Lady driving large SUV: "How do you like your car?"
Lady loading groceries into small compact car: "Oh, it's great!"
SUV lady: "We've been talking about getting something like that."
Compact lady: "We had an SUV too, but traded it in last year. This car is so much better..."
I just knew she was going to say something about her improved gas mileage.
"... It's so much easier to get into and out of."
Heheh. I'm about to buy a new car, after months of pondering. It won't be an SUV but it will be close. The trouble is all the stuff I need to transport comfortably on my trips: large Dobermann, surf kayak, mountainbike, yachting gear, photography gear, camping gear, ordinary luggage, assorted family members and/or friends, three small yaks ... I need a bus!
ReplyDeleteMy mom can barely climb up into my jeep and she's a very spry 77. She does like to ride tho!
ReplyDeleteFlorida Cracker: my grandmother had a hard time getting into my uncle's truck although she loved to ride in it. My uncle built her a small box that had two steps on it. He made it out of wood and kept in the bed so it was always available to her and she could enjoy the rides in his truck.
ReplyDeleteAin't it great? I was actually in town running errands on behalf of my Mom (not so spry 87), when it became apparent that she needed to make another stop at the dr.s office in person. I then drove my truck home, got the car, and went back (20 miles one way), to complete the days fun. Gas mileage? You bet! That makes 4 trips since monday. Hopefully this will settle down soon. Part of what I am doing is chasing down help for her to pay for medications. Seems while my folks were working for less than minimum wage, taking in grandparents, siblings, and parents to care for, and raise a family of their own, they neglected to "save" enough money for old age. Part of her first salary was hay for a horse, (which she didn't even own), that she rode to the school where she laid the fire, pumped the water, and oh yeah, taught 8 grades of youngsters. But the congressmen will get up on the floor and say with a straight face that social security was never meant to be the only source of one's retirement income. Those people (remember the depression?), were supposed to be saving money. Sheer neglect on their part. Meanwhile, medicare will pay for lots of operations that prolong the quantity of life, but heretofore, has not given any assistance to pay for the drugs that those operations necessitate for the rest of their extended-beyond-natural-lives. Oops! Did I lose the current train of thought and go into my own little rant? Sorry! But you need to know this stuff, if you are not already well versed. It's coming up for most of us, and it's ugly. The cost of fuel is a horrendous additional burden on those who were already struggling.
ReplyDeleteWhenever I mention be middle-aged my younger son, 21, looks at me and grins and invariably states the following:
ReplyDelete"You know, Ma, based on current life-span statistics for women, you are actually past that middle-aged mark..."
Such a sweetheart, that boy :)
*being, not be
ReplyDeleteHa! Hubbie has an SUV that he needs for work and it's also useful for driving around these mountain roads in the snow. But, aside from getting stuck in the snow...I love my smaller car.
ReplyDeleteI was just the eavesdropper.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first glimpsed them I thought they were about my age, but after looking more closely I decided that they were much, much older. :)
Well, my new car is an SUV... a Saturn Vue... one of the reasons I got it was that it is so easy to get in and out of! I don't have to climb up to get in and getting out is a breeze... I was having trouble getting out of my previous car which was small and very low to the ground. I don't do much long distance driving and I live close to work, so gas mileage is not too much of an issue for me... combined city highway usually runs 23 mpg. Not too bad. I am very happy with my new car... and it is so much easier to get things in and out of the back! I guess i'll have to say... to each his own!
ReplyDeleteOne hears the most interesting things while eavesdropping. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteJust thought I'd add to the whole small car vs. SUV thing.
ReplyDeleteI drive what I guess they're calling a sport wagon with a four cylinder engine that gets good gas mileage. I've lived in MI for four years now and have driven through some horrible snow storms... no problem. It is a myth that one needs some gas guzzling behemoth to get around in a northern state.
My BF owned a truck with 4WD and never felt the need to use it in the snow here. He got tired of the poor gas mileage and bought a used Hyundai Accent and get great gas mileage and never has a problem in the snow.
My car is a hatch back that has fold down seats and therefore can haul as much junk as I need it too.
You just can't sell me on the need to drive one of those monster, gas guzzlers. Even if you occasionaly tow a boat or something, you could probably get away with something smaller but certainly don't use it as a commuter vehicle.
OK, rant over. Sorry, feel free to delete my two cents. ;-)