Yeah, between Mini Coopers and Honda, majority of enthusiasts buy Honda cars as an alternative to gas guzzlers. Honda Element is a great choice, but preferably I'll get Honda CRV with interesting honda crv accessories on it.

Unfortunately, I bought it before the gas prices went up. And of course, I was too upside down when the gas prices went up to trade in. Unlike the shallow Denali driver, I don't drive it necessarily because I can afford it. I drive a big SUV because I have been in a couple of bad car accidents and frankly, I don't feel safe in cars anymore. Especially now that I have my kids' safety to consider now. No, they don't play soccer.

When I have the means, I will look into buying an SUV that is better for the environment, but I won't be buying a car. So, us "soccer moms" are not all alike.

in my household. Really, it's the 4th choice, as the Golf Cart is used extensively.

It's paid for, and gets around 15 MPG. I drive it maybe 300-400 miles a month, when I need it.

IF it's emtpy, it cost over $100 to fill up, as it has a 42 gallon tank.

You bought an SUV, knowing that it got terrible gas mileage. You bought an SUV, and financed it poorly so that you are upside-down in it. You bought an SUV because you (mistakenly - check it out online) believe that you & your kids are safer in it than in a car. And you'll buy another one.

Sounds like a series of poor decisions that you really have no excuse for. But that's a great thing about this country. Part of our freedom includes the freedom to be wrong.

I have no excuses because I don't need any! And yes, I will buy another one. Unless you put a lot of money down, when you buy a new car, you will be upside down for a while. The larger SUV's like the Suburban, do not have the same risk for rollover as the smaller SUV's. They are built on a completely different chassis. You need to do a little more research on the safety of my particular car.

The gas mileage is only 2 miles less than a smaller SUV like the Explorer. I am willing to trade worse gas mileage for the safety of my car. I guarantee you, I'll be safer than you.

So get off your high horse. You don't know it all.

I thought the SUVs were second most likely to roll over in an accident behind the small trucks? The cars that held up the best in a crash were the BMW 5 series, and VW Bug.

I went to ask.com and typed "Are SUVs safer than cars?" and came up with many, many sites that showed how cars are safer. Bigger does NOT mean safer!

Bigger is not always better.

But most assuredly meat in the body is far safer.

SUVs are big, but they do not have a lot of meat for their size. And they are top heavy, which is bad. Not to mention their volume ratio is low in my book.

Most high MPG vehicles are either too small to use for more than hauling one or two people around uncomfortably, or, crumble like paper in an accident.

I use a Grand Caravan. Have to have space for what I do.

At a red light, a small car rear ended the small car behind me, jamming it into me.

The front and rear of the middlc car was crushed in, including their radiator and probably more. The front of the back car was gone, bumper buckeled.

I drove away without even a scratch.

Now, picture those small cars at higher speeds.

I see accidents since I drive a lot. Small cars are scrap metal in accidents. Vans and larger cars fair a lot better.

But the larger cars and vans get half the gas mileage the small ones do.

Why? Body construction.

To get goog MPG means light frames. Light frames means less proctection.

-----------------------------
Keeping it real and to the core of the issue, not the peripherals.

Some of the info I've seen in the online studies I've looked at:
**Average midsize/large cars have the same avg risk to drivers than the avg SUV. (Includes cars like the Ford Taurus, Toyota Camry, Toyota Avalon, Honda Accord.)
**Minivans have the lowest risk to drivers, but that may be influenced by the drivers being more careful.
**The safest compacts & sub-compacts have a lower risk to drivers than the avg SUV.
**Quality of vehicle design makes a big difference in safety, and foreign cars were found safer than domestic.

And here's a good, recent article: SUV's No Safer Than Cars

Most people overlook the free market approach. The laws of supply and demand work and when the bite begins to hurt behavior will change.

That was pretty funny. I must be pretty secure with my genitals size. I drive an economy car that gets 35 mpg all day long. It may not be very macho but I get satisfaction in knowing I can fill up with 10 gallons of fuel and that will take me back and forth to the airport all week. Of course in the words of an unidentified PTC mom in her GMC Yukon Denali who was filling up next to me..."if you drive one of these, you probably don't worry about the price of gas"! Nice.

The new Hummer commercials are an example of how absolutely clueless Detroit is. If your kid gets cut in line by another and her soccer mom says too bad...go out and drop 50k on an 8 thousand pound rolling A-HOLE label. That will make ya feel better, my trucks bigger than yours!

Let's not forget, most motorcycles get 50-80 MPG.

Yeah right...just what I want to haul my kids around on...a motorcycle. I'd be dead within days.

Actually when we lived in California, I rode a moped to work. I only work 3 miles from home and we had bike lanes.

not everyone in PTC has kids and drives 11 MPG Suburbans............

have kids, drive SUVs, or even minivans. I have 4 kids (3 at home) and have driven a sedan (that gets 27mpg) for several years. And guess what? They all fit just fine in the backseat. And I've got a big trunk to haul stuff.

I just don't get the "must have a mini-van or SUV" mentality. Because, really, you don't HAVE to.