Hey Dan, I am a truck guy myself, but practicality got the best of me (that and a wife that has too much common sense for our own good ) .. so I bought a Focus ... the gas mileage is awesome and it's "loaded" ...lol ... no regrets as the gas prices just keep getting higher and my debt keeps getting lower So my vote would be for the Fusion .... if I coulda convinced the wife to step it up, we would be driving that .... all the reviews on the cars you listed are excellent ... so you can't go wrong .. I think the Fusion is the most stylish of the three and I believe when comparing apples to apples ... it's the cheapest ... keep us posted!
I'd put them in order like this, Ford/Toyota, then VW. I love the little VW and have heard good things about them, but it something happens to go wrong, with all the traveling you'll be doing, you are more likely to find service and parts for the Ford & Toy. I think they are both cheaper to maintain. That was the case 4 years ago anyway, when we were looking at cars for Sara. We ended up with the Mazda6. Love it! Gets around 30 mpg, you can fit a full sized bed in it with the hatch back, sporty..... but, it's a Mazda so it's tough to get the local shops to work much on it. No one has the diagnostics for it. Had to take it to Duluth (hrs away) to change the stinking headlights on it. Have to take off the front tires and bumper, and there are like 8 lightbulbs.... Good luck with the change in career buddy! If you need to get your resort fix, stop on by. I'll let you help putting docks in, splitting wood, fixing toilets, making beds, empty fish guts, ......
Have you looked into cross over style vehicles at all? I see some are rated at over 30mpg and you would have a lot more room in them. Some have AWD as well.
Good luck, Dan... still wanna come chase those bears with you some time, even if you're not officially the man in charge.
Not exactly, my wife wants one for her next vehicle... I only quickly browsed over the Chevy Equinox online one day. I was suprised how nice they were and all the options like AWD and such they offer. I have no idea what all options from different companies are out there. I know I see a ton of cross overs on the roads though.
the price jump is pretty good if you want a cross over vehicle ... the Ford Edge get's 19-27 mpg and is an awesome vehicle ..... my Dad has one ...
The guy we just sold my dad's Tahoe to showed up in an Equinox. He raved about it. AWD, 30 mpg, within inches of interior room to the Tahoe. It would be a price jump though, getting into the crossover game.
I really was surprised how nice and large they are. A maxed out Equinox is around $30,000 (without any rebates or discounts). You can get a pretty nice one for about $25,000 ( again not counting rebates or discounts). My mom bought one of those Saturn crossovers a couple years ago and she really likes it. I know it has a ton of room in it.
the tdi has a great motor but also has a weak trans and the body/interiors tend to not hold up so well... i like the idea of the tdi, just do your research on em, they are far from a perfect vehicle from what my reading has told me... on your list, i'd go for the fusion hybrid first, camry second...
I work for GM and I will tell you to stay away from the Equinox. The only reason I will give you is lack of quality. (Older models have had several issues) In the last seven years I have worked for Toyota, Subaru, Ford and now GM. I will tell you that my next vehicle will be a Ford. They are getting ready to blow the doors off all other automakers and have the highest quality going right now. If GM continues with their current practices......they will be begging for another loan in 10 years. I have been here for three months and it doesn't take a genius to figure out how they got into the shape they are in.
Do you work at the plant near Dallas. Arlinton(sp)? Don't you guys make the Equinox? I know you make SUV style there.
No Equinox. I'm not sure where it is built now. We make the Escalade, Yukon and Tahoe. If gas goes up to $4 a gallon this plant could really be in trouble. Maybe not my best career decision!
My ucle and father worked at that plant after GM closed Willow Run in MI. Can I ask are you Salary or Hourly, I worked for GM out of college on the Salary side, but my father and two uncles worked at Toledo Powertrain with me also(Hourly). My Father came back from the Texas plant. I can tell you I loved the area down their when I went there. THe Ball park was awesome!!!!! Is management at GM still making the same mistakes as before? Doing stupid stuff and paying for it twice?
I just bought my wife a navigator, I would definitely not recommend this as a fuel efficient vehicle..
Germ, I'm salary. Like I said, I've worked for just about every automaker that makes vehicles in the U.S. The culture of arrogance in GM management is breath taking. Nothing has changed in the way we are running operations since asking for the bailout. If things do not change soon GM will be back in bankruptcy in 10 years. I can't wrap my head around it. Did you here about the bonuses being handed out? There were some other managers bragging about how much they were getting in a meeting one morning. I piped up and suggested they worry about paying back our tax dollars first. That didn't set too well, but of course, I'm an outcast because I've worked for Toyota in my career. I love the area down here and if there comes a time that I get off before 5pm everyday, I would like to hook up with Greg (txjournyman) and kill a hog or two.
