Reply #13: While I'm glad to see gas guzzlers losing popularity, I feel sympathy for families [View All]

[Liberty Belle]

taking such huge losses.

Back in the days when my husband was a Scoutmaster and we regularly ferried kids and friends to baseball or soccer practice, there were very few options available and none got good mileage.

When I was a kid, families could pile lots of kids in a station wagon, but there were no seat belt rules back then so you could squeeze in extras on laps, etc. Of course i'm all for seat belt laws. But they do limit how many kids per vehicle.

the only options for families with several kids, or even families with a couple of kids who also need room for kids' friends plus gear for baseball, family vacations, etc. are mini-vans or SUVs.

Some minivans proved to be maintenance nightmares, ie the Plymouth Voyager (ours went through 3 transmissions in 80,000 miles). It was towed 7 times in 7 years. When we finally sold it at a huge loss, we never recovered from the financial hit. So I really feel for families caught up in the gas price crisis.

After minivans fell from vogue, families and leaders of scout troops, soccer teams, etc. turned to SUVs. I fault our government for not requiring car manufacturers to create fuel-efficient vehicles or better yet, hybrid or electric vehicles suitable for families who need space for more than 4 or 5 passengers.

It's wrong for families and leaders who volunteer their time for our kids to take this big hit now that our government screwed everyone over.

For the record, i don't drive an SUV and never have. Our kids are grown, and we've got a couple of fuel-efficient smaller cars.