prospective H1 owner questions...

[DiscoDuck]

I have seen alot of the information that I seek on this site and appreciate it greatly but have a few questions that I want to make sure I get straight before taking the H1 plunge...

Q1: Currently (not an H1 owner) I think the H1 is about the coolest vehicle on/off the road. If I purchase one, will that feeling fade?

Q2: I hear all about the huge costs of the regular maintanence but when I found the list of what is done in A, B and C service visits, it looks like most of the stuff is "inspect this" and "verify that" type things. Does that mean that the high costs are because the service is always finding things wrong with the trucks or that the Hummer dealerships are making a killing off of inspections?

Q3: I currently own a '96 Land Rover discovery and am wondering if anyone else has made the jump from a Disco to an H1. If so, do you have any cautions to offer?

Q4: I have measured my garage and think I can fit the H1 in but the only width measurements I have found don't include the mirrors. Will an H1 fit through the opening of a standard 9'x7' garage door? Will there be much space to spare?

Q5: Is the cracking of the hood a real problem or is it simply a result of off roading?

Q6: Is there any other tricks that can be done to an engine that is at risk of the Cyl 8 failure? I have read on flashoffroad.com about a way to use coolent to keep the temps more under control but does that completely solve the problem? Has anyone had a failure after applying that work-around?

Q7: When I calculate the MPG that I am getting in my Disco I get about 13.5 (calculating it based on a US Gal). I have read that the H1 is right in that ballpark too. Is that correct?

Q8: If I was to use it as a daily driver, would you consider me crazy? I would be selling my Disco and my 300ZX to justify the purchase to my wife so it would be my only ride for a while.

Q9: My wife and I have 6 kids and like the idea of putting the two bench seats back to back but I can't find anything about where you purchase these seats and how they install. Does anyone have pictures of a people hauler installation like that? Also, any comments about the usability of the middle seats? Is there enough foot room behind the dog house to put your feet?

LAST ONE:
Q10: I live in Canada, does the 6.5 TD have any starting problems in cold weather?

If you got all the way down to here... Thanks for reading. If you can provide any answers, Super!

Happy wheelin'
Shawn