Pipemajor
Hoot Mon!
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- Minnesota
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- 2017 CX-5 GT AWD
Put a deposit on a 2015 CX-5 Grand Touring AWD 2.5 with the Technology Package. Dealer has one in his pipeline about 2 weeks out but this one (Blue Reflex Mica paint) has the remote start which I don't care to get. There is another on the lot at another local dealer without the RS so he said he'd try to negotiate a swap Monday - meaning I could get the vehicle perhaps this week.
Couldn't find any with the port-installed trailer hitch. Not that I have serious towing needs but there's always that one time you wished you had one. I drove one of his demos last Thursday. Very impressed with the one exception being the large blind spot caused by the box used to house the rain sensor and Smart City Brake Support electronics.
Now for my history - I don't buy a lot of cars. I'm getting up there in age (60ish) and this will be only the 5th car purchase I've made. My previous vehicle was a '91 Mazda B-2600i Cab Plus SE5 pickup I bought new. My son had used it the past 3 years for college and 17 MN winters had finally taken their toll on the sheet metal so it was donated to Disabled American Veterans for charity. It had been a reliable and useful ride for many years. I paid cash for it so haven't had car payments in nearly a quarter century. When I was shopping for small pickups, I drove the Ford Ranger, Toyota SR5 and the the Mazda. Naturally, the Mazda had a MUCH more sporty feel to it.
I'm a greenie at heart. Put my wife in a 2010 Camry Hybrid and I was seriously considering the Nissan LEAF all-electric vehicle for my in-town use. We live in the burbs to Minnesota's main metropolitan area. Found out I couldn't install an in-home charging station without a full upgrade of my electrical panel and my garage is opposite the panel location so I was looking at $4-5k just to put in the EVSE. Four years ago I had to add 2 60A circuits for the geothermal system I put in. Gave up on the LEAF.
We just experienced one of the worst winters in MN history. Have snow tires on the wife's hybrid and it does a commendable job but we are trapped at home until our small city plows our street which sometimes doesn't happen until later in the mornings after a major snowfall. Once we can get out to the arterial road (about 4 blocks away) we're home free but the hybrid's low ground clearance can't handle anything more than 4".
I also fly model airplanes as one of my many hobbies. Control line and some radio control. Most are fairly small but I have one RC bird with a 6' wingspan. The wing comes off but it won't fit in the hybrid because the traction battery negates the passthru opening when the back seats are folded down. With the loss of the pickup, I had no means to haul my toys up to our flying field.
To wrap up, I'll either have to wait another few days or few weeks for my new wheels to arrive. Anxious to experience HIDs behind the wheel and already am shopping to replace the interior and a few exterior bulbs with LEDs.
Waiting, waiting, waiting... (after 24 years can you blame me)????
Couldn't find any with the port-installed trailer hitch. Not that I have serious towing needs but there's always that one time you wished you had one. I drove one of his demos last Thursday. Very impressed with the one exception being the large blind spot caused by the box used to house the rain sensor and Smart City Brake Support electronics.
Now for my history - I don't buy a lot of cars. I'm getting up there in age (60ish) and this will be only the 5th car purchase I've made. My previous vehicle was a '91 Mazda B-2600i Cab Plus SE5 pickup I bought new. My son had used it the past 3 years for college and 17 MN winters had finally taken their toll on the sheet metal so it was donated to Disabled American Veterans for charity. It had been a reliable and useful ride for many years. I paid cash for it so haven't had car payments in nearly a quarter century. When I was shopping for small pickups, I drove the Ford Ranger, Toyota SR5 and the the Mazda. Naturally, the Mazda had a MUCH more sporty feel to it.
I'm a greenie at heart. Put my wife in a 2010 Camry Hybrid and I was seriously considering the Nissan LEAF all-electric vehicle for my in-town use. We live in the burbs to Minnesota's main metropolitan area. Found out I couldn't install an in-home charging station without a full upgrade of my electrical panel and my garage is opposite the panel location so I was looking at $4-5k just to put in the EVSE. Four years ago I had to add 2 60A circuits for the geothermal system I put in. Gave up on the LEAF.
We just experienced one of the worst winters in MN history. Have snow tires on the wife's hybrid and it does a commendable job but we are trapped at home until our small city plows our street which sometimes doesn't happen until later in the mornings after a major snowfall. Once we can get out to the arterial road (about 4 blocks away) we're home free but the hybrid's low ground clearance can't handle anything more than 4".
I also fly model airplanes as one of my many hobbies. Control line and some radio control. Most are fairly small but I have one RC bird with a 6' wingspan. The wing comes off but it won't fit in the hybrid because the traction battery negates the passthru opening when the back seats are folded down. With the loss of the pickup, I had no means to haul my toys up to our flying field.
To wrap up, I'll either have to wait another few days or few weeks for my new wheels to arrive. Anxious to experience HIDs behind the wheel and already am shopping to replace the interior and a few exterior bulbs with LEDs.
Waiting, waiting, waiting... (after 24 years can you blame me)????
