oldtimer

I initially started towing our new caravan with a new Toyota Prado 3 Lt. Diesel in 2005. The Prado was the top of the range Grande and towed very comfortably, however, power wise it was a dog. The slightest rise and it struggled, to overtake a slower vehicle (80-90) you would need a ten klm straight, down hill run. Fuel economy wise also terrible, simply because it had to work so hard. Traded it in for the BA XR6T after going for a test run in the standard Falcon and the standard XR6. We actually went in to buy the standard falcon and I saw the XR6T and thought it would be a buzz to take it for a run. The salesman said yer, you can take it for a run and off we went. Now remember, I am in my 60's, the wife and I took the damn thing for a run, returning over an hour later. We had zoomed all around the bottom of Mt Wellington on the twistiest roads and then back via the freeway. My comment to the wife was "At last, Ford have actually made a vehicle that is balanced in all departments, it goes, it handles, and it looks the real deal, but I am not paying this for a tow car." We got back to the dealership and asked could we take an ordinary XR6 for a drive as we liked the seats and handling of the Turbo. The salesman smiled and siaid "no problem" Off we went again, after 5 minutes the wife said "You can take this heap of junk back" which I did, the salesman saw us coming back so soon and laughed. he knew he had just sold a Turbo. With that said, we then went about towing our caravan with it, it did not disappoint. Apart from having to be aware of the road clearance problem (lack of) the thing is simply brilliant. Power to burn and fuel consumption figures that do compare with the Prado. We planned on doing a trip from Hobart to Adelaide and up the centre to Queensland with the caravan in tow and I was concerned about the ground clearance. So I purchased a Mercedes Benz ML270 AWD. Once again, comparing it wwith the Prado and XR6T, the Benz was up to the task, not quite as powerful, but certainly OK. Fuel economy was great 14.1L/100 ride, comfort, handling, etc very good. I had planned on getting rid of the Benz or the Falcon when we got back, all I had to do was choose the best, between the two of them. I couldn't. When I told the wife I couldn't decide which one was the best, she said "Well, why not keep the Falcon as you do like it" This year I have finally made the decision and we have traded the MB back in on a smaller car for the wife and we are back to towing with the XR6T. Leaving in three weeks time for the annual trip from Hobart to Queensland, only thing I now have to decide is do I fit Polyair bags to the rear of the Falcon for that extra insurance of ground clearance? The van weighs in at 1700kg and the car is fully loaded with junk. Over the years I have towed boats, racing cars, etc with a lot of different type of vehicles, the three best in my opinion, Falcon GT, Mercedes Benz ML270 and the XR6T. I do believe that the later model XR's are even better. Oldtimer

As above. A rear ender does not automatically become the fault of the car running up the back of you? However, insurance companies will automatically "go" the rear vehicle. It would then be up to that car to prove that they had no expectation of the car in front having to stop in an unreasonable manner. e.g. they could see the road was clear ahead and there was no reason to "slam" the brakes on. Hard to prove without a witness, but it can be done, I have done it. Car travelling in the left lane on a dual highway passed me on the left and panicked when another vehicle merged from there left from a slip lane. Changed into my lane doing 80kph and slammed the brakes on. BANG! Her hubby said it was my fault, BS she should have checked my lane and the other vehicle was not in my lane and the road was clear ahead. I had two other vehicles stop and witness the accident, plus I am a senior driving instructor with years of no claims. bad luck, lady. get over it. Oldtimer

Would it be OK to put a Chev badge on my wife's new VW Beetle? ON second thoughts I might consider a Porsche GT3 badge. Oldtimer

1st car 1949 MG TC 2. Ford Cortina 3 Expensive Daewoo FJ 4 Expensive Daewoo FJ 2.4Lt Jag Engine, Ford Zephyr front end. 5 Triumph 2000 6 Mini Cooper S 7 Mini Moke 8 Morris 1100 9 Jaguar Mk2 Sports Saloon 10 Citroen ID19 11 FJ45 Landcruiser with Expensive Daewoo 308V8 12 Porsche 911E 13 Falcon GT 14 Ford F100 15 Peugeot 206 16 VW Golf 17 Honda City convertible Turbo 18 Toyota Prado 17 Mercedes Benz A160 18 Mercedes Benz ML270 19 VW New Beetle 20 Honda Jazz 21 Trojero Climax 22 MGA 23 MGB 24 Mercedes Benz 250 25 Charade Turbo 26 Ford Fairlane x 2 351V8's And a few more Oldtimer

XR09 has given you the best advice that can possibly be given to any teenager in Australia. Unfortunately, those that have the opportunity are to stupid to do it. Which one are you? Oldtimer PS. Who chose the overseas option and still manages to own a XR6T in his old age. (Went for a Porsche 911 in my youth, then a Falcon GT, I consider that the XR6T is the first decent car Ford has built since the heydays of the GT's.