Newbie, cars, rumors, diesel and tires.....

[Spule 4]

All:

Since I was told to introduce myself.....Found out about this forum via the FitFreak forum. Joined in Sep, but no posting until now.

I have owned a fleet of cars in my lifetime, and also worked as a mechanic many years ago. Gas and diesel experience.

Cars owned included Citroen (DS, GS and ID) Volvo (122 sedan, 122 wagon, 144S with a Group 4 spec motor, 145 and 245DL) Renault (R21) Mercedes (W123 300D, late non turbo, W114 280 gas) Toyota (Camrys), Cadillac (1983 DeVille and part owner of a 1961 DeVille) Metro/Swift (1993 that we had since new that we just sold on eBay for $2000)....

Few cars "almost" bought include BMW 524TD (bought the Benz instead) Citroen CX diesel wagon (huge), Renault R5 and a Subaru Legacy wagon.

.....and now down to one car, a base MT 2007 Honda Fit.

Always liked frugal and small cars, even when gas was cheap. There are a few exceptions to this in the list above, but the daily cars were small engines, and most were manual shift excluding the Toyotas and Benzes.

I am interested in the influx and interest in small cars into North America and even rumors such as the potential return of PSA since leaving in 1991 when Peugeot pulled out.

I like diesel cars, wish we had more, and would love to see the newer diesel technology. A friend that is a Renault fan is debating if the new diesels will hold up with time like the older Mercedes/VW/Peugeot ones that get into the 100s of thousands range.

My other area of interest is in tire technology, including the lack of real promotion or clarity on rolling resistance or discussion of LRR tires, especially for replacement tires.

Garrett