Cars with smooth rides for big guys.

[Cybrludite]

I finish paying off my truck in a few months, and I fully intend to drive it until it falls apart, but there is one minor problem: it's got the sort of ride you'd expect from a pick-up & is thus murder on Ms. !Ludite's lower back. (Seems the Guillain–Barré missed the Sciatic...) There's also the lesser issue of her needing a step-stool to get into the truck, despite there being no lift kit on it yet. Basically, I'm looking to find something with a smooth ride that will fit someone roughly Chris' size. A back seat large enough to fit a large service dog would be a plus. Any recommendations from the brain-trust?

[Termite]

LINKY
Should go nicely with your BBQ gun.

All joking aside, if you don't mind a "Pawpaw" car, a 4-5 yr old Crown Vic/Grand Marquis is hard to beat. Decent mileage(esp on the highway), comfy, roomy; you can likely find one with low milege from a retired couple trading up. Resale on them isn't that great, so the price should be good.

You could even tint the windows, black powder-coat the wheels, install front bumper pusher bars, and a couple of small antennaes on the trunk.........

[PawPaw]

+1 on the Crown Vic/Grand Marquis. Ford quit making them in 2011, but the used vehicle market has lots of them.

I recently bought one, to save mileage on my pickup truck. It's a large sedan with a great service history, has plenty of room inside with a comfortable back seat, Good power, holds the road well, and every mechanic in the world knows how to work on it. It won't be a new car, but most of them are getting 200K miles on the odo with very little work except routine maintenance.

[Cybrludite]

Heh. I could get myself into some real trouble with a Crown Vic. Had an '87 back in the early '90s. Could get from my parent's house in Old Metairie, to parked on campus at SLU in Hammond in 30 minutes. I'm convinced the only reason I didn't get pulled over while doing that was that I was driving a Crown Vic.

[Aglifter]

Grand Maquis are great.

I didn't see a price point, but a Challenger SRT also has a great ride.

No idea about the newer Cadillacs. My 96 I had in college had a good ride, but my '88 Buick LeSabre had a better one.

They both had great highway mileage.

The new Rubicons ride well, but the prior ones drive just about the same as our 62 Willys.

[Netpackrat]

The new Rubicons ride well, but the prior ones drive just about the same as our 62 Willys.

I have to call bullshit on that. A 93" wheelbase, coil sprung Jeep with a Saginaw recirculating ball steering and modern, power boosted brakes, is not going to drive "just about the same" as an 80 inch wheelbase, leaf sprung Jeep with Ross worm drive steering (with the Rube Goldberg linkage they used), and unboosted, 4 wheel drum brakes. Not to mention the differences in power between the last of the 4.0 engines (190hp), and the "F head" 4 cylinder engine that was being used in 1962, along with the 3 speed manual (4 if you were really lucky) and probably a 5.38:1 axle ratio to allow the anemic 4 cylinder to actually move it.

About the only thing those two vehicles have in common is a vague physical resemblance, and they both say Jeep on the side. Certainly, the TJ Rubicon is not going to drive like a car. It's still a 1/4 ton truck. But to state that the two drive just about the same is just utterly ridiculous.

There's also the lesser issue of her needing a step-stool to get into the truck, despite there being no lift kit on it yet.

That's one thing I hate about the more modern pickup trucks. My dad's '73 is a lot easier to live with in that regard. My mom was the primary driver of it, and she was pretty short. Had no trouble getting in and out until she shattered her kneecap and elbow, and spent a bunch of time in casts. And she could still do it even with the casts, it was just harder.

[Steamforger]

Heh. I could get myself into some real trouble with a Crown Vic. Had an '87 back in the early '90s. Could get from my parent's house in Old Metairie, to parked on campus at SLU in Hammond in 30 minutes. I'm convinced the only reason I didn't get pulled over while doing that was that I was driving a Crown Vic.

Good old I 55. Run the straights, walk the curves and watch out for that trooper on the low side of the bridge in Manchac. Old Metairie to SLU in half an hour is ridiculously fast.

[Cybrludite]

Heh. I could get myself into some real trouble with a Crown Vic. Had an '87 back in the early '90s. Could get from my parent's house in Old Metairie, to parked on campus at SLU in Hammond in 30 minutes. I'm convinced the only reason I didn't get pulled over while doing that was that I was driving a Crown Vic.

Good old I 55. Run the straights, walk the curves and watch out for that trooper on the low side of the bridge in Manchac. Old Metairie to SLU in half an hour is ridiculously fast.

Yup. An average of 110mph. Not sure exactly what the top speed I hit was (Speedometer only went up to 85), but I couldn't go any faster because the front end was wanting to lift off the pavement. The 5.0 V8 still had more oomph to provide, but I'd have needed spoilers to take advantage of it. Those runs were the only time I've ever watched the gas gauge visibly moving...

[Steamforger]

I went over that bridge on Halloween night, 2002, in a Crown Vic doing 120+, headed south in the north bound lane. I don't remember cresting it to this day, but I damned sure nearly bit a hole in the seat of my pants...

[Aglifter]

The new Rubicons ride well, but the prior ones drive just about the same as our 62 Willys.

I have to call bullshit on that. A 93" wheelbase, coil sprung Jeep with a Saginaw recirculating ball steering and modern, power boosted brakes, is not going to drive "just about the same" as an 80 inch wheelbase, leaf sprung Jeep with Ross worm drive steering (with the Rube Goldberg linkage they used), and unboosted, 4 wheel drum brakes. Not to mention the differences in power between the last of the 4.0 engines (190hp), and the "F head" 4 cylinder engine that was being used in 1962, along with the 3 speed manual (4 if you were really lucky) and probably a 5.38:1 axle ratio to allow the anemic 4 cylinder to actually move it.

About the only thing those two vehicles have in common is a vague physical resemblance, and they both say Jeep on the side. Certainly, the TJ Rubicon is not going to drive like a car. It's still a 1/4 ton truck. But to state that the two drive just about the same is just utterly ridiculous.

OK. I'm not saying his '09 is terrifying at 60 MPH, like the '62 is - but it has a very similar feel - and even sound - for many years, all MBs felt the same as well.

His '13 is a lovely vehicle, and, if I could have fit in one, comfortably, a better choice than my FJ. As it was, I went w. an FJ because I wanted something roomier - both in height and width.

That we both like the '09 is why its still around, even though it needs a new tranny. (Neither the engines nor the manuals in '09 were that great, but it does have ~140K miles on it.)

Personally, I'm pushing to make it into a toy pick-up, but his wife has been agitating for a dune buggy to go to the beach, and I think she might accept the '09 instead. (Which is a vastly safer option.)