Automobiles

[sk_tle]

Driving a SUV is like shouting at everybody :

I AM WILLING TO KILL ALL MY NEIGHBORS KIDS BUT I DON'T CARE MY OWN KIDS ARE SAFE INSIDE. BUT THAT'S OK I WON'T SEE THEM NOR HEAR OR FEEL THERE LITTLE BONES BEING CRUNSHED BY MY HUGE WHEEEEEEEEELS YEEEHEEEEEE.

If that is what you call "adventure". Yeah right.

[Blue Jays]

“"...My brother is about to have his third kid and they have a three row Tahoe and about to buy a second three row SUV. As his older (wiser?) brother I’ve been advising him not to buy a new car until he has to schlep three small kids in and out of that Tahoe for a material period of time. We had three kids under 2.5 years when we bought our Sienna and I can’t imagine not having a van ever again.

Contrary to others opinions here (which also fully make sense), we went for a relatively loaded model precisely because we don’t put a crazy amount of miles on it and plan to drive it into the ground. I’d rather pay to get the power sliding doors fixed in year nine if we’re going to keep it four more years after that, than not have had them at all. By the time the rear screen craps out, our kids will probably all have iPads chipped straight into their brains anyway. And second row captains chairs are nice to cart around a full house when the grandparents come to visit, etc.

The SUV mindset baffles me. Once you move to the burbs and have multiple kids, there’s only so much street cred you’re ever going to be able to get back, and it’s not going to come from the stuff you buy..."

Everything you shared is 100% correct. Who wants to contort themselves into pretzels trying to load kids/adults daily?
If the cargo you primarily carry is people and not things...a nice comfortable minivan has it hands-down over other platforms.
Vehicles like the Sienna are absolutely plush. So comfortable.

My 32 year old son is getting married and is talking about moving up from his Honda Accord to an SUV of some type. SUVs are cool , minivans are not. SUVs are adventure, macho and rugged like the owner. Minivans are going to the grocery store, the kids to soccer and carrying the floppy dog. That’s the image.

Assuming your son is currently childless, it is easy to see why he would believe that viewpoint.
If he one day has to take his three kids to soccer plus a neighbor kid...he will recognize the utility of the sliding doors.
Plus he will not have to worry about his kids door-dinging the cars parked to either side. That is a little blessing, too.

"...Driving a SUV is like shouting at everybody :

I AM WILLING TO KILL ALL MY NEIGHBORS KIDS BUT I DON'T CARE MY OWN KIDS ARE SAFE INSIDE. BUT THAT'S OK I WON'T SEE THEM NOR HEAR OR FEEL THERE LITTLE BONES BEING CRUNSHED BY MY HUGE WHEEEEEEEEELS YEEEHEEEEEE.

If that is what you call "adventure". Yeah right..."

Excellent, rational, reasonable, and fact-based feedback on this automobile thread.

[sk_tle]

Excellent, rational, reasonable, and fact-based feedback on this automobile thread.

That is what we need right? ;-)

Seriously in all these yeard riding bicycles,I can safely say tvat 80% of the "sorry I didn't see you" came from distracted drivers riding SUVs.

SUV feels like driving a living room sturdy as a tank. It just begs for drivers to stop caring about their surroundings and act without any sense of safety.

[Blue Jays]

sk_tle....your observations about when SUVs are involved in accidents is likely more a factor of their increasing popularity.
For example, if there are 100 vehicles on a stretch of roadway and 90 are SUVs, there is a good chance a SUV would be in any incident.

My sense is that a person who selects a SUV is no more or less dangerous on the public roadways than any other motorist.
I say this as a person who has opted for regular-height passenger vehicles my whole life as a driver. My family does not own SUVs.

[sk_tle]

sk_tle....your observations about when SUVs are involved in accidents is likely more a factor of their increasing popularity.
For example, if there are 100 vehicles on a stretch of roadway and 90 are SUVs, there is a good chance a SUV would be in any incident.

My sense is that a person who selects a SUV is no more or less dangerous on the public roadways than any other motorist.
I say this as a person who has opted for regular-height passenger vehicles my whole life as a driver. My family does not own SUVs.

I think there is also the inconcious influence of the comfort of the vehicule on attention from the driver. This is not really related to a van vs suv context but the more your car look and feel like a living room on wheels, the less people tend to feel vulnerable. They tend to lose focus on what is happening in front of them as well as losing the necessary empathy. I had en interesting read a few years ago about research in that subject and some scientists suggested that roads would be much safer if people didn't have a windshield + roof protecting them from the elements. Just be cause they would feel more vulnerable they would drive with more caution, speeding would be more annoying, they would have a better peripheral vision, etc, etc.

I also think the guy who invented the term infotainment should be guillotined. How to introduce entertainment in a car and selling it like a fake informative thing. That's a good idea, really ? Should we tell plane pilots to read books and play videogame while piloting their jets ?

[choke]

I had en interesting read a few years ago about research in that subject and some scientists suggested that roads would be much safer if people didn't have a windshield + roof protecting them from the elements. Just be cause they would feel more vulnerable they would drive with more caution, speeding would be more annoying, they would have a better peripheral vision, etc, etc.

There is a guy across the hall who says that they should remove the airbag from the steering wheel and replace it with a steel spike.....people would drive a lot more carefully if that was pointed at their chest.

[rwsaunders]

I also think the guy who invented the term infotainment should be guillotined. How to introduce entertainment in a car and selling it like a fake informative thing. That's a good idea, really ? Should we tell plane pilots to read books and play videogame while piloting their jets ?

My current Odyssey came with two sets of headphones and I looked at the sales dude with a puzzled expression when he handed them to me. “They’re for communicating from the driver’s area microphone to the other passengers in row 2 and 3 while they’re watching the video screens.” Holy Mother of Merckx I thought...I’ll be performing pre-drive and post-drive checks like Saab.

[dgaddis]

My wife and I have already made a blood pact to never have video screens for our kid(s one day maybe) in the car. They can stare out the window and look at the world around them or read a book like we did in the old days of 1993.

[Blue Jays]

If opting to wear a headset as a passenger riding in a vehicle, at least ensure they are celeste-green David Clark hardware!

[Blue Jays]

"...I think there is also the inconcious influence of the comfort of the vehicule on attention from the driver..."

Years ago driving instructors would often tell their students "When in town, windows go down." to boost awareness in local conditions.

The idea being that out on the interstate highways that accidents were not as likely to appear from so many random directions and causes. Even with great accident-avoidance technology like sensors, radar, and cameras...there is room for old-school ideas as well.

[mjbabcock]

My wife and I have already made a blood pact to never have video screens for our kid(s one day maybe) in the car. They can stare out the window and look at the world around them or read a book like we did in the old days of 1993.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha...yeah, let me know how that one works out for you. We have 3 kids, and what you may (or may not) remember, is how you manage to entertain yourself on long drives. Books and crayons might last for a little while, but screwing with your siblings is a lot more fun/engaging...and your parents also engage you when you mess with your siblings.

Screens can work wonders. We managed a road trip through the Canadian Rockies this year because of a little DVD player.
I recommend a unit hat you can take in ad out of the car.

[72gmc]

^^^ yep. I stressed about this when our kids were wee. Now they're 15 and 20, we've made a lot of West Coast / national park road trips, and we still enjoy traveling together due in part to self-served entertainment. Somehow they've ignored their screens and headphones long enough to gain a love for some of their parents' music, and we've gone through complete audio book series together. I still cringe at how often people look at their phones, but I see some of it as necessary personal downtime--I used to go into my room and play with LEGOs for hours when I was a kid. It also causes me to find reasons to create phone-free family time.

[Blue Jays]

"...frequent fluid changes are absolutely necessary for the longevity of the transmission.
I change out about 1G every other oil change, with synthetic transmission fluid..."

Agree with that practical vehicle maintenance approach 1000%. Changing vehicles fluids is "cheap insurance" with no true downside.
It is the same reasoning I have with my bicycles. Better to replace a chain somewhat early than have it wearing cassettes/chainrings.

[KonaSS]

My wife and I have already made a blood pact to never have video screens for our kid(s one day maybe) in the car. They can stare out the window and look at the world around them or read a book like we did in the old days of 1993.

You must hate yourself.

More power to you if you can do it. But having traveled many of miles with my kids, there is a time and a place for them.

[megapope]

it's good for kids to be bored now and then. squeezing the last bit of entertainment out of a stack of old popular mechanics on a long road trip is an experience i would never deny my child

one shouldn't grow up expecting to be entertained at every turn, says i

[Blue Jays]

"...one shouldn't grow up expecting to be entertained at every turn, says i..."

Excellent and sound advice. Perseverance indeed helps build good character.
I see this is your second post at this awesome website. Welcome to VSalon.

[Too Tall]

You must hate yourself.

More power to you if you can do it. But having traveled many of miles with my kids, there is a time and a place for them.

Yeah really? I claim third party treble damages for that one time I had to sit in a van from S.Carolina to Maryland while Thomas the Tank played on video NOEFFIN' Stop.

[megapope]

thanks for the warm welcome.

personal contentment with boredom is something i had in spades as a young boy, lost to the internet, then found again as of late through a tendency to spend all night in the saddle

[dgaddis]

it's good for kids to be bored now and then. squeezing the last bit of entertainment out of a stack of old popular mechanics on a long road trip is an experience i would never deny my child

one shouldn't grow up expecting to be entertained at every turn, says i

There's been studies done recently that show the benefits of boredom and how it improves attention span and creativity and whatnot.

[Blue Jays]

"...studies done recently that show the benefits of boredom and how it improves attention span and creativity and whatnot..."

Agreed. I am somewhat puzzled when I see drivers actively bopping-along to music on their headphones.
As if the notion of simply operating a vehicle without being immersed in the music was too much to bear for a brief drive?

The sound systems and speakers in 99% of contemporary vehicles are better than the best home systems of just a few years ago.
There is also benefit to being able to drive home a half-hour from work listening to silence, ambient sounds, or maybe spoken news.