small compact car's and other drivers

Everyone tells me that my little smart is not a real car but the funny thing is the people who say that are in vehicles that my smart can fit inside there truck bed ..

I have asked this question a 1000 times to some of them ..if it just you in the vehicle why are driveing a vehicle that eat gas or diesel like ti going out of style and then you complain about it getting crappy gas milage out of the vehicle ..

I also tell them this it does the same thing as your vehicle it gets me from point a to point b and it does in the same fashion as your does and it has four wheels and it goes places where i need it to go in the back country roads i have been on in a couple of the places i been to someone house in the back country ..

 

that what i'm talking about with some of the people i see driveing trucks around as personal vehicle here inside the city not one of them has mud or other things you would see with a farm truck that works no it more about showing off for the next person it seams

 

i can understand that needs for liveing in the back country you need a good pickup to haul things along with beening able to handle back country roads also with snow and ice on them .. but liveing in the city along with beening single and your not useing your truck to make a liveing then why have something that cost more to operate in the long run than a small vehicle that will save you money in the end

 

I drive a tank,It sound's like a tank,Smell's like a tank,and ride's like a tank...
92 F250,7.3 diesel...and if i get a dent in it ..I..don't care..it's a tank...ccc
Also have a 04 Dakota..it's for sale and a...
05 Jeep Wrangler..Rocky Mtn. Edition..It is not for sale...

 

My old 4X4 Suburban can take folks from 3 families to town and has enough room left over to bring back a months worth of groceries and necessary supplies for all of us. We do it once a month, and it doesn't matter how bad the weather is. There are times when the car is parked most of the winter because the snow or mud is too deep.

 

Heck Yeah ^^^ If your live in rough country,Ya just gotta have a 4x4...

 

I drive a pickup in a suburban environment. I choose not to drive a small car for a couple reasons:
1. Consumers buy a vehicle to meet minimum criteria. I.e. If you need to travel 5 miles in all-city driving in a temperate climate you'll probably be fine with a SMART car. However, if you deal with snow, ice, or often do home improvement work, camping, or generally hauling a lot of gear, you need something bigger.
2. I drive 15 miles to work in a pickup that averages 15 miles per gallon. Therefore, i burn 2 gallons of gas per day. If i move to a 40 mpg car, that would take me down to just under a gallon. I think driving a vehicle that will be much safer in an accident is worth 4 bucks per day. YMMV.
3. Driving the family to the cabin on weekends is comfortable in a crew-size pickup, and could be a challenge in a SMART. Also, you never know if you might need a seat for a third/fourth child. When you are buying a vehicle that you expect to keep for 10 years or so, you have to keep a lot of possibilities in mind.
In short, i think everyone has to make their transportation decisions for themselves. For some, a bike makes sense in my area. I must admit they can make it a pain for vehicle drivers in city areas, but they are doing what makes most sense for them.

 

i'm single and no family to haul around to speak of ..just a grandkid here and there ..so my i got rid of my ford F250 dually pick up truck i had for years and got rid of it after not useing it alot because of the cost of gas at the time in Ca and i got rid of it and bought a newer model VW bug and then ran the bug into the ground running it all over the western part of the states for my job ..

when i thought i was going to be back east and gotten rid of the VW because not to have to pay for a parking garage area and rent in the area i was moveing to ..

then i found out that i need a car in La because of retireing out after so many years and went bought a smart car because i need a good car that was easly on gas and insurance out here in Ca because of the price of gas and insurance here and could carry just me and few supplies i need around the city ..

 

what started this post today at the pool i was sitting there after takeing a dip in the pool because it beening a hot afternoon and i was trying to cool down before going into the apt for supper and a couple of the people who live in my apt complex was complaining about how much they spend on gas and insurance for a truck that just them driveing it and they are not useing anymore than a status thing out here in La ..

when i was asked what did i think of the price of gas and insurance and i explain to them that my car does not cost me half my paycheck to fill it up and the insurance is $88.oo dollars a month for full coverage from everything under the sun and then some ..

i did ask one of the guys why are driveing something on your wages where it eating up close to half of your monthly income in truck payment & gas & insurance for it and you have no family to haul around or useing it for business ..

i could understand if your useing it for business or your hauling around stuff on the weekend but your not ..to me that a waste of money on something that i do not need ..

my little smart does great on gas and insurance and it haul me and my supplies around as need or a night out on the town with a lady friend and not break the bank trying to keep it up ..

so that why i did the post i was alittle tweeked over the guy going but how i'm going to pick up chicks if i do not have a good vehicle and i asked him how can you afford to date when your spending all paycheck on rent and truck and other things ..his friend at laugh part and said that is no better true has been spoken to you ..

his friend has a little honda two door car that he use to get around town in ..

 

We have a number of "tanks"...
1 is a Bronco, 1 is a Blazer ( for winter and the heavy mud!) just to get into town...
Then we have a smaller car (a Toyota 4 dr.) stored in town, to drive on the paved roads to the stores and whatnot...
We also have 4 vans: 1 is a 1996 Dodge 7 passenger type, one is a 1989 Dodge "perverted" RV style van, ( all but 2 seats removed) for hauling LONG pieces of pipe and wood, and loads of supplies and groceries, 1 is a 1989 Chevy Astro van for whatever, and 1 is a chopped ( top only) 1973 Dodge van that has an open bed of 12 foot long x 5 feet wide space for really big stuff, with a crew cab for 4. we modified it for use as a back-up for hauling water in tanks. We also outfitted it with an engine hoist set-up for heavy lifting and moving big stuff. Yes they are expensive to drive, but,... they do the work of 12! When you only go into town once a month and you need to bring back big loads, we have the way to do just that. Our vans seldom go out unless the dirt roads are clear and dry. That's why we have the big 4 wd's.

 

I have had a bit of everything. My 4X4 Ramcharger and Toyota Tercel aren't running. The Tercel could be put on the road for a few hundred, but I drove it for ten years and kept thinking..... I need something BIGGER and more practical! The Ramcharger could be made roadable for a grand or so.... but at 10MPG, it's still way down the list of priorities.
Was down to my trusty KLR650 as my only transport for a couple years - good bike, but try hauling a months worth of groceres (yeah, I've done it!), or some building supplies (in small amounts!) - just not good enough - and a PITA when it's raining......

Now I have my 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan - the "Man's Minivan"! With the 'Stow&Go' seats, I can drop the middle and back seats under the floor, and I have an eightXfour foot covered cargo bed. I have camped in it too. And I can carry six people to our occasional luncheons at work. The AC is mighty nice when it's 104 degrees out...... My first car with working AC in twenty years or more......
Added the tow hitch so I can haul my bike trailer too - we have many similarities, Ghrit! And I can haul all the construction materials I need. This thing is like a civilised truck - almost. 18MPG city/25MPG highway ain't too shabby. The gutsy 3.8L V6 actually has some pep - many an idiot trying to cut me off in a two-lane turn have seen the tail lights of this minivan! BWAHAHAHA!!!!
Can't go offroad - minivans are 'ground clearance challenged'! But that's what I have my bike for.......

Told myself for decades I'd NEVER get a effin' minivan! Glad I did - I love it. Most practical vehicle I ever owned.

I don't kid myself about 'safety' though. Yeah, it's fairly big, puts me above the impact of small cars, and is a 5000 pound vehicle. But I have seen pics of two other 2005 GC's that have been hit (by motorcycles, no less!) - the result was not pretty! The rear end offers NO protection at all. Newer cars don't have 'bumpers'. They have plastic-sheathed 'crumple zones', and boy do they CRUMPLE!

 

I would never again get rid of a pickup (except to get a different one). You never know when you'll need it, and when you do need it, it's a PTIA to not have it. If I were to have one vehicle, I would get rid of the car and drive the truck, even with the much worse gas mileage and I'm not worried about picking up chicks.

 

I can relate BT...I am lost without my 4x4 pickup truck...and I still have my '79 CJ7 that I bought brand new when I was a young and innocent Marine...My wife has the little 4banger car for running around or for long trips...

 

here the smart i'm going to try build in the end there look with a set of rally car lights and few other things to the car to make run faster and more for the lights and few other things i want to add to the car ..

the car engine is a motorcycle base unit that you can buy a few aftermarket products to make it go like a bat out of heck ..plus i was thinking that my smart is paid off and i'm not looking to go into debt right now maybe in a few years down the road to see if things are better ..the smart has a 2.inch lift kit from Daystar off road company that build smart car lift kits for use in there rally car series ..

the white smart is owned by a guy who owns DayStar company who makes off road product's in Phx and he was playing around with the idea about lift kit and other products to make the smart more back road friendy in the state..

most people do not know this but once you get off the main highways alot of the roads in the backcountry are basic dirt and gravel roads in some of the areas in the back country .

also here is some pictures of Az where i live where we get snow and ice dureing the winter ..we may not get as much snow and ice as other parts of the country but we get out share of cold winter days where it can get down to sub-zero weather at times along with heavy snow and ice storms and shutting down of the roads in the area of the mountains for a few days intill the road crews can come and clear you out ..

so it alot about knowing how to drive on the roads as well as haveing the right vehicle for the road