What Do You Drive?

John Threat · November 24th, 2007, 11:12 PM

Jeep Wrangler 97 - I don't have any back seat - so I can lug all my equipment. Go anywhere do anything!

I'd like to upgrade to the 2008 4 door wrangler so I can have 2 1/2 times the space. The old two door 97 doesnt hold much space really and my company is growing.

Boyd Ostroff · November 25th, 2007, 08:18 AM

Regarding the Element - glad to hear you guys like yours. I looked at one a few years ago when I was car shopping and passed on it. The 4wd version was pricey and (to me) a 2wd SUV doesn't make much sense. But what really surprised me was that the VW Golf was rated to carry more weight!

Petri Kaipiainen · November 25th, 2007, 10:43 AM

New Nissan Pathfinder with 2.5 liter diesel; I get 31.5 mixed miles per gallon with it, even better on highway...

Bill Ravens · November 25th, 2007, 11:10 AM

VW (Winnebago) Rialta
VR6 engine gets 19 MPG
Onboard battery system with 3000 watt inverter gives me all the 60 Hz power I need for computers, monitors, etc.
Lots of storage for equipment and a great portable editting studio.
AND, I can take a nap while waiting for people to get their sh_t together.

Chris Barcellos · November 25th, 2007, 12:05 PM

Kia Sorrento. I have full hitch set up to pull a pop up trailer for travel, and haul gear. I can load a self built 8 foot boom, and lots of other gear with seats down. Very happy with this rig.

Dylan Couper · November 25th, 2007, 05:57 PM

Toyota 4Runner

although for years I drove a Corvette. Just enough room for a full size camera bag and a set of sticks wedged between the seats. :)

Gerry Gallegos · November 25th, 2007, 06:40 PM

I got 07' CRV , great car, looks nice and can haul good amount of gear and more importantly it has an MP3 player jack in the center console, right next to an AUX power jack. mileage is good.

Greg Boston · November 25th, 2007, 07:33 PM

Although I don't own one, I saw the new panel side version of the Chevy HHR at this year's state fair. I think it's the perfect vehicle aside from only having seating for two. The rear doors pop open from the inside though for easy access to cargo. It may be my next vehicle.

Right now, it's still the 2001 Chevy 3500 4x4 crew cab. It's really every vehicle I could need on one set of wheels.

-gb-

Bert Smyth · November 25th, 2007, 09:31 PM

We have a 2001 Suzuki Swift, a three-door hatchback. Its pretty amazing how much gear you can pack in it. I've had friends with SUV's struggle to fit in what I can put in my car easily. The gas mileage is great, around 50mpg. My wife and I use it for windsurfing as well, so we put a lot of miles on it. Gas mileage goes down to 40mpg when we put our boards on the roof. If I had to replace it, I'd look at the Honda Fit. The way the seats fold right down into the floor allows for a lot cargo space.
I think in America we're a little unaware of just how expensive gas is going to get. Been hearing on the news and reading on-line that $3 per gallon gas will soon be considered cheap. In Canada, they're certainly getting up there, as they're already over $4 dollars a gallon. When we first started going to the Gorge windsurfing, a lot of people with larger cars just laughed and said they would never drive such a small car, no matter how expensive gas became. Gas at that time was about $1.40 per gallon. Now, honestly, we've had people come up and ask us all about the car, how we fit the gear in etc. One guy acutally got heated when he asked my wife what kind of gas mileage we got and she told him 40 mpg. He called her a liar and stormed off. People think our car is so small, but if you go to other countries, especially in Europe, you realize how over-sized many of the cars in America are. But then again, they pay even more for gas than Canadians, I think up to $6-7 dollars per gallon. One question I have for all you SUV people out there is, at what point would gas prices make you think of switching to a smaller, non-four wheel drive car? I've met people who say they don't care if gas is $20 per gallon, they are just never going to give up their SUV. I also get bewildered by these people who claim to "need" four-wheeled drives, but then put over-sized low profile racing tires on. Um, not the most ideal "snow" tire!

Bill Davis · November 25th, 2007, 09:36 PM

Another vote for the Honda Element.

Which I consider the best light production vehicle I've ever owned, hands down.

I replaced my Astro Vans and Suburbans with one years ago and never looked back.

If you look just at the specs, it has more than 40 cubic feet of cargo space which is more than anything but the Excursion. (I was always disappointed with how little cargo room the Suburban and most "SUV's" actually have accessible without the major hassle of removing seats - on the Element, they fold up with carabiner clips for light loads or remove pretty easily for full cargo access.)

Under $20k - Over 20mpg - Lots of usable space plus all the goofy Element stuff (the tent accessory which is an excellent talent field changing room or "switch from the tailgate" setup - lots of 12 volt outlets - easy upper rack installation) - and best of all - YES, you can hose the sucker out after a long location shoot.

Oh, and Boyd - 95% of my production is in town - so 4wd is pretty useless. I'm totally happy with 2wd AND the mileage is commensurately better.

My solution until I find something better.

Petri Kaipiainen · November 26th, 2007, 11:38 AM

For me a SUV (or in this case a real 4x4 with low gears & center locking differential) is a "must" as we have still 4 kids (out of 6) at home and 4 dogs, so a 7 seater is a minimum. Nice for boat trailer towing, too. Sometimes the video gear also fills the car quite nicely. Also we get several months of snow & ice, for which, even with studded tires, having a four wheel drive is a benefit and also a safety issue, I feel. My wife drives a 2.8 liter diesel Jeep Cherokee (Liberty in US I belive) and the oldest daughter has a Kia Picanto.

The milage (well over 30 mpg) I get is great considering the size & weight of the car, diesel here is about 1.15 €/liter = 6,35 $US/gallon by the way, gas well over 7$/gallon (fuel tax is pretty high, and car tax 100% + 22% VAT on top, list price for a basic Pathfinder is 83000 $US...). The price does not affect me much yet, but it is certain the fuel price levels will double or tripple in not-so-distant future. Oil production is not growing with demand and every 10% increase in demand with fixed production doubles the prices... Thank you China...

Damon Mentzer · December 2nd, 2007, 02:00 AM

Ive got a 93 Isuzzu trooper. WOW! I love this baby, especially usefull for the northern states that get lotsa snow and ice (like the winter storm warning occurring on my tv right now :(

Can take 2 cams, 6 lowel lights and cases, steadicam, whole damn studio with me and still have camp gear and seating for 3

Havent done it yet, but later I'm taking the smaller of two collapsable rear seats out, and having a cage installed to hold equipment. Theyll have to take the whole damn thing!

OK, Mr. Allen's thread here has me thinking Ill start another one based on security, vehicle and studio. Ill check and see if one exists, even if its not mine, look for it!

Jenna Klingensmith · December 2nd, 2007, 09:49 PM

i've got two cars right now, a mazda mx6 which i'm trying to sell, and my newer car a toyota corolla, I'd say anything sporty in not practical. Dealing with a 2door car was a hassle for many reasons, thats why I switched to a 4 door car.

Also in my opinion, if you have your own videography business, a classy car is better. When I showed up to jobs in my mx6, I feel that stereo-typed me in a sense, lol. Suv's are good, but hard on gas, vans are great, but alot of people consider van's "mom cars" Hope you find something to your liking!

Matt Davis · January 8th, 2008, 07:19 AM

"She'll make the Sainsburys Run in 3.2 Parsecs"

"You came to the shoot in *that*? You're braver than I thought"

Yup, a Volvo 850 T-5 - 0-60 in 6.5 secs, legendary 'portable black hole' Volvo carrying capacity, totally ignorable in a car park, no 4x4 stigma in London, the most comfy car I've experienced.

More importantly, four people, two camera kits, laptops for all, and an interview lighting kit.

Yes, it's a bit of an old crate, but it's a reliable old crate that's practical and fun to drive that I don't have to worry about when left in a car park.

Kirk Graham · January 8th, 2008, 08:00 AM

I have a SUV (Super Utility Vehicle) ! We have a F 250 super crew 7.3 l diesel. We film outdoor hunting TV and we need a ton of gear for our trips, so the f 250 gets the call. it also gets 20+ MPG weighing in at a slight 9,000lbs. room for 5 adults up front and all the gear you need in the bed!

November 24th, 2007, 11:12 PM	#16
John Threat Major Player Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: New York Posts: 322	Jeep Wrangler 97 - I don't have any back seat - so I can lug all my equipment. Go anywhere do anything! I'd like to upgrade to the 2008 4 door wrangler so I can have 2 1/2 times the space. The old two door 97 doesnt hold much space really and my company is growing. __________________ Director: http://www.mediathreat.com

November 25th, 2007, 12:05 PM	#20
Chris Barcellos Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Elk Grove CA Posts: 6,838	Kia Sorrento. I have full hitch set up to pull a pop up trailer for travel, and haul gear. I can load a self built 8 foot boom, and lots of other gear with seats down. Very happy with this rig. __________________ Chris J. Barcellos

November 25th, 2007, 05:57 PM	#21
Dylan Couper Wrangler Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Vancouver, British Columbia Posts: 8,314	Toyota 4Runner although for years I drove a Corvette. Just enough room for a full size camera bag and a set of sticks wedged between the seats. :) __________________ Need to rent camera gear in Vancouver BC? Check me out at camerarentalsvancouver.com

November 25th, 2007, 06:40 PM	#22
Gerry Gallegos Major Player Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 262	Drive I got 07' CRV , great car, looks nice and can haul good amount of gear and more importantly it has an MP3 player jack in the center console, right next to an AUX power jack. mileage is good.

December 2nd, 2007, 02:00 AM	#27
Damon Mentzer Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34	Ive got a 93 Isuzzu trooper. WOW! I love this baby, especially usefull for the northern states that get lotsa snow and ice (like the winter storm warning occurring on my tv right now :( Can take 2 cams, 6 lowel lights and cases, steadicam, whole damn studio with me and still have camp gear and seating for 3 Havent done it yet, but later I'm taking the smaller of two collapsable rear seats out, and having a cage installed to hold equipment. Theyll have to take the whole damn thing! OK, Mr. Allen's thread here has me thinking Ill start another one based on security, vehicle and studio. Ill check and see if one exists, even if its not mine, look for it! Last edited by Damon Mentzer; December 2nd, 2007 at 02:02 AM. Reason: Idea for new thread

November 25th, 2007, 08:18 AM	#17
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,802	Regarding the Element - glad to hear you guys like yours. I looked at one a few years ago when I was car shopping and passed on it. The 4wd version was pricey and (to me) a 2wd SUV doesn't make much sense. But what really surprised me was that the VW Golf was rated to carry more weight!

November 25th, 2007, 10:43 AM	#18
Petri Kaipiainen Major Player Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Espoo Finland Posts: 380	New Nissan Pathfinder with 2.5 liter diesel; I get 31.5 mixed miles per gallon with it, even better on highway...

November 25th, 2007, 11:10 AM	#19
Bill Ravens Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: santa fe, nm Posts: 3,264 Images: 10	VW (Winnebago) Rialta VR6 engine gets 19 MPG Onboard battery system with 3000 watt inverter gives me all the 60 Hz power I need for computers, monitors, etc. Lots of storage for equipment and a great portable editting studio. AND, I can take a nap while waiting for people to get their sh_t together.

November 25th, 2007, 07:33 PM	#23
Greg Boston Wrangler Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: DFW area, TX Posts: 6,117 Images: 1	Although I don't own one, I saw the new panel side version of the Chevy HHR at this year's state fair. I think it's the perfect vehicle aside from only having seating for two. The rear doors pop open from the inside though for easy access to cargo. It may be my next vehicle. Right now, it's still the 2001 Chevy 3500 4x4 crew cab. It's really every vehicle I could need on one set of wheels. -gb-

November 25th, 2007, 09:31 PM	#24
Bert Smyth Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 178	We have a 2001 Suzuki Swift, a three-door hatchback. Its pretty amazing how much gear you can pack in it. I've had friends with SUV's struggle to fit in what I can put in my car easily. The gas mileage is great, around 50mpg. My wife and I use it for windsurfing as well, so we put a lot of miles on it. Gas mileage goes down to 40mpg when we put our boards on the roof. If I had to replace it, I'd look at the Honda Fit. The way the seats fold right down into the floor allows for a lot cargo space. I think in America we're a little unaware of just how expensive gas is going to get. Been hearing on the news and reading on-line that $3 per gallon gas will soon be considered cheap. In Canada, they're certainly getting up there, as they're already over $4 dollars a gallon. When we first started going to the Gorge windsurfing, a lot of people with larger cars just laughed and said they would never drive such a small car, no matter how expensive gas became. Gas at that time was about $1.40 per gallon. Now, honestly, we've had people come up and ask us all about the car, how we fit the gear in etc. One guy acutally got heated when he asked my wife what kind of gas mileage we got and she told him 40 mpg. He called her a liar and stormed off. People think our car is so small, but if you go to other countries, especially in Europe, you realize how over-sized many of the cars in America are. But then again, they pay even more for gas than Canadians, I think up to $6-7 dollars per gallon. One question I have for all you SUV people out there is, at what point would gas prices make you think of switching to a smaller, non-four wheel drive car? I've met people who say they don't care if gas is $20 per gallon, they are just never going to give up their SUV. I also get bewildered by these people who claim to "need" four-wheeled drives, but then put over-sized low profile racing tires on. Um, not the most ideal "snow" tire!

November 25th, 2007, 09:36 PM	#25
Bill Davis Trustee Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Scottsdale, AZ 85260 Posts: 1,538	Another vote for the Honda Element. Which I consider the best light production vehicle I've ever owned, hands down. I replaced my Astro Vans and Suburbans with one years ago and never looked back. If you look just at the specs, it has more than 40 cubic feet of cargo space which is more than anything but the Excursion. (I was always disappointed with how little cargo room the Suburban and most "SUV's" actually have accessible without the major hassle of removing seats - on the Element, they fold up with carabiner clips for light loads or remove pretty easily for full cargo access.) Under $20k - Over 20mpg - Lots of usable space plus all the goofy Element stuff (the tent accessory which is an excellent talent field changing room or "switch from the tailgate" setup - lots of 12 volt outlets - easy upper rack installation) - and best of all - YES, you can hose the sucker out after a long location shoot. Oh, and Boyd - 95% of my production is in town - so 4wd is pretty useless. I'm totally happy with 2wd AND the mileage is commensurately better. My solution until I find something better.

November 26th, 2007, 11:38 AM	#26
Petri Kaipiainen Major Player Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Espoo Finland Posts: 380	For me a SUV (or in this case a real 4x4 with low gears & center locking differential) is a "must" as we have still 4 kids (out of 6) at home and 4 dogs, so a 7 seater is a minimum. Nice for boat trailer towing, too. Sometimes the video gear also fills the car quite nicely. Also we get several months of snow & ice, for which, even with studded tires, having a four wheel drive is a benefit and also a safety issue, I feel. My wife drives a 2.8 liter diesel Jeep Cherokee (Liberty in US I belive) and the oldest daughter has a Kia Picanto. The milage (well over 30 mpg) I get is great considering the size & weight of the car, diesel here is about 1.15 €/liter = 6,35 $US/gallon by the way, gas well over 7$/gallon (fuel tax is pretty high, and car tax 100% + 22% VAT on top, list price for a basic Pathfinder is 83000 $US...). The price does not affect me much yet, but it is certain the fuel price levels will double or tripple in not-so-distant future. Oil production is not growing with demand and every 10% increase in demand with fixed production doubles the prices... Thank you China...

December 2nd, 2007, 09:49 PM	#28
Jenna Klingensmith Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Near Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 112	i've got two cars right now, a mazda mx6 which i'm trying to sell, and my newer car a toyota corolla, I'd say anything sporty in not practical. Dealing with a 2door car was a hassle for many reasons, thats why I switched to a 4 door car. Also in my opinion, if you have your own videography business, a classy car is better. When I showed up to jobs in my mx6, I feel that stereo-typed me in a sense, lol. Suv's are good, but hard on gas, vans are great, but alot of people consider van's "mom cars" Hope you find something to your liking!

January 8th, 2008, 07:19 AM	#29
Matt Davis Trustee Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Berkshire, UK Posts: 1,562	The Millennium Wardrobe "She'll make the Sainsburys Run in 3.2 Parsecs" "You came to the shoot in that? You're braver than I thought" Yup, a Volvo 850 T-5 - 0-60 in 6.5 secs, legendary 'portable black hole' Volvo carrying capacity, totally ignorable in a car park, no 4x4 stigma in London, the most comfy car I've experienced. More importantly, four people, two camera kits, laptops for all, and an interview lighting kit. Yes, it's a bit of an old crate, but it's a reliable old crate that's practical and fun to drive that I don't have to worry about when left in a car park.

January 8th, 2008, 08:00 AM	#30
Kirk Graham Regular Crew Join Date: May 2007 Location: Lowell MI Posts: 137	Suv I have a SUV (Super Utility Vehicle) ! We have a F 250 super crew 7.3 l diesel. We film outdoor hunting TV and we need a ton of gear for our trips, so the f 250 gets the call. it also gets 20+ MPG weighing in at a slight 9,000lbs. room for 5 adults up front and all the gear you need in the bed!