New Car prices

so here it goes

I am one damn cheap bastard
true and not true, some things I'll spend money on
some things I really loath spending money on

the focus here is automobiles
I will be in the market for something in a couple of years after our minivan is paid off (provided I still have a job)

I do not know what I want. and I cannot decide. here's a little bit of rambling as to how and why.

I have a wife and two kids (no more, snip snip) and a dog. I like to camp, go up north, occasionally drag the jeep around, and i have an occasional need to haul stuff, mostly what would fit in a pickup box. I also drive about 30 miles give or take one way to work, of which I am not complaining, it's just a fact. I would like to drive more on occasion, down to WV whitewater rafting, maybe finally visit some distant relatives down by st louis...that sort of thing. take kayaks to a big lake.

I currently own a beater Chevy 2wd full size short box manual transmission. It has a v6 and gets about 20 mpg. the doors and windows leak whistling air horribly, and there are about 20 things wrong with it that would drive the average person crazy but knock on wood it has been a damn reliable vehicle for me. I also own a 68 jeep slightly modified out of necessity that i use mostly for plowing although in the future its use will increase since i dumped a big wad of money into it to make it drivable. then there is a 76 vw westy that gets mostly used as a fun hobby vehicle, I love it, family loves it, it's slowly getting fixed up.

my first thought...another truck. I have some grudges against GM after the Aztek and the Malibu, so i went to the Ford website.

2010 ford f150
I had a ranger for a bit and i cant stand being crammed into a tiny truck.
....f150, their starter full size
4.6 litre v8, 6 speed automatic. 4 doors (kids and dog) and the shortest box they got........$29,810

good god y'all

then i got to thinking, I am partial to vans, unfortunately they don't have a full size van with a diesel anymore, which i would pursue mostly for mileage, but hell, here goes

2010 e150 (half ton full size van)
the XL model starting is $27470
same engine and drive train as the f150, very few options, trailer hitch and such, better radio
$30,905

okay
so far more than a third of the cost of my house. lets give someone 30k for something that by the time it has been paid off will depreciate like 75%

that got me thinking. maybe fight depreciation. when it comes to vehicles holding their value it gets narrowed down to a jeep or anything imported. and as much as i like the reliability and durability of an import I have this whole union thing to follow, and as crappy as it is to fathom it would be a lot easier for me politically to just go with something made by an American owned company, since most of the big three stuff is imported, i view it as a double standard bullshit technicality

so jeep
this is a decent option because as much as i like the old 68 i could get a newer one, sell the Willy's,pick up a snow blower for the garden tractor ($1200) and downsize the fleet. this also takes into account axing the truck or whatever daily driver I am in at the moment. since it is not really a larger vehicle i am going to be a bit more option happy with this in an effort to make it more fit my needs


so
2010 jeep wrangler unlimited (longer one, more room kids and dog)
Rubicon package, well worth the extra money
32,800

WTF

32,800

that's the start of the damn thing (non Rubicon was almost 25k)
hard top $735
other than that everything was covered in the Rubicon package, off road tires, lift, lockers, upgraded axles and stuff

$33535

honestly thinking about a $575 monkey on my back for 5 years kills me. granted I'd get new crap, not inherit someone else's problems warranties and the whole shebang but screw that. here's my message to the auto companies, get your prices down around where the average dude can afford it and I'll buy your crap. till then you can stick it.