Susan's Place Transgender Resources

Well after realising that nearly every girl and her dog were driving around as cool as Steve McQueen in Bullit for their first cars, I wonder if you kept it up?

I think your choice of car can say something about you.

For instance, I drive a Volvo XC60 it is rugged, tough and nippy on the outside but soft and beautiful on the inside......just like me ha ha!

What about you? What are you driving around in?

I love the word "Nippy". It's a word only British people use, haha.

I don't drive anymore but when I did, I had a thing for Japanese import cars. I had a Mitsubishi Evo and my dream was to own a Nissan GTR. Keep your Ferraris and Lambos... I want a car smarter than I am, lol. My little brother bought a Subaru Impreza after he left the Army. The old model that wasn't a hatchback. We had several conversations about how he bought the wrong car, lol.

(https://www.topgear.com/sites/default/files/2025/04/DSC_1938.jpg)

Quote from: Sephirah on March 08, 2026, 05:12:51 AMI love the word "Nippy". It's a word only British people use, haha.

I don't drive anymore but when I did, I had a thing for Japanese import cars. I had a Mitsubishi Evo and my dream was to own a Nissan GTR. Keep your Ferraris and Lambos... I want a car smarter than I am, lol. My little brother bought a Subaru Impreza after he left the Army. The old model that wasn't a hatchback. We had several conversations about how he bought the wrong car, lol.

(https://www.topgear.com/sites/default/files/2025/04/DSC_1938.jpg)

Didn't have you pegged as an EVO driver Lauren. You little speed demon you ha ha!

2015 GMC crew cab 3500HD pickup truck. With a 6.6 liter diesel
It's a very large truck. Not fancy but a comfortable ride

2023 Rav 4. My first car bought brand new.

Quote from: Dawn Kellie on March 08, 2026, 09:26:32 AM2015 GMC crew cab 3500HD pickup truck. With a 6.6 liter diesel
It's a very large truck. Not fancy but a comfortable ride

6.6 litre???!!!! My god that's a monster ha ha!

Quote from: Athena on March 08, 2026, 10:11:02 AM2023 Rav 4. My first car bought brand new.

You'll never have a love like your first car Athena! I still have fond memories of my little rust bucket! At least yours is a pretty cool car to boot! It's hard to sell them when you finally have to move on.

Wife and I have 2 cars which we share
- newer model Mercedes CLA with AMG package
- older model BMW 335i convertible with a metallic gold wrap

Despite having those types of cars my interest in cars has actually dwindled. I used to love cars and I've lost count of how many I've bought and sold over the past few decades. These days I would be happy in a basic Hyundai or Toyota. Honestly today I'm far more interested in shoes, handbags and makeup LOL.

I'm looking to retire in a few years and will likely unload the current cars for something more practical and cheaper to maintain.

I'm in a Subaru Forester these days! 💕👩👍💕

I will drive a few nails today.

Quote from: tgirlamg on March 08, 2026, 12:45:09 PMI'm in a Subaru Forester these days! 💕👩👍💕

Tough hombre's those Subarus. Theres a lot of them in the countryside over here. Still behind land rovers of course.

2021 Toyota Highlander

THE BEAST!

2025 Jeep Wrangler. I'm retired, so I didn't need something to commute with. I needed a work vehicle. I loved my 2015 Jeep Patriot, but it was a street car: 4 cylinder, two-wheel drive. Great on gas, but bad in the back country.

The Beast is 6 cylinder, 4X4, and I added "accessories" to carry my mining gear. Roof rack, window racks (inside and out), and a shelf that doubles the cargo space.

My neighbor said it reeks of testosterone. (Ouch!)
He later added that clearly I am no "poser" and this is a work truck.
I see it as a tool to ge me and my gear wherever I need to be.

Skoda Yeti, its the 2L tdi that has 170hp from the factory but its been upgraded when the EGR was deleted so its 220 now! Basically its a Golf under the skin so handles well. My other car is a 1951 Austin A40 Countryman street rod running all Vauxhall Omega running gear with a 3L V6. 

Nothing. I haven't had a car since 2002. It was an 88 Ford Sierra 2 litre GL which I ran until the rust monster saw it off. I got free travel then as I was a bus and tram driver.
Get free travel now I'm an OAP.

Quote from: davina61 on March 08, 2026, 02:03:20 PMSkoda Yeti, its the 2L tdi that has 170hp from the factory but its been upgraded when the EGR was deleted so its 220 now! Basically its a Golf under the skin so handles well. My other car is a 1951 Austin A40 Countryman street rod running all Vauxhall Omega running gear with a 3L V6. 

I was almost expecting you to post a pic of a dragster and claim you drive it to do your food shopping.

🤣

Quote from: Stottie Girl on March 08, 2026, 10:22:29 AM6.6 litre???!!!! My god that's a monster ha ha!

It is a beast but I do like it. I have to park way back in parking lots. The good thing is I can get 20mpg and pull everything i need

A 4x4 jeep grand Cherokee.

Quote from: Lori Dee on March 08, 2026, 02:01:29 PMTHE BEAST!

2025 Jeep Wrangler. I'm retired, so I didn't need something to commute with. I needed a work vehicle. I loved my 2015 Jeep Patriot, but it was a street car: 4 cylinder, two-wheel drive. Great on gas, but bad in the back country.

The Beast is 6 cylinder, 4X4, and I added "accessories" to carry my mining gear. Roof rack, window racks (inside and out), and a shelf that doubles the cargo space.

My neighbor said it reeks of testosterone. (Ouch!)
He later added that clearly I am no "poser" and this is a work truck.
I see it as a tool to ge me and my gear wherever I need to be.

Jeep Wave to a fellow Jeep driver.

Quote from: Alana Ashleigh on March 08, 2026, 02:17:18 PMJeep Wave to a fellow Jeep driver.

👋

I do love my Wrangler!

Quote from: Alana Ashleigh on March 08, 2026, 02:15:05 PMA 4x4 jeep grand Cherokee.

The Grand Cherokee is a great vehicle. I gave them a serious look before deciding on the Wrangler.

I put this story here, because "what I'm driving today" seemed to require it.

I've always been a fan of European cars and cars that the people in Europe buy. Our overseas friends must understand that if you came of age before around 1986, you were required to buy a larger, less efficient American-made car. Fuel was cheap and mechanics were scared of "foreign cars," as were our parents. My father offered to help me get started with my first car, matching the funds I'd saved and paying my first year's insurance. He even offered to give me his aging early 70s two-door Chevrolet Impala, which was a pretty nice-driving car. When I settled on the Scirocco he withdrew the offer. He had an "I told you so moment" every time it broke down, which was often. But I still loved that car and went on to own around 14 of them, as well as Porsche, Audi and other VW products.

But the kids at high school drove 1970s Mercury Cougars, Chevrolet Impalas, Ford Mavericks and the like, They were heavy, relatively slow and inefficient but they conventional wisdom of the day insisted they'd be safest in an accident, since every other car on the road was built like a tank. I totaled (destroyed) a few VWs, usually driving too fast, but was never injured.

After decades of working on French and German cars and with a fishing boat to tow, I bought my first of two Jeep Cherokees (5 speeds - rare!), then a new Subaru (manual trans). By the way, almost every car I owned was a manual trans model, which was unusual among my peers. But I loved to shift. I was also tired of cars that needed attention, hence the move toward Japanese cars. I never, ever let anyone work on my cars and only recently paid to have a clutch installed (GASP) on the Subaru. A few weeks earlier, I replaced the lower control arms myself. I can't pay do have someone do an inferior version of a job that I could do myself. But removing and reinstalling the Subaru trans alone in my garage isn't safe at all these (post-HRT) days.

We ended up buying 2 more new Subarus over the coming years. My wife dives my 2016 six speed manual model (a rarity). We bought a heavy travel trailer (caravan) and I needed a stronger tow vehicle, so I kept it simple:

2023 Honda Passport. 3.5 litre motor, 9 speed ZF automatic, tows 3500 pounds. And the motor will go 350k miles if properly cared for. Fuel economy is less than acceptable for places with expensive petrol (U.S. prices are jumping now) but ok for this side of the pond.

Quote from: Courtney G on March 08, 2026, 02:33:45 PMBy the way, almost every car I owned was a manual trans model, which was unusual among my peers.

I was the same way for a long time. I said I don't want a machine telling me what I want it to do.

I also did my own repairs for different reasons. It was cheaper to supply my own labor, and I learned how things worked in the process. On my '94 Chevy Silverado (pre-Jeep work truck), I replaced the battery, alternator, AC condenser, plus wires, distributor, starter, and water pump. I was going to replace the fuel and brake lines, but it was winter in South Dakota, and I didn't have a garage anymore, so I took it to a shop. Good thing I did, because they also found a leaky brake cylinder on the left rear.

After that, I got lazy and let the shop do it.

Quote from: Lori Dee on March 08, 2026, 02:01:29 PMTHE BEAST!

2025 Jeep Wrangler. I'm retired, so I didn't need something to commute with. I needed a work vehicle. I loved my 2015 Jeep Patriot, but it was a street car: 4 cylinder, two-wheel drive. Great on gas, but bad in the back country.

The Beast is 6 cylinder, 4X4, and I added "accessories" to carry my mining gear. Roof rack, window racks (inside and out), and a shelf that doubles the cargo space.

My neighbor said it reeks of testosterone. (Ouch!)
He later added that clearly I am no "poser" and this is a work truck.
I see it as a tool to ge me and my gear wherever I need to be.

Oooh I do like that Lori! Love the colour too. Action girl!

Quote from: Stottie Girl on March 08, 2026, 03:20:38 PMOooh I do like that Lori! Love the colour too. Action girl!

The color is called '41 and is new for 2025. It is a nod to the 1941 Jeep Willys used by the Army during World War II. I just had to have it!

My volvo is the first automatic I've ever driven, must be getting lazy!

European cars now are almost impossible to work on as it's all technology. I open the bonnet now and its mostly plastic boxes!

I had a top of the range XC90 hybrid as a courtessy car a few weeks back and that thing was awesome. I can't afford one at over £80,000 RRP butit was soooo fast for such a big car (well big by European standards!) I think we will be forced into hybrid or fully electric cars soon in the UK.

By the way I am far from being a petrol head.

Today I drive a 1995 Nissan pickup. I call it my motorized wheelbarrow. I've had it for 25 years. If I could buy something newer that was the same size, I probably would, preferably electric, but that's not what the automakers are offering, so I'll stick with this one until it gives out.

In reality, I only drive it once a week or so, mostly to electrolysis and to get loads of bark or sand or compost or wood chips or gravel for my endless gardening adventures.

My wife has a 2023 RAV4 PHEV, and she loves it. That's our primary errand-running (all electric) and summer backpacking (mountain roads) vehicle.

I have heard of a 4 by 4 vehicle but what is a 6 by 6 vehicle?

Does it have three axles?

Quote from: ChrissyRyan on March 08, 2026, 04:01:03 PMI have heard of a 4 by 4 vehicle but what is a 6 by 6 vehicle?

Does it have three axles?

Don't think anyone here has a 6x6 but yes a 6x6 would be 3 axles driven together. They do exist but mostly specialist vehicles.

Quote from: Stottie Girl on March 08, 2026, 04:56:55 PMDon't think anyone here has a 6x6 but yes a 6x6 would be 3 axles driven together. They do exist but mostly specialist vehicles.

The Amphicat!

I think that qualifies as specialist!

How many axles do tanks have?  Five or six?

Quote from: ChrissyRyan on March 08, 2026, 05:44:14 PMHow many axles do tanks have?  Five or six?

Technically, zero. They have torsion bar suspension.

Each of the six road wheels that ride on the bottom of the track has an arm to which it is attached. Those arms have torsion bars that run through the belly of the tank (so kind of like an axle). The sprocket at the back is the drive sprocket that drives the track forward or backward. The wheel in front is called a Compensating Idler Wheel. It adjusts in or out to tighten the track as it wears out. The wrench to adjust that arm, fondly nicknamed the "Little Joe" wrench, seemed to weigh 30 lbs. It was huge! The three rollers at the top of the track are just there to guide the track and allow it to roll.

How much do those tanks weigh?  I suppose the bigger, the heavier.

Quote from: Stottie Girl on March 08, 2026, 08:20:36 AMDidn't have you pegged as an EVO driver Lauren. You little speed demon you ha ha!

I blame Gran Turismo, the video game. And the Fast and Furious movies, haha. Kinda had a thing for Michelle Rodriguez.

A 2025 Mitsubishi Mirage.  It gets great gas mileage in town (22 km/l), not so good on the highway (18 km/l).  It has a little 3-cylinder engine that is smaller then the engine on most Harley-Davidson motorcycles.

Quote from: ChrissyRyan on March 08, 2026, 04:01:03 PMI have heard of a 4 by 4 vehicle but what is a 6 by 6 vehicle?

Does it have three axles?

This is a 6x6. M809 I drove them in the military at times.
(https://trucksplanet.com/photo/am_general/m809/m809_5261.jpg)

I did have an auto Dodge Challenger in the 80s and that engine/box went in my drag car. Building an Austin Hereford with a Rover V8 and auto at the moment, that's a cruiser as the Countryman is the bruiser!!

Quote from: Rochelle on March 08, 2026, 08:10:05 PMThis is a 6x6. M809 I drove them in the military at times.
(https://trucksplanet.com/photo/am_general/m809/m809_5261.jpg)

Thank you for this information.

Perhaps I will drive some golf balls this week.