I have betrayed you all...

Or a 1966 Buick Skylark...basically same car/different badge, both with the glass in the roof. We traveled across the country and back for a month with 7 people in 3 seats. After that came the VW microbus with roof portholes and a roof that opened, then the 3 seat LTD station wagon, a luxurious boat. Other drivers could see around/through these large cars thus not endangering them, and the wagons headlights were of regulation height, not blinding other drivers. I doubt they got any better mileage than current SUVs, but again, they (unlike SUVs) were of regulation pollution standards of the time.

 

Don't know, but I do know I do what I can to help the environment. I have two Hybrids. Both are now aging, the Prius has over 40,000 miles on it. I use cloth grocery bags, I have a coffee mug I use to get my coffee when I am out, I compost, I do this, that, the other thing. My wife works less then five miles round trip away from our house. I drive less then I used to in South Florida. I will never be 100% perfect, and I know that, but I am trying like crazy to do my bit.

Heck, I even give away stuff when I am done with it; I never charge for used DVD's, or whatever. I just give them away.

 

Lincoln Navigator? Been there, done that. As it gets a little older you can watch your mileage dwindle down to about 9 mpg. And you don't even want to think about what any repairs will cost you.

Best move I ever made was dumping the Navigator and making the family march to my drum beat. Good luck with that Navigator! For me, I'm sticking with the Prius.

 

Boy, you enjoy asking for it, don't you?

The Navigator SUCKS DOWN GAS, much more then a PRIUS, or a HIGHLANDER. That is part of the problem; wasting gas. Oh, and your NAVIGATOR, does it turn off at stop lights? Or is it still polluting the air then?

Give it up; you will get no love here. Your continual need for acceptance on this Spawn Of Satan (good choice of names; it fits) that you bought, is sad. You might as well go to the Pro Life sites as a Abortionist.

 

No, they sucked WAY MORE fuel than these monstrosities we have now. Come on, you're telling me that engines like the Ford 302, Chevy 302, Mopar 318, Mopar 383, GM 454, Olds 455, Mopar 440, Mopar 426, Chevy 427, Ford 427, GM 327, GM 350, Ford 351, Mopar 392, Mopar 400, GM 400, Ford 400, GM 409, Cadillac 500, and other monstrous engines were fuel efficient? Believe it or not, there's been some improvement. And with CAFE standards going up, you can expect to see the behemoths disappear gradually.

As for the size of our vehicles, it's mass hysteria going on everywhere. It's not just here! It's also going on in Europe, where vehicles continue to grow in size; Asia is undoubtedly having the same conundrum; and, as far as I know, Australia still has large quantities of V-8 powered cars roaming throughout the countryside.

As for the OP's purchase of the Navigator, well, good luck with that; I certainly wouldn't want one myself, but if it suits your needs, then go with it. Honestly, I think something like the Navigator L might be more fuel efficient (I know, I know, I should be burned at the stake!) than some of the conversion vans available these days.

 

I wouldn't say large numbers. For a time Australian manufacturers abandoned V8s but they are back on the menu but not as popular as 4 or 6 cylinder cars. Most large 4x4s are 6 cylinder diesels and a "truck" (ute in Australia is car size and normally 6 cylinder, Not talking about real trucks that carry a load but the ones men with small willies drive to and from work.

 

Heh. I stand corrected. Most of the press I've seen here shows high-performance, V8-powered cars. Cool

 

Im surprised Doc is still here, Im going to guess he got home sick. Oh are we still justifying the purchase? You bought it, its your new baby. Good for you..... However its still a Status Symbol vehicle (other wise you'd have purchased a Expedition for less money.. (cant wiggle out of that one) (status symbol SUV's; Linclon Nav, Caddillac escalade, Hummer H-1 & H-2, GM denali). All are gas guzzlers & All are the Big Boys Toys.

I still stick with the notion that DocVJ suffers from Narcissicism Disorder.. Thats my thought throughout this entire thread and all of his previous threads...

Everything points to that conclusion.....

So hes made his purchase and will be sorry as the news media are all convulsing over the facts we will be at $4.00 a gallon by summer.

 

Can we talk about the Lotus? Is it still a year away?

 

Last time I checked, CO2 was a rather significant pollutant.

Last time I checked, overconsumption of oil impacted everybody.

And last time I checked, some of our finest sons and daughters were dying to secure that oil. That's "so what."

Rationalize your decision all you want. Cherry-pick your metrics. Live in a vacuum. I really don't care. I'm not going to start saying you're a fundamentally bad person for driving a guzzler, but grow a spine and accept it for malevolent fuel sucking pig that it is! Reading this low-pollution "my problem" nonsense is like watching a gabling addict cross-dress in an attempt to get back into the casino after getting himself thrown out.*


*Interesting story about that on the BBC this morning, by the way.

 

GREAT Post!

 

Boy, Doc, you miss the point so much, it's no wonder you got that bastard monster.

Here it is, so simple, so true, so easy to understand: When you drive a TOYOTA HYBRID, you are NOT POLLUTING when you stop at lights, when you are driving on the Electric. And all that NOT POLLUTING adds up. When you sit there, in the Florida sun, the A/C on, windows rolled up, you are CHOKING THE PLANET WITH YOUR FUMES!

There is no getting around that. You can try and justify your planet killing machine all you want. You can come back here every now and then, and try to act like you care, when really, all you are showing is how much you care about yourself, and not the planet.

Are TOYOTA HYBRIDS perfect? No. But they do shut the exhaust off whenever possible, and ever time that happens, they are helping to pollute the planet less, which all adds up.

Just as your gas hog, dangerous pride machine is killing the planet, bit by bit, day by day, mile by mile.

When your kids are all grown up, and having to breathe through oxygen masks, will they look back at pops and thank him for being part of the problem? Will they remember that once, once you could have been part of the solution, but instead CHOOSE to be part of the problem?

 

Doc, using more gas "does" pollute more. Consider the oil spills in the areas in which the drilling occurs. Consider the additional pollution that arises to refine your extra fuel. Consider the energy component to get this extra fuel to you. Besides this extra pollution that you're causing, there are other degrading affects that are made to our environment for the sake of your extra fuel use. Coastal degradation, loss of wildlife habitat, decreased quality of native people's lives all are affects of your extra fuel use.

Either the derogatory affects to our environment are not important to you, or you haven't considered the much bigger picture. If you want to drive a gas hog, that's your choice. Please just don't pretend to do so in the name of a cleaner environment. And I recognize that I'm not exempt from any of this. I just tried to mitigate the degree by purchasing the most fuel efficient, usable car on the market.

 

It is the whole lifestyle that matters, not just what one of the vehicles owned is. Driving 4 or more people a 10 miles a day is quite different than 4 Prii driving 50 miles a day. In that case getting a low polluting vehicle should be applauded.

There are much more clever ways of getting the point across without being judgemental......e.g.......

DocVJ - How much have your gas bills gone up per month?

 

Sorry, I can't be too comfortable in a 15mpg vehicle because it's ULEV II - low pollution does not account for greenhouse gasses at all. Fact is the Nav consumes three times the fuel of a Prius, meaning it also emits three times the greenhouse gases.

 

Yup. And is on all the time, where as a Toyota Hybrid is not.

 

I really don't see how a guy who drives a Lincoln Navigator is any more selfish/narcissitic than someone who lives in an area with hot, humid summers and runs their A/C all summer, or a person who doesn't carry health insurance and dumps their six figure medical bill on the public to pay.

What is it they say about people who live in glass houses, or casting the first stone?