New Fleet Options

[TEM]

I'm starting to gather options in replacing our aging Ford Explorer fleet and as much as I would like to replace them with new Explorers, the base price on the Fords have jumped significantly.

I'm beginning to look at the Nissan Xterra, and would like to hear opinions on those that have used them as a daily heavy duty service news vehicle. The good, the bad, etc.

I need something that will last at least 7 years of heavy service in a rugged coastal environment, in addition to having the cargo space that is similar to what we have now. The Explorers have been good for us, but I'm open to hear opinions of other vehicle platforms that have worked for you. We purchased a Subaru Forester last year to test it out as a possible replacement option, however I have not been satisfied with its overall performance, economy & rather crampt space.

Thanks as always!
Thomas E Morales
Chief Videographer
KCOY & KKFX Television
Santa Maria, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, CA
thomasmorales@clearchannel.com

 

[TexasDave]

I was in the same situation a little while ago. We had some old escort station wagons (crap) that were replaced with saturn staion wagons right before I joined that staff. (by the way - stay away from the saturns - we almost always had one in the shop at all times), so I wanted to get enw vehicles - it helped that a reported totaled one, and we were already short.

Well, management bounced over my recomendations and got an SUV I was totalyl agains - Hyundai Tuscons. i was pissed. Little cargo room, small SUV, and they got the 4-cylinder.

You know what, they turned out to be great news cars. I ended up getting new camera bags to ensure everything fit in the back. It was somewhat cramped, but it had split rear seats to fit all the gear.

I was originally opposed to the concept of the tuscons. I was pleasently surprised. Upper mag't went with them strictly because of cost, and they did a lot of advertising with us. That aside, I'd still perfer something like a trailblazer or explorer, but that little tuscon turned out to be a fun car. Almost bought one for myself.

They have that 100,000 mile warrenty, I left that station around 50-60k miles on all them. Don't know how they are now, but I had to install a strict car-care policy to try to ensure that they would last. (I found upside-down pizza glued to the floorboards - and we had a GM that inspected every car every morning and was going to fire anyone who left car's in bad shape - but that was needed because of lack of responsibility in the entire staff - not just shooters)

Hope this helps if you station goes the cheap route like I had to go thru.

 

[TEM]

Dave, Thx; Escape Anyone?

I appreciate the suggestion... I'll look into them. 100k warranty sounds good to me! We average 34k per unit per year so that would be awesome to have. I just wonder what happens after 100K!

My ND pitched Ford Escape rigs to me this PM... last time I looked at them they were train wrecks. One of our former reporters had one and had lots of problems with it... and my biggest fear is the rear suspension. It has support beams that come close to the ground. I could see us... even me... hopping a curb on an angle and ripping one of those right off. I would like to hear from anyone running with those.

And... what about Jeep Liberty?

TM

 

[2gigch1]

Honda Pilot Low $30's
Honda CR-V Mid $20's
Honda Element Low/Mid $20's
Toyota FJ Cruiser Mid $20's
Toyota Highlander High $20's
Toyota Rav 4 Low $20's

Compared to Ford Escape Low/Mid $20's

Honda & Toyota are tops in quality / longevity. Can't go wrong. That FJ Cruiser would be hot.

My 2 cents.

 

[Cambot Mk. II]

We recently replaced 2 Explorers with Dodge Durangos.
Good side--- Extremely roomy and decent performance.
Bad side--- They tend to be thirsty.

We also added a Jeep Grand Cherokee to the fleet a few months ago.
Nice performance but it's tricky to mount radios in.

Considering it replaced a Suzuki Sidekick, we aren't complaining.

EDIT:

We added a Liberty about 3 years ago... It performs well and it's been very reliable but it's also pretty cramped.

If you carry much more than a Quickdraw bag and a tripod, seriously consider something bigger.

 

[foxlasvegas]

Exterra's

We use Exterra's and they seem to be good vehicles. Ours are all fairly new so maintenance has not been an issue yet. The oldest is @ three years. I had one AC go out but that was under warranty. They are also 2 wheel drive. I really perfer that, less maintenance and better gas milage. If you use camera safes make sure they will fit in the back space as it is pretty tight. We had Jeep Cherokee's before and the Exterra's feel a little top-heavy after them but I haven't had any issues. They are running about 24k after tax and title. That is with a healthy hand up from our sales team.

 

[nozoom4u]

At my old station we got new Toyota Rav4's. They were great. Small, but very nice vehicles. I put 60 thousand miles on one in 2 years and never had one maintenance problem. They were all wheel drive, so they did great on the snow and in muddy situations. They averaged 28 to 32 mpg. You can park them anywhere. You can cut a U-turn anywhere. Many advantages. One disadvantage, it was small.

At my current station we have Explorers. They are all leased so we get rid of them at 50k miles. They are nice, but really too big to be efficient. They get bad gas mileage. They are hard to get turned around in the middle of a country road. Plus, I don't have enough gear to fill the back end. I think gas mileage is the most important thing.

What I would like to have, Subaru Outbacks. Sweet little cars. Lots of Backend Room. Lots of Power. Good Gas Mileage, and they are very reliable.

I think it should be a no brainer to go with something foreign. The reason, as many miles as we put on cars in this business and as rough as they are treated foriegn cars will last. The gas mileage might not seem like much, but for a decent sized fleet it can save you thousands of dollars a year.

 

[amp]

If you don't need an SUV, go with a Dodge Grand Caravan with the Stow and Go seating. You have a cavern of room where the middle seats would fold into the floor. The backseat folds flat into the floor, so you don't need to find a space inside the station to store it. I've had several Chrysler minivans over the years, and they last just as long as any other brand. I love the ride quality and storage room of my minivan. So the f what if it doesn't make me look cool. That is what the camera is for.

 

[A/B roll]

I had a ford escape at my last station and I loved that thing. I drove it pretty hard and as far as I know It's still alive. Size might be a problem for some. Im not a big guy so I fit that car perfectly but I worked with a guy that was like 6'4" and he had a hard time. Gear will fit you just might have to change the way you stack it, I put my light kit behind the driver seat. The V6 is really nice too.

 

[TEM]

Thanks!

Thanks guys for the responses, feedback and pro/con discussion.

Fuel economy is a BIG thing right now for us. Here in the Central Coast, gas today is going for about $3.15/gal! As big as the Explorers are, I've experienced some good MPG on them.

I got one Subaru Forester last year to try it out. It has been very disappointing. Some of the trim started to fall off, the MPG is worse than my '04 Explorer, and it is just very crampt. So... I don't think I'll be going that route.

Chrysler Mini Vans are definitely out of the question for me here... I had three of them on the fleet about a decade ago, and they all didn't make it too far past 3 years old. At 1 1/2, most of them had something falling off of them, and I don't mean trim or molding.

The budget I've been handed is very restrictive (read: It will be a miracle to get anything). From a "bean counter" perspective (which I have to be sometimes unfortunately) I've narrowed it down to Hyundai Tucson, Ford Escape (as much as I didn't like the build quality when they first came out) and if I try REALLY hard the Nissan Xterra. Given my bad past experience with Chrysler products, probably will not be evaluating the Jeep Liberty, unless someone out there can offer some advice otherwise.

Again... thanks for the feedback guys!
TM

 

[Flaca Productions]

is chevy still making the astro van? man...that was the best local news car i ever had. captains chairs up front with one additional right behind the driver. sliding door on the side for camera and sticks and double doors in back for lights, etc. fast, roomy, no issued with where to put radios. no idea what it got for mileage...but it was bulletproof when it came to breaking down.

 

[Spot remover]

We use several models

In the order of number of vehicles (high to low):

XL-7's: Love these. About 8 of these. A good combination of size and cost ($20,000) they are also very comfortable and reliable. Problem is, they stopped making these last year and replaced them with a new, more expensive model. Model years from 2002-2006

Cherokees: Have about a half dozen of these. OK quality, OK reliablity, not-so-comfortable. Space is fair. Not made anymore. Model years 99-02

Escapes: Two of these. Been pretty reliable. Quick (we have V6's). Fairly comfortable. Good (not great) space. Why haven't we bought more? I don't know. Updated model on the way to showrooms. Model year- 2001.

RAV4- Just bought two of these- not even issued yet. Good pep, about as much space as the Escape, built like a bank vault. Slightly pricey ($23k), but seems capable of running forever. Model year: 2007. Replaced the last Escort station station wagon which finally died a week ago.

 

[exassignedphotog]

Since you are replacing your fleet, let me add a suggestion.

This may be out of left field, but have you thought about getting Toyota Prius?

if you are in an urban market where most of your stories are in and around town (read city driving) Then you will save a ton in fuel costs.

I really don't know what their long term dependability would be. I have a friend who has one for 2 years and not a single problem. Granted she doesn't put 30,000 miles on it a year though.

But if you could save money on fuel, then you can use it to get "toys" Just a thought

Of course you could get ford escape hybrids also. I'm not a tree hugg'n global warm'n is gonna kill us kinda guy, but if your station is trying to squeeze every penny they can, then maybe you can look good.

 

[cp16]

best news car

The best news car Ive had in 30 yrs is a GM Tahoe with the police pkg; all rubber floors, HD wiring, easy to hook up radios, duel batteries. high exhaust pipe for driving in floods. Its got 220,000 miles in 4 1/2 yrs. Its had 1 full brake overhaul in that time..easily 120,000 with no mechanicle issues other than batteries. It has a police cage behind back seat to keep gear secure and also prevent anything flying foreward in an accident. The new versions have cylinder cut off for better gas mileage and get around 20mpg. they had a lg suv tax rebate when we got them; and have easily beat out explorers, durangos, and mini vans in maintenence costs. They were about $27,000 fleet cost which was $1500 more than our ford exploders and we had 2 rollovers in those, which made them very expensive. We have room to carry extra sets of storm gear, and we have 2 of them with a dozen police radios mounted for our police/storm beat units.There have been no parking or turning problems. they have been thru lots of floods, hurricanes, police chases etc. Unfortunately, the sales dept made us go to dodge durangos which have needed major repairs in first 40,000 miles.

 

[CHIEFPHOTDOG]

Sorento's

We ended up purchasing two KIA Sorentos and adding them to our fleet of Explorers. The vehicles are small easy to handle, the only issues I had was mounting our scanners, I had to fabricate a plate to get over that hurdle. Good luck.

 

[mrphotog]

When I was in Bakersfield, CA we had Xterras. I think that they are a great vehicle for news. They have plenty of room, they went off road quite well. Now that I am in Toledo, we have to buy whatever is made here. The union's wouldn't like it if we were driving around in a car made in China.
My fleet is all Jeep Liberty's (made in Toledo). They are a little small for gear but they work ok for news. They do pretty good in the snow too. Not that you would have to worry about to much snow in Cali.
I guess if I had my choice I would prefer the Nissan Armada. I rented one of those for the OSU/FSU game in Phoenix and it was great. I set up the portable editor in the back, plenty of room for gear and two reporters.

 

[svp]

Not a chief here but speaking strictly on car quality and maintenance, stay away from Ford or GM. I know people that work for GM in Detroit and the company only cares about how many units are produced per day. Absolutely no attention paid to quality. That's why so many Ford and GM vehicles have problems. The most reliable SUV on the market is the Toyota 4Runner but I'd say that's probably not an option due to price. Toyota's are well known for lasting nearly 200k miles before having major mechanical issues to deal with. My uncle has a "91 Toyota 4Runner with 310k miles on it and hasn't had to due anything to it except the routine maintanance of brakes, tires, and oil changes.

 

[Land Rover]

Escape Hybrid

We just got an Escape Hybrid and I wasn't too sure about it until I drove it. So far it only has 900 miles on it so I can't give you a long term report. There was more power there than I thought there would be but we do have to keep the rear seats folded down to get the gear in and out.

It does take getting used to driving around a parking lot and the vehicle sounding like a big golf cart once the engine cuts out.

 

[Electric Eye]

Fleet

We have had Pathfinders since 1989. Great trucks. In 2004 we started to roll some Xterras into the fleet because Nissan moved the Pathfinder upscale. The Xterras would continue to be my choice however the VP of News recently had us move to a green fleet. I tested several SUVs over the past year and we went with the Saturn VUE Green Line. ( 4 clynder front drive only) Speaking as a cameraman with almost 20 years at the same station, I would rather have the Xterra. Speaking as someone who understands the management side of the argument, the Saturn does what it needs to do. I have put over 5000 Km on it in 1 month and the fuel savings are big. I can get close to 600 km out of a 63L tank. (Toronro to Montreal) That's over 100 more then the Xterras. All my camera gear fits in a custom box in the back (just) and I've got a container behind the driver seat with gloves, jacket, snacks, water etc. 2 scanners on the dash. The ride is quiet and smooth. We keep our trucks for 3 years or 120,000K so the durability of the VUE is still in question.
Our production department have Escape Hybrids and I found them to be too small once a security cage was installed.
As I said, I did all the testing for our newsroom and I recommended the Toyota Highlander Hybrid. 6 cly. All wheel drive. More room in the back and drivers area, and a much better hybrid system. Cost was the problem however. $44,000 for the Toyota, $ 28,000 for the Saturn. Nuff Said!

Lead, follow, or get out of my shot!
Pete.

 

[TEM]

THX for all the Feedback

Thank you to ALL that has provided some valuable feedback. This is why B-Roll Forum is a good place.

My budget is a hard $20k per unit. No if, ands and buts. That has been made clear.

I looked into the Tucsons, just a little too compact for our needs, and the local dealer here was unwilling to work with us... small town business in full effect--inexperience and unfamiiar on B2B transactions. Their loss... The local sales manager didn't even return my calls.

Nissan... only if I had a few $k more...

We have a long-time (15+ year successful advertiser) Ford dealer that has, and is willing to work with us--and has worked with us--on many transactions. It looks like at this point we'll be going with the Ford Escape. Not quite like the Explorer, some compromises will need to be made, but given the $$ I was given, I think its the best I could go with.

The way gas prices are going... I think I don't have a choice to go with more fuel efficient vehicles. I still may make a play to corp. to get the hybrid model and demonstrate the fuel savings of $4.00/gal over several years. As it stands now, we're at $3.25/gal. here on the central coast and I fully expect it to hit near $4/gal by summer's end--and that's with fleet fuel discounts! The big ?? is the long term maintenance costs of maintaining a hybrid. Any out there have any experience in that? I basically need to compute it down to a cents-per-mile comparison between the traditional and hybrid platforms... that seems to be the most dramatic presentation to make to upper management.

Its a give and take world... fortunately I have the support of other management internally to keep with an SUV platform and not compromise with a sedan or other car in this rugged coastal environment.

TM