wade, when we talked I meant 302 not 306 long day buddy
Alan, Thanks for thinking of me Buddy.. SCHEDULE some time off & I'll come help you for a day.
Chrysler 300c best was 32 mpg at 75 mph flatroad. I love it. lights them up too.
Those are sweet, test drove a HEMI when the first came out...wifie wanted one but we held off. 32 on the road ain't bad...Vee Wee should get upwards of 50 , 30 around town.
I would prioritize it this way; 1) function 2) reliability 3) mileage. Here's why.
You will never be happy if the car is too small, rides too rough, or is unsuitable for long trips with more than two people in it. If you drive 15,000 miles a year at 30 mpg with gas costing $3.50, you'll spend $1750 per year. A larger, nicer, quicker car that gets 15 mpg will cost you $3500 per year in gas, or about $150 more a month. That's not much to pay for a comfortable, quieter bigger car you will enjoy driving more. Lastly, an unreliable car will obliterate any savings you might realize in gas mileage.
Go drive one, that's what we did, ended up fitting my ample backside just fine & I'm particular about the comfort of my backside, just ask my wife.. Nixed the Chrysler Pacifica because of the seats. When we went to the dealership Monday I had no idea of what to expect...Drove a '06 Audi ?? gas burner & it was OK but noisy & a bit underpowered.. The '10 Jetta (redesigned in 07) while basically the same car is miles ahead in the suspension & the TDi Diesel blows it away performance & gets 10+better MGP.
Plenty of room for 4-average adults, I would not want to go cross country in the back. Rides better than anything I've ever owned, has the firm German seats, the longer you sit the better they feel. Diesel models are actually quieter than the gas models, not quiet like my Dads S500 but reasonable. We've had the larger sedan,94 LHS & loved it but it was not quicker, mini vans were the most comfortable as far as I'm concerned but there will just be the 1-2 of us most of the time now. Reliability & cost to own are the wild card... I'm shopping extended warranties with maintenance. Maintenance is pricey on these & while the factory warranty is good I'd like to be covered just-n-case we were unlucky enough to have one of the biggies fail.... I have not had a biggie in 30 years on any family/personal cars. (plenty in the business fleet) Word is the 6-speed auto is 6K to rebuild, but finding anyone that actually had one fail is difficult.
Standing behind it last night at the dealership i bent down to check the exhaust...couldn't smell it..
Clean Burn Diesel...
I know, I need to go hug a tree