BlogHer - Cars - Comments

Thanks!

Trisha — Tue, 13 May 2008 18:29:14 -0500

Thanks for writing that post! I think a lot of women don't take their personal safely seriously enough.

Another thing not to do - like I saw someone in a TV show do today - is if you see something in road ahead when by yourself at night - don't get out to see what it is. I would hope most people are smarter than the person on TV though (who of course was killed). :)

Please come visit and say 'Hello!': Ideas For Women blog

When my husband and I first

Emilyanne — Tue, 13 May 2008 12:17:27 -0500

When my husband and I first got married, we had two cars. Both of us had communtes of more than an hour, and they were in opposite directions. Hey, when you're fresh out of college you take what you can get! :)

We downsized to one car when I had my first son and decided to stay home. My husband drove it to work four days a week and telecommuted the fifth day, which allowed me to do errands. We also live close enough to the post office and a park to walk there, so we did get out of the house! This worked well for us for three years.

Now, with a third baby on the way (three car seats won't fit in the Corolla!) and my husband changing jobs (no telecommuting option) we did buy a second car - a minivan. It is strange to suddenly have the option of driving on any day, and yet not want to drive EVER because it costs me $75 to fill the gas tank!

Ideally I'd love to just do all the errands on one day (along with the trip to the park/library/Mom's group!) but with two toddlers who need morning and afternoon naps, that just isn't possible. I think the best I can do at this point is make sure that I group my errands by location and try to keep driving as much to a minimum as possible.

Oh, and about public transportation? My husband is a HUGE fan of it and if possible would take it to work every day. Sadly, we live in an area with very poor coverage, and taking a bus would mean over two hours of commute time EACH WAY. Which just isn't feasible since he wants to actually see us occasionally. :) We hope that our city planners will add better public transit in the near future.

Does a 20 yr. old car count?

nikkik — Sat, 10 May 2008 18:31:00 -0500

We used to own 2 SUVs until our lease was up on the Trailblazer and were given my Mom's 20 year old Volvo Station Wagon. We drive it back and forth to the dump and church (3.5 mls. each way) where my husband is a Pastor. Sometimes it goes a little further, but it really likes to drive around town. It's a great car and I feel SO safe in it. But it does make things more convenient.

This February we had a 100 year RAIN storm up here in New England and our driveway was washed away. Our friends called it the "Grand Canyon," and wanted to bring their kids over to see the power of water. During that time, "Black Beauty" (that's what my Mom called the car) was stuck at the top of the driveway until the Grand Canyon was filled in. During winter we are stuck inside more and so having one car only seemed to present a problem a few times.

But, now that it's summer, I don't think we could go back (nor do I want to give up Black Beauty)! We are 35 minutes from any major town so if one of us needs to make a trip, the other is stuck.

So that's my answer - we're sticking with 2. The gas-guzzling SUV and the tank.

~Nikki

http://www.techietutor.wordpress.com

We've discussed it...

Ewokgirl — Sat, 10 May 2008 18:02:09 -0500

Last night as we were driving into Dallas, we were talking about this very subject. We agreed that it just wouldn't make sense for us right now to go down to one car. Our cars are both paid for, and they're both fuel efficient. The money saved on insurance would be made up for with extra gas costs. As a SAHW, I would want the car 1-2 days a week so I can run errands and such. That would mean driving my husband to work in Dallas, then driving home, then repeating it all when it's time for him to come home. That's just as wasteful as using 2 cars.

While our town is pedestrian and biker friendly, it would still be difficult to do. For one, the heat here is unbearable during the day. Walking or bike riding in it would be an instant migraine. The second reason is that no place has bike racks. You can ride to the library or the grocery store, but then you risk having your bike stolen without a rack to lock it to.

My husband has looked into public transportation, but he learned that it would take him 2 hours to get to work, then another 2 to come home. That's 4 extra hours out of his day just to travel by bus and/or light rail. Our public transport system isn't big enough to deal with all the suburbs. What's more, most suburbs vote against having it in the first place when the opportunity for expansion is presented. People are still too in love with their SUVs and wealthy-image lifestyles to convert to using public transportation.

In theory, one car sounds great. Very socially conscious. But the reality is that most American cities aren't set up for people to be without cars.

http://www.marriedtotheempire.blogspot.com/

Down To 1

worldsgreatestmommy — Sat, 10 May 2008 16:28:57 -0500

We've got only 1 car that I, as personal chauffeur, use to haul everyone around. My husband hitches a ride or uses public transit to get to the school where he teaches about 15 miles away.

It takes coordinating things on the weekend, and I'll admit there are times it's annoying, but when we looked at buying another car we were way turned off by the thought of a car payment, extra insurance, and most of all...gas. As it is now, my husband just chips in on gas money. We save a ton.

Sarah

World's Greatest Mommy?

http://worldsgreatestmommy.blogspot.com

Biking more often/access to good trails and roads is key

Susan Doherty — Sat, 10 May 2008 16:06:07 -0500

I just got off my bike after running errands so really enjoyed reading this sequence. I'm trying to pull my bike out more often as a means of getting exercise and reducing my carbon footprint. I agree that access to biking trails and lanes is the key to encouraging more cycling. My town has done a fairly good job of including bike lanes on many of the roadways, but they don't always keep them clear of rocks, dirt and other debris. Not so bad when I'm on my mountain bike, but a bit sketchy when I'm on my road bike with super skinny tires.

We do have two vehicles, but one is quite old (a '92) and long-ago paid off. We just purchased a new car (to replace my husband's which was totaled this winter) and it was definitely the first time we bought one with both of us in mind, as opposed to this is my car - that is your car. My husband is a carpenter so we needed something big enough for his tools and powerful enough to pull his work trailer. We are also waiting on an adoption, so wanted something that would be kid and family-friendly. The '92 has no airbags so this was critical. We settled on the Toyota Hylander Hybrid and absolutely love it.

I work out of the house, so don't have a great need for a car. For a while, i was hung up on needing the car to drive to client meetings, simply so I could dress professionally. I got over that pretty quickly and decided that the clients who didn't support cycling might not be clients I wanted to count among my own. My wardrobe may be a bit more casual as a result, but I'm willing to suck up a few wayward glances at my helmet head and rolled up pant leg. After reading the comments here, i realized that we are (consciously or not) slowly moving toward becoming a one car family. It will be interesting to see how this plays out when our child arrives. Sounds like many of you with kids are making it work.

Susan Doherty

Six Minute Style

www.sixminutestyle.com

I have shared a single car

invisibleinc — Sat, 10 May 2008 08:27:20 -0500

I have shared a single car with my husband for our entire marriage.

It is an absolute frickcin nightmare, and I cannot say that strongly enough.

I NEVER get out of the house. EVER. He works very long hours, 7 days a week, and his office is too far to justify driving back and forth to drop him off. If I need to go grocery shopping, I have to do so before dawn. Sometimes I can get my mom to make the drive down to me to drive me somewhere, but not often. I live in a very poor, crime ridden neighborhood where it is not safe to let the kids play in the yard, much less walk to a bus stop, much less ride a bus.

Don't do it unless you're prepared to have no kind of life whatsoever.

Thanks a lot for interesting

petta1 — Sat, 10 May 2008 04:31:36 -0500

Thanks a lot for interesting article.

Soooo thankful for public transportation

Madridmom — Sat, 10 May 2008 03:59:06 -0500

I have a family of 6 living in Spain. We had to leave the car in the body shop on April 30 and I don't foresee getting it back for another week or two. In the States we would never be able to be without wheels for such a long time but my husband takes the bus, train and metro to work daily as it is and we just had to stock up on bus passes to get the kids to school each day. All of our NEEDS can be taken care of within walking distance. I wouldn't like to be permanently without a car, because there are some things we cannot get to by public transportation (ie: the boys' baseball practice today) but fortunately we have good friends that are stepping up to the plate to help us out temporarily with rides.

Once we get the car back we will continue being selective about our use. With gas at $7.80 a gallon here, we try and make a tank last as long as possible, however bus/train/subway rides times 6 adds up too.

Great post, Shannon!

Madridmom

blogging at: One Bite At A Time http://madridmom.blogspot.com/

Great Post!

photochick — Sat, 10 May 2008 03:19:17 -0500

I love the concept of only having one car... We only own one car, but my husband's company provides him with one for his job with gas paid for and unlimited personal miiles. It's amazing. I can't even remember we used 'our' car; we use the company one as much as possible. To be perfectly honest, it's about the only way we're able to make it on one income - notice I didn't say 'one job!' I'm a full time Mommy, and it's the best job I've ever had in my life :o)

Although come to think of it, I wouldn't mind doing photography or photo editing as a carreer! Hey, someday I just may!

Hoping To Break the Van Habit Over Summer Break

Writer-Mommy — Fri, 09 May 2008 23:24:14 -0500

Both of my two oldest are in two different private schools (first grade and preschool). I am the school bus.

Luckily, we live in a relatively small town/city so the distance isn't too bad.

But still - I'd like to drive less and walk more.

Your post is timely; I've been thinking a lot about ways I could get all three of my kids(youngest is two) hither and yon this summer on foot. It's just near impossible during the school year.

Glad the tornadoes skipped over you, Shannon!

Going Green & Going Crazy!

jennydecki — Fri, 09 May 2008 22:11:41 -0500

We are a two toddler one car family as well, but with a twist.

We live in the suburbs, and my husband works in a suburb about 40 miles away, so he gets the car.

I work from home, and all errands and shopping and everything else are either done by my husband to/from work or on his lunch hour, by me after hours, or by one or all of us on the weekend.

It takes careful planning, and I feel some serious cabin fever now and then (going around the block doesn't count LOL) but I know that having a second car would mean more gas money down the drain, more unnecessary travel, more car payments, more car repairs...all that adds up to too much drama!

Since we don't know where hubby will be working in three years (is any job forever anymore?) We aren't going to buy another car now based on future after-school activities they will need to get to.

We're using this time to pay down debt as fast and furiously as possible. That will help our girls far more in the long run than being able to take them with me to the store tomorrow.

We also use cloths instead of paper towels and real instead of paper napkins. Lots of things that are good for the environment are surprisingly good for the pocketbook!

jennydecki -Beyond Mom Blog

Wish we could

Veronica Mitchell — Fri, 09 May 2008 21:47:16 -0500

I wish we could go back to just one car, or that our city had a better bus system. I had so much to say on this subject that I wrote my own post about it.

http://toddleddredge.com/the-usual-blather/cars-vs-carless-one-familys-consideration-of-cars-mass-transit-and-walking

Suburbs, 2 toddlers, one car

Kimberly0918 — Fri, 09 May 2008 20:44:54 -0500

We've been a one car family for three years, ever since my first son was born and we decded to figure out how I could afford to stay home with him. I am fortunate to live in a city with lightrail, so my husband takes MAX (our lightrail system) to work and I get to keep the car at home. This means that errands, Dr appts, playdates and Bible study are no problem. This saves us SO much money. Not only is our only car paid off, meaning no car payment, but our insurance is pennies since neither one of us use the car for commuting. We fill up our gas tank once a month and get to take a long time between oil changes and maintenance (we only put about 3,000 miles a year on our car).

Our big blessing is that my husband's work subsidizes his MAX pass and it costs us only $100 A YEAR!!! We would pay more than that in one MONTH for gas. I know the fact that we have light rail is what makes this such a do-able thing for us, but we would have done it somehow anyway. Having only one car saves us more than $400 a month on car payments and insurance alone. The gas savings is at least another $100. I don't know about you, but it just appeals to my greed. Could you live without a car for $500 a month? All the environmental benefits are just a wonderful bonus!!

I'm such a hypocrite...

livingingrace — Fri, 09 May 2008 19:58:12 -0500

Three months ago, I would have laughed at the idea of a one car family.

Than, February 10th (our anniversary no less) my car died. Dead. Head blown. DInner plans blown. But, we did have a romantic dirve back with the snarky tow truck driver.

But, I digress.

It's taken us this lon to locate the parts needed for my lovely British baby. But we have survived.

I stay home, and the jids homeschool while John works in town. Since we live out oftown adn there is nothing within 13 miles of us, trips have become cooridnated.

If I absolutely need to do errands in town, I take one day to get it all done. Starting off, I take John to work and then hit the proverbial orad. Once home, I make sure all the homework got done and then pop back into to town to pick him up.

Otherwise, I call him to pick up a couple of things at the store if needed (note: I have no guilt on this one. For years I had to run errands after work, so fair is fair, right? LOL).

Our town has no public transport, althoug this far out would do us no good anyway.

The only thing that worries me now? I have one kid old enough to get a job abd the itch to di it. Hours will have to be coordinated this summer if that goes through- and although John has volunteered to ride his bike to work, if needed, the strong Arizona heat worries me.

So, we'll see.