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Personally I dislike the 2 extremes of family sedan w/trunk or big SUV / big honkin' Crossover.
Now, with gas prices on the rise, people at work are discussing getting Priuses (which in a comparo I did a couple of years ago has less interior room than a Ford Focus wagon, even without the wagon aspect) or Camry 4-cylinders.
Or they're buying used Toyota Echos and garaging their monster SUVs, hoping for a time when they can trade them in for a better price.
Throughout my family life as a kid - one of three - my family somehow got by (without feeling we were deprived) in a 4-cylinder stick shift Mercury station wagon. A Zephyr.
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It had a huge cargo area by today's wagon standards (big overhang), and got great mileage for its time. Even with 3 kids in the rear seat we never felt cramped, and we'd sometimes roll around in the cargo area for fun (Ralph Nader would have had a cow). When the car got older, my father took it as a cheap commuter to ride to the park & ride. I think we had it for 10 years. A flesh-colored Zephyr (with no wood trim)... a stripped-down extremely utilitarian, inexpensive vehicle for the family.
Now it seems Americans limit themselves to gargantuan vehicles with cargo hatches, or family sedans with a trunk. Of course automakers are happy to oblige this split - this dichotomy of the American car - so you can have both sides of your driveway populated by one of each type. A Japanese sedan and an American truck/suv.
A funny thing happened after I bought my Suzuki Forenza Wagon. We stopped using the GMC Safari for weekend outings. And we realized that we only rarely ever really NEEDED the Safari. Of course it still comes in handy for extended family get-togethers, but most of what we ever did on the weekends at Lowe's or Home depot? The Forenza Wagon can handle it just fine.
Wake me up when more companies start making cars that make financial sense all around, like the 4-cylinder powered, optional 3-row, KIA Rondo, Mazda5, and more wagons with real cargo space (not like the Vibe). Oh, and when they apply more than a token ad budget.
Otherwise I call "conspiracy"
on the way that 4-cylinder powered cars are offered as tiny hatchbacks or sedans for one side of your driveway, with a big honkin' truck-based SUV on the other. Or a not-so-fuel-efficient, fat, jacked up station wagon on stilts called a "crossover".
And I don't buy the "because those wagon things are ugly" argument. What is macho or what is ugly --- the Mazda5 is a handsome vehicle if you don't look at it with biased eyes.
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If people were really concerned with having do-it-all replacements for their SUVs --- and not making an equally extreme move to a small hybrid sedan --- they'd push automakers to build more sensible vehicles like the KIA Rondo (not the brand, the style of vehicle). That is, if they even knew about the existence of such cars in the US market.
Instead, what I hear from a lot of co-workers is an excuse to follow the next trend that, like the Sneeches, will have them trading into some pricey hybrid or trendy family sedan while passing over the vehicles that would make the most sense for their lifestyles.
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3 years from now, when their hybrid sedans are deemed "too small" they'll be following the herd to the next socially acceptable car type. (Changing their belly stars)
I've always preferred vehicles like my father's old Zephyr, or innovative ones based on the same concept, like the Rondo that make sense and are versatile regardless of the cost of fuel at the time. The thought that goes through my head is "What can I buy that will get me the most useable space and utility while using the least gasoline, and offers a low sticker price?"
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![]()
Now, with gas prices on the rise, people at work are discussing getting Priuses (which in a comparo I did a couple of years ago has less interior room than a Ford Focus wagon, even without the wagon aspect) or Camry 4-cylinders.
Or they're buying used Toyota Echos and garaging their monster SUVs, hoping for a time when they can trade them in for a better price.
Throughout my family life as a kid - one of three - my family somehow got by (without feeling we were deprived) in a 4-cylinder stick shift Mercury station wagon. A Zephyr.
It had a huge cargo area by today's wagon standards (big overhang), and got great mileage for its time. Even with 3 kids in the rear seat we never felt cramped, and we'd sometimes roll around in the cargo area for fun (Ralph Nader would have had a cow). When the car got older, my father took it as a cheap commuter to ride to the park & ride. I think we had it for 10 years. A flesh-colored Zephyr (with no wood trim)... a stripped-down extremely utilitarian, inexpensive vehicle for the family.
Now it seems Americans limit themselves to gargantuan vehicles with cargo hatches, or family sedans with a trunk. Of course automakers are happy to oblige this split - this dichotomy of the American car - so you can have both sides of your driveway populated by one of each type. A Japanese sedan and an American truck/suv.
A funny thing happened after I bought my Suzuki Forenza Wagon. We stopped using the GMC Safari for weekend outings. And we realized that we only rarely ever really NEEDED the Safari. Of course it still comes in handy for extended family get-togethers, but most of what we ever did on the weekends at Lowe's or Home depot? The Forenza Wagon can handle it just fine.
Wake me up when more companies start making cars that make financial sense all around, like the 4-cylinder powered, optional 3-row, KIA Rondo, Mazda5, and more wagons with real cargo space (not like the Vibe). Oh, and when they apply more than a token ad budget.
Otherwise I call "conspiracy"
on the way that 4-cylinder powered cars are offered as tiny hatchbacks or sedans for one side of your driveway, with a big honkin' truck-based SUV on the other. Or a not-so-fuel-efficient, fat, jacked up station wagon on stilts called a "crossover".And I don't buy the "because those wagon things are ugly" argument. What is macho or what is ugly --- the Mazda5 is a handsome vehicle if you don't look at it with biased eyes.
If people were really concerned with having do-it-all replacements for their SUVs --- and not making an equally extreme move to a small hybrid sedan --- they'd push automakers to build more sensible vehicles like the KIA Rondo (not the brand, the style of vehicle). That is, if they even knew about the existence of such cars in the US market.
Instead, what I hear from a lot of co-workers is an excuse to follow the next trend that, like the Sneeches, will have them trading into some pricey hybrid or trendy family sedan while passing over the vehicles that would make the most sense for their lifestyles.
3 years from now, when their hybrid sedans are deemed "too small" they'll be following the herd to the next socially acceptable car type. (Changing their belly stars)
I've always preferred vehicles like my father's old Zephyr, or innovative ones based on the same concept, like the Rondo that make sense and are versatile regardless of the cost of fuel at the time. The thought that goes through my head is "What can I buy that will get me the most useable space and utility while using the least gasoline, and offers a low sticker price?"
