Camino LS6

I have zero concerns about my ability to drive in the snow, but why take a knife to a gunfight? When it snows, it will be a real 4x4 getting me from A to B.

I can't say I've ever comsidered one, in fact, I've never driven one. But it could be a viable option if the situation calls for it.

When it snows I'll be in a real 4x4, so that isn't a factor. I'd rather walk than drive a G3.

Have we met? Commuter appliances don't appear on my radar. The G3 is no more a Pontiac than the TC was a Maserati. Now a Solstice coupe would be another story, that's a collectible I'd be happy to drive.

Last call on this one.

Oh, I don't have any such delusions. It would be a wild card choice anyway.

Right now, I'd say that a Dakota is the leading candidate. It wouldn't be the last generation though - I find them hideous. The previous gen is a good-looking truck, and a standard cab 4x4 with a six and a stick is just about right for the job. I looked at some listings for Magnums and pricing is all over the place. Most of them seem to be modded in very tacky ways. Any example I would want probably will exceed what I'd want to spend this go-round. But infinitely more interesting. FWD cars are out of the question.

There wouldn't be very much actual city driving (although I've done that with big trucks for years anyway). There would be quite a bit of bumper-to-bumper highway drivng though. I'm not big on Panthers, but a Marauder might change my mind.

You are joking, right?

Ideally, I'd like to finish the Mothertruck and unload the Tahoe. Then I could just snag an interesting RWD car as a daily unless the weather is bad. A few days per year of driving the big beast won't kill me. I have to have a 4WD, but I don't have to drive it every day. If I put a plow on the Mothertruck, I could even unload the ROPOS. That would really make my day. I like the Tahoe quite alot, but I have to shrink the fleet.

I get wanting to drive something different, but I'd go with the Magnum.

I think a 5k budget would be about right, and I'd lean toward lower miles vs. features. Magnum would be very nice. What are they going for?

My mom had one - I really disliked it on the highway (too twitchy).

I think I like the Dakota idea. On the S-10 I agree - it would have to be a 4.3 or nothing.

Something along those lines could work.

All joking aside, a G8 ST would be perfect for this. But a fullsize would be overkill (and much the same as the Tahoe). So I'm thinking bare bones and compact.

What would you be looking at, DF? Missed your edit, sorry. Your suggestions are too big, I think.

I'm wondering what a 4cyl. 4x4 can do for MPG (Colorado or otherwise).

Not a bad idea, there certainly wouldn't be any rush. But I want to consider some alternatives.

Give any stragglers another day - then lock it on up.

Something came up today that, if it pans out, would mean a big change for me. Unfortunately, it would also mean an unpleasant commute inside the city limits of Philadelphia every day. I hate cities, but this could be worth the aggravation. So, I'm thinking that my Tahoe isn't the right beast for such a commute (should this happen). Pushing 200k and at 15 years old, asking it to do a high-traffic, 40 mile slog everyday doesn't seem advisible. It is very early to be thinking about this, but should it happen, a change will need to be made for daily driver purposes. I'm thinking small 4x4 pickup. But I'm not married to that idea in any way. Input?

A positive change on the income side of things would do wonders for me.

Pick your candidates from a selection of low-mile granny cars. Be brand and nameplate blind until you meet the above criterion, then use the process of elimination to meet as many of your other requirements as possible.

Thanks to all who voted - I wanted to see where the split on this was.

I think you'll find that there are lots of wagon lovers around here - myself among them.