4x4 Photos

scruffy · Nov 5, 2001

CBDoc, t'iz all a matter of viewpoint! when you're standin' at the bottom of one of them mole-hills, just knowing ya gotta get to the top, it still looks pretty darn LARGE!!! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Bird · Nov 5, 2001

Neil, don't feel bad; some of these northern folks in the US don't know any more about Texas than you do./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif I guess you noticed Scruffy's comment about Texas not having mountains, when in fact, I think he knows that Texas has mountains with higher elevation than anything east of the Mississippi River./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif But we do, in fact, have plenty of dust!/w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif Our state tourist folks call Texas "The Land of Contrast"; the Gulf of Mexico and beaches on the south, pine forests in the east (annual rain of about 45"), the low elevation blackland plains where I am (about 30" of rain), the hill country, the desert (about 15" of rain), then the Guadalupe Mountains in the west, and some cold winters (in spite of hot summers) on the high plains in the northern panhandle.

Edited by Bird on 11/05/01 06:48 PM (server time).

Anonymous Poster · Nov 5, 2001

Bird, anybody

While back somewhere you guys were talking (Eating Places) Going to Dallas in the morning for a couple of days. Any suggestions on where to go? If its a drive but worth the drive name it. in the mood for some good food..

Bird · Nov 5, 2001

John, I'd like to help you, but really can't. Dallas has grown so fast in the last few years and we haven't eaten out in Dallas hardly at all now in about 12 years, so there are literally an unbelievable number of new places, while at the same time some of my old favorites are no longer there. And then, of course, it also depends on what kind of food you like; steak, barbecue, seafood, Italian, German, Chinese, Japanese, etc.; they're all available with prices from very reasonable to unbelievable (last I heard, breakfast at The Mansion averaged about $50; don't even want to think about what dinner costs!)./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

MJB · Nov 6, 2001

Bird: How did you fit 17 years of fishing into only one week?/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

I love the smell of diesel in the morning./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Bird · Nov 6, 2001

Was that kinda poorly worded, MJB?/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif Let's see, we actually went down there the Saturday before Thanksgiving and went home the Saturday after Thanksgiving from '73 through '88. Then from '89 (when I retired) through '94, we were usually there for the entire month of November. So, now it's been 7 years since I was down at the coast.

Jeff396 · Nov 6, 2001

Here are the pictures of my truck. Funny thing is that we actually bought the truck as a commuter vehicle for my wife. We really were only interested in the 4 door pickup thing but I think this was about a year before everyone and their brother started making them, Nissan being the first. Ours is the last of a model type and we had to choose from what was left. It's a Crew cab, long bed, 2wd, 7.3 liter turbo diesel, 22 ft long monster that still will get over 20mpg in the city. I inherited it when my wife needed a car for work to take out clients. I guess she figured the truck didn't exactly give the right impression. Now can somebody help me here, does Toyota offer an actual 4 full size door pickup here in the states yet. Last I knew they didn't.

Jeff

cowboydoc · Nov 6, 2001

Jeff,
I don't believe Toyota has one. But why would you want one? You already better mileage than the Toyota with the six cylinder does, you can tow a mountain, well hill Scruffy /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif, it will outlast that Toyota motor and it won't be rusted out in four years. That Ford with the diesel will give you hundreds of thousands of trouble free miles. I'm not saying that the Toyota is a bad rig but it is nothing compared to that Ford that you have.

Jeff396 · Nov 6, 2001

Don't want one, just like to keep track of Toyota. Also, Neil's truck in the pictures is a diesel too and I'm pretty sure they don't offer that here either. I bet that gets pretty good mileage compared to the V8 version they sell here. Anyway, my first 6 new cars were all Toyota's back when they put our cars to shame in price as well as reliability. And this was when I lived in Detroit! Back then, even my father inlaw who worked at the GM proving grounds had to admit that you couldn't touch anything American like my wifes new 1984 Toyota 4x4 extra cab pickup for the price we got it for. Well, now our quality is catching up and their prices are ridiculous so I stick to American cars. I got the great white beast for under 30k while a buddy of mine payed just over 30k for an extra cab Tundra V8 which he now regrets as he uses it in his business and the gas mileage is killing him!

Jeff

cowboydoc · Nov 6, 2001

Yep I agree completely with your post Jeff. Actually back in the late 80's Toyota did make a diesel for their pickups. I don't know why they quit making it.

Jeff396 · Nov 6, 2001

Sorry, maybe Neil said his truck was like a Tacoma and not a Tundra which would make it a V6 or straight 4. Can't remember where the original thread was. CRS syndrome at 40!!!!

Jeff

Jeff396 · Nov 6, 2001

I also remember that Toyota offered a diesel in their corolla for a short period of time. For some reason we on this side of the pond tend to shy away from diesels. Of course memories of that GM diesel where all they did was plug a gas engine to make it may still hang in the air. If I remember right it's life expectancy was about 20K miles. And don't even get me started on the 8-6-4 experiment from Cadillac!!!

Jeff

TerryinMD · Nov 6, 2001

Take ya one better.

My brother had a '81 Regal Diesel which was very good to him. So, he thought he'd buy a Caddy Diesel - got him a Coupe de Ville, 2dr. Well, he drove down to our neck of the woods from Pittsburgh and I took him down to the C&O Canal to show him what it was about. To get down to the canal, we have a hill that is pretty close to a 30% grade. No foolin. Short, but a killer. After our little walk up and down the canal, we had to drive back to the house. The stupid Caddy couldn't make it up the hill from the parking area. Just sat in the middle of the road on the middle of the hill blowing black smoke. I couldn't stop laughing. Got one of those "looks"!! /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif Well, we had to back down the hill a get a good running start. We made it, but under protest from that Caddy. Needless to say, bro' never brought that Caddy back down for a visit. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Terry

Bird · Nov 6, 2001

I certainly wouldn't deny the fact that GM erred with that 5.7L diesel, but I also can't help but wonder whether a lot of the problem was that the owners simply did not properly maintain them (which you might also blame GM for since they may not have adequately described proper maintenance for a diesel in the manuals). My brother had a Cadillac with the diesel and had no complaints, my brother-in-law ran an Olds diesel, and his only complaint was the low trade-in they offered him when it had way over 100k miles on it. An awful lot of people ran the same oil in those cars that they had been using in their gasoline engines with no thought given to using an oil rated for diesels. And yes, I know it was also not a good design.

TerryinMD · Nov 6, 2001

Bird,

You are probably right about the maintenance issue. The average Joe wasn't ready for the maintenance required for a diesel.

The only complaints my bro had were changing the oil and filters, batteries, and the biggest was the starter. Other than that he was very happy with it.

Trade in. Yuck!! His Diesel Regal was in near showroom condition. It was a beauty, Black with a red interior. Good fuel economy, etc. He parked in front of his house for the evening and a guy sideswiped the car with a pickup. Totaled it! Just an unfortunate accident, the pickup driver felt really bad. Anywho, bro' turned it into the insurance company. They looked it up in the books. Since it was in good shape, it was worth $5k +. Oh, what.... you say it's a diesel. Sorry, $2800!! Boy, was bro' peaved. Took it to the state for arbititration and was told. Sorry, too bad. That's the blue book value. Can't help you. Damn shame. But, what can you do.

Terry

njrqs · Nov 6, 2001

Gee you guys have BIG trucks !!

We have the Suburban here which I think must be a Chev. It is big nut no-one buys them. Our fuel here is around 90c/litre which would be about $2/gallon - Is that dear ??

My Hilux is a 4 cyl 2.8 Litre diesel. Diesels are very popular here due to the price of fuel and their reliability.

Their maintenance is less than a petrol as their are no tune-ups etc. just do oil & filter every 5000km. They are expensive to rebuild as I know $6000 Aus !!

The hilux here only comes with a 4cyl diesel or 4 cyl petrol.

We used to have a 4-Runner which the Japs call a Surf. They have a V6. The engines vary wildly from country to country. I am pretty sure it is a Tacoma. Does it look familiar??

Cheers

Neil from OZ.

cowboydoc · Nov 6, 2001

Yea I agree with you Neil. You other guys that mentioned the higher maintenance with a diesel what are you talking about? I hear that all the time but don't get it. There is actually less maintenance with a diesel than with a gasoline engine.

Bird · Nov 6, 2001

Neil, the Chevrolet/GMC Suburban is also known and advertised as "The National Car of Texas"./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif They're everywhere around here. One of my brothers drives a '99 model, but at $34,000 to buy one and 15mpg, a little rich for my blood.

Edited by Bird on 11/06/01 04:22 PM (server time).

Jeff396 · Nov 6, 2001

I'll agree with that. Still, I do cringe when buying the necessary 3 1/2 gallons of oil and the $10.00 oil filter. I think I had it done once at a quickie lube and the grand total was around $50.00!!! I do know I'm making out like a bandit with the gas mileage and it will more than make up for it in the long run though. Oh, and the your truck does look like a Tacoma to me. They really need to market it over here, it would do well I'm sure!

Jeff

Edited by Jeff396 on 11/06/01 04:29 PM (server time).

njrqs · Nov 6, 2001

How much is fuel (gas ?) over there. I know it will vary, as it does here from region to region but I hear it is "cheap as chips"

Now there's another Aussie saying for you !!

Cheers

Neil from OZ.