Cecil E. Chapman wrote:
sheepish grin..... Yeah I know,,, the mission is part of the determinant
and I've read and heard that 'till I thought my ears and eyes would fall off
g... .... It would be used for both local, intrastate flights and a once
a year long, interstate flight (as in across the U.S. to the other end

I've got the 180 because I live in Colorado. Even in the summer, it's
just about the minimum for high-altitude flying (altho Jer/ and a
few others might disagree but they all have high HP engines, too!)
If I were living at sea level I'd go for the lower HP also.

Unless you have one of the later model 172s (you already mentioned the
172N as the minimum, right) the PA28 line will give you a bit more
fuel (if your body can handle more time in the airplane), a bit more
stability in the bumps, and....oh well, you already know the
religious arguments...

Either way (172 or PA28) everyone knows how to fix them, everyone has
parts for them, and as long as you don't do anything really, truly
stupid, you'll live.