Entering the land of the family cars - Page 2

[flapjack]

My local print shop will do bumper stickers- I quite like the idea of a "treehugger in training" sticker instead of a baby-on-board sign.

[AJP]

Originally Posted by mamao'two

They need to make a bumper sticker that reads: I'm really a tree hugger but my mom offered this car for free so at least its recycling and my kid can ride safely in her car seat.

But where to find it?

Make it. You can buy blank bumper stickers for your computer printer.

What I find irritating is that the "family size" vehicles really could be getting better mileage, but most consumers don't care about that, so the manufacturers don't bother. If someone made a diesel SUV, I'd get that and run it on biodiesel, but it seems the only options for that are a very few small-ish sedans/wagons or trucks. I've read Toyota is planning to make a hybrid version of the Highlander, but don't know when, and I don't know if it will have a 3rd row seat. Haven't seen anything at all about plans for hybrid minivans.

[trmpetplaya]

Haha, I totally understand your quandary... though for now what dh and I have will work out just fine, someday we'll have to face that decision too. We currently drive a '68 convertible VW beetle and I love love love that car! It got us down to CA (without a tuneup or anything... we're so bad...) and back and we saw so many new cars abandoned on the side of the road on the way. There are three seatbelts in the back though it's only supposed to have two... but there's only a weight limit and kids don't weigh that much. The backseat is actually really safe since the engine is in the back and there's a space behind the backseat for putting stuff which is really solid, so I'm not worried about having my kid(s) back there.

We also have just acquired two VW busses. One is a pretty beat up early 70s bus, but has three bench seats in the back (seats 9!)and an engine (that ran less than a year ago). The other is a '72 camper bus that's in awesome condition with virtually no rust (came from Arizona) though it doesn't have an engine. So those are our project cars Free project cars, no less... so they were affordable!

We never plan on buying an SUV ever ever ever, maybe if we found an affordable :LOL hybrid one.... but we don't ever want to buy a new car that we can't work on ourselves either. I think dh is planning on learning how to convert VWs to either bio-diesel or natural gas engines (such as the bus that has no engine now ). Maybe the busses could be converted to hybrids, but the bug couldn't because there's not that much space.

We also want to have good bikes for everyone in our family and that way we can go places as a family without a car (we're sorta rural, but town is only a 10-15 minute drive away).

Best wishes finding a good family car that works with your ethics! It's hard to do nowadays... it doesn't help that regular cars are so unsafe *because* everyone else drives SUVs

love and peace.

[Gunter]

Originally Posted by flapjack

My local print shop will do bumper stickers- I quite like the idea of a "treehugger in training" sticker instead of a baby-on-board sign.

This post reminded me of a website that I like for shirts/onsies with messages on them. Here's the link to the "future treehugger" tee! Sorry for going off topic!

http://littlelefties.com/Merchant2/m...roduct_Count=0

[purplemama]

Originally Posted by zjande

Hey purplemama, whereabouts in the bay area do you live? We're in the Oakland hills.

Our 1st choice had been the Odyssey because it's one of the only new vans you can get in black! :LOL We were all "Duuude, if we're gonna be driving a minivan, at LEAST it's gotta be black!!" But it turned out that only the top of the line ones come in black & that was out of our price range, so we went with the Toyota Sienna. Ours is dark gray, it's totally a big gray whale which is what I call it all the time.

Yeah, gas prices are KILLING me. Wow.

We're in South City. My DH wanted black/black, too, but the waiting list was waaay too long. Toyota Sienna was our other choice, as well. I was kinda leaning toward the Sienna because the interior is a bit nicer looking and some of the features are nicer, too. But DH wanted the Odyssey and I'm very happy with it (we got the silver/black int).

[dancingmama]

I remember reading in one minivan thread one mama's complaint that in a minivan, she couldn't reach back to get to her babe, which was highly inconvenient. Anyone else with a minivan have this issue?

We have a subaru outback and i love love love it. soooo stable in the michigan winters, decent mileage, plenty of room, and not so pricey (much much less than a volvo).

[Belleweather]

My mom has a 1997 Odessy Van with 100K miles on it that she's probably giving us when the baby comes. I hate the idea of a minivan, but I have to admit that her car has been SUPER reliable, and only needed one unscheduled trip to the dealership since she bought it. It's reasonably fuel efficient, and she loves it. The minivan thing leaves me cold, but really, I can't look a gift horse like that in the mouth.

Currently, we have one dead car and a Saturn L-Series that I bought in 2002. I LOVE the car - great fuel economy, perfect size, very safe, perfect comprimise between a 'family' car and a more sporty something that I would normally drive. But have to admit that it's a Lemon. My $1200 extended warranty has paid for it's self 5 times over, and even though we love the car, I need something that is not going to spontaneously die on me with a small baby in the winter.

But a minivan? Eeek. If I had my choice, we'd be looking at the Mazda 6, or perhaps a Scion or a Honda Element. But frankly, free is the right price at the moment, so we take what we can get!

[zjande]

Originally Posted by dancingmama

I remember reading in one minivan thread one mama's complaint that in a minivan, she couldn't reach back to get to her babe, which was highly inconvenient. Anyone else with a minivan have this issue?

You know what was one of my very favorite features in the Sienna? The middle seat in the 2nd row (right behind the driver/passenger seats) is movable. You can slide the seat all the way forward so that it is touching the driver & passenger seats, nearly right in between them. It was designed that way specifically for babies in car seats in mind, isn't the smart? Otherwise you're right, the baby would be too far away to reach. But that's when older siblings come in handy, right?? :LOL

[sohj]

While my DH and pixie are visiting family on the other side of the country..

I am purging my apartment and found this in the Jan/Feb 2003 issue of Sierra Club's magazine: http://www.aceee.org/pubs/t021full.pdf This is a link to a study called "An Analysis of Traffic Deaths by Vehicle Typle and Model". Researchers were from the U.S. Department of Energy, Tom Wenzel of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Marc Ross of the University of Michigan.

Thought it might be useful on this thread.



Also, while you are at it, here is an alternative to AAA: http://www.betterworldclub.com/ AAA does a lot of anti-environmental lobbying. This organization is trying to get a little balance.

[aisraeltax]

new bumper sticker suggestions!

"RECYCLED MINIVAN - ENVIRONMENTALLY CORRECT".

anyone else?

[Soos71]

Just chiming in re: what sohj mentioned about the veggie oil-fueled cars. My DH and I are also planning on going for this as the "family car" option. You can get more info at www.greasecar.com., where they give all the particulars of their system, plus find out which mechanics around the country will install the conversion kit. Pretty much any diesel-fueled vehicle (the diesel is only used to start the ignition) is compatible with this system. You can get the oil from a local restaurant or another place that wouldn't mind you taking the used oil off their hands. The website offers suggestions and a thorough FAQ. The easiest-to-find diesels are Mercedes, VWs, and trucks. For me, it's a pleasing solution to the "new car" dilemma. We'll be recycling by buying a used car to convert to "greasiness;" we'll also be recycling waste oil to fuel the car; plus we'll have extricated ourselves (on one level, at least) from the socio/eco/geopolitical oil machine. AND the fuel is free if you get the oil from a cooperative local business. We figure the conversion kit will pay for itself relatively quickly with the money we save on gas.

Good luck in your search!