Why did the small car die back in the early '90s?

[BailOut]

MudBug,

You're not the only one whose second car is a truck. My '96 Tacoma Extended Cab 4x4 hauls a boat over Mt. Rose to Lake Tahoe or over the rolling hills to Pyramid, and has done so chock full of party/picnic/camping gear and with 4 passengers. It also carries dirt, rock, tile, recyclable metals, etc. like a champ.

However, it is used for just those things and those things don't happen very often and/or are seasonal. We can go so long between uses on it that I'll hook up a solar battery charger and check its tires. Despite being almost 12 years old it's not even close to 100k miles yet.

99.9% of our driving has always been done on our smaller car, which as of February is a Yaris.

Back to the issue at hand...

What I think you fail to realize is that better than 95% of all trucks and SUVs on the road today don't have 4WD, don't have trailer hitches or anything to tow with one, have never had dirt or sand under their wheels, have never been loaded with anything heavier than a morbidly obese human or been used as a truck in any other way, shape or form.

The world's largest fleet of over-sized vehicles rolls out of garages, driveways, car ports and lots every morning to perform their lowly roles of single-occupant commuters, errand runners, grocery getters and extracurricular conveyance platforms, getting 15 MPG on a good day and spewing large amounts of noxious emissions the whole time.

I've seen a pair of 10 year olds climb out of the back seat of an Excursion and dangle like circus performers because their feet can't reach the ground. I guess their parents just didn't think the car payment for a station wagon or minivan was big enough.

I've seen a Hummer 2 at the Post Office whose sole occupant was there to pick up 1 bin of mail that was about the size of two loaves of bread side by side. I guess his short stature and graying hair had more to do with his vehicle purchase than his transport requirements.

One of my coworkers commutes alone from Carson City to Lake Tahoe in a Chevy Z71 4x4 Extended Cab 5 days per week. The bed doesn't have a single scratch in it. When asked why he feels he needs such a truck he just shrugs.

I think you see my point.

[Nutzoids]

Owning a Work Truck or an SUV that you actually USE to go off-road is not where the problem lies… The problem lies in the Driveways of your Average American House Wife that own a Big Fucking SUV to haul her 2 kids to school/Soccer Practice…

And of course… The people who own Off-Roading Vehicles who are too afraid to even get them Dirty!

I can’t tell you the amount of pride I feel when I pull up next to a Jeep Covered in MUD!

Or a pickup truck full of Rocks or Manure… I take my hats off to those people…

And the amount of Shame I feel When I pull up next to a Hummer with 22” Dubs and all Chromed out! I can’t even describe in words! What the fuck man?

To the House Wives and the Grocery Getters… I hope that one day you flip that Gargantuan Piece of Shit you call a car!

[MudBug]

Originally Posted by BailOut

I think you see my point.

I do understand what you are saying, and agree to a point, but I think you might just be seeing the stupid and missing the necessary.

If you can only own one car, it needs to do everything for you. You saw the little kids dangling from the truck, but maybe you missed the cargo area filled with real estate signs, or the weds night when it's filled with cheerleaders going for pizza with coach after practice, or the saturdays when it's filled with camping gear for a boyscout day camp.

Like I said, if I wasn't lucky enough to be able to afford a second vehicle right now my only vehicle would be a full sized truck which would spend 70% of it's time as a commuter back and forth to school and work, but when I need a truck I need one and I aint renting or bugging one of my friends to help me.

This Yaris is the first car I've owned in 23 years, my last car was a little FIAT sedan.

[BailOut]

I hear you, but...

Originally Posted by MudBug

maybe you missed the cargo area filled with real estate signs

Real estate signs fit neatly in the back of anything other than a trunk. Almost any hatchback or liftback will do.

Originally Posted by MudBug

or the weds night when it's filled with cheerleaders going for pizza with coach after practice

You can fit more people in a minivan than an Excursion.

Originally Posted by MudBug

or the saturdays when it's filled with camping gear for a boyscout day camp

Again a minivan, or even a crossover, would do just fine for this.


It is almost impossible to justify a large vehicle for 99% of the drivers on the road today. Very few of us can actually use a truck or SUV, many more can get by with mid-sized vehicles like minivans, station wagons, crossovers and light trucks, and the majority could get by with just a small, efficient car.

[MudBug]

Originally Posted by BailOut

It is almost impossible to justify a large vehicle for 99% of the drivers on the road today. Very few of us can actually use a truck or SUV, many more can get by with mid-sized vehicles like minivans, station wagons, crossovers and light trucks, and the majority could get by with just a small, efficient car.

Have you been paying attention, SUVs are getting smaller, and the midsized wagon things are taking over.

Aint Capitalism grand?

People used to drive cars, but they wanted something that could carry more stuff, they started buying the early SUV type vehicles buy wanted more luxury, so the SUV craze was born. Then they wanted better handling and found that they didn't need the 4x4 stuff so the SUVs got car suspensions and closer to the ground. Now they want better gas mileage and the sport wagon things are all the craze, Technology has caught up and it's not unreasonable to ask for a performance motor that gets good gas mileage, or a small car with lots of room and utility. I would have never considered a car like the Yaris until now, but it all caught up. A small car that gets good gas mileage, has lots of room for both people and stuff, and it doesn't overheat when I run the AC in AZ heat like the Yugo my GF owned in the 90's. Aint capitalism grand?!


Honestly, your blaming people for not buying stuff that they didn't know they needed and wasn't available even if they did know.

[spkrman]

Originally Posted by BailOut

It is almost impossible to justify a large vehicle for 99% of the drivers on the road today. Very few of us can actually use a truck or SUV, many more can get by with mid-sized vehicles like minivans, station wagons, crossovers and light trucks, and the majority could get by with just a small, efficient car.

This is very true.

[spkrman]

Originally Posted by BailOut

have never been loaded with anything heavier than a morbidly obese human or been used as a truck in any other way, shape or form.

LMAO