[Clouseau2]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Specop_007', '
')As for milage, thats not entirely accurate. My Expedition gets 14. I can leave it parked in the driveway idling or blast down the Interstate at 90....14. Hell, damn thing probably gets 14 if I drive all the way in reverse.

[lardlad]

This thread is the same as mine, sort of.
http://www.peakoil.com/fortopic16127.html

[Specop_007]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Clouseau2', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Specop_007', '
')As for milage, thats not entirely accurate. My Expedition gets 14. I can leave it parked in the driveway idling or blast down the Interstate at 90....14. Hell, damn thing probably gets 14 if I drive all the way in reverse.

[Specop_007]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Shannymara', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Clouseau2', 'T')he only time SUVs are safer is when they are pummeling a smaller car in an accident.

[lotrfan55345]

What people should buy instead of traditional SUV's

[0mar]

crap looking cars?

[redfire]

It's getting to the time people will need several vehicals, or access to them.

70% of driving- economy car (single person driving to work)
20% of driving- minivan (family/carseats etc)
10% of driving- heavy duty pick-up (large loads/towing)

I can see the time when a family, or group of people will have different vehicals and share them. I like the idea they have in some of the large cities where you can join a group that has a fleet of cars that you can book for several hours of use.

Most people won't be able to afford having a heavy duty truck just parked for use 2-3 times a month ( insurance,maintainence,capital costs). In the past you could do this, and I did, but times are changing.

Ideally, wouldn't it be practical to be able to go to a lot and just use a vehical, the correct size, when you really needed it.

[jmacdaddio]

I never understood the appeal of packing up the kids and driving 4-12 hours for a holiday or a minor family event. My employer tends to bring in people from other states, and it's a phenomenon which I witness every time we have a holiday weekend. We're an increasingly mobile society, with families routinely scattered across both coasts and the South, yet we're still able to maintain some semblance of family since it's cheap (relative to true cost) to assemble the clan for Great Aunt Edna's 90th birthday in the Rust Belt state where she resides.

I think the same guy who wrote Freakonomics discovered that carseats deliver at best a minor improvement in safety which is not worth the cost. However I wouldn't be surprised if car seat makers lined Congressional pockets. Also the marketing of these things preys upon parental insecurity -- I cannot blame a parent for wanting to keep their kids safe, but odds are in a nasty wreck the carseat won't matter.

If I settle down and start a family, I won't be driving with the kids very often. No SUV just so I can fit a carseat, although the new crossover styles look like they could deliver utility without sucking your wallet dry for gas.

[jato]

With another kid on the way I went ahead and bought an evil SUV (2004 Ford, used, low miles)! How else can I haul around a family of 6 & associated crap!

[Madpaddy]

Somebody in the US needs to start importing European people carriers like the Opel Zafira or my personal favourite



I get 45-60 mpg.

[emersonbiggins]

The Mazda5 seats six, and has very European styling (esp. for a Japanese car! ).

Vehicles like these could shake the minivan stigma of minivans.

[skyemoor]

Never have had one problem with child seats with our 1996 Saturn, which has been replaced with a 2005 Prius. Our commuter car is a Honda Insight (no seats in back).

Overall family mpg is verrrryyy good with no child seat issues.

[mermaid]

The bicycle is cheaper and healthier. no worries anymore about backseats....

[pip]

Something's wrong with your car seat. I'm hauling around two kids (2.5 and 1 yr) in car seats. They fit just fine in the back seat of a Taurus which should be similar to a Civic, and I'm 6'4". I can even fit them in my 2 door Lebaron which has a tiny back seat, a little tight but they fit. In my experience, the infant seats take up the most room because they have to face the back.

[JeeBoomba]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('quiltea', 'B')ut I myself was feeling envious of SUVs during the last snowstorm as I slid all over the road in my front-wheel drive minivan. I know for a fact several of our friends have SUVs so they can deal with driving in the snow here in the NorthEast, especially when heading north to ski country in the winter.

[Frank]

Yes, snow tires make all the difference. A lot of people think that 4WD is the be-all and end-all but in general the problem isn't "going" - it's stopping and turning. Our Sienna mini-van (2WD) with snow tires makes it up hills here all the time w/o any problems. I've driven 2WD and 4WD for a lot of years (here and in Canada) and any 2WD with snow tires will take you just anywhere you need to go.

Most minivans have more room than SUV's anyway. We looked at the Highlander hybrid as a potential replacement for our minivan and decided to keep it (the van) and got a Prius instead. There's a lot of big SUV's out there that weigh too much. But SUV's are Sexy and minivans are too SoccerMom for a lot of folks.

[mgibbons19]

Yeah but,

How much better mileage are minivans getting? Probably not a whole lot better. Especially than the smaller-engined sport utes.

This demonization of sport utes is ridiculous and I can't believe our little board falls for this shit.

One more time, in case it's not clear,

It's not the car...

ITS THE GODDAMNED SYSTEM!!!!!

[0mar]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mgibbons19', 'I')t's not the car...

ITS THE GODDAMNED SYSTEM!!!!!

[thorn]

How about a 1 HP buggy? :

[rushdy]

I'm pretty sure people knew how to make heavy boxes with wheels and an engine a long time ago, why would you pay that much for one? Hell I can make a better looking vehicle using a cardboard box, 4 paper plates, and some sticky back plastic..

Thorn that buggy is brilliant!