Driving Classes

[Classicblast]

My first vehicle was a pickup that had been in the fleet of my father's business. It was a 74 F150 and it was beat when I got it but I had in a few years. In fact it's still in the field behind the headquarters rusting away.

When I got to the rookie leagues I really had no money to buy anything better. So my brothers chipped in and got me used Thunderbird. I had it for a couple years until I got myself playing to a contract you can actually make a living on.

I didn't get a souped up S10 or hi-performance Camaro though. Being a Ford family it would translate into a decked out Ranger or a Mustang GT.

Currently I have a F350 and a Mustang GT.

[Mist.]

Turns out im getting a 1990 Ford Excort
gets 250-300 miles in a full tank, costs about $40 to fill the tank up
itll be a great gas saver, and its not to bad of a little car... Wouldn't be able to find much of anything else around my price range....
I'm getting it this weekend most likely.

[Blastgirl]

That will serve it's purpose well and its a good first car. What color is it? ;D

[Mahnarch]

The 90 'Scort' is a good buy.

You can't go wrong with a compact that isn't expensive to buy or fix.
It's also a 'non-interference' engine, meaning that - if the timing belt breaks, no biggie as, the pistons won't hit the valves.

If you get a stick and the shifter gets 'sloppy', you can always use extra 3/8" washers to tighten it up.

Is it a hatchback or a sedan?

[Mist.]

It's white, and yeah itll do well for the summer... They said load the back up with sandbags once winter hits due to the heavy weight in front and light weight in back.
Uhm, i'm not sure... It's a little car lol ill try and get some pictures of it when I buy it.

P.S. It's a ford escort LX I dont see any information on it about being a hatchback or sedan.

[Phil]

I wouldn't put sandbags in the back of a front wheel drive.

That's something better answered by Mahnarch or Dannyboy. But I could see that with the Camaro or the 2wd pickup but the Escort shouldn't need that.

[Mist.]

The guy whose selling it says to do so,
the front is very heavy compared to the back, if I drive on ice ill be sliding everywhere [many people I ask about this say that would happen]
not sure :S

[Mahnarch]

No. No sandbags in a front wheel drive.

The only reason the older, rear wheel drive cars (and new 2WD trucks) needed weight over the back was to push the drive wheels down for traction as, all the weight (engine and tranny) were over the front wheels and the rear was left all alone.

In a front wheel drive all the weight is already over the drive (front) wheels and evening out the weight by putting sand bags in the rear will only take weight off the drive wheels.

Think of a car as a teeter-tatter - it balances on the center of gravity.
Add weight to the back, it takes from the front - even though the entire gross max of the vehicle goes up.

You want the weight over the front.
And get some nice Vatiiva or Blizzak brand snow tires if you get heavy snow.
(Blizzak is best but, most expensive - they're like glueing your tires to the road/ice -- for winter driving only. Dry pavement will eat them up like a fat chick does to Bon-Bons.)

You'll only need two in a pinch as, the front tires do all the work and the rear ones are only along for the ride.

***

Plus, if you add too much weight to the rear and you slam the brakes hard (i.e. - to avoid another car) the rear end will swing around to the front because of Physics.....*puts on his nerd glasses(

Force x Time = mass x change in velocity..

If you take away from the time then you increase the change in velocity - which increases the force but, the mass stays the same.

blah, blah blah (I don't feel like typing it all out)
But, if your back end weighs more than your front and you slam the brakes on ice, your back end will continue to move forward as your lighter front end stops quick...lier....

"quicklier"...is that a word?

It is now!

Either way, you'll spin out.
And, that's not something you want to do, unless you're some 16 year old, "invincible" teen who has a death wish.

***

'LX' has nothing to do with Hatcback, Sedan or Coupe.
It has to do with the 'Creature Comforts' (i.e. - Air Conditioning, Cruise Control, etc [when those where 'Options'])
They also ride smoother.

'LX' means 'Luxury-something' (I forget) which means it should be loaded [for it's year] with all the old timer, retired couple stuff - which isn't all bad.
I'd rather drive an LX for 1000 miles than a GT.

Kids usually want the rough riding, fast GT over an LX but, your spine definitely starts to feel it as the years gain up on you.

[Kevin]

I don't even see the point of snow tires in central Ohio unless you have a higher-powered RWD car. Normal all-seasons will do just fine as there's rarely a lot of accumulation here. The only thing you need to worry about is the first significant snow of the year when everyone thinks it's a disastrous blizzard and drives 20 mph in an inch on snow. One morning while I was still on my internship I was driving my 30 minute trip to work. It had snowed the night before, and there was at most an inch of snow. A car was driving 25 in a 55. 25 in a 55. 25 in a 55! Needless to say I passed them and went on my merry way. If you can't handle the roads in a reasonable way, you shouldn't be driving in weather like that. Now, I could see if snow was pouring down and there was a lot of ice or a lot of accumulation, but there was a dusting of snow.

[/rant]

[Jersey]

We don't get much snow around here either (we used to), so when it does snow around here and we get an inch or less, people drive like one wrong move will get them wrapped around a tree. Like spartan said, if there was a ton I would understand.

One time during my senior year in high school I was driving home on the parkway, when it really started snowing like crazy. It felt weird having to travel at 30 mph on the parkway when I usually travel 65-70. It felkt like it took me forever to get home.

[Mist.]

May 1, 2008 8:35:52 GMT -5 Kevin said:

I don't even see the point of snow tires in central Ohio unless you have a higher-powered RWD car. Normal all-seasons will do just fine as there's rarely a lot of accumulation here. The only thing you need to worry about is the first significant snow of the year when everyone thinks it's a disastrous blizzard and drives 20 mph in an inch on snow. One morning while I was still on my internship I was driving my 30 minute trip to work. It had snowed the night before, and there was at most an inch of snow. A car was driving 25 in a 55. 25 in a 55. 25 in a 55! Needless to say I passed them and went on my merry way. If you can't handle the roads in a reasonable way, you shouldn't be driving in weather like that. Now, I could see if snow was pouring down and there was a lot of ice or a lot of accumulation, but there was a dusting of snow.

[/rant]

Yeah but we did get hit here in ohio fairly hard over the winter just recently...
I think thats what they were talkign about.
I'm not sure... No sandbags it is xD

[fartinggurl]

May 1, 2008 8:35:52 GMT -5 Kevin said:

I don't even see the point of snow tires in central Ohio unless you have a higher-powered RWD car. Normal all-seasons will do just fine as there's rarely a lot of accumulation here. The only thing you need to worry about is the first significant snow of the year when everyone thinks it's a disastrous blizzard and drives 20 mph in an inch on snow. One morning while I was still on my internship I was driving my 30 minute trip to work. It had snowed the night before, and there was at most an inch of snow. A car was driving 25 in a 55. 25 in a 55. 25 in a 55! Needless to say I passed them and went on my merry way. If you can't handle the roads in a reasonable way, you shouldn't be driving in weather like that. Now, I could see if snow was pouring down and there was a lot of ice or a lot of accumulation, but there was a dusting of snow.
[/rant]

I agree, Spartan. Something the complete opposite happened to me. I was driving home from school, and it just started to snow and the roads were all icy; the snow plows were not even out yet while I was driving home. I was driving 25 mph in a 35 mph area, and there was this person going at least 50 mph right behind me. I was going 10 mph under the speed limit on that street and still sliding around a little. Although I noticed that when he slid on a patch of ice into the opposite lane and almost into someone's front yard, he slowed down. What a moron!

[Blastgirl]

I'm kind of a chicken in inclement weather. I just am. It's probably frustrating for anybody to be behind me.

[Phil]

Better safe than sorry.

I wish I had a quarter for the people that think they're superman in a 4x4.

I have many of times said that weather delayed me and got a response like 'you're in a 4 wheel drive.'

It doesn't have wings though.

[Mahnarch]

Oh, don't I know it.
People fly up behind me, Catch the draft window (even at 30mph). Fly over into the passing lane and, if they don't keep sliding to the left, continue to pass me.

Then, a few miles up the road they're trying to flag me down for a ride or to call a wrecker....

My ex seems to think that her car has magical magnets that stick her to the road, too.
She got used to her diesel Bug we had and sold and replaced it with a Mazda 929 rear wheel drive (I wasn't thinking about that when I bought it. It was small, ran, had four wheels and I could pay it off in one wad of cash money...)

She actually did really good with it this winter just passed. I'm both pleased and proud.
She delivers pizzas for a living and I was certain I'd be pulling her out of somewhere at least once a week.
The only problem she had was in a college campus parking lot that had a foot of snow - and a couple of times in our driveway when the snow would drift up over her trunk [pure white car drifted into a pure white snow bank made it look like one of those snow sculptures. lol.]

[Mist.]

I dont know if I mentioned this already, but I'm not getting that ford escort....
I'm actually just about to leave to go test drive that s10 I posted pictures of before,
The guy said everything runs great, the only thing is that the motor is a little old so it might ride a little rough...
But then again, nothing can be perfect right?
Hopefully it's a winner =P

[Phil]

I hope you have good luck with whatever you get, and I hope you don't over pay for it.

I haven't had that many cars for a 36 year old. I had a 77 Olds Cutlass when I 1st got my license, then a 87 Chevy truck I got from my dad. I had that for a bunch of years then when it was totaled while parked at a curb I went out and got a new truck. Which is the truck I have now a 2003 Chevy. I technically own my wife's car too a 2002 Buick LeSabre.

[Kimm]

Mist, make sure you have somebody with a lot of car experience check it over before you buy it. What looks cool is not whats most important for your transportation. It has to be dependable and the gas mileage cant eat you out of house and home make sure its a good deal.

Have somebody whose opinion you trust listen to the motor if the guys already admitting that theres at least a minor problem.