In addition to its high fun-to-drive factor, the Miata also offers more practical advantages such as the ability to nab a smaller parking spot that all the bigger cars and space-hogging trucks and SUVs have to pass up. There is a smug satisfaction that comes with not only driving something that puts a smile on your face while getting from point A to point B, but which also makes it less of a hassle to find a parking spot once you've arrived.
I'd rather drive a Miata every day (while getting 24-30 mpg) and just rent a pickup or SUV if and when I actually needed one rather than put up with the wasteful fuel appetite and constant parking hassles of those trucks. The money I save on gas each year would probably cover over a month's worth of rentals!..
As far as the old safety argument (big trucks are "safer" in an accident than a small car) goes, I think people should actually try driving more safely (e.g., pay attention to driving, use turn signals, stop tailgating, driving erratically and running redlights) so as to decrease the chance of an "accident" happening in the first place, rather than concentrate on how much protection they'll have after they get in one. Having some bozo in a GMC Sierra Crew Cab see me and then cut right in front of me anyway on the freeway was one catalyst for my brief rant here...
John DiPietro, Automotive Editor
rsholland says:
04:46 PM, 06/26/06
Well, if I had my druthers, I'd have both a small sporty car like a Miata—and a big honking pickup and/or SUV.
Here's the difference, I'd spend 95% of my time driving the Miata, and use the truck only when truck-like activities.
Sound stupid? Perhaps—but this I know having owned several trucks in the past: Once you've owned a truck, and then get rid of it, you'll regret it forever. There have been so many times, after having sold my old F-150, that I wish I still had it. It could be little stuff like running to Home Depot for yard stuff, or for any number of other stuff...
I see it no differently than the guy who owns some exotic supercar, and who only drives it on warm sunny days; only this is in reverse, as it's the truck that gets rarely used.
Bottom line for me is there is nothing like having a truck for those rare times. And yeah, it may sound wasteful or extravagant, but that's me—and I bet a lot of other former truck owners feel the same way too.
Now I do own a new WRX Limited wagon, so in a sense I do have a sports car and a (micro-mini) trucklet all in one. :)
Another alternative is having a utility trailer, which I also have. Now that gets pulled behind the wife's Forester. So I'm not really truck starved, but even so, I still wish I had one...
rsholland says:
04:59 PM, 06/26/06
Whoops! Should have read...
"Here's the difference, I'd spend 95% of my time driving the Miata, and use the truck only when truck-like activities are needed."
jerrywimer says:
04:44 AM, 06/27/06
I have a truck now (trading for a new 07 Av, slightly smaller with more people friendly interior spaces for my family hauling times), but I still feel the same as you do, Bob.
No offense John, but having to work around the hours that the closest truck rental is open, combined with the 30 mile drive to get the truck (and another to return it), the need to take someone else with us to drive the car back (so even if the rental place is near work, gotta go home to get the spouse and then come back..), possibly driving the opposite direction when making use of it, isn't always such a convenient thing for all of us. Especially when our work hours don't exactly mesh up perfectly with the rental business'.
Those are just a few thoughts as to why I'll give up my truck as soon as you give up your matchbox car. (Kidding- I like small cars too- though I need at least four seats and a trunk big enough to hold the belongs of their occupants on a trip)
rsholland says:
05:50 AM, 06/27/06
If I didn't have that utility trailer, I'd be bouncing off the walls suffering with terminal truck withdrawal. :)
And... if I didn't have the trailer, I probably wouldn't have my WRX either. As much as I love to drive it, I'd probably have another pickup; maybe not a big one, but a truck none the less. Most likely it would be a Ridgeline or a Frontier crew cab 4x4.
johnnyturbo says:
10:59 AM, 06/27/06
My point is that there are 365 days in a year, and the handful of days that I (or most people, for that matter) might need a truck doesn't justify going through the expense and hassle of owning one.
I'd rather deal with the once in a blue moon trouble of getting a rental than deal with the daily aforementioned negatives of poor fuel mileage and finding parking spots that'll accommodate something as big as a '74 Caddy Fleetwood Brougham ;)
If I were a homeowner (vs. condo) I would consider rsholland's idea of just having a nice used truck as a second vehicle to use when its abilities are needed, as opposed to serving as a daily driver with one person in it, the bed perpetually empty and nothing hooked up to the tow hitch.
rsholland says:
11:24 AM, 06/27/06
If I had a condo I too would not want/need a truck. But I have a 1 acre heavily wood lot, and yard work is always an issue. Heck, in the fall my 5x8 trailer with 30" sides goes to the county landfill with 9 or 10 loads of leaves—and that's just from the front yard!
rsholland says:
11:50 AM, 06/27/06
Sorry for going off-topic here...