for what it is worth

[piper87C]

In the for what it is worth department.

I have a 2004 Escape I bought new as a hold over. It was a replacement for my beloved but many mile 97 Explorer Sport.

The Escape has been great, I have over 55,000 miles on it with no problems. It is the V6 with all wheel drive. It gets good mileage on the highway averaging 23 on a recent trip from Illinois to Louisiana. Handles well and has good power. My only complaint is that I am a tall guy around 6'4" and I wish the steering wheel had a bit more adjustment other then that nothing on the wish list.

I looked at all the similar cars at the time of purchase. Jeep, Honda, Toyota, Nissan they were all nice but I liked the Escape. The Chevy Equinox had just come out and none were at the local dealer so I have driven one of those.

If I bought a new car tomorrow it would probably be another Escape, although I would drive the Chevy to see what it was like and the new Honda CRV is pretty nice also. I would probably seriously consider The Subaru outback but there are so few dealers.

One sad note that reflects the times. A friend of mine owns a Honda Accord which is a fine automobile. They would like a SUV and always comment on how nice my Escape is but also always comment that " no way am I buying a Ford" They have never owned a Ford but no way would they consider buying a domestic car. Sad..