Kids and bigger cars

user wrote in message .. .
On 27 May 2004 05:45:48 -0700, ted wrote:
DH and I drive cars. No SUV. At what point of time with two kids did
you feel that you don't have enough trunk space/storage and you need
an SUV or a minivan? I want to avoid buying a bigger vehicle for many
reasons. With only one kid, if we put stroller in the trunk, there's
barely any space for weekly groceries. So if we have two strollers (or
a double stroller) in the trunk I can only imagine how it's going to
look like. Buying an SUV is out of the question right now but I was
wondering when you just break down and say "I need a bigger car!"

Just remember - generations of parents managed to cart
their families around in vehicles with less interior and
trunk space than any SUV or minivan on the market today.


Yes, but remember that those past generations didn't use carseats or
even seatbelts the way we do now. They also drove station wagons. I
remember many times riding backwards in the way back of the station
wagon with my cousins playing board games. You certainly don't see
people doing that anymore – thank goodness.

~ Sher

On 27 May 2004 11:16:16 -0700, sher wrote:
user wrote in message .. .
On 27 May 2004 05:45:48 -0700, ted wrote:
DH and I drive cars. No SUV. At what point of time with two kids did
you feel that you don't have enough trunk space/storage and you need
an SUV or a minivan? I want to avoid buying a bigger vehicle for many
reasons. With only one kid, if we put stroller in the trunk, there's
barely any space for weekly groceries. So if we have two strollers (or
a double stroller) in the trunk I can only imagine how it's going to
look like. Buying an SUV is out of the question right now but I was
wondering when you just break down and say "I need a bigger car!"

Just remember - generations of parents managed to cart
their families around in vehicles with less interior and
trunk space than any SUV or minivan on the market today.


Yes, but remember that those past generations didn't use carseats or
even seatbelts the way we do now. They also drove station wagons.

I wouldn't make quite such sweeping generalizations. Particularly
during the 70's, when cars started getting a LOT smaller, and
car seats weren't all that unusual. My wife has fond memories
of her parent's Chevette, and sitting in the back seat with
her two brothers. ;-)


I
remember many times riding backwards in the way back of the station
wagon with my cousins playing board games. You certainly don't see
people doing that anymore – thank goodness.

Oh, we do around here. Along with kids sitting in
pickup-truck beds. On the way to work today, I saw
a sedan that was packed full of boxes of household goods
in the back seat, and the very top of the head of
some child sitting in the front seat.... sigh. And
it was a late-model Grand Prix, which certainly
has airbags.

"ted" wrote in message
om...
DH and I drive cars. No SUV. At what point of time with two kids did
you feel that you don't have enough trunk space/storage and you need
an SUV or a minivan? I want to avoid buying a bigger vehicle for many
reasons. With only one kid, if we put stroller in the trunk, there's
barely any space for weekly groceries. So if we have two strollers (or
a double stroller) in the trunk I can only imagine how it's going to
look like. Buying an SUV is out of the question right now but I was
wondering when you just break down and say "I need a bigger car!"

Don't assume you'll need the double stroller. You might (I know your kids
are closer in age than mine), but I find it easier to have one kid walking
and one in a carrier of some sort (started with sling and have graduated to
back pack). We have two kids and a large dog, a station wagon and no plans
to "graduate" to a gas-guzzler.

--
Jodi
SAHM to Oliver (3 years, 3 months) & Arwen (13 months)

H Schinske wrote:

Nikki ) wrote:


I like those hybrids with the great gas mileage since I put so many miles on
my car. They look small though and I need comfort and room. I don't think
a small/compact car would meet my needs as a family car.

I looked at a Prius at a street fair a while ago, and it was really quite
roomy, not what I think of as a "compact" car. I would say it's a bit more
spacious than my sister's little Saturn and a bit less spacious than the Avalon
we have. (An Avalon is basically a slightly larger Camry.)

When DH gets rid of his Bug in a month or so, a Prius
is high on the list of candidates (though availability and
price are currently suspect). It does seat five, so would
do for when we need it as a backup for the whole family.
If the Prius doesn't work out, a Jetta TDI is another likely
candidate for us.

Best wishes,
Ericka

ted wrote:
: DH and I drive cars. No SUV. At what point of time with two kids did
: you feel that you don't have enough trunk space/storage and you need
: an SUV or a minivan? I want to avoid buying a bigger vehicle for many
: reasons. With only one kid, if we put stroller in the trunk, there's
: barely any space for weekly groceries. So if we have two strollers (or
: a double stroller) in the trunk I can only imagine how it's going to
: look like. Buying an SUV is out of the question right now but I was
: wondering when you just break down and say "I need a bigger car!"

Growing up in the 80's, pre-SUV boom, my parents only had cars.
When my mom had my baby sister and the family became a family of 5
with one of those being a car seat and they were afraid me and
my middle sister would get into arguments if we sat too close,
then they started buying minivans and SUV's.

--
Patricia Cecilia Pichardo
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta Georgia, 30332
Email:

In ,
ted wrote:

*DH and I drive cars. No SUV. At what point of time with two kids did
*you feel that you don't have enough trunk space/storage and you need
*an SUV or a minivan? I want to avoid buying a bigger vehicle for many

Well, MY point was when I had the second kid, and after a few weeks of
dealing with having to take two cars instead of one several times (because
we frequently travel with between 3 and 5 adults, in ADDITION to the
kids), plus the difficulty I was having getting the kids and assorted
stuff (groceries etc) in and out of the car I was driving (I have serious
lower back instability issues), I insisted we get a minivan. We got it and
things have been fab. But YOUR point might be totally different. I'm sure
there are plenty of families with two or more children who do not have
minivans

--
hillary israeli vmd http://www.hillary.net
"uber vaccae in quattuor partes divisum est."
not-so-newly minted veterinarian-at-large

"Hillary Israeli" wrote in message
...
In ,
ted wrote:

*DH and I drive cars. No SUV. At what point of time with two kids did
*you feel that you don't have enough trunk space/storage and you need
*an SUV or a minivan? I want to avoid buying a bigger vehicle for many

Well, MY point was when I had the second kid, and after a few weeks of
dealing with having to take two cars instead of one several times (because
we frequently travel with between 3 and 5 adults, in ADDITION to the
kids), plus the difficulty I was having getting the kids and assorted
stuff (groceries etc) in and out of the car I was driving (I have serious
lower back instability issues), I insisted we get a minivan. We got it and
things have been fab. But YOUR point might be totally different. I'm sure
there are plenty of families with two or more children who do not have
minivans

There have been quite a few times when I've wished I had a minivan-like all
city choir, where I had exactly ONE more student going than I had seat belts
for in the car, which required that I get another driver. I well understand
why so many teachers drive them-even when you don't have multiple children
of your own.


--
hillary israeli vmd http://www.hillary.net
"uber vaccae in quattuor partes divisum est."
not-so-newly minted veterinarian-at-large

H Schinske wrote:

I looked at a Prius at a street fair a while ago, and it was really
quite roomy, not what I think of as a "compact" car.


Really? That would be good. I've never been up close to one :-) I'm so
tall I need plenty of leg room and head room and some cars can be deceiving.
I've been in plenty of 4 doors that was just torture and yet I had a Fiero
that was super comfy to sit in.

I don't know if Avalons have improved their gas mileage. Ours is not
very good, but it's also quite old.

My Lumina is not so bad. I'm afraid the price for the hybrids will count me
out. Maybe there will be some used ones around by the time I go shopping -
one can hope!
--
Nikki
Mama to Hunter (5) and Luke (3)

On 27 May 2004 05:45:48 -0700, (ted) wrote:
DH and I drive cars. No SUV. At what point of time with two kids did
you feel that you don't have enough trunk space/storage and you need
an SUV or a minivan? I want to avoid buying a bigger vehicle for many
reasons. With only one kid, if we put stroller in the trunk, there's
barely any space for weekly groceries. So if we have two strollers (or
a double stroller) in the trunk I can only imagine how it's going to
look like. Buying an SUV is out of the question right now but I was
wondering when you just break down and say "I need a bigger car!"

There was no point with just two kids that we needed a bigger car,
that came with the third child. We would drive around in a camaro with
them. Got a minivan with the third.
We never bothered with strollers, even when my second was born (they
were 17 months apart) so the trunk was always open for groceries.
There's always room in the floor in front of the carseats, also, for
putting groceries or whatever.
Marie

In article ,
"Nikki" wrote:

H Schinske wrote:

I looked at a Prius at a street fair a while ago, and it was really
quite roomy, not what I think of as a "compact" car.


Really? That would be good. I've never been up close to one :-) I'm so
tall I need plenty of leg room and head room and some cars can be deceiving.
I've been in plenty of 4 doors that was just torture and yet I had a Fiero
that was super comfy to sit in.

I don't know if Avalons have improved their gas mileage. Ours is not
very good, but it's also quite old.

My Lumina is not so bad. I'm afraid the price for the hybrids will count me
out. Maybe there will be some used ones around by the time I go shopping -
one can hope!
--
Nikki
Mama to Hunter (5) and Luke (3)



I've ridden in a Prius, and found it quite comfortably roomy. There
were five adults in the car, and those in the back seat (two of them
quite tall) seemed to have plenty of room. I'm not tall, but I am
large, and found the car comfortable. The driver is tall AND large, and
loves her car. Her family has two kids, one high school and one middle
school, and she says they find it a comfortable family car. (They also
have a minivan, used primarily when they are car pooling.)

It's also VERY cool to listen to the engine STOP and watch the gage
register using NO gas when you're stuck in stop and go traffic!

meh
--
Children won't care how much you know until they know how much you care