What is your everyday car ?

[Mike Kelly]

Mine is a 1987 Falcon XF wagon ..it's fitted with a few Fairmont options ..floor shift and the fancy digital gauges . It runs the 4.1 litre crossflow head motor .... these are a old 1960's motor that Ford here kept ugrading .. the XF was the last model for it . The front suspension is straight from the 1964 XK Falcon ..they didnt change much. In Australia, these cars are a dime a dozen and you can pick up bargain low mileage examples for under $500 . Many of them are converted to LPG as the motors love it .
Mike

[gordon]

My A-Class is just coming up to 100,000 miles, and returns 70mpg on a long open motorway run, 60mpg or better on the open road.

It's the same 4 cylinder 2 litre unit you get in all the A and B Class cars, they just set the engine management system to give different power outputs. I think mine is about 110HP

What's wrong with it? poor ground clearance, especially over speed bumps, and the fact I didn't get a tow bar fitted when I bought it...

[Phil Waterman]

2001 Ford Escapes, two of them wife has one and I have one. Mine has four cylinder with the five speed, wife has the V6 with automatic. The four cylinder gets year round average of 25-27 MPG, the darn thing is wife get just about the same mileage, bigger engine lighter foot.

Cheers Phil

[cletrac (RIP)]

This is pickup country. Cars just won't hack it on our gravel roads, especially in muddy or snowy conditions. I've got a 1998 S10 with a 4.3 V6 and automatic. It gets close to 25 mpg.

[Mike Timoshyk]

In the summer it is my M38 Willys and my F15A CMP. In the winter it is my 85 Dodge 5/4. Occasionally the wife lets me drive her Saturn but it is a bugger to squeeze into.

Cheers from Windsor Ontario, home of the Ford CMP

Mike

[Scott Bentley]

Wife drives a Mini Cooper S and I have a VW Jetta TDI.

Mini Cooper is suffering a Power Steering issue, so i'm driving the M151A2. Actually, at one point for about 3 hours last week, my M151A2 was the only vehicle in my Fleet that was running.

Scotty

[hrpearce]

I'm not permited to leave the farm often so my daily drive is the patrol wagon that apears in a fiew posts. Wife drives a toyota torago which I get to drive if she is not at work otherwise I have to borrow Mum's camery it has a towbar so I need it for recovery work. The patrol has 303,000Km, torago 180,000Km and the camery is aproaching 300,000Km.

[Paul Singleton]

My daily driver was a 1989 Chevy pick up with a 6.2 diesel and a five speed manual. Two weeks ago I sent it for scrap with 560,000 KM. It had some severe rust issues to the under side. My winter car that has become my daily driver is a 1997 Chrysler Intrepid. I miss having a truck already, so I will find another.

Paul

[Barry Churcher]

Like Cletrac I have an S-10 with a V6 (1994) with 460,000 km. and a 1990 Chev 3/4 V8 with 585,000 km. The miles add up when a round trip to work is 200 km. "CHEVYS RULE" Neither truck has had the engine opened.
Barry

[Howard]

I drive an old Ford Falcon XG ute.
Like Mike's Falcon I have converted it to LPG dual fuel.
I drive it pretty hard most of the time, it returns 14l/100km (20mpg).
Engine is the fabulous 4.0 litre inline six and is rated at 148Kw (almost 200hp)
Running on LPG means that my 550km week commuting to work costs me around $45. It has around 230,000km on the clock which is F.A. for one of these things...

Jo's Drive is an old Fairlane, also on LPG.
This is the largest Aussie car in the Ford range & it returns around 11l/100km (26mpg).
A tank of LPG costs around $40 & will get us 450-500km, the engine is a later evolution of what is in the ute & is rated at 165kw (220hp). Also has around 230,000km on the clock
My last Falcon had 450,000km when I sold it, the one before that had 350,000km on it (but the odo did not work for seven years of the ten years we owned it!)

[Mike Kelly]

Originally Posted by Howard

I drive an old Ford Falcon XG ute.
Like Mike's Falcon I have converted it to LPG dual fuel.
I drive it pretty hard most of the time, it returns 14l/100km (20mpg).
Engine is the fabulous 4.0 litre inline six and is rated at 148Kw (almost 200hp)
Running on LPG means that my 550km week commuting to work costs me around $45. It has around 230,000km on the clock which is F.A. for one of these things...
Attachment 29006 Attachment 29007
Jo's Drive is an old Fairlane, also on LPG.
This is the largest Aussie car in the Ford range & it returns around 11l/100km (26mpg).
A tank of LPG costs around $40 & will get us 450-500km, the engine is a later evolution of what is in the ute & is rated at 165kw (220hp). Also has around 230,000km on the clock
My last Falcon had 450,000km when I sold it, the one before that had 350,000km on it (but the odo did not work for seven years of the ten years we owned it!)

Those XG utes are a mix of two cars . They used the old XD ute back panels and the EF front and joined them together , link here:

http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mell...256D1F001C3CA7

I always wondered why some of those utes have the old 4.1 push rod motor and some like yours have the OHC motor .. I'd love a ute, but they tend to be pricey, the wagons are dirt cheap in comparison. I bought mine from a scrap metal yard ....192K on the clock . Drives like a new car . Parts are dirt cheap too ..super crap auto has stuff like water pumps .

[Ryan]

Originally Posted by Mike Kelly

Those XG utes are a mix of two cars . They used the old XD ute back panels and the EF front and joined them together , link here:

http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mell...256D1F001C3CA7

I always wondered why some of those utes have the old 4.1 push rod motor and some like yours have the OHC motor .. I'd love a ute, but they tend to be pricey, the wagons are dirt cheap in comparison. I bought mine from a scrap metal yard ....192K on the clock . Drives like a new car . Parts are dirt cheap too ..super crap auto has stuff like water pumps .

Actually Mike, the XH ute had the the EF front. The XG was an updated XF. And no they didn't have pushrod 4.1 straight sixes in them. You have probably come across someone who has had an old XD ute and put new front panel work over it.
XG utes had overhead cam engines out of the EB Falcons in them. 4 litre. We called them EB2.
XH utes had a version of the EF engine called the hybrid.
Those were the days. Nowadays the ute has the same engine as the sedan whether it be LPG, standard or turbo version.

[sapper740]

Here in the land of inexpensive (relatively, at 2.22/gal) petrol my daily driver is a 2005 Chevy Silverado pickup, 5.3 litre V8 which averages 17.2 mpg. When my wife and I go out on the town we take her 2008 Mazda CX7 which has a tiny turbo-charged 4 banger which puts out an amazing 244 hp! Her vehicle doesn't average much more than 22mpg. Interesting side note: her CX7 is built in Hiroshima, Japan. Anyone got a Geiger counter I can borrow? Derek.

[Howard]

Originally Posted by Mike Kelly

Those XG utes are a mix of two cars . They used the old XD ute back panels and the EF front and joined them together...

I always thought this, too, until I went to replace the seats. XF seats did not fit... EB Fairmont Ghia seats slipped straight in...
HH

[Mike Kelly]

Originally Posted by rynoki

. The XG was an updated XF. And no they didn't have pushrod 4.1 straight sixes in them.

I know the old push rod 6 was used in utes until 1993 ( read the link ) .... whatever model that was ... sounds like the ute was called the XG from 93 onwards and still a XF before 93 ..confusing isnt it . They kept the old push rod motor in the utes for another 5 years after the EA came out with the OHC motor ...is that correct ?

Mike

[Jim Price]

Mine is a '93 Toyota 6 cylinder pickup with 227,300 miles on it. I'm takin' it in for a trade when it gets to 300,000!

Regards,
Jim

[Ryan]

Hi Mike, yes that's correct.
It was an XF with push rods until 1993 then the XG started with the the EB overhead cam engine. The XG however still looked similar to the XF which was why I said it was an "updated" XF. The XG was also the first ute to wear the XR6 badge.
It wasn't until 1996 and the XH that the look changed dramatically with the EF front.

Why a ute wasn't produced on the EA platform probably just came down to cost. We are doing a similar thing now with the station wagon. Even though the new FG Falcon sedan and ute came out last year we are still building the older BF3 wagon. History repeats.

[aj.lec]

My runaround is a 1989 Suzuki Swift ,shortly to be replaced and the wife drives our 1996 Ford EL Futura wagon

[Keith Webb]

Mine's a 03 Mitsubishi Pajero diesel with 225,000km on it. But have had a lot of different cars before it including Wolseley 4/44, Morris Oxford MO, some 15 Morris Minors of all types except the ragtop, and for a couple of years back in the mid-70s it was this CMP Sigvan, extremely reliable (and fun) thing it was too.



My first car was a 1959 Singer Gazelle Estate which I bought from my cousin for $25.00

[Mike Kelly]

Originally Posted by Keith Webb

My first car was a 1959 Singer Gazelle Estate which I bought from my cousin for $25.00

Keith

you might find a pic of one here http://www.vic.rootesgroup.org.au/

[Keith Webb]

Originally Posted by Mike Kelly

Keith

you might find a pic of one here http://www.vic.rootesgroup.org.au/

Here it is on the site, or at least the sedan version:



I was a little sorry mine wound up absolutely rusted out after reading in an English magazine the estate version was 'ultra-rare'. I still have it. A few years ago it had become home to a black snake which had come in through a convenient rust hole in the floor and could sun itself on the dash.

[aj.lec]

Originally Posted by Keith Webb

. I still have it. .

What about the extremely stylish and versatile sigvan runabout ?

[Keith Webb]

Originally Posted by aj.lec

What about the extremely stylish and versatile sigvan runabout ?

I wish.

But it was on loan, sadly, was sold in the early 80s and I believe is now in Far North Queensland of all places in a museum.

I hope to visit it mid-next month to see if it is the one.

[Keith Webb]

Originally Posted by Keith Webb

I wish.

But it was on loan, sadly, was sold in the early 80s and I believe is now in Far North Queensland of all places in a museum.

I hope to visit it mid-next month to see if it is the one.

Then:



And a pic a friend took a couple of years ago:

[Mike Kelly]

Keith,
You used to take that sig van on VMVC outings in mid 1976 ... One trip to the Murrundindi area , up towards Yea , I recall . I also spotted it in Warburton or Healesville ( can't remember which ) in the late 70's or early 80's.. probably after it had passed from your hands
Mike

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Citroen C4 Grand Picasso

Runs on LPG (and petrol), does about 10 km to the litre on LPG, 12 km to the litre on petrol.

2.0 litre engine, 143 bhp/200 Nm, electronically controlled six-speed gearbox.

Very comfortable car for driving long distances, seats five to seven people.

Some MLU members got a ride in it at Normandy. Not as good as the F15A, but it gets you there

[Dean (Ajax)]

I drive a 95 YJ Jeep, in May the doors and top come off, they don't go back on until Nov..If it rains I put the bikini Tarp on it.

Dean

[phoenix]

My every day driver is my army series 3 land rover

[hrpearce]

For the next two weeks this will be my daily drive. It's been nine years since I drove a semi and they have changed a lot in that time.

[Phil Waterman]

Hi Robert

They sure don't want pedestrians messing up the grill work down your way, just kidding. I know what the reason behind that massive grill shield is for wonder if some of our readers would like to hazard a guess?

Cheers Phil