Honda Car Forum

"Ashton Crusher" <demi@moore.net> wrote in message
news:sm4nd5508255058r6g9uqtmqcpuulg2mb2@4ax.com...
> On Sun, 18 Oct 2009 11:38:26 -0400, "C. E. White"
> <cewhite3@mindspring.com> wrote:
>
>>Earlier this month I asked for advice regarding a new car for my
>>Mother to
>>replace a Ford Freestyle that was totaled in an accident. I mostly
>>was
>>looking for advice regarding the Toyota Venza and Highlander. Well
>>we
>>finally went shopping and my Mother is getting a new Highlander
>
> I'm not disagreeing with your mom's choice but why does she need an
> SUV?? What were her needs from a technical perspective?

First of all, the Highlnader is not an SUV. You might get away with
calling it a "Crossover" but in no way is it an SUV. In my opinion, it
is nothing more than a Camry Station Wagon. Of the vehicles we looked
at, the Edge was the closest thing to an SUV and it wasn't
particularly close, although Ford tries to pitch it as one. The Venza
is called a car, but the only substantial difference between it and
the Highlander is the height of the roof and the level of standard
equipment. The CR-V would like to pretend to be an SUV, but it misses
the mark by hundreds of miles. It is just a Civic Station Wagon with
an AWD option. Even the Pilot, although a nice vehicle, can't be
considered a legitimate SUV. Anything that is primarily front wheel
drive and has very limited towing capacity is just a station wagon (or
I guess a "Crossover" which in my mind is the new name for "Station
Wagon").

My Mother never said she wanted an SUV. She just wanted something that
she could sit up in and see out of. Until she got a Freestyle, my
Mother always drove a full size vehicles (Galaxie, LTD, Grand Marquis,
etc.). The Freestyle was the smallest car she had ever owned, and at
least it gave her a decent view. Most cars that claim to be full size
these days wouldn't have qaulified as an intermediate in the 60's and
they all tend to place you very low and don't provide a very good view
of the road in a world dominated by large trucks and SUVs (my Mom
lives in a rural area and more than half the vehicles are large trucks
or SUVs).

Anyhow, if you think a front wheel drive, four cylinder Highlander is
an SUV, I think you are using a different definition of an SUV than
would be reasonable.

Ed

"Brian Smith" <Halifax@NovaScotia.Canada> wrote in message
news:hbga2v$3bd$1@news.datemas.de...

> If you preferred the Venza (as stated in the third paragraph of your
> post), why would you be interested in a Taurus? Does bad judgment
> run in your family?

Why won't I be intereseted in the Taurus. It seemed to be a nice car,
very well assembled, and I am confident it would be at least as
reliable as the Toyota Venza. I liked the Venza too, but more for my
Mother than for me. She likes station wagons and the Venza seemed to
meet her needs. There is no longer a Taurus wagon. I did at least get
her to sit in the Taurus. She said it was a nice car, but I think she
didn't like it for the same reason she didn't like the Venza. She
wanted to sit up higher, which is why we ended up with the Highlander
(which has essentially the same drive train as the Venza, but is just
a little taller). As I said, if Ford still offered new Freestyles (or
the Taurus X) we probably would have ended up in one of those.
However, given my Mother's stated desires, it seems to me she
purchased the best vehicle.

My family as owned Fords for decades. I personaly have a Fusion and an
F150. Neither has had even one problem. The Fusion has 60k trouble
free miles. Given my very good experiences with Ford and my very poor
past personal experience with Toyotas, why wouldn't I consider a
Taurus? I know that current Toyota are a lot better than the junk they
sold 20 years ago, so I have no concerns about my Mother buying one.
Heck, if they made something I liked, I consider buying one also (for
sure if I wanted a Station Wagon, the Venza would still be my number
one choice).

Ed

On Mon, 19 Oct 2009 07:50:41 -0400, "C. E. White"
<cewhite3@mindspring.com> wrote:

>
>"Brian Smith" <Halifax@NovaScotia.Canada> wrote in message
>news:hbga2v$3bd$1@news.datemas.de...
>
>> If you preferred the Venza (as stated in the third paragraph of your
>> post), why would you be interested in a Taurus? Does bad judgment
>> run in your family?
>
>Why won't I be intereseted in the Taurus. It seemed to be a nice car,
>very well assembled, and I am confident it would be at least as
>reliable as the Toyota Venza. I liked the Venza too, but more for my
>Mother than for me. She likes station wagons and the Venza seemed to
>meet her needs. There is no longer a Taurus wagon. I did at least get
>her to sit in the Taurus. She said it was a nice car, but I think she
>didn't like it for the same reason she didn't like the Venza. She
>wanted to sit up higher, which is why we ended up with the Highlander
>(which has essentially the same drive train as the Venza, but is just
>a little taller). As I said, if Ford still offered new Freestyles (or
>the Taurus X) we probably would have ended up in one of those.
>However, given my Mother's stated desires, it seems to me she
>purchased the best vehicle.
>
>My family as owned Fords for decades. I personaly have a Fusion and an
>F150. Neither has had even one problem. The Fusion has 60k trouble
>free miles. Given my very good experiences with Ford and my very poor
>past personal experience with Toyotas, why wouldn't I consider a
>Taurus? I know that current Toyota are a lot better than the junk they
>sold 20 years ago, so I have no concerns about my Mother buying one.
>Heck, if they made something I liked, I consider buying one also (for
>sure if I wanted a Station Wagon, the Venza would still be my number
>one choice).
>
>Ed
>
>


Why is all this gooble de gook stuff posted in this newsgroup anyhoo ?

"Stewart" <gortamus36@yahoo.com> wrote in news:hbgn0s$p0f$1@news.eternal-
september.org:

>
> "Ashton Crusher" <demi@moore.net> wrote in message
> news:sm4nd5508255058r6g9uqtmqcpuulg2mb2@4ax.com...
>> On Sun, 18 Oct 2009 11:38:26 -0400, "C. E. White"
>> <cewhite3@mindspring.com> wrote:
>>
>>>Earlier this month I asked for advice regarding a new car for my
>>>Mother to
>>>replace a Ford Freestyle that was totaled in an accident. I mostly
>>>was
>>>looking for advice regarding the Toyota Venza and Highlander. Well
>>>we
>>>finally went shopping and my Mother is getting a new Highlander
>>
>> I'm not disagreeing with your mom's choice but why does she need an
>> SUV?? What were her needs from a technical perspective?
>
> Maybe it was a preference as opposed to a technical need.
>
>
>

"maybe"?? Most likely.
She likely would not "feel safe" in a small car,and wanted "to sit up
high".

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
localnet
dot com

On Oct 18, 4:14 pm, Ashton Crusher <d...@moore.net> wrote:

> I'm not disagreeing with your mom's choice but why does she need an
> SUV?? What were her needs from a technical perspective?

Small cars can be hard to get in and out of as joints age.
My parents hate lifts in my civic. And I find it hard when
sitiff after sporting events.

rick++ wrote:
> On Oct 18, 4:14 pm, Ashton Crusher <d...@moore.net> wrote:
>
>> I'm not disagreeing with your mom's choice but why does she need an
>> SUV?? What were her needs from a technical perspective?
>
> Small cars can be hard to get in and out of as joints age.
> My parents hate lifts in my civic. And I find it hard when
> sitiff after sporting events.

One thing that makes it much easier, for front seat passengers anyway
are two door cars with larger doors. 4 door small cars can be a pain. I
remember a 2 door Rabbit I had, which was much easier to get in and out
of than a 4 door Rabbit with much smaller doors.

"C. E. White" <cewhite3@mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:5Ladna_RF5o50kbXnZ2dnUVZ_oSdnZ2d@earthlink.co m...

> Next we visited the Honda dealer. The Pilot was immediately eliminated as
> wildly overpriced. My Mother liked the CR-V but it seems that dealers load
> them all up with options that jack up the price. To get one equipped
> reasonably you ended up with a sun roof my Mother didn't want and a price
> higher than the Highlander.

I've never shopped for a CR-V, I'm happy with the Accord basic
configurations and you can mostly get them as-is.

Mostly, I wanted to suggest that after you've looked at all the
vehicles, shop via the Internet. It's a good way to get closer to
what you want with minimal sales floor gamesmanship, and often
better prices, too.

J.

Imagine, people in a free country, spending their own money to buy the
vehicle they believe is the best for their them. From what we see going
on among all the Socialists and the Environuts running our government in
Washington today, that may soon change. LOL




"rick++" <rick303@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:8ccf834c-678a-4ca7-8a6b-d6d574813efd@m1g2000vbi.googlegroups.com...
> On Oct 18, 4:14 pm, Ashton Crusher <d...@moore.net> wrote:
>
>> I'm not disagreeing with your mom's choice but why does she need an
>> SUV?? What were her needs from a technical perspective?
>
> Small cars can be hard to get in and out of as joints age.
> My parents hate lifts in my civic. And I find it hard when
> sitiff after sporting events.
>

Have you lost much weight since then?


"SMS" <scharf.steven@geemail.com> wrote in message
news:4adc9b1a$0$1594$742ec2ed@news.sonic.net...
> rick++ wrote:
>> On Oct 18, 4:14 pm, Ashton Crusher <d...@moore.net> wrote:
>>
>>> I'm not disagreeing with your mom's choice but why does she need an
>>> SUV?? What were her needs from a technical perspective?
>>
>> Small cars can be hard to get in and out of as joints age.
>> My parents hate lifts in my civic. And I find it hard when
>> sitiff after sporting events.
>
> One thing that makes it much easier, for front seat passengers anyway are
> two door cars with larger doors. 4 door small cars can be a pain. I
> remember a 2 door Rabbit I had, which was much easier to get in and out of
> than a 4 door Rabbit with much smaller doors.

On Mon, 19 Oct 2009 07:34:30 -0400, "C. E. White"
<cewhite3@mindspring.com> wrote:

>
>"Ashton Crusher" <demi@moore.net> wrote in message
>news:sm4nd5508255058r6g9uqtmqcpuulg2mb2@4ax.com.. .
>> On Sun, 18 Oct 2009 11:38:26 -0400, "C. E. White"
>> <cewhite3@mindspring.com> wrote:
>>
>>>Earlier this month I asked for advice regarding a new car for my
>>>Mother to
>>>replace a Ford Freestyle that was totaled in an accident. I mostly
>>>was
>>>looking for advice regarding the Toyota Venza and Highlander. Well
>>>we
>>>finally went shopping and my Mother is getting a new Highlander
>>
>> I'm not disagreeing with your mom's choice but why does she need an
>> SUV?? What were her needs from a technical perspective?
>
>First of all, the Highlnader is not an SUV. You might get away with
>calling it a "Crossover" but in no way is it an SUV. In my opinion, it
>is nothing more than a Camry Station Wagon. Of the vehicles we looked
>at, the Edge was the closest thing to an SUV and it wasn't
>particularly close, although Ford tries to pitch it as one. The Venza
>is called a car, but the only substantial difference between it and
>the Highlander is the height of the roof and the level of standard
>equipment. The CR-V would like to pretend to be an SUV, but it misses
>the mark by hundreds of miles. It is just a Civic Station Wagon with
>an AWD option. Even the Pilot, although a nice vehicle, can't be
>considered a legitimate SUV. Anything that is primarily front wheel
>drive and has very limited towing capacity is just a station wagon (or
>I guess a "Crossover" which in my mind is the new name for "Station
>Wagon").
>
>My Mother never said she wanted an SUV. She just wanted something that
>she could sit up in and see out of. Until she got a Freestyle, my
>Mother always drove a full size vehicles (Galaxie, LTD, Grand Marquis,
>etc.). The Freestyle was the smallest car she had ever owned, and at
>least it gave her a decent view. Most cars that claim to be full size
>these days wouldn't have qaulified as an intermediate in the 60's and
>they all tend to place you very low and don't provide a very good view
>of the road in a world dominated by large trucks and SUVs (my Mom
>lives in a rural area and more than half the vehicles are large trucks
>or SUVs).
>
>Anyhow, if you think a front wheel drive, four cylinder Highlander is
>an SUV, I think you are using a different definition of an SUV than
>would be reasonable.
>
>Ed
>

I know nothing about Highlanders except that I've seen pictures of
them. Sounds like you got her what she needed.