Have people changed their attitude to cars?

[AVGWarhawk]

Originally Posted by Max2147

I don't quite get the whole "I need a big car to carry stuff around."

I've got a Mini, one of the smallest cars on the American market. I can pack anything I need into it. Two hockey players, plus hockey bags/sticks, plus me as the driver? No problem. All my worldly possessions for a cross-country move? Easy - I could have taken twice as much stuff. I've had the car for 5 years, and I've never felt like it didn't have enough room.

I also hate how SUVs drive. One of my parents has a big SUV that I drive on occasion. I absolutely hate it. I don't feel like I'm in control. I'm so high off the road that I don't feel like I have any connection with it. The steering has zero feel, and the car goes where all the electronic gizmos tell it to, not where I tell it to. I feel like I'm navigating the car, not driving it. It's even worse in the snow. It's heavy and lumbering, and I can't feel when it's sliding. In the Mini I feel everything, and the car is so light I can control it without any trouble. Even though I'm in Wisconsin, I've never needed snow tires.

Then there's the safety issue. The awful handling makes me feel unsafe in the SUV. People say that an SUV is safer in an accident, but the safest accident is the one you don't have. I was once following an SUV on the road when the car in front of the SUV slowed suddenly. The SUV simply plowed into the back of the car, and if I'd been in an SUV I would have followed them. But since I was in a small, agile car I could simply swerve around it without any trouble at all.

My wife and I are completely opposite from you. We had a Ford Escort. As August said, baby seats, in and out. Baby paraphanilia. After that we got a Dodge mini van and wondered how we lived without it. Ever since the van my wife likes to drive high up like the van and exactly as her Mountianeer is. She says she feels like she is sitting on the road in my Lincoln. BTW, I think the Mountaineer handles very well for being a barn door that it is. Anyway, my girls are now 11 and 14. We still need the room. Packing small dufflebags for vacation just does not happen. Throw in the other beach goodies and crap you will find having the space is much better.

So, your mini gets what per/gallon? 25 miles? Three guys and gear for hockey? My mountaineer gets 21 MPG, 4 people, weeks worth of clothing in no less than 4 suitcases, beach goodies(ie. chair, umbrella, sand buckets) and a cooler. All sitting comfortably and those in the rear watching a DVD on the player Nope, not feeling bad about anything the SUV has or not has to offer.

Go big or stay home