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Many of these are great reasons to own an expedition. I'm not here trying to talk anyone out of one or saying big truck bad, batteries good. I'm saying for my personal preference if I didnt require one it for sure wouldnt be top of my list. I don't own a boat, trailer, motorcycle, jet ski, camper, etc. I'm likely the minority in this group as far as those things go. I just enjoy nimble, faster vehicles more than these.
It's not that I don't like the expedition or the navigator, it's actually quite the opposite, both are extremely comfortable to drive, well appointed for 2003 models, quiet, have almost enough space, we can never have enough with the kids it seems.
Safety wise I don't doubt it but have had very impressive levels of protection from vehicles considerably smaller in size and mass. I've been in 13 accidents, I used to travel extensively for work and almost half happened during that time. Only 1 at fault and was minor. I've avoided serious injury save for some back issues. The worst destruction wise was being t boned by the largest uhaul truck offered that ran a red light and hit me in the driver side. I was in a 2000 buick regal, roughly 25-30mph impact I was told. Caved in my doors and b pillar by about 10", bent my seat over, buckled the roof, all the fun stuff. Side impact bags weren't in the vehicle so I took the brunt. No broken bones fortunately. It was by far the hardest hit but I was more or less pushed through and didnt make contact with anything else. My car was lowered and the bumper of the truck hit the door beams perfectly square which distributed the impact and kept it from coming inside and destroying my hip/legs.
Smart cars make 0 sense to me. They dont really do any better mileage wise than a corolla or civic which are considerably more roomy and better equipped and in a lot of cases cheaper. If someone wants mileage snatch up a Cruze diesel. Middle 50s mpg is not a problem. I have a friend who drove all over the state and routinely got 700+ miles to a tank in his. I'd hate to drive a Cruze for 700mi because I find them rather uncomfortable and noisy but if you're after economy and no hybrid its hard to beat.
Mmart, my first car was an 84 t bird. That digital dash, automatic headlights, it was loaded. Not bad for $700 in the 90s!
Years ago I dated a girl who’s father had one of those 82 T-Birds. They were pretty odd/rare Birds. In 1982 Ford no longer offered the 302 cu in Windsor V8 in them, instead you could get a 255 cu in Windsor backed by a 3 sp. C5 automatic with 2.26 rear gears. Not exactly a powerhouse combination but still a reliable one. My 1979 XR7 had a 351M with a 3sp. FMX automatic and 2.47 rear gears.....another lame combo but reliable one. They hadn’t brought out the AOD 4sp. transmissions yet in those years so they didn’t gear the rear axle with any low ratios. I also had a 1988 XR7 after the 1979, and that car was also built on the Fox body platform like your 82. It had a EFI roller cam 302 Windsor with the AOD 4sp. automatic and 3.08 traction lok rear axle. That Cat would run a fairly respectable high 15 second quarter mile stock. Like you I don’t have any pictures other than Polaroids but here are some internet pictures of the exact colors,wheels,and models they both were. They both served me well.Ha! $700! You did better than I did. I paid about $1200. I don’t have pics of my car but here’s what it looked like View attachment 36361
I doubt if you can you can give the trans all the credit, there is a lot more that can cause the MPG diff between your 2 trucks, also all the sellers of the ecoboost say the power is at low rpms mainly. I am aware of hype but I don't get it.
Some of us drive a large SUV because we like the comfort and safety and don't care what the gas costs. I spent my life investigating transportation accidents, so I want a heavy car with a full frame for my family's safety. Since the Excursion's no longer made, I drive an Expedition. I don't care what the gas costs. To me it's worth the price to be safe and comfortable. My money is mine, and this is how I choose to spend it.
AMEN Brother! I think I’ve said this before but I’ll say it again....a Smart car is anything but smart in my book. Or any of those other little tiny cars running on the highways with tractor trailers and such.
Glad to hear you choose to save your family first over saving the planet. We have a lot more control over saving our families, especially when we can’t control what the rest of the world is doing.Hallelujah, speak it brother! Same reason my family rolls in one, and so do I in my own. And both of them now have Police version push bumper/brush guards with 6 point mounts directly to the frame, effectively a cattle catcher. Never know when you need to take an impact to the front, or push something out of your way in a bad situation, or take a deer impact without warning, both of my expeditions are as prepared as is possible.
View attachment 36577
Praise the lord N pass the ammunition!
In other news, my battery started going last few days, its been extremely hot here, and i noticed all the sudden, my voltage which usually rides around 14.0-14.5 i noticed down at 13.7-13.8 pretty constantly 2 days ago, then today it was 13.0-13.2, i thought it might be the alternator, but turns out the battery when its all tested. Finally broke down and put in an Optima Red, i had been holding out to save the cash, riding out the 5-6 year old duralast it came with.
I have volt meters in the front center console, middle row center console, third row next to the cup holder, and at the rear door power port also, so when im running inverters, accessories, camping out, i can keep an easy eye on power so i don't let it drain to far before firing it up to charge. All the meters also have USB 3 amp charge ports on them for double duty and maximum utility.
I have 4 USB ports in the front, 2 in the middle row, 2 in the third row, and 2 next to the back door, i can charge everyone at the same time, lol