chevy,ford, or dodge or other

[Snow_Fox]

A point not mentioned:

Safety is another issue. Granted newer model cars are safer these days with airbags galore, but BIG TRUCKS are safer still.

This is incorrect.

BIG TRUCKS are safer in head on collisions. They are not all around safer.

I guess 24 years of responding to car accidents has me a little 'skiddish' about riding in a SMALL vehicle...

I love smaller vehicles.. you have no idea how many times the only reason I wasn't in a wreck is because my vehicle doesn't take up my entire side of the rode... People have a bad habit of being in big trucks and taking up not just thier side of the rode.. but, part of mine as well..

It's physics... The BIG vehicle usually wins...

While you are right, I also hate the "better them than me" mentality when people decide to buy those big vehicles..

I also hate the belief that big vehicles are safer.

They are not.

They are SITUATIONALLY safer. Just like situationally my little yaris is going to be safer than a big truck.

But again, not 'knocking' anyone's preference. I LOVE a supercharged Dodge Viper, and other fine smaller sports cars. But, as a 'daily driver' for me... nahhhh... I'll take the big truck..

If your particularly tall I can actually understand the logic of wanting a truck or suv for a 'daily driver'.

Not only that but, for older people not having to bend so far down is wonderful.

Although, while working at lowe's I got enraged one day. An older gentleman pulled up in this big blue brand new ford f150 and sure the man looked 60 or older...

However, if your going to park in handicapped parking, do me a favor and be HANDICAPPED. This wasn't an issue of "oh let me get a truck so I don't have to hurt my back getting in the small car" this was an issue of "I have to actually climb into my truck, which means I am in pretty good shape!"

This truck was high enough off the ground that if you could climb in and out.. I have trouble believing your handicapped...

A side note: I am about to install a "hydraulic ram assisted" steering system in the beast.. It will give it SUPER POWER STEERING. I will be able to steer that big truck with ease with just 1 finger... cool..
(not that I would use one finger, being a safe driver and all)

Well in all fairness steering is pretty important to driving.. so the easier you can steer the safer I'll feel on the road

safety is all in the drivers hand too. I know plenty of people who would be better off in small cars because they cant handle a truck. cars are very individual and theres no one better than other since everyones needs are differemt.

Unfortunately this makes me think of 911.

Flying is probably honestly one of the safest ways to travel..
The problem with trucks and suv's and them being "safer" is they are also more dangerous.
A plane is the safest way to travel... until it crashes into a tower.
A truck is safer to drive..
Until your texting and hit someone else.
The downside with the truck thing is if your not hit head on... that truck can roll alot easier.
SUV's seem particularly prone to doing it..

Reasons for SUV's and pickup trucks can vary: my mom drove an SUV after she broke her hip in a car accident partly because of the safety (after nearly getting killed in a small car, having something huge appealed to her), but mostly because she couldn't comfortably get into a small car.

I understand its harder for some people to get in and out of small cars.. I am sorry to hear that.

Although I do hope that she keeps in mind an SUV is only situationally safer...

As for me, I dig any car that doesn't sit low to the ground. I'm 5'2" and currently borrowing my friend's Honda Civic, and I get tired of having to reach up to drive-thru windows, or worse, having to open the door and get out of the car to use a drive-up ATM.

Eh, in all fairness I don't think you need a truck or suv to be higher off the ground

There are plenty of cars that do sit higher up without being "jacked up" just fine.

 

[lunameow]

I understand its harder for some people to get in and out of small cars.. I am sorry to hear that.

Although I do hope that she keeps in mind an SUV is only situationally safer...

Eh. Used past tense, 'cause she passed away four years ago. But at age 74, that was the only accident she'd ever been in, whether in a small car or the SUV. And even then, it was another driver's fault. A drunk driver clipped her and put her into a spin on a slick road, and the guy behind her t-boned her low-sitting Pontiac. She wasn't wearing a seatbelt which, oddly, was the only thing that kept her from getting killed. Her upper body was thrown across the passenger seat, but with her legs still in the steering well... yep, broken hip. In that situation, definitely would have been safer in the SUV, since most of the impact would have been below her.

Eh, in all fairness I don't think you need a truck or suv to be higher off the ground

There are plenty of cars that do sit higher up without being "jacked up" just fine.

Yup. My Saturn LS was awesome for that. Going from that to the Civic felt like driving a toy car.

 

[davidnmegan6907]

Well to the truck bashers that I'm seeing so much of I have about 20" of snow on top of 3" of ice on the roads to my house. So drive your car over to my house and we will talk about it beers on me.. Yes I also have a car but having a truck/suv is sometimes also necessary

 

[lunameow]

Well to the truck bashers that I'm seeing so much of I have about 20" of snow on top of 3" of ice on the roads to my house. So drive your car over to my house and we will talk about it beers on me.. Yes I also have a car but having a truck/suv is sometimes also necessary

Heh. My dad used to borrow my old front-wheel-drive Reliant when it snowed because it handled better than his Ford F150.

 

[Caddyman]

sorry but if you are a good driver and not causing accidents or driving crazy and creating a tipping or flipping hazard for yourself there is no way you can tell me a small car is safer then a truck or suv when someone is hitting your car with their car.

even if i wasn't 6' tall i seriously doubt i would drive anything smaller then my concorde, especially having 2 kids and all....space is more a factor to me, but the added safety is nice too.

eta: i see the dream car questions, i would have to say either a Cadillac sts-v or a cts-v...probably the sts

 

[davidnmegan6907]

Heh. My dad used to borrow my old front-wheel-drive Reliant when it snowed because it handled better than his Ford F150.

Well thats a ford for ya.. but anyways lol I have driven some fwd vehicles that were good in the snow but when the snow is high as the bumper then a fwd is going to get stuck. Thats where my point leads to. And not to mention last year on one journey home from work with about 2' of snow I had to jump over 3 down trees that were around 2-3 feet in diameter car wouldnt have gotten me to far there..

 

[lunameow]

Well thats a ford for ya.. but anyways lol I have driven some fwd vehicles that were good in the snow but when the snow is high as the bumper then a fwd is going to get stuck. Thats where my point leads to. And not to mention last year on one journey home from work with about 2' of snow I had to jump over 3 down trees that were around 2-3 feet in diameter car wouldnt have gotten me to far there..

Now, see, I read that and think "Well, that's just begging for a flipped vehicle, no matter what you're driving." I know around here in bad weather, most of the flipped vehicles you see on the side of the highway are SUV's and pickups. Unsafe vehicles, or overconfident drivers? Discuss.

 

[davidnmegan6907]

Now, see, I read that and think "Well, that's just begging for a flipped vehicle, no matter what you're driving." I know around here in bad weather, most of the flipped vehicles you see on the side of the highway are SUV's and pickups. Unsafe vehicles, or overconfident drivers? Discuss.

Or just sit and freeze to death huh? Because who is going to come to the rescue? Fire department? First responders? Police? Nope none of the above. The morning after we ended up having to get out the tractor to pull out two first responders, 1 fd, and 1 state trooper. So I'm guessing your saying you would have froze to death instead of trying it? I guess that says it all. And I'm done with this debate before I end up saying things that will get me in trouble with the nice guys with labels under their names

 

[FireChief]

OK Dude, you challenged my internet manhood! (inside joke)

I also hate the belief that big vehicles are safer.

They are not.

What the ????

OK, You get in your Yaris (extremely small car) and I'll get in my F-350 lifted 10 inches.. and lets have a wreck.

You will change your mind pretty quick..

Further, your belief wouldn't be as such had you been tagging along with me over the last 24 years. Dude, I am a firefighter, now Battalion Chief, working in a city with over a million people in the area. I have seen EVERY kind of wreck, multiple times over.. And I mean EVERYTHING.. . heads off, arms off, legs off, etc, etc,.. Big cars, big trucks, small cars, medium cars, cheap cars, expensive cars.. I have read all the safety reports on cars, studied the components, etc, etc.. (vehicle rescue and extrication is always adapting to changes in vehicle construction)

If you think larger vehicles aren't safer for the people in them, then I don't know what to tell you... and I don't care what type of collision you are talking about: side impact, head-on, rear impact, roll... The only circumstance I can agree that a larger vehicle MIGHT not be safer is when hitting an IMMOVABLE object. And then, only because the larger vehicles typically don't have the multiple airbags newer smaller vehicles do, and the frames in larger vehicles don't absorb the impact as well as SOME of the smaller vehicles.

BUT, in the overwhelming number of collisions, the impact is with ANOTHER vehicle. The smaller vehicle pays a bigger price. That's a done deal. Hate the 'belief' all you want. It won't change the truth of the belief.

I remember a collision not too long ago. it serves as a good example. A nice BMW, Z4... and a "little" cargo truck... This box van cargo truck, small by truck standards, DESTROYED the Z4... The engine of the Z4 was laying in pieces in the street. Needless the say the driver was killed instantly... The driver and passenger of the truck were walking around, and understandably emotionally upset...

Big vehicles are not safer? Right, they are not safer for the people in smaller vehicles who run into them, or get hit by them..

By the way, and 1/2 ton truck is not considered, in my view, a 'bigger' vehicle.

The truck you see at the left (my avatar) is an F-350, with a 7.3 diesel engine, a huge brush guard and big wheels and tires. Most of the cars I would have an impact with will just get pushed out of the way...

This ain't about 'machismo' either.... I don't have anything to prove... I have been there, crawled in hot burning buildings time and time again, been inside the HazMat suit, and been dangling on a rope way up in the air.. .. the proving is over..

It's my choice to DRIVE a BIGGER VEHICLE. And I am WAY SAFER in that vehicle. AND when I can afford a bigger one, I will get it. ...

 

[Caddyman]

think about all the news articles you read where a car or truck or suv hit a tractor trailer....they usually read "occupants of the car died on impact, the truck driver was not hurt"

there is a reason why you never see a tractor trailer driver die cause a car hit them, cause the truck is bigger.

now scale that down to a yaris vs a large truck or suv.....same outcome.

 

[byteware]

As far as what vehicle I would drive if I had the choice... our van is a dodge Grand Caravan.

If you have children, there is not a better van out there for you. I love it. It's got enough technical equipment to keep the techie in me happy for awhile. I love the dual DVD players, and the wireless headsets so that the kids can watch their movies in silence, while we listen to the radio.

As far as my dream car? RevolutionMotors Dagne.... if it ever gets to market.

 

[Frisco]

Gads, I've had everything on that list, and many more.

Picking which one I liked the best is easy: my '57 Chevy. But that was long ago.

 

[Meximo]

We own a dodge. We haul all sorts of stuff - rocks, dirt, building materials. My pops has had a chevy and currently a ford. No loyalty here. Think at some point we will buy a Toyota . Only cause hunny works for them...My little car...the smallest I've ever owned is my Kia Soul...awesome thing just small. Just this girlies 2 cents.

 

[byteware]

think about all the news articles you read where a car or truck or suv hit a tractor trailer....they usually read "occupants of the car died on impact, the truck driver was not hurt"

there is a reason why you never see a tractor trailer driver die cause a car hit them, cause the truck is bigger.

now scale that down to a yaris vs a large truck or suv.....same outcome.

Semi trucks are substantially heavier than SUV's and Trucks. It's the weight and height that makes their head on collisions so deadly.

That being said, if I hit your Truck with my Yaris... I CAN make it roll over.

What's more, you don't even need an impact for a truck or SUV to roll.

That adds an entirely new layer of danger to them.

Yes, they are safer in head on collisions, but they are also more dangerous on side impacts and rolling over for any reason.

 

[evoX2]

Ford for me, F-150 4x4 and before that a mustang.

But the next car is going to be a Lancer Evo.

 

[byteware]

Also, calling any vehicle today domestic is a joke. By domestic you are saying that the Frame and Engine block were built locally, but beyond that... most everything else is built overseas and assembled domestically.

 

[gallandof]

I think what he was trying to say was that a smaller vehicle is saer for driving and avoiding accidents with inanimate objects.

Ive seen my friend crash his firebird we just finished rebuilding into a durango both cars were totaled but the durango was a drivable totaled where as the fire bird was completely done. The one thing that saved my friends life was the fact that his little car was still pretty agile so he was able to turn and powerslide to avoid a full head on collision. I know for a fact he wouldnt have been able to avoid a head on in a truck or SUV.


Any who back on track this isnt a topic about whats safer its about which Manufacturer people prefer, wether its car truck SUV exotic etc..

 

[Frisco]

Also, calling any vehicle today domestic is a joke. By domestic you are saying that the Frame and Engine block were built locally, but beyond that... most everything else is built overseas and assembled domestically.

We just got my wife a 2011 Ford Fiesta. We noticed "assembled in Mexico" in various places around the vehicle and in the manual.

Apparently, some of this particular model is manufactured at the U.S. Ford plant, some in various other countries, and it's all put together in Mexico.

Nice car, all around.. I really don't know what to say about it being called an American car, though. It is, sort of, I guess.

 

[Caddyman]

i have seen cars and trucks roll....there are thousands of variables.

my nieghbors car was parked on the street, someone in a saturn sc1 came down the street and clipped his left rear fender with their front right fender and the car flipped.

thousands of variables, but the odds are stacked (greatly) in the bigger car/truck/suv's favor.

Also, calling any vehicle today domestic is a joke. By domestic you are saying that the Frame and Engine block were built locally, but beyond that... most everything else is built overseas and assembled domestically

domestic vehicles are assembled in America (usually) and the moneys from the sales go to American Corporations...that is domestic enough for me. Like i said previously my dad retired from Chrysler 33 years. we always had chryslers, he almost disowned me when i let my wife buy a honda from her uncle....lol

i know ford and chrysler, other manuf's have plants in mexico and such. i know they made the neon or pt cruiser in mexico.

 

[IOWA]

I'm a Ford man =)

STI > Evo... except the one made by HTC

 

[FreddyFoFingers]

Ford. Mustang is always gonna be the way to roll. Sure if I'm rich sometime I'd like to mess around with modding a Supra or a GT-R, but nothing would replace the Mustang.

 

[Nallia]

Right now I'm driving a 2008 Chrysler Town & Country. I love it more than I ever believed I could, considering it's a minivan, but I do miss my Jeeps. Off-roading will have to wait a bit until the children are bigger.

We do also have a 2006 Dodge Dakota Quad Cab, and have used it every winter to help other vehicles out of the snow. And, yes, we also use it for towing and carrying.

My dream car? a '62 Corvette Convertible or a '68 Camaro. My favorite cars that I owned were my '77 Monte Carlo and my '78 Coupe De Ville. That Cadillac was bigger than most SUVs on the street today.

 

[faber78]

tl;dr (to long; didnt read).
toyota/honda.....sorry, those are my choices.

a big toyota preferably. my wife now drives a toyota sequoia after me having drove a semi over the road for a couple years, i wanted her and our little one in something bigger.

id like a 4 door toyota truck, because im a guy and i like to be able to haul and move things when i need to, which is pretty often. also want to be able to run over things and get around in bad weather.

never understood men that wanted to run around in a little sports car and didnt at least own a junker truck. how do you do anything you actually need to do?
haul off junk, haul wood and brush, tow other vehicles or pull stuck vehicles, buy furniture?
what, do you pay someone every time you need to do something?....call your buddy with the sense to act like a man and own a vehicle that does his family some good?
sad.

 

[gutted]

never understood men that wanted to run around in a little sports car and didnt at least own a junker truck. how do you do anything you actually need to do?
haul off junk, haul wood and brush, tow other vehicles or pull stuck vehicles, buy furniture?
what, do you pay someone every time you need to do something?....call your buddy with the sense to act like a man and own a vehicle that does his family some good?
sad.

Haha. I never understood guys who want to run around in big 3/4 ton trucks that they use (really use) once in a blue moon. Maybe it makes then feel manly? Maybe they need that 3/4 ton for... that trip to IKEA with the misses? Maybe they just like getting 15 mpg?

[And yes I've owned a truck. I drove a Dakota for a few years and I worked that harder than most guys work full size trucks. Which brings up my next "lol" point. I swear guys with full sizes buy them for the image and keep them spotless. Guys with the midsize and compact trucks actually use them and you can tell. After college I stopped doing that kinda work and realized it was silly to keep it.]

Anyway, I am a Dodge / Mopar guy (I've owned four) but I currently drive a Subaru. I like older Mopars but when I was in the market for a more sensible car all the Mopars at the time sucked.

 

[FireChief]

That being said, if I hit your Truck with my Yaris... I CAN make it roll over.

uhhhh.. good luck with that..

My truck is much like this one.. and about 10,000 lbs.

Here is your Yaris, about 2,300 lbs. Now, you do the math..

Yes, they are safer in head on collisions, but they are also more dangerous on side impacts and rolling over for any reason.

BZZZZT. Wrong answer...

Here is some reading material for you: (from the experts)

People traveling in small, light cars are at a disadvantage, especially when they collide with bigger, heavier vehicles. The laws of physics dictate this," says Institute president Adrian Lund. Death rates in single-vehicle crashes also are higher in smaller vehicles than in bigger ones.

When the institute crashed the Smart into the Mercedes C-Class sedan, the Smart, which weighs half as much as the sedan, went airborne and spun around one and a half times.

(let's see, my truck weighs almost FOUR times as much as the Yaris.. yikes.)

and now more:

.....and the Toyota Yaris earned poor ratings in the side test.

The institute concludes that while driving smaller and lighter cars saves fuel,