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[Clansgian AT wmconnect.com]

> A good gas mileage van or mini van would do the trick.
> 

-----------------------

We are using a Caravan right now.  We are seriously contemplating mothballing 
it and buying a Suburban.  They are practically giving away older Suburbans 
here.  Here is the math.

When we go into town en famile we are taking six passangers, most often a 
large cargo of boxes and such to ply our 'render unto Caesar' trades, and we 
bring back sometimes 500 lbs or more of cargo.  The caravan, with the heafty 
3.3 
ltr engine dogs down on the mountain roads under this load of passangers and 
freight.  Or payload is so modest we often have to make a third or fourth 
trip 
in the month instead of the regularly scheduled two.  Leaving people at home 
isn't an option as this is the day we visit grandparents, go to the library, 
etc.

When we had a Suburban a few years ago (350 gas engine, two wheel drive)  we 
could handle eight passangers and half a ton of cargo.  Now it would mean 
only 
two trips to town instead of three or four.  The math comes out to using less 
gas.

This is because one has to look at it in terms of passenger mpg and cargo 
mpg, not vehicle mpg.  

For the times only one person or two need to go somewhere, we have an old S10.

I'm looking forward to the days when there is a cultural shift to where we 
don't need to personally own a motor vehicle at all, but until then, I am 
calculating the cost of transporting people and cargo on a per unit basis.  

And seeing if we can cut that back to ONE trip per month.



James   </HTML>