> Lucia Barbato, from West Sussex, says her second-hand Lexus RX450 SUV - a hybrid model - is vital for transporting her large family in an area with limited public transport.
If she needs a car, it is what it is. But her situation specifically is one where a minivan would solve her problems. She says the SUV gets cramped with 3 kids and their sports equipment. This is exactly the problem minivans solved. I think the problem being faced here is more about societal trends and cars as status symbols and expressions of self. SUVs are cool and trendy, minivans are lame and boring.
Another person said they need a Land Rover Defender. Also, minivan solves their specific problems of shuttling people and needing to fit a door on occasion.
Minivans aren't small by any means, but they are much more functional and useable than what most people are buying.
I think many people don't appreciate that large MPVs/minivans are almost exactly the same size as mid-size SUVs like the Lexus RX450h mentioned in the article. The dimensions tell the story:
The Galaxy and S-Max are actually wider than the Lexus, while the Espace is only 7mm narrower. Length differences are minimal, the S-Max is 94mm shorter, the Galaxy 37mm shorter, and the Espace 12mm shorter than the RX.
Beside both the Galaxy and S-Max have been discontinued, and the Renault Espace, the vehicle that essentially created the MPV segment has rebranded itself as a "mid-size crossover SUV" for its sixth generation and follow on generation. The distinction between MPVs and crossover SUVs has largely collapsed.
This is an English thing and I don't really get it, despite being English originally. Our English neighbour imported their Land Rover when they moved here from the UK, all the way to NZ. As far as I can tell their appeal is just for talking about it in-between trips to the mechanic, which is where they'll spend a lot of their time. Said neighbour's one is currently unroadworthy. They're ugly (subjective), inefficient, rattly, unreliable, not super fun to drive. I could understand if it was a nationalistic thing, but LR is owned by Tata motors.
Microvans still exist in Europe too. I can carry driver + 3 + a lot of luggage or driver + 5 with little luggage. Or driver + 2 if the luggage includes a tuba, euphonium and trombone. They're fabulously space efficient. I'm annoyed that you can't buy them in North America ever since the Mazda 5 was discontinued in 2015.
I have a Honda Pilot (full-size SUV) and CR-V (crossover SUV) and I've driven my brother-in-law's Odyssey (minivan) a fair amount.
The Pilot feels like a lumbering beast that begs to roll over. It also has less visibility than the CR-V and the Odyssey.
I don't feel a ton of difference between the CR-V and the Odyssey. I also never worry about the CG in either one. They have a very similar feel. I can definitely see around both of them better than the Pilot (though I think the CR-V has a little bit of an advantage).
The visibility and comfort on road trips is why I'll probably continue to own a minivan even after I don't need it to haul kids around. I can throw 8'x4' sheet goods onto the roof rack and anything smaller fits inside with the seats down.
Yes. And I've structured a decent amount of my life around transportation independence.
My last car will probably be my current car from 2013, which I have replaced the engine in, and plan on replacing the transmission in when that goes, as well as other parts as needed. Rust is basically what is going to kill it and I can stave that off for a long time.
When that day comes, it won't really matter. I live near a quarter mile from a train station, 200 feet from a bike trail that connects to my city's bike network, and 50 feet from a bus stop. No need for a car really ever. Rentals exist for car needs every few months, but there are usually other options.
The key for me was to not be dependent on any singular mode of transportation and to have redundancy so that if any single option isn't working, I have at least one other option to go places.
If I was absolutely not willing to return. I'd probably continue working, maybe even more, smarter, or harder than currently. And attend everything I can virtually. Make it known that I exist and my work matters and they need me. Continue working. If they make any threats to fire me, I work towards an exception. If no exception is granted, probably just get fired and hope for a severance.
I might consider negotiating for lower pay to continue working, or try to work towards some sort of deal like that. But I'm not sure if that would actually be better than a potential severance and unemployment considering the a firing could still be on the table and would only make the severance and unemployment lower.
In a lot of US cities, freeways/state highways are where a lot of commercial, retail, and entertainment destinations exist. The first homes usually aren't that far away either, and a lot of apartment complexes are built directly on state highways.
Not sure how much heat is directly contributed by cars. But regarding the original comment, having dirt or vegetation will be less heat absorbing than even white or gray asphalt. Also it helps with runoff amongst other things.
Even if cars directly aren't contributing all that much, the amount of empty parking spaces likely make their direct surroundings less hospitable than whatever the natural vegetation would contribute.
I do this in Denver, where bike theft is supposedly rampant. Never had an issue, and I live in one of the worse areas and will leave my bike parked and unattended for hours at a time.
I also sticker bombed one of my bikes so that if someone were to steal it, it would be very easily identifiable.
What does identifying it do for you? I had a bike stolen a few years ago and I've seen it a handful of times since then. Police are not interested in this in my experience, basically told me to pound sand. Are you going to steal it back or what?
I've had bikes stolen a few times -- in the midwestern US, and mostly as a kid where my bike was not generally stored very securely.
Usually, they're just...gone.
The police around here do collect bikes that they find dumped in places where they don't belong -- in parks or when reported in random folks' yards or wherever. These get auctioned off if not claimed first.
But I did get my bikes back a few times.
Most memorably, I was doing some random technical work at the local PD and was heading out to have a smoke, and I saw a bike that looked just like mine just standing there on the back dock. Same purple Caloi aluminum frame, same additions (like the 90s-style Control Stix bar ends), same everything, except it had an inventory tag on it.
Which very seemed strange to me, since I knew very well that my bike was safe at home. Or did I know that? Maybe my bike wasn't safe at home. Or maybe someone else had the same mods on their own bike, which wasn't particularly unlikely since I bought all of it from a singular bike shop in town?
So I asked about it. And they're like "Well, if that's your bike, then maybe you can tell us something about it that is identifiable. Something unique that you couldn't see in the five minutes you've been standing there staring at it."
I couldn't think of anything. But that ultimately didn't matter -- they were fucking with me for the lulz.
"Maybe you don't remember doing this," they continued, "but it's got your name, address, and phone number engraved on the bottom of it."
Fuck! I did put that on there over a decade prior, and I completely forgot. That certainly was convenient for future-me.
Anyhow, it took a couple of days for them to finish their bureaucratic paperwork dance, and then I had my bike (that I didn't even know I was missing) back. Thanks, in large part, to having some identifying features.
That's fun and a good outcome. I had registered mine in the local system, run by the police department. The first time I saw it after it was stolen it was just locked on the street so I could check the frame number. I called the police and they said there was no evidence, they weren't going to come check it, and that if I cut it loose and took it that would be a felony. I saw it a couple years being ridden in traffic but didn't bother to do anything.
As of now, I haven't ever needed to steal a bike back. I view it more as theft deterrent. They'll be less likely to be able sell it, and it makes the bike look like it's not as valuable.
This is part of the reason why I drive an older car. No internet connectivity, mostly analog, and easy to fix when things go wrong.
I hope this is the last car that I own, not just for privacy reasons, but because I just don't want to be dependent on a car for financial, health, ecologic, and social reasons. I've lived without a car before and relied on rentals and rideshare when I needed them, and saved a ton of money. I'd rather go back to that life than to be required to choose between only bad and expensive options for transporting myself and my loved ones.
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