What kind of car do we need! (Denver, Littleton: rental car, rental)

[TinajaCo]

Originally Posted by pittnurse70

Streets are cleared right away? Where do you live? Next door to the governor or mayor? Street clearing, or the lack thereof, is a big topic of conversation right now. My daughter lives near DU, and the streets are no more clear there than up here in Louisville. Former Mayor Pena almost lost his job years ago due to inadequate street clearing. The general method of snow removal is solar energy: the sun melts the snow.

That is why I said "in general." The side streets do not get cleared, but as you said the sun usually melts them out. My street does still have a good amount of slush/ice in it (I'm in the southwest metro area and commute to near DU). But you're missing my points: 1) even with the snow/ice/slush still in my street, my Corolla does just fine, and 2) the main streets are generally cleared very quickly. This last storm was an exception, but the main streets around where I live were down to dry pavement within 3 days' of the storm hitting. Side streets are always a subject of debate for clearing, have always been and continue to be so.
My bigger point is this: people have this idea that Denver gets snowed in under 15 feet of snow during the winter, and that the only way you can get by is with some monstrous SUV. But that's simply not the case. The sun usually does an excellent job of clearing away snow-- it's been years since we've had snow stick around on streets like this. And, main streets are usually cleared very quickly. So in summary: yes, my street still has a good bit of snow and ice in it, but my little Corolla does just fine in it.

[10kbluejay]

Yeah for Subarus! Anyway the city itself is fairly flat and any car will do. It is a pretty common misconception that we are in the mountains (as opposed to right next to them). Also Nebraska can be really hilly depending on where you go (I live in Omaha right now and it has huge hills)

[CarmenSanDiego]

Originally Posted by 10kbluejay

Yeah for Subarus! Anyway the city itself is fairly flat and any car will do. It is a pretty common misconception that we are in the mountains (as opposed to right next to them). Also Nebraska can be really hilly depending on where you go (I live in Omaha right now and it has huge hills)

Yes, Omaha is very hilly! That is the part of Nebraska I visited.

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I don't have a car right now. I'm not sure if I want to buy a car before I leave or after I arrive in Denver. I think it will probably be cheaper to buy a car in Denver.

I've always favored Toyota's and Honda's. I'll do more research on some of the other makes that were mentioned in this thread. Thanks!

[pcollins22]

How do you guys think a 2005 Dodge Ram 1500 would do in the winter there? It is not 4WD and I am a little concerned with it being the Hemi 5.7L package that I will have too much power to the rear wheels and go spinning all over the place.

What are your thoughts? Anyone own this truck that does not have 4WD?

Help me out! I may be a CO resident soon!

[Jester76]

Originally Posted by CarmenSanDiego

Automatic or Stick shift? The farthest west I've been is Nebraska and I remeber it being very hilly. Is Denver similar? Which type of car will work best with Denver's terrain? Thanks!

I've lived in Omaha Ne for 31 years, and have never heard Nebraska was hilly.

what do you have a 80 horsepower car that has issues with the local anthills, or speed bumps?

[Charles]

Originally Posted by pcollins22

How do you guys think a 2005 Dodge Ram 1500 would do in the winter there? It is not 4WD and I am a little concerned with it being the Hemi 5.7L package that I will have too much power to the rear wheels and go spinning all over the place.

What are your thoughts? Anyone own this truck that does not have 4WD?

Help me out! I may be a CO resident soon!

Ninety-nine percent of the time there will be no problems. A lot of people place cheap sand bags from Home Depot in the back of their 2WD vehicles to put more weight on the rear wheels. In addition you can buy snow tires with or without studs. But in Denver you probably won't need anything special.

It is a late model vehicle you have. I can't produce any economic argument to support buying another vehicle or trading your current 2005 in.

You'll be fine.

[denverian]

Originally Posted by scirocco22

Subarus, anyone? ...I've heard that either Colorado or Washington are the most popular states for all-wheel drive Subarus. Well, I've heard Maine mentioned too. I suppose I could look up some statistics on that.

But do you see a lot of Subies in Colorado?

--'rocco

Yeah, Outbacks are the official state car, I think! They're everywhere in Denver. I suppose because they have AWD, sit up a bit higher, but still get reasonable gas mileage, so perfect for the liberal outdoorsy people here.

[DenverAztec]

Denver is not flat. I live in Capitol Hill and the southwest section of it has some significant hills as does much of north (Highlands) and west Denver. They are only hills that may be a block long but as I live on 7th and Washington, I can give testimony that cars slide into eachother several times a year on my hill alone. We don't have the hill grades like you do in San Diego, like from Hill Crest into the Mission Valley area, but we have hills.

If you love Honda, or anything with front wheel drive, you will be fine. I have a Passat with both the option of automatic or stick, it is called a tryptic transmission. Originally made by Porsche, but Audi and Volswagens, (sp? haven't had my coffee yet), have them as well. I believe the Jetta has them but not sure about the Bug. A used VW can be found at great prices, it is the repairs that can be costly.

I had an Accord for seveal years and it was fine as it was front wheel drive, but I like that the Passat is higher off the ground and less of a chance of getting high centered in snow piles. The snow falls are less frequent but we did have some record setters in 2003 and 2006. Summer is a breeze here, but you will want AC as it can be really hot for at least a week straight, like 105. But mostly in the 90s for about an average of 3 or 4 weeks and no La Jolla beach to swim in! Natives know to head for the hills when it is too hot in the city. Best wishes to you.

[Steve_W]

Originally Posted by Jester76

I've lived in Omaha Ne for 31 years, and have never heard Nebraska was hilly.

what do you have a 80 horsepower car that has issues with the local anthills, or speed bumps?

I think Omaha's pretty hilly.

[steveco.]

The western suburbs are filled with rolling hills. On occasion they will close down streets because the grade is to steep and icy for cars to get up and are notorious for accidents