The Decision Helper

[GBRulz]

Ok, here is my two cents on SUV shopping. Prior to getting my Pathfinder last year, I had an Xterra. Loved it. Only problem was they don't come with leather seats and if anyone here owns a shedding dog, you'll see where my problem was with cloth seats.

Anyhow, I did alot of test driving on SUV's and the one I felt the most comfortable driving/handling was the Nissan Pathfinder. Believe it or not, it gets better gas mileage than the Xterra. Nissan did a complete overhaul on their body styles last year, so that was a definite plus.

The Pathfinder's 2nd and 3rd row seats both fold flush into the floor, which is ideal if you ever need the space...or in my case, the two dogs have their play area when we go up north! AND it has leather seats...easy to clean oh yeah and in WI winters, those seat warmers are very nice to have!

Other SUV's that I test drove that I really liked as well was the Acura MDX and the Lincoln Aviator. Both were a little more than I wanted to spend though and unfortunetely, are not mass produced where you could get a really good deal on a used one.

[GBRulz]

Does anyone else think that some SUV's are starting to look more like minivans than SUV's?

The new midsize Cadillac SUV and the new Dodge Durango look more like minivans than SUV's.

[HarveyWallbangers]

I don't want a minivan because of the stereotypes, and they just don't look that cool.

BINGO!

[HarveyWallbangers]

i'm guessing harv has already made his decision and the only help he might need is dragging his ass out of bed!

I decided to hit the rack right away, and I decided to work from home today. It's a card I can't play a lot, but it's nice to have in my back pocket.

[Deputy Nutz]

I guess some are not secure in their sexuality. I know I am a man, regardless if I drive the brown bomber or not.

[Little Whiskey]

sorry GBM, another of my insistants is that it must not be a "foreign" car. guess it is just my redneck showing thru but i refuse to own a car that does not have a american made nameplate on the front. I realize that most of the big three are made over seas and most toyota's are mfg here.

Nutz, its not a matter of manhood, but of opinion. why eat cake when you can have pie.

[Deputy Nutz]

Go get one of those new dodge station wagons

[Little Whiskey]

now don't going getting your panties all in a bunch, nutz.



by the way they are not station wagons, they are called crossover vehicles.

[GBRulz]

sorry GBM, another of my insistants is that it must not be a "foreign" car. guess it is just my redneck showing thru but i refuse to own a car that does not have a american made nameplate on the front. I realize that most of the big three are made over seas and most toyota's are mfg here.

Nutz, its not a matter of manhood, but of opinion. why eat cake when you can have pie.

Whiskey - are there any vehicles that are truly 100% american made? Where do you think the parts come from on "american" vehicles? My Nissan is just as american as Ford. It was assembled in Tennessee.

[Little Whiskey]

GBM wrote: are there any vehicles that are truly 100% american made? Where do you think the parts come from on "american" vehicles? My Nissan is just as american as Ford. It was assembled in Tennessee.

i know that but where are they headquartered? What country does the money go back to? Which company make me feel like a better american? I guess it has more to do with the last question. I Just can't feel good about putting my NRA and Nascar bumper stickers on a Honda.

[HarveyWallbangers]

My Nissan is just as american as Ford.

Is that really true, or do they say that to make you feel better about buying it. I think it's a good point that the company is HQ'd in Japan, so a lot of the money is going back there for the peripherals of the company.

[Harlan Huckleby]

money goes to stock holders. Plenty of Amercian stockholders of Honda. Plenty of Brazillian and Saudia stockholders too.

[Deputy Nutz]

Mazda and Jaguar are both owned by ford.

[Little Whiskey]

my gun rack and coonskin tail won't fit on a mazda, maybe on a jag, but a little out of my price range.

[HarveyWallbangers]

money goes to stock holders. Plenty of Amercian stockholders of Honda. Plenty of Brazillian and Saudia stockholders too.

If a company makes money it is often siphoned into other parts of the business (in this case a part of the business that is not related to assembling of the cars). Where does a majority of this money go at Ford and at Nissan? For instance, does it go back to research & development and is that research & development HQ's in America or Japan? I'm not sure the answer, but it's not as easy as saying Nissan helps American workers and the economy as much as Ford--just because the cars are assembled here.

Imagine that: Nissans are assembled here. You know what that's called, right? That's called in-sourcing and that's the other side of the whole out-sourcing scare. This country in-source as much as we out-source. Or, at least, we did when I researched it in two years ago.