Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

Except that at the mall where that picture was taken, almost all the spaces are marked for CCO and the very few not so marked are no larger - plus way out in the hinterlands of the lot.
 
Spectre said:
Whereas in Europe, people try to stick a family of five in a Ford Focus five-door or Civic hatch, then demand more interior room while keeping the external dimensions the same. Which makes no sense to me; when we need more room over here, we just buy a bigger car instead of moaning about how we want more room in a tiny car without making the car larger. :p
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1975eldoradocp052204.jpg


Riiiight...

You don't need a huge car to have interior space. My Volvo 850 was famous for being considerably smaller than a E34 on the exterior. yet it had the same interior space (in cu ft) and the same trunk space.

A Ford Focus is a completely adequate family vehicle for people with 2 kids.
 
_HighVoltage_ said:
1975eldoradocp052204.jpg


Riiiight...

You don't need a huge car to have interior space. My Volvo 850 was famous for being considerably smaller than a E34 on the exterior. yet it had the same interior space (in cu ft) and the same trunk space.

A Ford Focus is a completely adequate family vehicle for people with 2 kids.
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No, no, a Ford Focus is not an adequate family car for people with two kids over the age of six.

Also, that car you posted is a pre-Great-Downsizing-of-1977 car, so it really doesn't apply.
 
Spectre said:
Whereas in Europe, people try to stick a family of five in a Ford Focus five-door or Civic hatch, then demand more interior room while keeping the external dimensions the same. Which makes no sense to me; when we need more room over here, we just buy a bigger car instead of moaning about how we want more room in a tiny car without making the car larger. :p And then wondering why the maker then employs a crappier yet more space compact rear suspension in order to accommodate our ridiculous demands. :evil: (See: TG Review of Euro Civic)
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You try parking a car of USA standards in a parking bay over here! :p
(I did see a Caprice once that took up 4 spaces!)

Last time I parked my driving instructors (hateful) Proton Savvy in a bay there was barely enough room to open the damn doors, and the Savvy is a tiny car! :lol: And there are alot of times when vehicles just don't fit on our roads, most of our local roads haven't been re-designed since the 1970s, wheras in America cars have shrunk since then ours have gotten a good foot wider!

The key to more interior space is to rip out all the uneeded trim and airbags and crap, perhaps if people were more terrified of dying everytime they ventured on to the road (like me in the Proton!) they'd be more careful... and have arm room!

No, no, a Ford Focus is not an adequate family car for people with two kids over the age of six.
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I know for a fact you can fit 5 adults in an old Nissan Micra, if not in comfort... 4 in a Focus is easy! :lol:
 
Spectre said:
Whereas in Europe, people try to stick a family of five in a Ford Focus five-door or Civic hatch, then demand more interior room while keeping the external dimensions the same. Which makes no sense to me; when we need more room over here, we just buy a bigger car instead of moaning about how we want more room in a tiny car without making the car larger. :p
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Instead in the states people bitch about fuel economy on the big ass tanks they buy to fit their 2.3 children in. The children that could comfortably fit in a Diesel Golf with the daily shopping. Of course they also must have the biggest engine so they can have all that power they never use to tow the boat they don't own because they fuel expense on the tow rig is too expensive.

More proof that people are stupid all over the world.

/I await someone to point out a grammatical or spelling error in this post
 
You mean the diesel Golf that they can't find fuel for anywhere in your state? :p (not really, but diesel isn't easy to find in the land of fruits, nuts and flakes)
 
I think the European 5door Focus would be adequate for a family of 4. Key word: adequate. The sedan version... not so much.
 
Spectre said:
No, no, a Ford Focus is not an adequate family car for people with two kids over the age of six.

Also, that car you posted is a pre-Great-Downsizing-of-1977 car, so it really doesn't apply.
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Yes it is.
 
Posmo said:
Yes it is.
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No, it's not. My friend has twin 14 year old daughters, and he cannot fit them, his wife, himself and all the kids' lacrosse gear plus the usual drinks cooler in a Focus five door.
 
People here are downsizing. Where the family car used to be a Falcon/Commodore, its now a Focus or a Golf. If they're lucky, a Tiguan or Rav-4 or something. I know people who have two teenage kids, and their sole family car is a Toyota Yaris. Some people just don't need the space, so they save money on both petrol and the cost of a bigger car. Petrol doesn't cost peanuts here as it does in America, and we have it good compared to Europe. That has had the biggest impact on what people drive.

Petrol in America today costs what it did here 10 years ago. I'm sure its a similar, even worse story in Europe.
 
Hbriz said:
People here are downsizing. Where the family car used to be a Falcon/Commodore, its now a Focus or a Golf. If they're lucky, a Tiguan or Rav-4 or something. I know people who have two teenage kids, and their sole family car is a Toyota Yaris. Some people just don't need the space, so they save money on both petrol and the cost of a bigger car. Petrol doesn't cost peanuts here as it does in America, and we have it good compared to Europe. That has had the biggest impact on what people drive.

Petrol in America today costs what it did here 10 years ago. I'm sure its a similar, even worse story in Europe.
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Whenever I hear someone bitch about fuel I always tell them off by telling them they should be grateful for living in a country where gas is so cheap compared to Europe and Australia, it shuts them up pretty quick.
 
thedguy said:
Try picking up a roof rack.
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Mmm, yes, the roof rack. Great idea - stick loose gear in a rack on top of your car so your fuel economy goes to hell, your roof gets dented up, sometimes it falls off, and any passing semi can rip everything right off with its wake - brilliant! :p

Also, if you have to resort to roof rack storage on a regular basis and you're not hauling something like bicycles, a surfboard or ski gear? Sorry, you need a bigger car.
 
Spectre said:
Mmm, yes, the roof rack. Great idea - stick loose gear in a rack on top of your car so your fuel economy goes to hell, your roof gets dented up, sometimes it falls off, and any passing semi can rip everything right off with its wake - brilliant! :p

Also, if you have to resort to roof rack storage on a regular basis and you're not hauling something like bicycles, a surfboard or ski gear? Sorry, you need a bigger car.
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i hate the damn things as well. if you need the space, your car is just too small.
i usually go on skiing holiday with my parents (yes, only-child here) in a 1-series bmw without anything on the roof. everything fits in the car (including skis and boots and all that). i think most people whp use a box or think they really need a huge car (and i mean huge...), are not very talented at packing their car efficiently (i know people with a 5-series bmw who take their roofbox although they're just two people). but i would agree: with two children a focus / golf sized car will be too small for a skiing holiday (when trying to avoid the box).
 
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Topgearfanatic said:
Whenever I hear someone bitch about fuel I always tell them off by telling them they should be grateful for living in a country where gas is so cheap compared to Europe and Australia, it shuts them up pretty quick.
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You can tell it's pretty bad when even the caravanners are downsizing. Yesterday I saw a Peugeot 308 1.6HDi pulling a pretty big caravan. Whilst being overtaken by a Golf pulling an even bigger one. This sort of thing is common in Europe, and has been for some time, but here caravanners all used to have massive Landcruisers and Nissan Patrols. The small diesel hatchback towing caravan is becomming increasingly common. The funny thing was, they were both speeding at the time (Pug was doing 120km/h in a 110 zone, Golf even more).
 
_HighVoltage_ said:
You don't need a huge car to have interior space. My Volvo 850 was famous for being considerably smaller than a E34 on the exterior. yet it had the same interior space (in cu ft) and the same trunk space.
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Thats because BMW is crap when it comes to interior space :rolleyes:
 
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