Why Small Cars Are a Smart Buy

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Waugfuie of LA 1:39PM July 15, 2009

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sadsads of NY 6:20AM January 19, 2009

I have recently bought a new car and it isn't small at all. Now I am desperated tobuy another one, a small one of course. This one consumes a lot of gasoline, not to mention that I don't manage to arrive at work in time.

bedroom furniture of ID 7:20AM November 25, 2008

Big cars are for Big egos.

of 4:01PM August 21, 2008

I am single short and buy the smallest car I can find. The only comment I have is in regards to cruise control. I steady up to the next speed, my cruise control aceleration is like a free fall off a cliff. We are on the edge of change, eventually we will give in to smaller cars and car companies will start making them smaller and stop making big cars Or something will swing the economy back to let us be consumers with plenty again. I don't care about gender, age, race, or religion with this election, I do hope whoever gets in office can fix this disaster.

JK of IL 4:52PM July 11, 2008

Hi have a 2004 Toyota Prius with over 175,000 miles on it. The Batteries work just as good as the day I first bought it. I do a lot of city driving and average 50+mpg. Also, I live in Wisconsin and we get temperatures of below zero and summers of 100 degrees. Prius has worked fine through everything, including 2 feet high snow drifts!
Don't believe these naysayers of Hybrid technology. The Toyota Prius is an excellent, very reliable, and the BEST car I've ever owned! NEVER had I had to take it in for repairs yet!

Ross of WI 3:06PM June 28, 2008

Drive what you want and can afford. Just sold my Porsche Cayenne and got a Mercedes Benz with a 451 hp engine. Fun and fast! Lousy gas mileage, but a blast to drive. Also have a 456 hp 1968 Dodge R/T with lousy mileage, but fun to drive and attend car shows. With the new motorcycle, I have over 1000 hp in the garage and am willing to pay what it takes to smell burning rubber.

Michael of Texas of TX 2:20AM June 25, 2008

Coming from another side of the accident scene, (EMS/VFF) you made some strong points on large vs. small vehicles regarding safety. However, there were some areas left unaddressed. First, that the ideal outcome is to avoid the accident in the first place. Unfortunately, there are no statistics (that I am aware of) on how many potential accidents were avoided due to automotive design features, etc. However, physics would seem to dictate that a vehicle with less mass would be more maneuverable vehicle and better at avoidance than one with more. I know, there are a lot of additional variables that factor in, but I didn't get too far beyond Newton so I'll leave that to brains with more horsepower. In any case, my view is the most survivable accident is the one that never happens.
Second, while people always cite car vs. SUV/truck collisions, few mention the SUV vs. SUV/ truck vs.truck/ SUV vs. truck scenarios. All else being equal, if you have two large vehicles with similarly increased ground clearance, it follows the same body parts are vulnerable to injury just as in a car vs. car collision. Due to the number of super-size vehicles on US roads, that occurrence seems as likely as the SUV vs. car situation. Additionally, there might be room for argument about the difference in severity of injury sustained in the second and third stages of a collision when a victim had more cabin room to be thrown around in. I am not aware of any research on that subject personally, but the results of such a study could be quite enlightening.
Third, while they might not be statistically frequent, next to ejections, rollover accidents cause some of the most extensive/severe injuries we see, including fatalities. A high center of gravity, such as you find in typical truck based vehicles, is one of several factors that contribute to rollovers. That being said, cars are not immune to rollovers themselves. Once on a road trip a my girlfriend rolled her Audi while I slept. I woke to the car going off an embankment, rolling over and landing on the roof. Thanks to Audi engineering (the roof crumpled some but didn't collapse) and blind luck, we both walked away with nothing worse than sore bodies. I seriously doubt we would have had that result had we been in a truck or SUV. So I agree that large trucks, etc. offer safety advantages in some situations, but they also have disadvantages in others. It really comes down to what works for you. Right now, I drive a Mazda3S because it's cheap, well made, reasonably fuel efficient, and is a great drivers car despite lacking big horsepower. Would I ever buy a big vehicle? Maybe, it would just depend on if I could live with it or not.
To Scott of Tx: you probably don't hear it as much as deserved, so thanks for doing what you do. PD out here has been there for us on more calls than I could count. Stay safe.
To the super size vehicle drivers out there: my LaFrance is still bigger than your monster truck/SUV. LOL

JP of WA 8:27PM June 18, 2008

The Ford Focus may be a "good " i.e. fairly reliable American small car but it lacks "style"!!!.....it has no "convincing "story" to attract the modern American buyer!!
It just does not compare with the edgy style of a Mini Cooper S, VW new Beetle or the new 2008-09 SCion 4-door car / wagons

SM of FL 7:36AM June 17, 2008

The author said that some people do need large vehicles, so I don't know why the ones that do are complaining about the article. I personally don't, it's just me, my husband, and my daughter, so I drive a Toyota Corolla. I don't need a big vehicle to drive my 2 mile commute each day. I also don't need it to feel safe. My husband and I survived a 50 mph head-on crash with a drunk in a 2000 Kia Sportage (which was a lot smaller that the Sportage that is on the market now). Sure the Kia was totalled, but we survived with only a few bumps and bruises. My husband drives a Chevy Avalanche which is parked when we don't have to drive my or his parents with us. I believe that just about every family needs a gas sipper. I don't think that the government is forcing us to by smaller and/or Hybrid cars (especially since most are imports), I think I'm making a "screw the gas companies and Bush government" statement with my Corolla.

Michelle of PA 7:18PM June 16, 2008