Very small new car - maybe?

[FUEGO]

I thought about fuel efficiency in ER. Then I figured out I don't plan on driving a lot. I walk for about 80% of my trips and I don't think we'll add more than a few thousand miles per year to our car. 30 mpg vs 50 mpg is almost irrelevant if you're only driving, say, 3000 miles/yr. 60 gallons vs 100 gallons might save $150/yr at today's gas prices. I could never justify paying thousands more for a big jump in fuel efficiency (the typical spread between hybrid and non-hybrid versions of many cars).

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by M Paquette Note that no matter what size personal vehicle one drives, there is always something bigger on the road. Sometimes much bigger. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=df5Jezb_pxs SUVs can be in non-survivable collisions as well.

Wow! That SUV or van just exploded when hit head-on by the semi.

See what I said about imprudent people who drive too fast? In this case, the driver got him/herself and any unfortunate passenger minced, but no bystanders got hurt. Lots of time, the careless driver walks away unscathed, but the other innocent driver gets killed or hurts bad.

We do not drive our cars much in retirement, so gas mileage is not important to us. Yes, the chance of getting hit by a semi or dump truck is still less than getting hit by a big SUV or pickup truck.

Still, my wife prefers to drive our smaller SUV toad (meant to be towed behind our motorhome) than the big Nissan SUV I bought for her back when she was still working to be safe. My wife is a safe driver and has never been issued a ticket for speeding or breaking any traffic law. I cannot claim the same.

[robnplunder]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 38Chevy454 I think it is a terrible idea and you are asking to be killed. You cannot defeat physics. Any collision with another vehicle will crumple this up like a squashed can.

In that aspect, it has same risk as driving a motorcycle. Perhaps, that's one reason why it is classified as motorcycle .

I think driving tiny coffin around US streets will not work for safety concerned folks. Like someone mentioned here, there are just too many people driving around with tanks (F150, Hummer, ...), many to commute on busy city street. I knew a co-worker who drove F350 to work (a megacorp in Silicon Valley). Did she ever need the truck for hauling things like the car was designed for? Almost never. In her own words, she needed it from other idiotic drivers running into her car.

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound Just drive around them, for crying out loud...

Didn't mean to hit a nerve...

[NW-Bound]

Nah, nothing bothers me now, not even the people behind me who were trying hard to pass.

Just joking! On narrow highways I usually drive the RV over the shoulder a bit when tailed by a car, or slow down more to allow semi-trailers to pass more easily. Those semi drivers have a schedule to meet to make a living and I would not be so inconsiderate.

[Chuckanut]

Quote:

Originally Posted by modhatter Would be ideal for the elderly in those "enclosed" residential retirement areas that have all amenities within the community. (like the Villages in Florida) that have grocery stores, banks, theaters, etc. all withing the community. Also area like NYC might be a good option.

I think the main reason to own such a car is that one drives in very congested cities, and these cars are easier to fit into a small parking space. My 2 cents.

[Walt34]

At $6,800 it's cheaper than many (most?) motorcycles and quite a bit more practical in lousy weather. I'd seriously consider it for a 2nd vehicle, or to replace the bike, or if/when we move to a retirement community.

Not the vehicle to drive across the country in or for daily highway commuting but it will have it's place in the grand scheme of things.

[38Chevy454]

Quote:

Originally Posted by M Paquette Note that no matter what size personal vehicle one drives, there is always something bigger on the road. Sometimes much bigger. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=df5Jezb_pxs SUVs can be in non-survivable collisions as well.

......and this proved my point, you can't defeat physics and the large difference in mass between the two vehicles........

[F4mandolin]

Damn.....I don't think I can afford to buy a semi-truck...

[HFWR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by F4mandolin Damn.....I don't think I can afford to buy a semi-truck...

You think a SUV is hard to park...

[F4mandolin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HFWR You think a SUV is hard to park...

I may have to practice...but then again. The American way is.....bigger the better!! Get the hell out of my way!

[MRG]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuckanut I think the main reason to own such a car is that one drives in very congested cities, and these cars are easier to fit into a small parking space. My 2 cents.

Agree, in a congested area something like this motorcycle would be great. I'm not in the target market, wouldn't take that thing out on I-70 at 75 MPH, too much excitement. I guess I got older.
MRG

[Hermit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by F4mandolin Damn.....I don't think I can afford to buy a semi-truck...

Of course, some of us already have one...

[Walt34]

Quote:

Originally Posted by F4mandolin I may have to practice...but then again. The American way is.....bigger the better!! Get the hell out of my way!

Just park the way some people in Lincolns do, by sonar. They just back up 'til they hear crunching sounds.

[NW-Bound]

On youtube, one sees so many scary traffic accidents and near misses that could make one not wanting to leave home.

In my RV treks, I have witnessed 3 instances that could have very bad results. One time on a freeway in Albuquerque a semi-trailer tire exploded, and the debris almost hit a motorcycle driver, but instead hit a class A RV in front of me. The semi driver and the RV both pulled off to settle.

Another time north of Denver, a careless pickup driver carried an aluminum ladder in the truck bed without any tied rope. The ladder blew off the truck bed and landed in the lane next to mine. Miraculously, it lied perfectly in the middle of the lane and pointing along the road direction. Several cars immediately behind the pickup truck passed over that ladder harmlessly. It could have been a lot worse if the ladder blocked the lane, and a car would blow its tires running over it and the driver would lose control. I shuddered when thinking of what could have happened. The idiot pickup driver accelerated and took the next exit to run away from the scene.

The 3rd time was on a highway in North Dakota when a semi tire exploded as the driver was passing my RV. Fortunately, the tire was on the left side and the debris did not hit my motorhome. I immediately braked hard to let the semi pass and pull off the highway.

I am sure any policeman would have a lot of traffic horror stories to tell. At my age, I am certainly old enough to know better to drive carefully and to take care of my vehicles to avoid these mishaps. It's no laughing matter!

PS. I have seen so many stupid pickup drivers who did not tie down their cargo. I have seen so many dining tables, chairs, mattresses blown off pickup beds, and one time even new furnitures still in cartons.

[Rambler]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo Plus ginormous lumbering RV's driven by old geezers who aren't in a hurry and impede the flow of traffic...

Hey, I resemble that remark...;-)

R

[jerome len]

I think it is safer to ride a motorcycle than a really small car. My DW was in a mid size SUV when she was hit on the side by another SUV with two teenagers in the back of our SUV. If they would have been in a small car, the teenagers would have been killed. We owned a small car as well........it got sold the next day and was replaced by another SUV that has side air bags.......Never did find the hit and run driver of the SUV that hit my DW......but I really don't care since everybody was OK. The tow truck driver that picked up up our SUV told us how lucky we were........." if the kids would have been in a small car you would be planning their funerals".......we were lucky!!!!!!!! NO MORE SMALL CARS

[MRG]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hermit Of course, some of us already have one...

Good looking truck. What is it? Been looking, my guess is a Mack, but I've seen a REO, and Diamond T that are similar.

[Hermit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MRG Good looking truck. What is it? Been looking, my guess is a Mack, but I've seen a REO, and Diamond T that are similar.

I'm not sure, could be a 38 Chevy with a 454 in it? So, 38Chevy454, what is it?

[M Paquette]

Back when I was commuting, I remember when the Porsche Cayenne, their SUV, came out. A number of the Silicon Valley bright lights bought these, because they could both have an SUV, and a Porsche.

Over the next year I saw several of these upside down on the shoulder of the freeway. Hey guys, it's an SUV, not a 911 Carrera.

Think of it as evolution in action...