"Okay, lets take a typical scenario. You commute to work (alone), you also have a family and maybe want to tow a boat. How about two cars."
This would only work if you commute enough miles to work.
Someone that drives 50 miles a day for work in a 20MPG car vs the VW Golf (31MPG) might save $600-700ish (maybe $700-800 if you go diesal)(thinking in terms of gas prices now which could go up or down) which if they buy a 5-6 year old Golf will cost $5000-$6000. Now the Fuel savings is offset some when you figure in the cost of maintenance and repair on the car that is getting older and perhaps more unreliable plus you still have to perform regular maintenance and carry insurance on the SUV that is parked. Having two cars will also take more time to keep them maintained.
A plus side of having an extra car is that you can use the other when one is in the shop for whatever reason.
This may work for some people depending on how long their commute is and what the price of gas is but for people with shorter commutes it may not make economic sense. One should really evaluate all the costs involved with trying to maintain a second car just for commuting.
"Why would you need a SUV or a minivan just to fit a couple of kids in the car?
The vast majority of cars can easily transport five people."
Taking a family of five on a trip in a compact car sucks. It's not just the bodies you have to stow but all the luggage and toys and gobs of baby stuff.
I have three kids and our family has two cars, two are in booster seats required by law for children under 8 and one is in a full size car seat required until she is 40 pounds. The smaller car is a Saturn L wagon. I can fit them in the back but it's tight. Forget it if I have join a school carpool with other parents. The Saturn is our second car, definitely not a primary car.
Minivans offer more space and a lot of flexibility. I have met quite a few parents that told me they were against minivans (They are uncool) but that after a while they broke down and got one and love it. The sliding door on the sides give great access, the higher stance makes it so you don't have to bend over at awkward angles to help with seatbelts, the large back gate makes loading and unloading stuff easy and it holds a lot, and finally, if you have to haul a bunch of stuff you can fold down or remove seats to expose a huge cargo area.
"to answer your question, the dividing line exists at the point at which the resources you use are needed more by economically disadvantaged than by you"
Then someone who opposed extracting more of those scarce resources would be equally immoral then?
Slashdot Mirror
"Okay, lets take a typical scenario.
You commute to work (alone), you also have a family and maybe want to tow a boat.
How about two cars."
This would only work if you commute enough miles to work.
Someone that drives 50 miles a day for work in a 20MPG car vs the VW Golf (31MPG) might save $600-700ish (maybe $700-800 if you go diesal)(thinking in terms of gas prices now which could go up or down) which if they buy a 5-6 year old Golf will cost $5000-$6000. Now the Fuel savings is offset some when you figure in the cost of maintenance and repair on the car that is getting older and perhaps more unreliable plus you still have to perform regular maintenance and carry insurance on the SUV that is parked. Having two cars will also take more time to keep them maintained.
A plus side of having an extra car is that you can use the other when one is in the shop for whatever reason.
This may work for some people depending on how long their commute is and what the price of gas is but for people with shorter commutes it may not make economic sense. One should really evaluate all the costs involved with trying to maintain a second car just for commuting.
"Why would you need a SUV or a minivan just to fit a couple of kids in the car?
The vast majority of cars can easily transport five people."
Taking a family of five on a trip in a compact car sucks. It's not just the bodies you have to stow but all the luggage and toys and gobs of baby stuff.
I have three kids and our family has two cars, two are in booster seats required by law for children under 8 and one is in a full size car seat required until she is 40 pounds. The smaller car is a Saturn L wagon. I can fit them in the back but it's tight. Forget it if I have join a school carpool with other parents. The Saturn is our second car, definitely not a primary car.
Minivans offer more space and a lot of flexibility. I have met quite a few parents that told me they were against minivans (They are uncool) but that after a while they broke down and got one and love it. The sliding door on the sides give great access, the higher stance makes it so you don't have to bend over at awkward angles to help with seatbelts, the large back gate makes loading and unloading stuff easy and it holds a lot, and finally, if you have to haul a bunch of stuff you can fold down or remove seats to expose a huge cargo area.
"to answer your question, the dividing line exists at the point at which the resources you use are needed more by economically disadvantaged than by you"
Then someone who opposed extracting more of those scarce resources would be equally immoral then?