with a vehicle that safer (for them and others) and easier on the environment than an SUV.

 

[NYDrew]

88 BMW 325e
Rear Wheel Drive
Pirelli All Weather Tires (factory seconds)
All around peice of crap
Dont care when people hit it in parking lot or skid into guard rails
ABS doesnt work

BACK UP CAR
1986 Chevy Camaro
Real Wheel Drive....duh
500+HP
I hate driving this on any day other then sunday in the summer, but you'd be surprised what a ton of horses and some knobby rear tires can do in the snow...lets not forget, its one of the few cars legally allowed to use snow chains. (some weird law in ny)Luckily hasnt seen a ski trip in almost 3 years.

I drove my dads subaru today on a sheet of ice..no problem, I cant wait for the lease to expire so that I can buy it out.

 

[hammer]

2001 Toyota Highlander V6 AWD, currently has 88k miles, gets around 20 MPG
1998 Subaru Legacy Outback, currently has 110k miles, gets around 23 MPG

Regular tires (too lazy to bother with snow tires).

They both do fine in the snow, but the Subaru handles better IMO...the AWD seems to do a better job of shifting power to the correct wheel(s).

Ski box will be on the Subaru this season.

 

[bill9009]

04 Dodge Ram 1500 4x4, gas guzzlin, paycheck eating, s.o.b., but i like it, and there isnt much that can stop it, except if i run out of money

too bad there arent more trails then i could just ride the snowmobile to the mtn!! except i dont know which gets worse gas mileage

 

[roark]

2005 Mitsubishi Outlander AWD. Car-based "SUV". Really more of a crossover, best of both worlds. Just the stock all seasons so I take it easy in bad conditions. Although they did just fine in over a foot of snow in my driveway last week! Reasonable fuel economy (~25 mpg), plenty of space. When the roads are clear and there's no chance of ice the 2002 Hyundai Accent gets the nod (~38 mpg). But it doesn't have the proper rubber right now.

 

[Terry]

2002 honda accord se here. With stock all season tires it goes pretty decent in the snow. Friday it drove right into our driveway before I plowed it. It was pushing snow with the front bumper so even with snow tires I don't think that you could go through much deeper snow anyways. 10 inches of snow so that was pretty good.It has a little doorway in the back seat to the trunk so we can put the skis right in the trunk! No rack or box or anything. Works great!
:beer:

 

[skibum1321]

Looks like quite a few sedan drivers here with a smattering of Jeep drives here, yet the true picture of what skiers drive is quite disheartening.

Take a look at any ski area parking lot and you'll see it chock full of effing SUVS.

Man, for people who supposedly love snow and nature, they will actively chose to drive a vehicle that puts out 2- 3 times the pollutants of an average sedan.
Yes, Virginia, global warming is real and it is or will have adverse effect on yearly snow cover.

I can point out many reasons why people should not drive these automotive abominations, but to a skier/boarder driving one couldn't be a greater conflict of interests. :angry:

As to my own wheels: VW Passat with winter tires.

I know I'll get flamed for this one, but I really feel that SUV drivers have a major case of emperor's new clothes.
There are some narrow market nitches where a choice of having driving an SUV makes perfect sense, however majority of people could easily do with a vehicle that safer (for them and others) and easier on the environment than an SUV.

Couldn't agree with you more. I hate SUVs.

 

[smitty77]

2002 Chrysler PT Cruiser
5 speed, stock everything, though going to spend some $$ for snows in a week or so.
Gets about 27 mpg average, and I don't really baby it.

2005 Ford F150 2wd, 4.6L V-8
Mostly a bare bones company truck.
Gets about 18mpg.
Got it new in mid-april. Odo now reads 37000.
Handles like a plastic toboggan in the snow. Put 450 lbs of sand just infront of the rear axle, so it's a tad better now.

If I can convince the wife to get three more huskies, I'll have 16-paw-drive. Don't know what that would cost me per mile. :roll:

 

[GadgetRick]

Man, for people who supposedly love snow and nature, they will actively chose to drive a vehicle that puts out 2- 3 times the pollutants of an average sedan.
Yes, Virginia, global warming is real and it is or will have adverse effect on yearly snow cover.

I can point out many reasons why people should not drive these automotive abominations, but to a skier/boarder driving one couldn't be a greater conflict of interests.

Puleeze. Spare us the sermon. No matter what you drive it hurts the environment. Hurts it to make the vehicle and hurts it to burn the gas in it. If you want to REALLY save the environment, walk.

Some of us drive SUVs/trucks/whatever you wanna call them for a reason. I drive a 2004 Land Rover Discovery (btw, a Disco is NOT an SUV, it's a truck built on a truck chasis). I actually take it offroad (like it's made to do) when there's no snow on the ground. I can also carry gear for myself and the other 4 passengers I can carry with ease. Could I cram everything into a car? Sure, but why should I?

My other car is a 2001 Saab 9-5 SE with Nokian WRs on it. The thing goes as well in the snow as many SUVs I've seen.

 

[awf170]

Man, for people who supposedly love snow and nature, they will actively chose to drive a vehicle that puts out 2- 3 times the pollutants of an average sedan.
Yes, Virginia, global warming is real and it is or will have adverse effect on yearly snow cover.

I can point out many reasons why people should not drive these automotive abominations, but to a skier/boarder driving one couldn't be a greater conflict of interests.

Puleeze. Spare us the sermon. No matter what you drive it hurts the environment. Hurts it to make the vehicle and hurts it to burn the gas in it. If you want to REALLY save the environment, walk.

Some of us drive SUVs/trucks/whatever you wanna call them for a reason. I drive a 2004 Land Rover Discovery (btw, a Disco is NOT an SUV, it's a truck built on a truck chasis). I actually take it offroad (like it's made to do) when there's no snow on the ground. I can also carry gear for myself and the other 4 passengers I can carry with ease. Could I cram everything into a car? Sure, but why should I?

My other car is a 2001 Saab 9-5 SE with Nokian WRs on it. The thing goes as well in the snow as many SUVs I've seen.

Wow :roll: thats one of the stupidest thing I ever read...
I know walking is the best thing to do but not everything is within walking distance. And if everyone drove a car with 25+mpg that would help out the enviorment.

(btw, a Disco is NOT an SUV, it's a truck built on a truck chasis)

Does that make you feel cool?

 

[skijay]

Well spoken, GadgetRick!!!

 

[Marc]

*Teetering dangerously on the edge of a political discussion*

Before attacking people for hypocrisy let us just remember that no one knows anyone else's specific situation... and their priorities. Expressing a difference of opinion can be done with tact without being be too judgemental...


The thing I love about this forum is 99% of the time 99% of the people are laid back and cool, just like the people I ski with. Let's attempt to keep it that way shall we?

 

[GadgetRick]

Before attacking people for hypocrisy let us just remember that no one knows anyone else's specific situation... and their priorities. Expressing a difference of opinion can be done with tact without being be too judgemental...

You are correct. Sorry I spouted off, I just get tired of hearing people bash what others do without knowing what they're talking about.

If people are so concerned about the environment they should pressure the government to allow diesels to be sold more widely here. They've been sold in Europe for years. They get much better mileage and they actually create less harmful emissions these days. If I could have gotten one I would have but the US won't allow them very easilly so the manufacturers have all but given up on bringing them in. In fact, here in NJ, they are talking about not allowing ANY diesels here (for passenger car use).

Also, just because someone can comfortably drive a VW Golf or other small car doesn't mean everyone can. I'm a big guy and spend a lot of time in my vehicles. I'm not gonna cram myself into a small car.

So think before you bash people driving trucks. You don't know why they're doing it.

 

[hammer]

If people are so concerned about the environment they should pressure the government to allow diesels to be sold more widely here. They've been sold in Europe for years. They get much better mileage and they actually create less harmful emissions these days. If I could have gotten one I would have but the US won't allow them very easilly so the manufacturers have all but given up on bringing them in. In fact, here in NJ, they are talking about not allowing ANY diesels here (for passenger car use).

I believe that the diesel fuel is cleaner over in Europe, and that's why they can get away with having diesel cars over there. I'm not sure if we're going to change diesel fuel standards here in the US anytime soon...

I just saw an article on the Toyota Highlander hybrid, and it only gets a few MPG over the regular gas version...not worth the $3000 price increase IMO.

While I think that hybrids will become more commonplace, I don't think they will deliver the big mileage improvements that everyone is expecting. Why? Basically, it's because we'll still want to have big cars and SUVs here in the US.

The main thing that saves on gas mileage is vehicle size. Most of the cars I have seen in Germany are quite small by American standards, and given the way that they build parking garages over there, it's a good thing.

 

[skibum1321]

I'm not saying you have no reason to have an SUV, but height is not a reason. There are plenty of cars out there that a tall person can be comfortable in. I'm 6'2" and drive a Mazda3 and have plenty of room. And there are plenty of cars way bigger than mine.
I would go broke driving an SUV. $25 a tank is more than enough for me. You can all have fun paying $50 a tank.

 

[SKIQUATTRO]

Everyone is entitled to his/her opinion. No matter what you drive, you bought it for a reason...be it kids, cargo, mpg, price, status, ego etc.....I am sure we can all do a better job to protect the environment whether you drive and SUV or not..for example, I am sure the SUV bashing people arent using solar power, wind power, manure power etc...before you throw stones, look at your own life, we can ALL do better..we choose our vechicles like we choose our skis, they fit a need...we dont critize each other if one guy is skiing a GS ski and another a fatty powder ski..we all have our reasons for buying what we buy...leave it at that..and pray for snow...!! Yes, i have a SUV and a A4 Audi wagon..we've had an Audi AllRoad wagon with a box up top but still could not fit everything that we needed to haul (me, wife, 2 kids, gear)...I have a near death experience in a minivan, so an SUV for long trips was a no brainer for me...for around town we drive the AUDI and most days i ride my road bike to work...(30 mi r/t) PRAY FOR SNOW