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Sunday, Nov 8, 2009
My wife and I lived in Montana and had a Honda Element which was great since we drove little (I could drive my 4wheeler to work which is legal in Montana)had two dogs and hauled stuff to the dump. When we moved back to Milwaukee we sold the Element and got a Honda Fit. Nice car and had great gas mileage, but because of an undiagnosed neurological problem in my legs the seats made me nearly paralyzed from the waist down. Since I am a home care hospice nurse I spend much of the day driving and need to carry my office, lunch room, and central supply room with me all day. We still have the dogs, but not the Fit. I regretfully had to go back to the Element and my leg pain immediately disappeared. I'm sorry it's gas mileage is so poor by comparison, but it beats walking on all fours between patients.
Don't want to give the impression I was dissing minivans. Personally, I have no need for all that space, so a regular old car does me just fine (Toyota Echo stick shift, to be precise). I just found the information interesting about fuel efficiency and environmental friendliness. It seemed relevent considering nearly everyone here contined the SUV=End Of The Planet trophes even after factual info contradicted this.
It certainly wasn't funny. It was pathetic, actually, in the true sense of that term: suffering. I winced with Mark with each sentence. Having done an irresponsible thing, is the solution to make fun of it? Hah hah.
..."Am I or am I not a douche?"
The answer is obvious.
So you make your decision based on a carful of kids, kids' friends, and dog; and how often is this in fact your payload? Does every parent whose kid owns a ball glove feel obligated to buy a vehicle that hauls the whole team? If the answer is "Yes, I always haul kids and dogs and toboggans everywhere I go.", then get the damned van, and don't be a self-hating, surbanite, bow-tie daddy.
If, in fact your need for a styling transit bus is overstated, well, the '08 gets 22mpg combined average mpg: Not green.
But, hey, it's not good for everybody, just the guy in the seat. Light up a Winston, let's go cruising.
Yes, and yes.
And check out:
http://minivans.about.com/od/buyingaminivan/tp/suvorminivan.htm
I really don't care that Mark Benjamin drives an SUV, but I do think this guy is a putz. Back in July when gas was pushing $4 a gallon, he wrote an article with the subtext ... look at me, I'm so cool and clever... my family car is a SUB! Now that gas prices have dropped he writes an article with the subtext of ... look at me, aren't I naughty? I drive an SUV now! Dude, you're a douche, the same kind of douche who goes veg just for the thrill of annoying others by going on about it. You haven't changed since college. I don't really care what you do, Benjamin. Like other posters on this board though, I think you're a chump for driving a Mitsubishi. Good luck with that.
I never said he can't drive an SUV, nor even called him names. I just say he can't pretend to be an environmentalist and drive what he now drives.
I just said he can't have it both ways.
I stand by that.
Now I know all you post-urban-hipster types don't know what one of these things are...but I'm sure someone you know has a riding mower or a power boat or a jet ski. I'm pretty sure everyone is more or less on equal footing once you factor in recreational fuel use.
Unless a car or SUV is a hybrid or gets at least 36 mpg, it is a bad idea. We need to think of the future. If you stop buying gas hogs, the auto cos will quit making them.
You know the environment is a lost cause when an self-confessed environmentalist who knows more about global warming, climate change and peak oil than the average person, and who works at Salon no less, buys an SUV. I always thought all those driving their SUVs to the soccer games and grocery stores were just either blissfully ignorant or just plain oblivious to the perils we face in the upcoming decades.
Sorry, this late in the game, there is no excuse for purchasing an SUV. While those cushy seats and the less pitiful mpg may assuage your conscience temporarily, do you realize that we are almost out of time to correct climate change? Of course you do, you work at Salon. Too bad you won't be able to trade it in when gas goes back up to $4.50-$5.00 per gallon.
P.S. You can't care about the planet and purchase an SUV, no matter how cute your argument is.
So buy a suburban or a hummer ........ you deserve it.
Then shoot yourself.
How are the automakers going to stop making SUVs if people keep buying them?
Stop buying these cars so we can move ahead. Look at your children, think hard what kind of world you want to leave them and then decide not to continue the madness.
or buying a house near the transit lines? Oh, excuse me, that would mean thinking about something besides yourself for three seconds.
It's much more economical than the larger Atlas-V. Hardly a booster rocket at all...it's more of a small hypersonic medium-payload missile.
Our family will still be able to reach escape velocity fairly quickly. And all our stuff fits great!
Sweet Dude! I really did need the first jeep. Being a midwife took me out in blizzards and down some crazy roads. The 2nd was because I was a "loyal" customer even though I was now at home full time with kids of my own in tow. In 2005, I couldn't justify the upgrade from jeep to mega suv and got a honda minivan - I was sure I was going to feel spayed. I had friends and particularly some of their husbands like you perhaps who said NEVER - cannot do it. All I can say, is that it turns out that this minivan is SO functional that I'm wondering what all the fuss was about. Madison Ave. really does have us chasing our silly images. The mini goes and does everything. The Denali and Escalade and the suburban have cost my friends so much to fill at times that they end up taking the 2nd family car - a honda accord with 3 kids stuffed in the back. I wish you had just test driven the oddysey or the sienna - you might have decided it's good to be tied down and saddled with kids! BUT - I totally get it and could have done the same if not for the pivotal moment! Say some hail mary's and do some tzedakah and try to enjoy. maybe it's all good.
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Salon headlines in your mailbox
