Edmunds asks: How much car do you really need?
How much car do you really need?
In a posting comparing the GMC Yukon Denali with the GMC Acadia, Karl Brauer says, "The emphasis on 'really' comes from a phenomenon I think we're all aware of -- perceived versus actual vehicle needs." Brauer goes on to suggest making a self-examination of sorts to find out if you truly require the added capability of a larger, more powerful SUV over something a bit more rational, like one of the "crossover" vehicles flooding the market these days. In fact, Brauer suggests that a typical sedan or wagon would likely work fine for 95 percent of most people's daily needs and the money saved when purchasing this type of vehicle would allow the purchaser freedom to rent the larger vehicle they may need the other 5 percent or so of the time. Most of us probably realize that Brauer is right... the question, then, is do we care?
[Source: Edmunds]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Dave 3:52PM (2/28/2008)
Yeah I like that concept but it won't work for me. I need a tow vehicle, but I've found nobody wants to rent a SUV if your going to tow with it. Their contract excludes towing. This is the case with Enterprise, Hertz, Budget etc.
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GoodCheer 3:58PM (2/28/2008)
We might care when gas gets to $4/gal this spring.
At the risk of sounding like Tim, low interest rates push the value of the US$ into the pooper, and investors looking for good values might find them in the (very international) oil commodities markets, pushing the price of oil even higher.
It could be a pretty rough summer for SUV drivers.
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GoodCheer 3:59PM (2/28/2008)
Dave, try the moving van companies. I know many of their vehicles are set up to tow (and you can rent trailers).
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Yggdrasilly 4:16PM (2/28/2008)
When I first got out of college and was ready to get my first car, I was all ready to buy myself something hot and powerful.
Then I gradually realized I'd be investing in an "asset" that would do nothing but depreciate, and in fact cost me money in insurance, gas and repairs.
So I got a small Nissan pickup and drove it for 11-years and change. Then I bought a second Nissan and drove THAT for 12 years. Still have it.
I've sometimes missed having an extra two seats, and I don't use the bed as much as I used to. But it's just enough car/truck to do everything I want to do.
I kinda wish Subaru still made the Baja (and that it got better mileage. And had better reliability). And I'd buy the Toyota A-Bat...yeah, bite me.
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fred schumacher 4:22PM (2/28/2008)
Nearly 90% of the time we drive alone. On average, we use a 4,000 pound vehicle to haul a 200 pound load. I'm sorry, but that's crazy. Europeans drive smaller cars and yet have full functionality. Their fleet average fuel economy is nearly twice as high as ours and their accident death rate per mile is 1/3 lower than ours.
We purchase a vehicle based on its ultimate use, and then use it very lightly loaded. As economists would say, our marginal rate of return on the increased investment is extremely low.
Many people buying an SUV are not making a rational decision. My permanent home is northern Minnesota. I bet my old minivan has been on worse roads, off road, and in worse snow conditions than 90% of SUVs will ever see, yet I've never gotten stuck, even when I've plowed through snow as high as my front bumper.
In my own family, 80% of our road miles get put on our 10 year old stick-shift Neon, which gets 30 mpg in town and over 40 on the highway. The other 20% we put on our minivan, which is used as a pickup truck much of the time. It gets 24 mpg and will haul more stuff than any SUV.
I see a vehicle resembling the Tata Nano as the model for our increasingly oil short future. Light, small, efficient and low cost, two such 10' long vehicles could fit into one side of a suburban garage and provide mom and dad with their commuting needs. Two of these cars would cost as much as one compact sedan. On the other side of the garage would reside a multipurpose vehicle, which would not be a daily commuter, but would be used for those times you need to carry more people or stuff.
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MarkR 4:24PM (2/28/2008)
"do we care?"
For me personally? no. as a total society yes. But thats because over 75% of my weekly travel is by bike. I only use my truck the other 25% of the time, and need all of the capabilities of it about the 15% of the 25% of travel that its used. and for those that think I should buy some micro car and rent a truck when i need it, to them i'd say kiss it.
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Phil L. 4:38PM (2/28/2008)
Dave and GoodCheer -
Towing is frequently discussed within this topic.
Yeah, you can rent a U-Haul box truck to tow something. But I wouldn't want to take a two week family camping trip with a box truck, or try to back it down a boat launch ramp.
It's frustrating to watch European cars get realistically usable tow ratings - while similar cars in the US (usually with more HP than their overseas counterparts) are saddled with puny limits.
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david 4:45PM (2/28/2008)
MarkR I think you missed the point. I'm in the same boat as you. I ride my bike to work everyday and my wife and I own a VW TDI and a truck. We use the TDI for local driving and the occasional road trip. We use our truck for camping during the summer here in Colorado, and when we get the occasional snow storm; last year we only put 5K miles on the truck.
But MarkR their point was most people live in suburbia, never tow anything, have never been "offroading," and could easily get away with a wagon/minivan/crossover. My sister and her husband have two large SUV's. They live in Texas and never see snow. They have never towed anything, and maybe once a year go camping. They are the people the article is referring to.
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Chad 4:52PM (2/28/2008)
If you have a boat and a family, by all means buy an SUV. Most people don't own boats So we don't need SUV's.
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Wildgoosechase73 5:13PM (2/28/2008)
The point of having a truck or SUV is that it is always available, renting cars are not fun. I like being able to shop at Costco on the way home and not worry about if I can fit the dog food and toilet paper. It's not exactly easy to have to rent a truck every time I drive 4 hours to IKEA since I may (or may not) buy a piece of furniture. Delivery is not always an option as the charge often is more than the price of the object.
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MikeW 5:24PM (2/28/2008)
GMC Yukon had dual beam headlights. Immediate DQ
Rejected from consideration.
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Furion 5:33PM (2/28/2008)
Europeans don't drive smaller cars because they've somehow become enlightened about their actual car needs or whatnot. We drive smaller cars because bigger cars are damn expensive over here because of punitive government taxation.
SUV sales are much smaller than in the US, yes, but they're growing all the time. But an Escalade costing 146k EUR (200k+ USD) because of the emissions/km determined taxes means it's going to be for the extremely wealthy.
But the thing that matters in car choice is this: in a free society, NEED and WANT are the same thing. And since we're on AutoblogGREEN, think for a second which one is more acceptable:
1) Driving a big ass SUV that does 12 MPG
2) Driving a big ass SUV that does 12 MPG hauling a big ass motorboat that does 1,5 MPG
People don't actually need to haul boats anywhere (since it's recreational activity for 99% of us) any more than they need to own a suburban to go grocery shopping.
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MoparKid 5:50PM (2/28/2008)
I am amazed at the people that think it is cheaper to own a SUV or truck for going to IKEA. It would be cheaper to just pay for the item to be delivered then owning an SUV. Also, most people who tow don't need an SUV. My wifes 2007 elantra can pull two jet skis with out any problems. As for the boat, 2006 tuscan..20 foot skii boat. When towing both average 20 to 25 mpg, which is so much better than any truck or suv that is empty.
One last thing, just because you have a large family still doesn't mean you need an suv. They have thrid row seating in stations wagons.
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Jon Dutch 6:44PM (2/28/2008)
I personally can't stand SUV's and big trucks. Most people simply don't use them for anything more than commuting. Period. But owning them isn't the eco-crime, it's the abuse that causes issue.
If you ride your bike to work everyday and happen to own a truck, that isn't a bad thing. If you own an excursion and drive to work everyday, by yourself (and leave your truck running when you run into the liquor store - I hate that), that is where the abuse comes in. Most people could easily use a small sedan, hybrid, or electric car for most of their daily commuting and reserve their SUV/Truck usage for those times when it is relevant. After all simply owning a truck isn't increasing the pollution rates, right?
When I lived in Europe I was so deeply impressed with the mentality over their with regards to cars and transportation. They, however, have one major advantage over us here in the states - a fantastic public transit system. People also buy cars that work within their means since they have issues like cramped parking and extra taxes on any engine that displaces 4.0l or more. What you find is people own smaller, more efficient vehicles rather than large trucks and SUV's. The station wagon is their version of a tow vehicle. I have seen VW, Opel and BMW wagons towing everything from construction gear to an airplane down the autobahn. The thing is, most of those people don't even start their cars during the week. They walk, ride a bike and use public transportation to get where they need.
Will America ever adopt this mentality? I haven't a clue. Until we have a unified transit system, it just isn't going to be realistic for the majority fo the country. So instead we have to use our own cars to get around.
I own a big truck (big by comparison to what I want anyways). I only use it when I need to use it. The rest of the time I use public transportation or my VW Golf (while it can still breath anyways... I really miss my Audi) for the rest. I plan to replace the VW with a ZAP! Xebra sedan or truck in the near future (http://www.zapworld.com) to take care of my "local area" transportation requirements that the bus doesn't handle. Plus when I move out to the East Coast this summer I can just load the whole Xebra in the back of the truck - no trailer needed!
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Ron 8:23PM (2/28/2008)
If you want to tow, you can rent a 1/2 ton pick up from U-Haul or from the Home Depot. It is ridiculous to drive a 12 mpg, 3 ton vehicle to move your 180 pound body to work.
http://www.uhaul.com/guide/index.aspx?equipment=truck-pickup
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ajshier 10:25PM (2/28/2008)
Had a subaru wagon 5 speed. got 22 mpg.
traded for a one of those dodge diesel trucks we supposedly don't need and get 22 mpg. Go figure.
Nice try, no way I am driving a smart/tata sized car 18k per year. One wreck with the wrong sized suv/truck and I'm toast. Probably would live longer if I started smoking again.
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VW JUNKY 7:18AM (2/29/2008)
Talk about towing, I use my TDI Jetta for towing. I tow 13 ft camper or the 13 ft Whaler with it no problems and still get good milage. If I need to tow bigger I have a father in law with a big truck.
later
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Frylock350 8:57AM (2/29/2008)
Man you guys are a bunch of hippies. What if we approached everything in life with such a defeatist/minimalist attitude. Since when it is people's goals to do what it minimally adequate. I'm an avid fisherman and ATV enthusiast. That means pulling a 4000lb boat and the ATV trailer from time to time. I also hate unit-body vehicles, can't stand modern wedge-shaped styling, can't stand short stumpy hoods, can't stand whiny-ass DOHC motors, can't stand narrow cars, etc. So I bought a Suburban. Could a Colorado do what I want? Yes it probably could, but I don't like it. I love my Suburban and wouldn't trade it for anything. Its practically the safest vehicle around, has phenomenal hauling capability, returns ~21mpgs when I'm cruising @69mph, lets me take 7 people with me fishing, deals with snow quite well, rides better than any MB or BMW, has an awesome muscle car like exhaust note, isn't FWD, etc. There is simply no replacing it.
And about Europe. In Europe they drive tiny little s***boxes because they have tiny roads and condensed living situations. They also have communist governments that tax the bejesus out of them. Only rich folk can have a big safe vehicle over there.
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LaughingTooHard 8:59AM (2/29/2008)
Hard to argue with most of the comments here, but I still maintain that most people who buy a truck/suv still need a truck/suv.
Living in New York it is hard to imagine why someone would drive one to work but worse is to think of where they live in comparison to their work place. 50-60-80-90-100 miles one way. Why? So they afford to have a bigger house or the taxes are cheaper. They are wasting more than just gas. They are doing a variety of damage with that attitude.
I live 7 miles from where I work. Hills and highways along my route make riding a bike more like a Tour de France commute, in the sub freezing weather. Not fun.
There are many people in my office who drive 1-2 hours each way to get to work. Some are even so shallow to avoid mass transit (light rail train) when reverse commuting from NYC. Yes, they live in NYC but DRIVE 30-40 miles north along the train tracks to go to work. Explain that!
I have a hobby, racing. My track car is not street legal so it would need to be towed to the track. Could I get by with a smaller tow vehicle? Maybe, but a Hybrid Tahoe would be great. Since I race maybe 5-6 times a year, I don't think I should be hung for it.
Plus my commute is 7 miles each way, so buying another more efficient car just for commuting wouldn't make sense for me.
When the time comes I would buy a Volt, put up some solar panels and use that commute. For now I can understand why some would use a 5K truck to go to work. If you live more than 10 miles away buy another car.
That's just simple math, but most people are terrible at simple math.
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Frylock350 9:02AM (2/29/2008)
@VW junky,
Try passing a tractor-trailer on a 2-lane with that setup. Or try pulling a bunch of snowmobiles without ground clearance and 4WD. Most of the leave-off points I go to aren't exactly on paved roads. You need a truck to navigate 2-ruts in the winter. The big V8 truck really does have a purpose.
Also I do agree with the idea of a more efficient daily driver if you can afford it. I'm considering a commuter car to go with my Suburban, but I'm waiting for the redesigned Cobalt to make a decision. Also toying with a used Sky, or a 3.5L G6 2-door or Aura.
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