10th Jul 2010, 18:01

I cannot afford to move closer to my work, nor do I want to take my kids out of the school system where I live only to put them in the inner city school systems near my work. I'd rather drive the 100 mile commute everyday and get 40 MPG while doing it. I can go the entire work week without filling up, so it's no big deal to me.

I live in small town in Massachusetts, most roads aren't plowed very well (if at all) and my front-wheel drive Hyundai Elantra has no problems getting through it. I don't even have snow tires and I never have. I drive smarter in the snow instead of believing I'm invincible in a 4WD SUV. Despite some serious snow storms I've been through, not a single one of them has prevented me from getting to work.

10th Jul 2010, 18:09

And how else are Civics, Focuses and Corollas going to make up 90% of the traffic unless people stop buying SUVs?

10th Jul 2010, 20:15

The "SUVs are safer" argument is quite dated now. Smaller cars are much safer today than they were 20 or even 10 years ago. SUVs still provide a bit more overall protection than smaller cars, but the gap has been significantly shortened. With the safety standards that all cars are required to pass these days, small cars have become much safer.

Don't believe me? Just check out this article:

http://autos.aol.com/article/small-cars-are-safer/

I realize the laws of physics still apply and all that stuff, but to say small cars are just tin cans that provide no safety is completely untrue.

11th Jul 2010, 09:47

Unfortunately you'll never convince SUV lovers that their vehicles are not safe. They have been shoved down our throats by the big three for decades as safe due to the 4X4 and size and weight. People seem to think they need these huge vehicles to be secure. Marketing can do wonders huh? I really wish people would educate themselves on proper driving techniques rather than just buying huge vehicles to plow through everyone with. It is better to feel secure because of your abilities and not because of the vehicle you drive!

11th Jul 2010, 11:50

13:54 I work only 3 miles away from home in a suburban business park, and also live in a suburban home. There are tons of suburban office parks. The only cheaper area to live here is moving in the city in the bad section of town. And there are small homes in the suburbs here. Homes can be bought inexpensive or higher within a hundred miles in my area. The higher tax areas may have some better school systems, or you can pay less property tax and my kids are in private school.

I do not buy the long distance commute savings whatsoever, as my wife and I both tried it for some time. It's hard to do; a strain on quality of life and having a family.

Economy cars weighing out gas first, then depreciation, bad weather, traffic holdups and our cars always needed something involving the weekend to resolve. That was our free time. Even just all the oil changes was a pain. If you work 8-10 hours plus a 2 hour commute, you are really working all that time. You have to divide the hours spent to get to the jobs. By the time you get home, you have little time. Eat, mow the grass, watch the news and sleep.

We both work locally now, and even if it's a small pay cut, it's worth it. The extra money went to tires, brakes, water pumps, eating up a new car and depreciation. I do not need a little Subaru now to drive 30 miles a week to work. If anything my tires will dryrot long before the tire tread did as before.

Keep a car 12 years and have under 50,000 miles on it. If I get 15 miles a gallon and only drive 30 miles a week to work... is that not better than driving 100 miles daily at 35 mpg? Plus all the repairs and eating up cars.

I am the first person at work and never late, and I am much more likely to get raises than calling in with flats, road service woes, water pumps, and snow and ice and traffic. I also worried about my wife driving the exact opposite direction doing the exact same. Our free time involved the cars somehow; a lot oil changes, belts, and at times we even rented cars when they were in the shop. They wear out; we drove Hondas.

Got sick of it, interviewed for lots of other jobs while still working the old one, and got out of that commute crap. Quality of life and time more rest is worth it all.

11th Jul 2010, 13:35

I will never believe driving a Mini Cooper surrounded on the expressway at 55 mph plus by minivans, SUVs, tractor trailers, large sedans, and full size pickups is safer.

The most popular vehicle sold in America for over 20 years is the full size Ford F Series trucks. I do not feel safer in mini econo cars, and do not feel in a head on collision I will be far safer as you suggest.

11th Jul 2010, 13:35

The Big Three shoved SUVs down the throats of poor, unsuspecting victims, eh? Rather, in our consumer driven economy, people couldn't get enough of them and demanded more, more, more. The Explorer started the craze when it sold like hotcakes, sparking every car maker to get in on the act. The car companies simply responded to the consumer demand. Meanwhile, companies like Ford all but discontinued fuel-efficient small cars like the Focus because there was no consumer demand --- they all wanted SUVs and building small, fuel-efficient cars was a big money loser. So, who's the real victim here? I mean, let's have people take a little responsibility for their own choices instead of playing the victim all the time!

11th Jul 2010, 15:47

To comment 13:54.

Well said. I'm the original commenter who stated that I have a 100 mile daily commute to work. I don't like that I have to drive so far, but getting a job closer to home will not work for me, as I cannot find another job that pays me as well as my current one. I can't move closer to work because I can't afford to buy a new house for one, but also because (like I said before) I do not want to put my kids in the inner city schools near my work.

As for the commenter who drives 3 miles to work each day in their SUV, well I don't why he or she doesn't just ride a bike. If I lived 3 miles away from where I work, I'd ride a bike to work everyday (except in the winter and on really rainy days obviously).

I also think that anybody who would put their teenagers behind the wheel of an SUV needs to rethink a few things. A good friend of mine had that same exact mentality, that they needed to put their kid in an SUV to keep them safe. That has since changed as they nearly lost their son in a serious accident when he rolled his SUV by over-correcting trying to avoid hitting something (I think it was a squirrel, but I honestly can't remember exactly). Thankfully he survived, but not without injuries (he was in a neck brace for awhile and he broke his arm).

My oldest son drives. I'd never put him in an SUV for that very reason. I put him through a drivers education course and a defensive driving course, and then bought him a small, better handling vehicle that will help avoid an accident altogether, instead of just barreling through somebody or flipping over.