2006 Scion Xb. Oceans of room inside, huge cargo space, small outside, great gas mileage, built by Toyota. It's the perfect car. In 2007, Toyota messed it up, though, by giving it a longer wheelbase, less headroom and a bigger, less fuel efficient engine. They took a brilliantly designed crossover vehicle and made it just another middling mini-SUV.

Most of the time, though, I'm driving my 30-year old modified 10-speed hybrid bicycle, pulling a Burley trailer for my gear.

A '95 Ford Explorer mainly - great for humping scuba gear around + I live in a rural area where it comes in handy. About 160K miles on it.

When I get around to fixing the speedometer on it, an '85 Mercedes Benz 300D with >220K miles on it.

Here's another Jeep Grand Cherokee. '93, 6 cyl., original engine and third transmission. On its way back from the Moon with 270,000 miles. Headliner sags a bit but still a great vehicle for hauling gear.

05' Ford Focus
You'd be surprised what you can fit in those things

04 Ford Focus zx3, lots of room and I average 30mpg.

2006 Honda CR-V

Lots of room for me + my gear.
Great gas milage as well. ~34 mpg highway.

'91 Toyota Land Cruiser with 251K miles
Perfect for hauling gear :)
It's the company "car".

Most of my work is single camera interviews, so a DVX100, tripod, mics, laptop, and other odds and ends, plus an overnight bag; fits quite well into the trunk of my 1990 Mazda Miata.
Last week my interviews took me to Panama City Beach - top down in FL in January. This is a great job. :-)

I drove an '88 Toyota Land Cruiser (pre-yuppie version) for 230,000 miles. I could haul anything with it and pass anything but a gas station. It got 14 mpg on a good day. As my equipment got smaller, so did my vehicle. Now it's a Scion XB, a 2005, and I've got about 52,000 on it now. Averages 35mpg on the highway and I can haul everything I need on a shoot (with the exception of a Western Dolly, but I did take a Spyder dolly and Flextrak OK).

'98 Explorer
 

w/138K.

I'm w/Boyd...4WD during a Jersey winter can be a lifesaver if you're far from home and have to travel either the Parkway, Turnpike, or any of the suburban stretches of any of the interstates.

Considering a new ride though, maybe a minivan-like thing, so it's comfy if you need to drive client(s) around, but roomy to haul gear, while being indiscreet in the parking lots.

BTW, am selling son's '02 Wrangler if anyone's interested. (He got himself a used Tacoma).

'97 Honda CRV--not the manliest of cars but it's hauled my Steadicam successfully for many years and never had any mechanical issues, so I have to give it props. Was all set to move on to a new Element this year since they have dealt with the two-tone body panel issue and look a lot better than they used to (IMHO), especially as I have added a rolling cart for the rig, but confound it all, the cart is just two inches too tall for the Element (and the Element is taller than anything in its class). I was so looking forward to rolling that f****er up into the car via ramps which would cut some notable time and energy out of my day, but it was not to be. Still figuring it out.

Meanwhile, my non-working time is spent in an '06 Prius--40+MPG, driving alone in the car pool lane and don't have to pay for parking meters in the City of Los Angeles. Loving that. In a pinch, I can even fit the Steadicam in there with some creative re-arranging, but I try to keep a non-work vehicle if I can.

Hoping to find a hybrid or biodiesel-esque solution to my equipment vehicle in this New Year--that is, if the film industry ever gets back on its feet.

did anyone else notice that the person interested in our vehicles is named Tim Allen? coincidence? I dont think so...

Hi all:

Some interesting rides and reasons and justifications for the rides here.

Mine is a 2002 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD Diesel Crew Cab. It's huge, I call it the "monster truck" because it is. 22' long, weights almot 7,000lbs. Why do I have such a beast? Well easy, I also have a 32' Fifth Wheel trailer that we use to do shoots and vacation in all over the West Coast.

When not hauling a trailer, the truck holds almost all of my 2.5 ton grip and lighting package and my jib. But trying to park this rig in most of LA is a PITA, it's too huge. I do some celebrity stuff and there is nothing more fun pulling up to the Four Seasons or Beverly Hills Hotel's valet in this beast and making fun of all of the Porsches and Ferraris. My truck is 7' high and you would be surprised at how many parking garages in LA are 6' 8" clearance, that's the part that really sucks. But it is fun to get dirty looks from all of the beautiful people for driving something in LA that is so politically incorrect ;-)

For all of it's size, I still get 21mpg with it. I love diesel even though we are getting gouged worse than gas customers on the price. Going to Europe was an eye opener, about half of the cars I saw were diesel. Good old smart California, in their infinite wisdom (not) has decided that they will not let manufacturers sell diesel cars new in the state (you can buy a used one at least).

All of this is changing as the new generation of diesels can meet California's CAFE' emission standards is being introduced this year. Even Honda is coming out with a diesel Accord. But I digress. If I didn't have a fifth wheel, I would be driving a Prius or I would be waiting for the new generation of diesel cars here as many of the smaller ones can even get 75 mile per gallon. Yes, diesel is more expensive than gas now, but if you can get that kind of mileage, that's still a good deal. At the time I bought the truck, diesel was cheaper and I do need something like this to pull a 10,000 lb trailer.

Best,

Dan

Hey Dan never mind the outragous fuel prices we pay in the UK.... what about the van tax hike...

We were using Landrover 110 Hardtop Defenders, fantastic of road (sore on the aging back on long drives) then went to Landover Discoveries (very nice on the aging bones) until they became too posh to be of any commercial use, and the company tax was really heavy.

Moved over to the Jap pickups (Animal/Warrior) with hardtop and towing gear, they are really usefull... but here is the rub.... it has been costing £500 a year in tax to run a commercial van/pick up - our great leader Mr Brown has now put that up to...... wait for it...... wait for it.......£3,500.00 per year.

How's that for inflation, how's that for helping business.... better go now, I have feelings of anger about to swamp me.... ;-(

Regards: Stu
www.srtudioscotland.com

2003 Toyota RAV4
 

2003 Toyota RAV4

This is the perfect vehicle for me. It\'s small enough to get good mileage and it feels like a car. It\'s big enough to haul LOTS of gear. It\'s not too expensive - I think I paid around $22K new. Also, it sits up high and is very easy to get in and out of - important for an old man with bad knees. And the cherry on top - it\'s very cool looking!