What is with Austin and trucks? (West, Howe: to live in, dangerous, shop)

[jhwest]

As a mom of six, I have had to rack my brain about what kind of car to get, since very few seat eight people. I really looked into getting a European van. They make amazing cars over there that hold a lot of people but are not huge and have great mileage. Mercedes makes an fantastic one. But after doing some research into replacement parts, etc, it just didn't seem like a good idea. (not to mention I'd never be able to read the manual).
There is no way that I am driving an SUV. It just seems like such a "keeping up with the Joneses" kind of vehicle. When I bought my most recent car we lived in Utah and I still didn't want some 4WD monster, even though I could have justified it because of the snow. I have a friend in Utah whose elementary school carpool told her (jokingly, but not really) that they didn't think she could be in their carpool because she drove a minivan, not an SUV.
I have a Honda Odyssey minivan which is friggin awesome. I mean, I have a huge lazy susan under the floor. How cool is that? Plus my minivan holds way more stuff than almost every SUV out there. People looove to make fun of the minivan, but I defy you to drive one and not love it. The seats fold down perfectly flat, so I can easily get furniture/plywood in it. Although I wouldn't fill it with gross messy stuff like I would with a pick-up.
My husband drove a Honda Ridgeline Pick-up which got totalled the day we moved to texas. (Rear ended on 183). Although he loved his Ridgeline (18-22 mpg. Not bad.) He ended replacing it with a Honda Fit (tiny and no-frills) and paying off our credit cards with the difference. How very unAmerican!

[Trainwreck20]

I have a Honda Odyssey minivan which is friggin awesome. I mean, I have a huge lazy susan under the floor. How cool is that? Plus my minivan holds way more stuff than almost every SUV out there. People looove to make fun of the minivan, but I defy you to drive one and not love it.

When we had our first child, I really, really, liked this vehicle, and tried to get my wife to get it. But, since it was her car we were replacing (tiny little BMW), she got to make the choice and we got the Honda Pilot. Now, the Pilot is fine, but, for kids, the mini-vans are awesome. The only reason my wife did not get it is due to her perception of who drove a mini-van. Really kind of irks me . Anyway, another friend who hates minivans had to get one (for physical reasons), and they got the loaded one with GPS and all the bells and whistles. The thing is sooo much more fun than the Pilot (which she had before), but she still hates being a mom in a minivan.....go figure.

I have a Nissan Maxima, which gets ~26 or 27 mpg (it is a 6 speed std, which makes a huge difference) on the highway, and it is somewhat awkward to get the kids in and out of the back, especially since both my wife and myself are on the taller side. When it comes time to replace that car, I may be getting the mini van . However, that maxima is turning out to be a great car (it is around 130k miles so far) and that may be a while....

[achtungpv]

Originally Posted by readymade

... but isn't that the point of a "status" vehicle? To show everyone that you can afford something very expensive?

What I love about it is that most of those driving $60K+ SUVs are living paycheck to paycheck. 90% of them are posers. My wife calls Hummers and Corvettes "fake breasts for men".

[twange]

Originally Posted by achtungpv

What I love about it is that most of those driving $60K+ SUVs are living paycheck to paycheck. 90% of them are posers. My wife calls Hummers and Corvettes "fake breasts for men".

Dude, that's hilarious.

As for the Honda Odyssey, I've heard nothing but great things. Mileage, practicality, safety etc... I don't have kids but if I ever start gigging a lot again, or doing a ton of road trips, maybe that's something to look at. It's funny but back when mini-vans came out, they were kind of revolutionary, and now people are embarrassed to drive them. The same thing might happen with huge SUVs some day...they'll seem un-hip.

I really like the recent trend of the SUV/wagon combos that I'm seeing. This seems like a great compromise.

[Trainwreck20]

I really like the recent trend of the SUV/wagon combos that I'm seeing

We looked at a few of these (or at least the versions that were out a couple of years ago), but they tend to have the drawbacks of both rather than the benefits of both. They were lower to the road, so they did not have the height advantage that is so alluring about the SUVs, and they lower to the ground location still made it hard to get small kids in and out. The wagon does have more storage than a sedan, but the gas mileage was not really much (if any) better than the SUVs. Honda makes an Accord wagon, but does not (or did not) sell it in the US anymore, so I have no idea about it....we were really trying to find one to try out, but there are none around.

[jhwest]

Let's not forget the most amazing minivan feature--electric sliding doors. No worries about your kids opening their doors into the car next to you. And no more yelling at kids as they scurry into school, "get back here and shut the door!".
A minivan is a bitter pill for people who are having a hard time realizing that they are not as young as cool as they used to be (or imagine they still are.)
I guess the whole "car as personal statement" issue is about trying to pretend that your life is a fantasy ("I'm a tough guy who can conquer the outdoors in my mighty truck!") rather than the reality ("I'm an aging guy who sits in a cubicle looking at a computer all day.").

[pdxtech]

This is a big country and Texas is a big state. Cities were planned horizontally
and everyone wants a half acre lot. Public transportation was not an option for
all places and we chose roads over railways. In many places, people buy trucks
and SUVs because they have to move things around or have large families. I
don't think there is anything wrong with trucks and SUVs unless you own
them to compensate for other things you don't have

Hummers are a completely different story, I think there is a problem with people
who drive hummers, and I am pretty sure that a shrink would cost less than
owning a hummer, and hopefully, they will fix the problem.

This will change in just a few years, oil has already hit $100 a barrel, the next
level is $150 and then may be, $200. I think we should just let stupid people
drive themselves to extinction, works well for the world in the long term.

[PeacePlease]

Don't how this thread became a mini-van discussion, but.... my wife for the longest time was against getting a mini-van. An image thing... but at some point right after our second child was born she decided to try one for a couple of years... Few years later and she's in love with her min-van and doesn't want to trade it in for an SUV.. amazing. The sliding doors and power lift gate, with a large dog coming along for rides, and kids can stand inside while getting their jacket/coat on.. make the min-van very useful.

One little tip, don't buy the Nissan Quest. What a headache. It took over 8 trips to the dealer to fix things in the first 18 months. When we trade it in we plan on getting the Odyssey..

[Kelliott]

I'll admit that I do like the way SUV's look but other than that they are pretty worthless to me. They are too big. They don't handle as well as cars do. They waste way too much gas....very unnecessary. A hyprid prius has just as much room as a mid size SUV because of it's hatchback...but it's better on gas. Way better.
I moved to Austin from Anchorage, Alaska and came here thinking that people would be driving more cars because of the lack of ice and snow. Boy was I wrong. I think I see more trucks and SUV's than I did there. I'm sticking with my Subaru Outback because I'm moving back up north where the 4 wheel drive is needed. My car has just as much room as an SUV, gets better gas mileage, and has all wheel drive. However, most people aren't into the "wagon" look.

Oh and has anyone else noticed that most of the people that drive up on your butt while your going down I-35 are driving big trucks/SUV's?!

[twange]

Originally Posted by Kelliott

I'll admit that I do like the way SUV's look but other than that they are pretty worthless to me. They are too big. They don't handle as well as cars do. They waste way too much gas....very unnecessary. A hyprid prius has just as much room as a mid size SUV because of it's hatchback...but it's better on gas. Way better.
I moved to Austin from Anchorage, Alaska and came here thinking that people would be driving more cars because of the lack of ice and snow. Boy was I wrong. I think I see more trucks and SUV's than I did there. I'm sticking with my Subaru Outback because I'm moving back up north where the 4 wheel drive is needed. My car has just as much room as an SUV, gets better gas mileage, and has all wheel drive. However, most people aren't into the "wagon" look.

Oh and has anyone else noticed that most of the people that drive up on your butt while your going down I-35 are driving big trucks/SUV's?!

I'm a big-time wagon guy and could give 2 sh*ts what anyone thinks. The Outbacks are great. I also like pick-up trucks, but the normal-sized ones, not the giant "big boys". They are very useful. I'm not sure about the tailgating theory(kinda seems that way, but maybe I just notice more), but I do think that many of the new trucks and SUVs, instill a certain power in their drivers, because they handle more like cars than the previous generations of trucks. My dad had a F-150 supercab when I first started driving(80s) and that thing handled like a truck. It wasn't easy to steer or maneuver, wasn't very smooth and was fairly loud. It did move pretty fast though...

I learned how to parallel park with that thing!