Ford's new hybrid Maverick: A 40 MPG pickup for $20,000.

[freebeard]

When they come out with an 8 seater, I'll get one.

At an expected MSRP of $3K, you just get four. If only they would just walk everywhere or ride bikes....

[redpoint5]

We're on the same page here. A family of 4 is pretty cramped in a camping scenario, and adding just 1 extra person becomes barely feasible. In-laws doesn't work at all.

Something like a Pacifica hybrid accomplishes nearly every goal of accommodating everyone and their things, grabbing materials from the home improvement store, and running on electrons around town.

[Isaac Zachary]

Dad: Hey boys! You want to go _____ ? (camping, sightseeing, to the movies, swimming, fishing, hunting, rock climbing, baseball, football, basketball, tennis, skiing, skating, etc.)
Boys: Can _____ come along? (Bobby, Jared, Sue, Max, Rose, José, Chris, Grandma, etc.)
Dad: Do they have a car?
Boys: No.
Dad: Then no.

[JSH]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

We're on the same page here. A family of 4 is pretty cramped in a camping scenario, and adding just 1 extra person becomes barely feasible. In-laws doesn't work at all.

It is pretty crazy how much room people in the USA expect to have today. The neighbors down the road from me had an 80's Chevette and a Celebrity Wagon for their family of 5. Our neighborhood was also 800 - 1,000 sq ft houses with 3 beds / 1 bath.

Today we want a 2,500 sq ft mansion and a 3 row SUV.

[Isaac Zachary]

Originally Posted by JSH

It is pretty crazy how much room people in the USA expect to have today. The neighbors down the road from me had an 80's Chevette and a Celebrity Wagon for their family of 5. Our neighborhood was also 800 - 1,000 sq ft houses with 3 beds / 1 bath.

Today we want a 2,500 sq ft mansion and a 3 row SUV.

Remember back when parents would just throw their kids and kids' friends in the back of the ol' Station Wagon?

It's interesting to see how many families have a three row SUV or extended cab pickup for each family member! You see highschool kids going to school in brand new lifted Dodge Rams with giant wheels and tires! Their parents must be well off.

[Ecky]

Originally Posted by Isaac Zachary

Dad: Hey boys! You want to go _____ ? (camping, sightseeing, to the movies, swimming, fishing, hunting, rock climbing, baseball, football, basketball, tennis, skiing, skating, etc.)
Boys: Can _____ come along? (Bobby, Jared, Sue, Max, Rose, José, Chris, Grandma, etc.)
Dad: Do they have a car?
Boys: No.
Dad: Then no.

Why don't the boys go in Bobby, Jared, Sue, Max, Rose, José, Chris, or Grandma's car, on the trip they're providing? Or have you become the provider of entertainment and transportation for the extended community?

[freebeard]

Remember back when parents would just throw their kids and kids' friends in the back of the ol' Station Wagon?

One of the most memorable moments of my youth was having to ride in the lap of a neighbor woman who allegedly fought in the Dutch underground in WWII.

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by JSH

It is pretty crazy how much room people in the USA expect to have today. The neighbors down the road from me had an 80's Chevette and a Celebrity Wagon for their family of 5. Our neighborhood was also 800 - 1,000 sq ft houses with 3 beds / 1 bath.

Today we want a 2,500 sq ft mansion and a 3 row SUV.

I grew up in a 1 bathroom (clawfoot tub) 1800s house with 6 people living there. It's doable, especially when nobody judges a person driving children in a truck with no seatbelts.

People nowadays say you're suicidal if you use a carseat with an unknown crash history or is older than 5 years.

Originally Posted by freebeard

One of the most memorable moments of my youth was having to ride in the lap of a neighbor woman who allegedly fought in the Dutch underground in WWII.

One of the most memorable moments of age 15 was traveling in a van full of kids, and there not being enough room, so the 15 year old girl had to ride on my lap. Memorable because I was trying to focus on anything other than the beauty that wound up on my lap. Predictably, I fell in love with the Tallahassee Lassie.

[Isaac Zachary]

Originally Posted by Ecky

Why don't the boys go in Bobby, Jared, Sue, Max, Rose, José, Chris, or Grandma's car, on the trip they're providing? Or have you become the provider of entertainment and transportation for the extended community?

I think there's a ballance between being the provider of entertainment and transportation and the one who relies on everyone else for it.

Also, not everyone can drive or owns a car. Of course that works the other way around as in my family I'm the only driver. We do have two cars, could haul 10 people, but can't.

Besides, I have given up on the idea of getting a bigger car. I'm going to sell the Prius and just keep the Avalon, and if someone else wants to go with us we'll have to decide whether that's possible or not, whether I can make more than one trip or if we can just pack the car with more people than what it is designed for.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by Isaac Zachary

Remember back when parents would just throw their kids and kids' friends in the back of the ol' Station Wagon?

Gone are the days when someone wouldn't be pointed out as a public threat for folding the rear seat of a station-wagon, turning it into some sort of mobile playground for the kids. Nowadays, even if the dog is unrestrained, the driver is at risk of getting fined...