(Un?)Popular Automobile Opinions.

[kernals12]

The weird thing is the people who claim to support building "up, not out" for cities oppose it for automobiles.

How the hell are these related? High-rise buildings don't create blind spots for a dozen children who can get run over and mangled by careless drivers.

There's plenty of SUVs that don't require pedestrians to be 10 ft tall to be visible, like the Cadillac Escalade. A CRV would do just fine.

But they give more interior space for a given exterior footprint. A Rav4 is 1 foot shorter than a Camry, which it dethroned as America's most popular passenger car. That's substantially less space needed for roads and parking.

[vdeane]

The rise of the SUV and the disappearance of the sedan is a good thing. The sedan body style is stupid in how it wastes all that space above the trunklid.

Also, today's SUVs simply represent a return to form. At the end of World War 2, the average car was as tall as today's SUVs. Then Detroit became enamored with longer, lower, wider and by 1960 car buyers just sheepishly accepted they were supposed to duck to get in and out of their cars.

The weird thing is the people who claim to support building "up, not out" for cities oppose it for automobiles.

If you want a vehicle that will show off all your luggage when you're on the road and is harder to park, be my guest.  I'd rather the ease of parking a smaller vehicle, the better fuel economy, and keeping my things hidden from potential thieves.  The lower height also feels more intimate with the road and I prefer cozy to having a bunch of wasted space.

[Scott5114]

Yeah, I don't have any interest in ever having an SUV because I barely use the trunk and cabin space I have in a sedan as it is. Bringing all of that into the cabin doesn't really do anything useful for me.

Besides, if your concern is that the wedge of space between the top of the truck and the back windshield is "wasted" by not being part of the cabin, the solution isn't an SUV, it's a station wagon. (And that space is still "wasted" in an SUV or station wagon; you can't put anything there if you want your view out the back windshield to remain unobstructed.)

[Max Rockatansky]

Amusing how the sedan is called out as being space inefficient but yet nobody wanted station wagons come the early 1980s.  The modern CUV has more in common with old station wagons than it does actual body on frame SUVs.

[kphoger]

Pickup trucks are way too popular for what they are. An SUV with a trailer can probably handle 95% of what a pickup can do.

A-a-a-a-and, if you don't own a trailer?

Yeah, I don't have any interest in ever having an SUV because I barely use the trunk and cabin space I have in a sedan as it is. Bringing all of that into the cabin doesn't really do anything useful for me.

Besides, if your concern is that the wedge of space between the top of the truck and the back windshield is "wasted" by not being part of the cabin, the solution isn't an SUV, it's a station wagon. (And that space is still "wasted" in an SUV or station wagon; you can't put anything there if you want your view out the back windshield to remain unobstructed.)

If I'm loading a bunch of cargo in the vehicle, then I'm already operating under the assumption I won't be able to see out the back window anyway.

Then again, when I'm on a road trip with the family, our vehicle is usually completely packed from floor to ceiling in the back, plus a rooftop cargo box that's completely full as well.

[CoreySamson]

I don't know about y'all, but I find it very difficult to tell older cars apart. Newer cars, however, I can distinguish very easily, except sometimes between certain luxury makes' models (think Audi A6 vs. A8).

[Scott5114]

Yeah, I don't have any interest in ever having an SUV because I barely use the trunk and cabin space I have in a sedan as it is. Bringing all of that into the cabin doesn't really do anything useful for me.

Besides, if your concern is that the wedge of space between the top of the truck and the back windshield is "wasted" by not being part of the cabin, the solution isn't an SUV, it's a station wagon. (And that space is still "wasted" in an SUV or station wagon; you can't put anything there if you want your view out the back windshield to remain unobstructed.)

If I'm loading a bunch of cargo in the vehicle, then I'm already operating under the assumption I won't be able to see out the back window anyway.

Then again, when I'm on a road trip with the family, our vehicle is usually completely packed from floor to ceiling in the back, plus a rooftop cargo box that's completely full as well.

I'm guessing that's not too big of a deal to you, given your experience driving a large truck, but if I don't have a clear view from the center mirror I start getting antsy.

[Rothman]

Yeah, I don't have any interest in ever having an SUV because I barely use the trunk and cabin space I have in a sedan as it is. Bringing all of that into the cabin doesn't really do anything useful for me.

Besides, if your concern is that the wedge of space between the top of the truck and the back windshield is "wasted" by not being part of the cabin, the solution isn't an SUV, it's a station wagon. (And that space is still "wasted" in an SUV or station wagon; you can't put anything there if you want your view out the back windshield to remain unobstructed.)

If I'm loading a bunch of cargo in the vehicle, then I'm already operating under the assumption I won't be able to see out the back window anyway.

Then again, when I'm on a road trip with the family, our vehicle is usually completely packed from floor to ceiling in the back, plus a rooftop cargo box that's completely full as well.

I'm guessing that's not too big of a deal to you, given your experience driving a large truck, but if I don't have a clear view from the center mirror I start getting antsy.

So...no U-Hauls for you?

[kernals12]

Yeah, I don't have any interest in ever having an SUV because I barely use the trunk and cabin space I have in a sedan as it is. Bringing all of that into the cabin doesn't really do anything useful for me.

Besides, if your concern is that the wedge of space between the top of the truck and the back windshield is "wasted" by not being part of the cabin, the solution isn't an SUV, it's a station wagon. (And that space is still "wasted" in an SUV or station wagon; you can't put anything there if you want your view out the back windshield to remain unobstructed.)

Yes, I do wish station wagons had become the dominant body style, but they didn't, so I take the fact that consumers have taken to what amount to tall station wagons as a victory.

[kernals12]

Amusing how the sedan is called out as being space inefficient but yet nobody wanted station wagons come the early 1980s.  The modern CUV has more in common with old station wagons than it does actual body on frame SUVs.

Actually, most of those old station wagons were body-on-frame.

[Max Rockatansky]

Amusing how the sedan is called out as being space inefficient but yet nobody wanted station wagons come the early 1980s.  The modern CUV has more in common with old station wagons than it does actual body on frame SUVs.

Actually, most of those old station wagons were body-on-frame.

Yes, I'm aware pre-unibody cars and how prevalent they used to be.  We had a 1977 Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser (A-Body) until 1985 when it was replaced by a Caravan.  The move from Vista Cruiser to Caravan was the logical progression of family vehicle after my sister was born.

[Scott5114]

Yeah, I don't have any interest in ever having an SUV because I barely use the trunk and cabin space I have in a sedan as it is. Bringing all of that into the cabin doesn't really do anything useful for me.

Besides, if your concern is that the wedge of space between the top of the truck and the back windshield is "wasted" by not being part of the cabin, the solution isn't an SUV, it's a station wagon. (And that space is still "wasted" in an SUV or station wagon; you can't put anything there if you want your view out the back windshield to remain unobstructed.)

If I'm loading a bunch of cargo in the vehicle, then I'm already operating under the assumption I won't be able to see out the back window anyway.

Then again, when I'm on a road trip with the family, our vehicle is usually completely packed from floor to ceiling in the back, plus a rooftop cargo box that's completely full as well.

I'm guessing that's not too big of a deal to you, given your experience driving a large truck, but if I don't have a clear view from the center mirror I start getting antsy.

So...no U-Hauls for you?

I can count on one hand the number of times I've driven a vehicle capable of even towing a trailer of any sort.

[kernals12]

Yeah, I don't have any interest in ever having an SUV because I barely use the trunk and cabin space I have in a sedan as it is. Bringing all of that into the cabin doesn't really do anything useful for me.

Besides, if your concern is that the wedge of space between the top of the truck and the back windshield is "wasted" by not being part of the cabin, the solution isn't an SUV, it's a station wagon. (And that space is still "wasted" in an SUV or station wagon; you can't put anything there if you want your view out the back windshield to remain unobstructed.)

If I'm loading a bunch of cargo in the vehicle, then I'm already operating under the assumption I won't be able to see out the back window anyway.

Then again, when I'm on a road trip with the family, our vehicle is usually completely packed from floor to ceiling in the back, plus a rooftop cargo box that's completely full as well.

I'm guessing that's not too big of a deal to you, given your experience driving a large truck, but if I don't have a clear view from the center mirror I start getting antsy.

So...no U-Hauls for you?

I can count on one hand the number of times I've driven a vehicle capable of even towing a trailer of any sort.

In Europe, they'll tow trailers with Mini Coopers. Paul Niedermeyer pointed this out
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/auto-biography/the-great-american-anti-towing-conspiracy/

[kphoger]

... if I don't have a clear view from the center mirror I start getting antsy.

So...no U-Hauls for you?

I can count on one hand the number of times I've driven a vehicle capable of even towing a trailer of any sort.

I don't think the implication was a U-Haul trailer, but rather a U-Haul truck.

[abefroman329]

Yeah, I don't have any interest in ever having an SUV because I barely use the trunk and cabin space I have in a sedan as it is. Bringing all of that into the cabin doesn't really do anything useful for me.

Eleven years from now, you may discover it's much easier to get into an SUV than a sedan.

Also, if you should ever find yourself in a living situation where you parallel-park frequently, you'll appreciate the fact that a compact SUV is about a foot shorter than a sedan.

[kenarmy]

- Maybe it's just me. But the Sienna is scary looking but not in a good way.
- Volkswagen needs to leave the id.buzz where it is. And the "Id" naming scheme is not cute..
- I think Honda definitely favors their compacts (Civic/Integra) over the midsized Accord and TLX  .
- Do people still have interest in the RC and LC?
- Fiat's US return has been kinda.. you know.. but I've seen way more of them than Alfa-Romeos.
- BRING BACK THE DODGE STEALTH
- Buick messed up by getting rid of all their sedans... Chevy kinda got away with it but Buick has such a fragile lineup. I'm glad Cadillac still has theirs but they should definitely bring back the CT6 or XTS.
- I guess we're gonna continue to turn our eye to the same generation of 4Runner and Lexus GX being around since 09'..
- Mitsubishi needs to get out of its abusive relationship with Nissan/Renault asap.

[kernals12]

Convertibles suck. You have to put up with lost structural rigidity, increased weight, and increased cost for the few days of the year when the weather is suitable to drive with the roof down, and doing so takes away all your trunk space and gives you drafts.

A sunroof gives you most of the thrill with almost none of the complications.

[Takumi]

- BRING BACK THE DODGE STEALTH

Be careful what you wish for.

The recently revealed new Honda Prelude has been mostly unpopular with owners of the previous generations, due to it being a hybrid (and initially reported as an EV), but I like it and plan to buy one.