Small / economy car deathwatch: we've passed "peak econobox" again

[Bicycle Bob]

Still, the more seats, etc, the harder it is to get a full load, even with extra driving for local distribution. A casual inspection of passing traffic will usually show higher useage in the most-used cars, and many new models with only the driver. What was the plan for the extra room? I've never seen car pools mentioned in advertising.
My dad went everywhere, including a long commute, in a full-size Oldsmobile, even though it had only been filled when we went to Church.

[JSH]

Originally Posted by Bicycle Bob

Still, the more seats, etc, the harder it is to get a full load, even with extra driving for local distribution. A casual inspection of passing traffic will usually show higher useage in the most-used cars, and many new models with only the driver. What was the plan for the extra room? I've never seen car pools mentioned in advertising.
My dad went everywhere, including a long commute, in a full-size Oldsmobile, even though it had only been filled when we went to Church.

People don’t care about filling all the seats. They buy based on the maximum normal load. Your dad is and excellent example. His car was only filled once a week to go to church but he needed that room once a week. It would make no sense to buy a small car for commuting and a large car to drive once a week.

[Bicycle Bob]

Originally Posted by JSH

People don’t care about filling all the seats. They buy based on the maximum normal load. Your dad is and excellent example. His car was only filled once a week to go to church but he needed that room once a week. It would make no sense to buy a small car for commuting and a large car to drive once a week.

Certainly, there are combinations of mileages, loads, and parking space that make sense for one general-purpose vehicle, but many others that do not. However, even in multi-car households, how many do we see with less than four seats and long range? There are places with a decent percentage of bicycle commuters, but almost no vehicles of intermediate capacity. Even tandem bikes are vanishingly rare.

[Fat Charlie]

I'm in a multi-car household, and the minimum requirement is to hold all 4 of us. A Fit isn't really extravagant for that.

The minivan can pull our camper, do weeklong camping trips without the camper, tote the kids and their friends, do very nice dump runs and carry epic amounts of cargo. The Fit does a great job of not burning gas and can carry all 4 of us if the minivan with its 230,000 miles happens to be down. I could have gone smaller, but I didn't want to- I use the Fit for hauling that I wouldn't want to do with a Spark.

Yes, I came up behind an MGB once that made me feel like I was driving a Suburban, but I can't have both my kids with me in an MGB- and a lot of people's commutes start with all the kids, even if they end solo.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by JSH

People don’t care about filling all the seats. They buy based on the maximum normal load.

That's why my mother prefers a sedan over a hatchback, even though it could seem more practical to have a hatchback since it's shorter and more practical for city usage and a roof box (preferably a streamlined one) could provide the extra luggage volume on demand. Or why I still consider a VW Kombi to fare better than most newer cars

[redpoint5]

I've been considering a used limo for child travels. Privacy glass up, and all the annoyances of the world fade away.

Nothing crazy, maybe a Lincoln Town car.

[California98Civic]

The coupe Civic may be back. Maybe someday another Fit sized vehicle, too. The Fit was originally the same chassis dimensions as the old circa 1990 Civic wagons. Honda will reincarnate something, someday, when another fuel crisis hits that looks durable.

[Xist]

I would have thought that people would try to save money during a financial crisis, but everyone expects this to blow over, and gas prices didn't behave predictably.

[redpoint5]

When have Americans ever saved money? Enormous debt or lack of income is no reason to save.

I gave a month of free rent to tenants that were laid off. One of them bought a brand new motorcycle...

The reason they are tenants and not homeowners is because they have not made financial responsibility a priority.

[freebeard]

Where's that picture of Dave Cloud's stretch Metro van?