I chose not to address all of the points mentioned, but I do appreciate your input and advice. I finally got to try the HRX with cruise control, not just pushing it around on the showroom floor, but actually cutting the grass. Very impressive and high quality mower. Initial impressions, my opinion only, your mileage may vary: not a fast or as quiet as I would like; it bogged down a few times when I didn't expect it to be struggling, blade/cruise control will take some getting used to and at first try I do not find it as intuitive as the personal pace. It does seem like a high quality machine and I really like the composite deck and the Versamow feature and some of the higher end features like large bb wheels and the mulching blades and I can see why it receives great reviews. For the speed issue, I am going to try the Honda HRS216PDA, the push version, steel deck. There is no max speed on a push mower. Haven't seen any aluminum deck push mowers. At 63 lbs, it's the lightest I have seen of the quality push mowers. The Lawnboy10640 looks good too, but it gives up an inch on the front wheels and the blade, and my bumpy and large yard make these factors important to me. These two mowers also revive the B&S vs Honda engine comparison, but I get the point that both are good and will serve me well as long as I take care of them and whatever the power, should be enough. Still, I read the Cub Cadet thread and I also like to have the data and analyze it myself, with the help of the forum too. So, I am going to give the push Honda a try and if that doesn't crank my motor, I will get the Toro SR 20092 and be done with it. Yep, the B&S one, aluminum deck, 5mph top speed. Red is a faster color too. The quandry continues, and the grass keeps growing, but not under my feet. Cheers.

That mower is between five and eight years old so it could last another decade or be toast tommorow depending on the previous owners care. Be sure the transmission works easy and is not stiff to pull backwards etc. Clean under the belt cover and remove any clippings. It should start within two or three pulls cold. Look at the spark plug, that can tell you alot about the engine. Find a chart and compare the plug end to the chart and decide if its in normal range. If you like a nice nimble machine you will like the lawnboy for sure. $75 is a descent price. Neal

Okay. I admit it, I drove an average of 80 mph on the highways. I was impatient to get to places, was tired of all the grannies on the road. . .I would tail end a car in the fast lane to pressure it off to the right to a slower lane. Yup, I was that person. But high fuel costs made me realize that saving the extra minute or two to get to a place really wasn't worth it. I slowed down to 70 mph. . .to 65. . .and now I cruise around 60-65 mph on average. . sometimes even to as low as 55mph. My car has a window where I can watch my MPG average for a trip. . .and all I do is obsessively watch it while I drive. I find my car can average about 19-21 mph city and about 31-34 highway. So whenever my average dips below my range. . .I either slow down or I try to accelerate more slowly. I live close to work, but I don't live close to my boyfriend. He lives about 40 -45 miles away, so a roundtrip visit to him is what? 80-90 miles. Not including commuting to work. . I probably average 250-300 miles per week? (We used to see each other every day or every other day. . .now I only drive to him once or twice a week). DRIVING SLOW and COASTING I find are the best ways to conserve gas. I try not to break while I'm driving on the freeway, and instead I let go of the gas pedal and sort of cruise along slowly. Accelerating eats up most of the gas, but breaking heavily also brings your MPG down as well. By doing this, instead of filling up two-three times a week (this is crazy maniac 85mph me), I can go on a tank of gas for an entire week! Yay!

I bought a 1995 Acura Legend in 1998 with 32,000 miles on it. It was a 36-month lease turn-in and was literally in PERFECT condition. It sat unsold on the Acura dealerâs used lot because it was the least expensive model, the L 4-door, with cloth interior and 5-speed manual transmission. But it was exactly what I wanted, White with Taupe interior, Bose stereo, Power seats with memory and (the best part) the sweetest 200hp 3.2L V6 Iâve ever experienced! I paid $26,000 out-the-door, which felt like a fortune at the time (I was 23). I drove it 40-50k miles per year until I was t-boned by a commercial truck in August 2005. It had just turned 329,000 miles at the time and didnât burn a drop of oil (synthetic), the clutch had only been replaced once and the transmission shifted like new. Other than scheduled maintenance, the only thing I ever had to replace was the A/C compressor and two ABS sensors. The impact was so hard the passenger-side door panel ended up breaking my right hand and forearm (it was in the middle of the car). The rearview mirror broke loose during the crash and hit me in the head just above my right ear. It left most of the glass mirror fragments in my head and took 38 staples to close the wound! I also had damage to two discs in my cervical spine that required a 3-level c-spine fusion the following year. But I was able to recover from all of those injuries, which was pretty amazing considering how bad my poor Legend looked. I bought a 2006 Mazda3 Hatchback to replace it in December 2005. Eight years later, Iâm just past 190,000 miles and going strong!