[FC] Corvanatics Digest, Vol 49, Issue 13
hugh
hugpeg at embarqmail.com
Sun Feb 22 12:15:56 EST 2009
A new Ford F-150 crew cab pickup gives you room, towing capacity, and long
or short bed and pretty good gas mileage to boot..
Better then either of the choices you mentioned and Ford didn't ask for your
tax money to bail them out.
Hugh
----- Original Message -----
From: <corvanatics-request at corvair.org>
To: <corvanatics at corvair.org>
Sent: Sunday, February 22, 2009 12:00 PM
Subject: Corvanatics Digest, Vol 49, Issue 13
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> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. A Question Regarding New Vehicles (Minimal Corvair Content)
> (RoboMan91324 at aol.com)
> 2. Re: [VV-talk] A Question Regarding New Vehicles (Minimal
> Corvair Content) (Bill Elliott)
> 3. Re: [VV-talk] A Question Regarding New Vehicles (Minimal
> Corvair Content) (RoboMan91324 at aol.com)
> 4. Re: [VV-talk] A Question Regarding New Vehicles (Minimal
> Corvair Content) (Bill Elliott)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Sat, 21 Feb 2009 14:31:14 EST
> From: RoboMan91324 at aol.com
> Subject: [FC] A Question Regarding New Vehicles (Minimal Corvair
> Content)
> To: vv-talk at corvair.org, virtualvairs at corvair.org,
> corvanatics at corvair.org
> Message-ID: <d18.3dfe27ff.36d1b082 at aol.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
>
> Everyone,
>
> I am in the market for a new vehicle and I am limiting myself to the Big
> 3.
> I would like some advice if possible.
>
> First, I want a vehicle with towing capacity for my toys (Corvairs, etc.)
> so
> I am limiting my search to SUVs and pickup trucks.
>
> Yesterday, I drove a Chevy Tahoe Hybrid and a Chevy Avalanche. I liked
> both. Here is my brief assessment.
>
> Tahoe- Other than the hybrid, this is a typical SUV. A benefit of the
> hybrid is that it comes with the big 6 liter motor and has very good
> towing
> capacity around 6200 lbs. The standard Tahoe tows a minimum of 5400 lbs
> and goes
> up from there with options. The hybrid also has better city gas mileage
> than
> non hybrids but has the same highway mileage. 20/20 vs. 14/20. The
> Tahoe
> has a decent turning radius though not quite as good as my Bronco. This
> helps
> when maneuvering a trailer. A downside is the cost which is in low to
> mid
> $50k. Also, the longevity of the battery pack is a concern. The
> salesman
> told me that the hybrid portion of the vehicle had a warranty extended to
> 8
> years and 100,000 miles. Also, he said that the battery pack was made up
> of
> traditional lead acid car batteries but there was no access for me to
> verify
> this. Does anyone have knowledge of this vehicle and its battery pack?
>
> Avalanche- For those of you not familiar with this vehicle, it is a
> cross
> between a pickup truck and an SUV. More accurately, it can be
> transformed
> from a pickup into a somewhat unusual SUV. It starts as a full size crew
> cab
> pickup with a removable hard cover on the short bed. You can remove the
> back
> window and lower the mid wall and back seats to open the bed to the back
> of
> the front seats. This allows you a full 8 x 4 bed for standard size
> plywood
> sheets, etc. It can be used as follows.
>
> 1. A short bed crew cab pickup with or without the hard cover.
>
> 2. An 8' bed pickup with the window in place and the hard covers
> attached.
> This seals the bed and cab from the outside rain, cold etc.
>
> 3. If you are carrying a box that is higher than the sides of the bed
> and
> longer than the short bed, you cannot use the back window and hard covers
> so
> the cab is open to the outside elements through the rear. In other
> words, the
> mid wall and window merely fold away but do not move forward to change
> the
> crew cab into a regular cab. Obviously, if you are carrying something
> higher
> than the top of the cab, you can only use the short bed length.
>
> This vehicle has a longer wheelbase than the Tahoe and therefore has a
> bigger turning radius. It also rides more like a truck than the Tahoe
> which isn't
> a big problem for me. It is much more expensive than the standard pickup
> but is slightly less expensive than the non-hybrid Tahoe and about $6k
> less
> than the Tahoe hybrid. My concern is that there may be leaks at any of
> the many
> sealing points of the hard covers, mid wall and removable back window
> after
> some years of use. Does anyone have knowledge of these kind of problems?
>
> Any comments or advice would be appreciated.
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Doc
> 1960 Corvette; 1961 Rampside; 1962 Rampside; 1964 Spyder Coupe, 1965
> Greenbrier; 1966 Canadian Corsa Turbo Coupe; 1967 Nova SS; 1968 Camaro
> Ragtop
> **************Need a job? Find an employment agency near you.
> (http://yellowpages.aol.com/search?query=employment_agencies&ncid=emlcntusyelp00000003)
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Sat, 21 Feb 2009 15:13:52 -0500
> From: Bill Elliott <corvair at fnader.com>
> Subject: Re: [FC] [VV-talk] A Question Regarding New Vehicles (Minimal
> Corvair Content)
> To: RoboMan91324 at aol.com
> Cc: virtualvairs at corvair.org, vv-talk at corvair.org,
> corvanatics at corvair.org
> Message-ID: <49A06080.1010501 at fnader.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
>
> I have one of the first 2002 Avalanches (purchased used); it currently
> has just over 100k on it.
>
> http://fnader.com/Avalanche.htm
>
> It still runs, looks, and drives like a new truck. Whatever the
> "concerns" about "American build quality" categorically does not extend
> to these trucks.
>
> It tows extremely well and rides very well (both due to the long
> wheelbase). The brakes are 100% better than my previous generation
> Suburban.
>
> It is just about the most versatile vehicle I have owned... with the
> hard covers off, the window out, cab windows down, and sunroof open,
> it's almost like driving a full convertible!
>
> The hard covers are not 100% waterproof... more like 99% (you might find
> a few drops of water in the bed after going through a carwash or an
> extremely hard downpour).
>
> I did expect the mileage to be slightly better... it's a little worse
> than my 5.7 Vortec Suburban was... other than that (and the fact it's
> somewhat ugly) no complaints at all!
>
> Bill
>
>
>
> RoboMan91324 at aol.com wrote:
>
>>
>>Avalanche- For those of you not familiar with this vehicle, it is a
>>cross
>>between a pickup truck and an SUV. More accurately, it can be
>>transformed
>>from a pickup into a somewhat unusual SUV. It starts as a full size crew
>>cab
>>pickup with a removable hard cover on the short bed. You can remove the
>>back
>>window and lower the mid wall and back seats to open the bed to the back
>>of
>>the front seats. This allows you a full 8 x 4 bed for standard size
>>plywood
>>sheets, etc. It can be used as follows.
>>
>>1. A short bed crew cab pickup with or without the hard cover.
>>
>>2. An 8' bed pickup with the window in place and the hard covers
>>attached.
>>This seals the bed and cab from the outside rain, cold etc.
>>
>>3. If you are carrying a box that is higher than the sides of the bed
>>and
>>longer than the short bed, you cannot use the back window and hard covers
>>so
>>the cab is open to the outside elements through the rear. In other
>>words, the
>>mid wall and window merely fold away but do not move forward to change
>>the
>>crew cab into a regular cab. Obviously, if you are carrying something
>>higher
>>than the top of the cab, you can only use the short bed length.
>>
>>This vehicle has a longer wheelbase than the Tahoe and therefore has a
>>bigger turning radius. It also rides more like a truck than the Tahoe
>>which isn't
>>a big problem for me. It is much more expensive than the standard pickup
>>but is slightly less expensive than the non-hybrid Tahoe and about $6k
>>less
>>than the Tahoe hybrid. My concern is that there may be leaks at any of
>>the many
>>sealing points of the hard covers, mid wall and removable back window
>>after
>>some years of use. Does anyone have knowledge of these kind of problems?
>>
>>Any comments or advice would be appreciated.
>>
>>Thanks in advance,
>>
>>Doc
>>1960 Corvette; 1961 Rampside; 1962 Rampside; 1964 Spyder Coupe, 1965
>>Greenbrier; 1966 Canadian Corsa Turbo Coupe; 1967 Nova SS; 1968 Camaro
>>Ragtop
>>**************Need a job? Find an employment agency near you.
>>(http://yellowpages.aol.com/search?query=employment_agencies&ncid=emlcntusyelp00000003)
>>_______________________________________________
>>This message was sent by the VV-talk mailing list, all copyrights are the
>>property
>>of the writer, please attribute properly. For help,
>>mailto:vv-help at corvair.org
>>This list sponsored by the Corvair Society of America,
>>http://www.corvair.org/
>>Post messages to: VV-talk at corvair.org
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>>
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>>
>>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Sat, 21 Feb 2009 16:01:42 EST
> From: RoboMan91324 at aol.com
> Subject: Re: [FC] [VV-talk] A Question Regarding New Vehicles (Minimal
> Corvair Content)
> To: corvair at fnader.com
> Cc: virtualvairs at corvair.org, vv-talk at corvair.org,
> corvanatics at corvair.org
> Message-ID: <cf5.48da69fc.36d1c5b6 at aol.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
>
> Thanks Bill,
>
> Advice from an actual owner of one of these vehicles is great input.
>
> Because the hard cover comes in 3 parts, I am not too surprised it leaks
> under extreme conditions. If that is the worst, I don't see it as a
> problem.
> After all, it is just a pickup truck bed underneath. My concerns were
> more about
> water getting into the cab if too much entered the bed. Was that ever an
> issue?
>
> Thanks again,
>
> David
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> In a message dated 2/21/2009 12:14:17 PM Pacific Standard Time,
> corvair at fnader.com writes:
>
>> I have one of the first 2002 Avalanches (purchased used); it currently
>> has just over 100k on it.
>>
>> http://fnader.com/Avalanche.htm
>>
>> It still runs, looks, and drives like a new truck. Whatever the
>> "concerns"
>> about "American build quality" categorically does not extend to these
>> trucks.
>>
>> It tows extremely well and rides very well (both due to the long
>> wheelbase).
>> The brakes are 100% better than my previous generation Suburban.
>>
>> It is just about the most versatile vehicle I have owned... with the hard
>> covers off, the window out, cab windows down, and sunroof open, it's
>> almost
>> like driving a full convertible!
>>
>> The hard covers are not 100% waterproof... more like 99% (you might find
>> a
>> few drops of water in the bed after going through a carwash or an
>> extremely
>> hard downpour).
>>
>> I did expect the mileage to be slightly better... it's a little worse
>> than
>> my 5.7 Vortec Suburban was... other than that (and the fact it's somewhat
>> ugly) no complaints at all!
>>
>> Bill
>
>
> **************
> Need a job? Find an employment agency near you.
>> (http://yellowpages.aol.com/search?query=employment_agencies&ncid=emlcntusyelp00000003)
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 4
> Date: Sat, 21 Feb 2009 16:43:10 -0500
> From: Bill Elliott <corvair at fnader.com>
> Subject: Re: [FC] [VV-talk] A Question Regarding New Vehicles (Minimal
> Corvair Content)
> To: RoboMan91324 at aol.com
> Cc: virtualvairs at corvair.org, vv-talk at corvair.org,
> corvanatics at corvair.org
> Message-ID: <49A0756E.5050206 at fnader.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
>
> Not at all. There is a full width drainage system between the bed and
> the cab... so even if the midgate was folded down and the hard covers
> off completely (say hauling a motorcycle or something) water could not
> run from the bed into the cab. Very nicely designed.
>
> In my previous post I neglected to say that I sought out the advice of a
> long term Avalanche owner that I highly respected (our own Seth Emerson)
> and his ownership experience was one of the reasons I purchased mine.
>
> It's full of little design touches that are simply well thought out...
> steps built in the the rear bumper, lockable external storage bins
> (which can also be used as a cooler!), built in tie-downs, etc. Somebody
> that actually used trucks as trucks had a hand in design.
>
> After driving a few different ones, I knew I wanted the trailer package
> (true plug and play brake controller and prewired lights... and
> individually fused ... so if the trailer parking lamps short out, that's
> all you lose... it doesn't take the truck's parking lamp circuit out as
> well) which in 2002 came with an aux automatic transmission cooler (and
> maybe the haul-tow transmission setting which I really like, but may
> have been standard), the Z71 package (mainly to guarantee a posi), the
> 3.73 rear for mileage (the option 4.11 adds a lot of low end performance
> though), and leather buckets (because I just didn't like the support of
> the cloth bench). The sunroof is nice but robs about 3" of rear seat
> headroom if you anticipate tall adults spending much time back there.
>
> Bill
>
> RoboMan91324 at aol.com wrote:
>
>> Thanks Bill,
>>
>> Advice from an actual owner of one of these vehicles is great input.
>>
>> Because the hard cover comes in 3 parts, I am not too surprised it
>> leaks under extreme conditions. If that is the worst, I don't see it
>> as a problem. After all, it is just a pickup truck bed underneath.
>> My concerns were more about water getting into the cab if too much
>> entered the bed. Was that ever an issue?
>>
>> Thanks again,
>>
>> David
>>
>>
>>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> Corvanatics mailing list
> Corvanatics at corvair.org
> http://www.vv.corvair.org/mailman/listinfo/corvanatics
> This list sponsored by the Corvair Society of America,
> http://www.corvair.org/
>
> End of Corvanatics Digest, Vol 49, Issue 13
> *******************************************
>
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