car-less in Fresno
my car was totaled last week, an uninsured and medicated driver blowing a light at 6am on my way to work. it's a complete loss for me and the sooner i can get a police report written, the sooner i can distance myself from this nightmare of bureaucracy and bitter taste.
i've been a recreational rider here most of my life, owning a different bike for every purpose. It's never been a piece of cake in Fresno traffic, but i'm still alive. When gas prices leveled over $3.25, i started to commute the 25mi roundtrip to work. A few snags had to be worked out, but step one is in practice now. A dedicated foul weather bike has been completed for this as well.
Here's my hangup at this point.. i can get around Fresno and even haul small loads on a rack and in a messenger bag, but i find myself nagged by the California conditioning to own a car. i hate the ludicrous insurance game, the terrorist gas price extortion, the whole insulated car attitude. i'm envious of the east-coasters that have a working metro and transit systems that allow bikes and actually connect somewhere. i want to get to the coast, carrying a bike there, and not be stuck renting a car. Does anyone here live this dream? Can this be truly done here with a sense of style and social connection, more than an outlaw or have-not consciousness? Can one truly be without a car without feeling trapped in Fresno?
bit of an odd turn, but...
This list is far from difinitive, but having done auto restoration, a fair amount of mechanical work, and having been a service writer, (among other things,) over the years, I can say that the following makes and models are usually a pretty good buy, have parts in abundance, and/or justify their expense by virtue of the build.)
--and I welcome anyone to chime in...
(I agree with the Barrister, not having a car here is not a good thing... See Ben at Recycle for a bike, however...)
Pre Smog cars and trucks, (particularlly American made,)
-cheapest you will find will probably be a Chevy, then Ford, then Dodge. (Dodge, though often built tougher than the other two, can be pricier parts wise.)
--Don't go pre '68 on Fords, --as they did not standardize their parts until then, (so an old 66 Ford/Linc./Merc. could have a variety of parts used for the same system, (not just one type of Idler arm, but 5 for example.)
Newer cars:
-Hondas, Toyota, Nissan (in that order,)
--if you were in a snow bound area, I'd say watch out with an automatic transmission, as rocking them to get out of snow wipes them out.)
-don't be afraid of a 4 banger versus a 6, (Acuras, when you get into all the hoses and belts can run a small fortune, and you don't need high perf. if you are only zipping around town.)
Spec. Hondas.
Basically any of them, (with exception of the DelSol, or the SUV they built that was actually an Isuzu) are usually pretty good.
Euro Rides:
-Probably: Benz, VW, Volvo, SAAB, BMW, and then Peugeut(sp?)
-the big consideration here would be durability and parts price.
They're all bloody expensive, but the Benz has been used for decades across the pond for Taxi's they are hard to kill.)
-the Diesel versions, also run forever, and are not SMOG impinged.
Americans:
(very subject to opinion.)
Chevy's are the cheapest and most mass produced.
-Things to look out for would be the mid bodied sedans (such as a Pontiac GrandPrix, Buick LeSabre, (etc.) from the eighties through the nineties.
-they had transmissions that could go quite quickly and were horrible to fix, their brake platforms also tended to eat themselves alive...
Fords:
-A decent Escort, (later models, not the inintial 'opposition' engines, (which, when the timing belts went, the parts would all slam into each other.
-Taurus (go for a 'U') code motor (the 3.0 NOT the 3.8) this would count for both a Taurus and a Sable... actually pretty good cars, they made a million of them, get good milage and are comfortable and pretty safe..
-NOTE the 3.8 motor is found in a variety of Ford/Linc/Mercs and is to be avoided... they had a bad habit of blowing gaskets, and were just not a great engine.
---also, (and this may sound odd,) but the big sedans, (CrownVic's) with a 302 or 351 is an unbeatable combination.
They are built pretty well to begin with, aren't so bad on gas, and wear like Iron, (I know livery companies that rack up over 300thou miles with just oil changes, and that's it... -which is scarey.)
Fox Bodied Fords (this would be an 80's Mustang, T-Bird, (etc,) were pretty good platforms as well, and a 302 motor is easy to get parts for, etc. etc.)
Dodge:
-Believe it or not, the K Car (initially made for the govt.) is a pretty reliable little bucket to get around in. Decent Milage, easy to work on (it was built for the govt.) and not too expensive...
-they are so dorky, that they're almost retro at this point.
-Same can be said for a Neon.
-Sundance is similar, as is a PT Cruiser, (though they are much newer.)
As far as Minivans, I've always heard good stuff about Dodge/Plymouth/Chrysler's, as well as the Chevy Astro..
Fords have been known to have problems at times.
If you aren't going to use it much, what you want is a decent little scootabout that you can almost see as being disposable. (like the K.Car.)
If you're talking durability, I had Honda's in my care that were hitting 400,000 miles with regular maintenance, and have personally had Toyotas and Datsuns pull well over 200,000, and only succumb to rust or blown motors, (but you can get them pretty cheap out here, and rust is not a problem.)
Minitrucks are also a great deal,(Toyota, Dodge-Mitsi, or Nissan) just be forewarned that they don't have the safety build ups as a sedan or coupe, (early SUV's like a Pathfinder or a Forerunner also, did not have the same safety requirements, ---some were also pretty high c.g. and could roll over pretty easily (Like the Bronco2, and the Blazer/Jimmy's)
Isuzu is a great little truck, but you need to have a place for cheap parts, but they go forever.
Mazda also built some great stuff, but, again, like some of the other brands not so common, you might pay pretty heavily for parts.
Remember to buy (not) the car, but the owner.
Anything that has been ever billed as a performance car, (5.0 mustang, Vette, Camaro, etc.) ---expect it to have been flogged.
-When I mean buy the owner, -if it's some nice little old lady, who had a Jetta or a Ford Granada, --and kept the receipts and had it in for regular maintenance? -go for it, (the car will not be worn out.)
Hope this helps.
Carless In Fresno
It is very difficult to be without a car in Fresno.
I have not had a car for almost a year maybe.
I still have insurance.
I rent cars about once a month.
I live right on a bus line.
I drive my girlfriend's car a lot.
I can keep my bike in my office so I don't have to worry about it getting stolen.
I do have to admit, it's pretty funny to see people's reactions when I tell them I don't have a car.
With all that, I really recommend having a car, just to do some of the basic stuff.
The minimum legal insurance only costs about $30/month.
Gas only costs a few cents a day if you don't drive unless you have to.
I think when people in big cities like SF or NY don't have cars it's because of 2 reasons. The public transportation is better, and even more, the costs of storing a car in these cities is so high. We don't have that problem here.
I dont own a car
Its sucks. No two ways about it. Grocery shopping is done by taxi. If I cant walk and or use a bus I will not be going. Equally frustrating is many bus lines close down operation early on weekends, when there are late night fun stuff things to do. My suggestion? Vote yes and encourage your friends to vote yes on measure c. Supposed to improve public transportation.
car less in the West
Not having an automobile is going against the populace and the developers building design. Since the 1930's the West was not built to accommodate people that don't drive. There is a way for Fresno to build a transit system, however, it is going to require some local effort and involvement. As it stands today, most people don't care.
It is beyond my comprehension that people fail to see an impending transportation crisis with the current building trends and status-quo. Fresno could actually have a decent system but, Fresno's current public demand towards building a transit system doesn't exist. Perhaps Jarah's recent post about finding the finest strand of pot is forefront on the minds of the general population.
For those glued to the tube and otherwise mentally impaired by alleged brain expanding constrictions there isn't much available for change to the future.
For the conscious with a visionary ability to add; work is required. There are two websites for information to those interested in becoming involved. www.cattcc.org and www.centraltransit.com
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