What do you drive?

[Hank49]

Whatever happened to the Toyota Luv truck. It can't be bad if its been the vehicle of choice for thousands of rebel warlords.

It upgraded to the Hilux, deemed the AK47 of pickup trucks.

 

[broncobowsher]

...the 1964 “Chicken Tax” — the 25% tariff/tax on imported light-duty pickup trucks, which has insulated the Big 3 (Ford, GM and Chrysler) from foreign competition in the truck market for more than half a century - https://www.aei.org/carpe-diem/the-...-big-3-from-foreign-competition-for-50-years/

Which was the tipping point for foreign auto manufacturing in the states. With tax rates that high and sales doing good it made sense to set up factories in the united states and that got around the tax. 1983 Nissan had a plant building trucks in Tennessee.

Also the reason for the Subaru BRAT, the rear seats knocked it out of the truck tax. It is a car. They left the seats in when they sold them.

Ford was even doing it with the first generation of Transit Connect vans. Shipping them over with just enough legalities to avoid the tax, and the seats removed and shredded so they were a truck.

Land Rover shipped over vehicles with the suspension fuse removed. They sat low enough that they came over as a car and not truck/SUV. Once imported the fuse was installed, ride height went up, and the were converted into a truck. Officially converted after it was imported.

Sprinter vans were another oddity. They were built in Germany. Taken apart and shipped to the states as a CKD (Complete Knock Down). They are once again assembled after being imported. The labor to take a complete vehicle apart and put it back together again is way less than the 25% tax. And if you know Sprinter pricing, that would be a lot of tax.

 

[Hoag]

I have had some fun vehicles, none of them (except my Fit) would be considered particularly good for hauling dive gear.

My last few would include a 2008 Triumph Tiger,

that I sold and bought a (slightly) more practical 2003 Porsche Boxster (named Sheryl)

I was living in Central NY at the time and then Northern Ontario (a town called Sturgeon Falls), so "Sheryl" could not be driven all year. I had a Honda Fit as my daily driver.

As I approached retirement, I planned on moving to a condo and knew that I would only have one parking spot so the search began for a car that would be almost as fun as Sheryl while also having the practicality of the Fit.

I wound up with a "Scoobiedo" WRX (Named Janis)

Unfortunately, I took "Janis" on a road trip (SW Ontario to Vegas & back) and she was not a good car to spend 12-14 hours a day in. She beat me up.
I got back and immediately started to look for something a little more comfortable and ended up with a Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) 2011 Audi A4. (No name & no pic).
The A4 was comfortable, but not really much fun. It lasted about 6 years before I started to look for a replacement.

Last fall, I found a 2019 CPO Volvo S60 T6 Momentum in "Fusion Red" with only 8355km (less than 5200 miles) on it for about half of what a new one would cost.

Meet "Heidi"

I always thought of Volvos as "an old man's car", but "Heidi" has both a supercharger & a turbo charger and slightly north of 300Hp.
She does have quite the "giggle factor" for an old man's car.

 

[dumasjc]

Did you buy your last vehicle so you could comfortably carry your dive gear? What is your favorite dive car? Share pictures if you’d like!

Vans and big SUVs are great of course, but I’m looking for something on the smaller side. Recommendations are good too!

Love my Dodge Ram for diving

 

[scubadada]

I have had some fun vehicles, none of them (except my Fit) would be considered particularly good for hauling dive gear.

My last few would include a 2008 Triumph Tiger,
View attachment 666162

that I sold and bought a (slightly) more practical 2003 Porsche Boxster (named Sheryl)
View attachment 666163
I was living in Central NY at the time and then Northern Ontario (a town called Sturgeon Falls), so "Sheryl" could not be driven all year. I had a Honda Fit as my daily driver.

As I approached retirement, I planned on moving to a condo and knew that I would only have one parking spot so the search began for a car that would be almost as fun as Sheryl while also having the practicality of the Fit.

I wound up with a "Scoobiedo" WRX (Named Janis)
View attachment 666165

Unfortunately, I took "Janis" on a road trip (SW Ontario to Vegas & back) and she was not a good car to spend 12-14 hours a day in. She beat me up.
I got back and immediately started to look for something a little more comfortable and ended up with a Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) 2011 Audi A4. (No name & no pic).
The A4 was comfortable, but not really much fun. It lasted about 6 years before I started to look for a replacement.

You've spent way more than I have on cars;

Last fall, I found a 2019 CPO Volvo S60 T6 Momentum in "Fusion Red" with only 8355km (less than 5200 miles) on it for about half of what a new one would cost.

Meet "Heidi"
View attachment 666169
I always thought of Volvos as "an old man's car", but "Heidi" has both a supercharger & a turbo charger and slightly north of 300Hp.
She does have quite the "giggle factor" for an old man's car.

You've spent much more on cars than I have. I'm driving a 2009 Subaru Outback. Maybe that is one reason I have way more dives than you do

 

[Hoag]

You've spent much more on cars than I have. I'm driving a 2009 Subaru Outback. Maybe that is one reason I have way more dives than you do

I have to admit, I do enjoy road trips and I do tend to gravitate towards fun cars. (Those that "inspire" me get names.)

Without a doubt, that could be one reason. Another could be that diving is not by any stretch my only hobby. (You should see what is in my camera bag! ) If I lived in Boynton Beach, I'd probably have a lot more dives than I do now too. I would love to live in a location for which diving is that convenient.

 

[Regulatrix]

I just acquired my wife’s older 2002 4Runner.
It only has 127K miles on it and runs and looks perfect.
She bought a new Highlander Hybrid so I took the 4Runner. I still have my 2002 Tacoma that I use for work but the 4Runner is my new diving vehicle.

We currently use my 2002 4Runner/4WD/221k miles on it as the Scubamobile. The gas mileage is not great, but we don't have to go far when diving at home, there's no smart key to worry about, it perfectly accommodates our gear, and it's paid for. Will probably keep it until the wheels fall off!

 

[SlugLife]

You've spent much more on cars than I have. I'm driving a 2009 Subaru Outback. Maybe that is one reason I have way more dives than you do

Hey, I feel personally attacked!

 

[NothingClever]

Ford Transit 250 cargo van, medium roof.

Purpose bought for diving and sport bike track days.

Just got back home to Florida from a Yamaha Champions riding school up in New Jersey and fuel mileage was as high as 23 mpg loaded down with about 1,000lbs of track bike, fuel, tools and paddock kit.

I live on the Gulf Coast side where there is very little quality diving. Frequent trips to the Atlantic side (3-4 hours away), north for cave country (2 hours) and up in the panhandle (5 hours) for the Oriskany are in order.

Going to install an L-track (not E-track) cargo management system to lock down my twinsets, EANx and O2 tins, DPV, assorted kit, etc. Loose tanks is a major no-no.

Great thing about the Transit is three tech divers can come up from a shore dive, easily load our kit with zero faffing about, change in the van, hang up our exposure suits, and then pop into a restaurant for a debrief over a meal. When I get home I use a leaf blower to clean out the sand.

Wife drives a Subaru Outback. Great car for single tank family diving except have to use surf robes for changing clothes. First world problem, for sure.

 

[TruckDiver1981]

I have a VW Caddy, 2005. I have always had larger cars or vans, and when i blew my Mercedes 190D up this came along at the right time at the right price, and it is ideal for getting all my kit and others in, even if it is gutless and slow. I don't think i have any photos of it mind