[I_Like_Plants]

The biggest single thing a person can do is go car-free. If you live close to work, if you can commute to work by bike or bus, etc then that's the biggest thing you can do. If you need a car, then think cheap, effecient, self-maintainable, as much as possible. Then try to use it as little as possible anyway.

[eastbay]

Because, sadly, wagons have fallen out of automotive fashion. It's hard to find an American-made wagon, or Japanese for that matter. There are just a handful of choices (e.g. Mazda 6, Subaru, Toyota matrix) and they are all very small vehicles.
Dr Doom,
Listen up. Go to your local Scion dealer today and sit behind the steering wheel of a truly funky and sporty- looking 35 mpg 5 passenger Scion Xb. No, better yet, sit in the back seat and toss a frisbee to the salesman sitting far, far away in the front seat.
Then try and tell us Japanese wagons are out of fashion and too small.

[MrBill]

Too bad I cannot import my European specs Audi A4 Quattro into N.America. Good mileage and more than enough room. Most SUVs do not have more interior room although they offer clearance. Most of the time I need traction not clearance. In any case, I can drive them 100 mph in Europe and still get over 30 mpg, but they do not meet N.American crash standards at much lower speeds. So you can drive a roll over prone SUV at 55 mph, but not a sleek Audi A4 at much higher speeds safely? Non tariff import barriers? That is my guess.

[glug_glug]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('eastbay', 'L')isten up. Go to your local Scion dealer today and sit behind the steering wheel of a truly funky and sporty- looking 35 mpg 5 passenger Scion Xb. No, better yet, sit in the back seat and toss a frisbee to the salesman sitting far, far away in the front seat.
Then try and tell us Japanese wagons are out of fashion and too small.

[FerretOxide]

I've been waiting for this to actually show itself in the real world; as I figured on it being one of the signs that the winds were shifting. Like most signs once you see them it's to late to change much of anything.
Recently I have noticed it seems to be the smaller SUVs which are appearing for sale most often. I atribute these CRVs and Broncos sudden sale to the fact that they are often purchased by young people who have recently gotten out of school, and middle class condo/townhouse dwellers, whose net worth is only slightly less financed by credit cards than actual savings.

[DoctorDoom]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('eastbay', 'L')isten up. Go to your local Scion dealer today and sit behind the steering wheel of a truly funky and sporty- looking 35 mpg 5 passenger Scion Xb. No, better yet, sit in the back seat and toss a frisbee to the salesman sitting far, far away in the front seat.
Then try and tell us Japanese wagons are out of fashion and too small.

[JeeBoomba]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('DoctorDoom', ' ')Also the wagons that are available typically don't have seating for 6-7, whereas minivans and SUVs can do this,

[TOKYO-EXPAT]

Would you buy a SUV in the future?

[Doly]

Are you kidding? In my case the question would be: would you buy a CAR in the future? And the answer: certainly not!

[NeoPeasant]

Once you have adapted your life to be car independent and your car sits in the garage for weeks at a time, it really doesn't matter much what your vehicle's fuel consumption is.
You soon may be able to pick up a big ole used SUV for a pittance, and it can be quite useful on the rare occasions you drive it.

[EnergySpin]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('NeoPeasant', 'O')nce you have adapted your life to be car independent and your car sits in the garage for weeks at a time, it really doesn't matter much what your vehicle's fuel consumption is.
You soon may be able to pick up a big ole used SUV for a pittance, and it can be quite useful on the rare occasions you drive it.

[deconstructionist]

i received a 1993 toyota 4 runner as a wedding gift. theoreticfally it's a great gift, and i foolishly accepted it--and will soon be selling it. my wife owns a 2000 subaru forester... not great on gas but not horrible... we drive very little. 3 hundred miles a month at the most. we walk or bike wherever we can...

[skyemoor]

I can't believe it when I see large SUVs with 30 day tags around now. And the people who own them seem to be the kind that want to drive fast and intimidate people with their metal bulk.

We bought a Prius in May, so we're set. When the kids get bigger, we'll be able to bike to more places as a family, as the 2 lane 55mph road we are on will no longer have many cars/trucks on it (postPO).

[ALBY]

I have a 1999 3/4 ton suburban I just finished paying off.

It gets about 14 MPG, which is not that much different than a ford explorer, believe it or not.

I bet i will keep this car for another 20 years. In the intermediate future, SUV's may be valuable for carpooling. From this perspective, My burban is much more efficent than a prius. I can take 6 passengers in comfort, 8 passengers max, plus all their stuff.

my daily driver is a passat. i am probably replacing that car with a TDI if it does not last until the real PO emergency is in full swing.

[meekoil]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('ALBY', 'I') have a 1999 3/4 ton suburban I just finished paying off.
It gets about 14 MPG, which is not that much different than a ford explorer, believe it or not.
I bet i will keep this car for another 20 years. In the intermediate future, SUV's may be valuable for carpooling. From this perspective, My burban is much more efficent than a prius. I can take 6 passengers in comfort, 8 passengers max, plus all their stuff.

[ALBY]

can you fit four people in a prius ?

please don't interrupt me with 'facts' while im rationalizing my gas guzzler.

[PWALPOCO]

Thank god my car is leased !
One year and four months to go before I move onto something else , whether it be another car (oh peak oil hasnt happened yet) , a 4x4 (oh boy did we soooo totally get THAT PO thing wrong) or a bike (I knew it would come to this - pant-pant-pant !!)
Anyway , a leased vehicle isnt mine to worry about when the lease expires and the CHTF.

[NonToxic]

Sure if it was 100% electric.

[Renfield]

I've gone to buying cheap, reasonable well kept used vehicles. No long term financial commitments. I like that. Right now I'm driving a 2000 Mustang GT. When I drive like a granny I get about 25 miles to the gallon so it's not too bad and I like the way it looks. Got it for $8,000 and I will be done paying it off in January, just 13 months. Got me where I needed to be. I'll reasses our energy situation in January and if I need to adjust Iquickly I'll hopefully have the wherwithall to do that since I'll be out from under the Mustang payments. Maybe I'll buy a used Focus or Civic by then. Maybe I can get lucky and find an Insight...


But, no. SUV's are absolutly ridiculous. Someone said once that the US is the only country in the world that encourages people to drive themselves to work in Army vehicles.

[fecteau]

I am a volunteer driver for our local Cancer Society. I drive patients
to Toronto downtown treatment centers. Most of my driving is heavy
stop and go traffic, the air conditioning blasting and 3 to 5 people in
the car. My 2005 prius gets 42 MPG in that mode.

I can attest that you can seat 5 in the prius. It's a bit crowded, 4 is
better. I have taken 3 patients and a heavy walker without problem.