CNN Morning: What car would moms rather have?

[Roland99]

A Cadillac Escalade.


Didn't catch the premise but apparently moms are still living with blinders on.

[Taverner]

1. Hmmm not the moms I know...they'd rather have a Hybrid Sienna

They want a minivan (trust me, if you have kids, these are essential!) that gets 50 mpg...

[Roland99]

12. My sister gets around fine in a Mazda 6 (as do I as a single dad)

She dumped her Dodge minivan some years ago and even had a Honda Civic for a while hauling her 3 kids around to their activities.

[Taverner]

13. Ahh but if she had the same mileage in a minivan

She'd probably love it.

The thing about minivans is not the sitting up high, false feeling of safety...but the fact that you can pack 8 kids + baseball equipment and 7th inning refreshments all in one vehicle.

SUV's are no more useful than a sedan in that arena.

[Roland99]

16. Well, when they make hybrid minivans, they'll sell like hotcakes

[Taverner]

18. YES INDEED!!!!!!!! (Toyota US - can you hear us???)

We're putting off buying our next car until 2009 when the Hybrid Sienna is supposed to be out for sure.

Japan already has the Estima and Alphard Hybrids, which get an average of 45 mpg...and the new tech is supposed to get them around 60 mpg in the next editions.

Of course, in the US the new hybrids that come out don't get better mileage, they just get the extra torque from the electric engine (WTF?!?!?!?!) For this reason, most new hybrids aren't selling - the only ones that are are the mileage-based hybrids (Prius, Civic Hybrid, etc...)

It's almost as if they don't WANT us to get better mileage...

[GreenPartyVoter]

23. I'd take one

[SmokingJacket]

24. I had a minivan for about a year and hated it.

Visibility was very poor, it drove like a tank, and there was a lot of wasted space between seats. Mine had terrible mileage; I would have liked it better if that weren't the case.

I now have a ten-yr-old volvo station wagon, and it's perfect for our family of four. All our crap fits in it -- groceries, loads of mulch, friends -- and it drives like a regular car. :loveya:

[ContraBass Black]

36. Which minivan?

[SmokingJacket]

37. I don't remember -- Dodge Caravan, or a Windstar.

It was 2002, and it was a couple years old, I think, maybe a few years old. We drove it while living in another city for a year...

[ContraBass Black]

38. Other vans are very different.

[etherealtruth]

2. I think it was a joke ....

...having to do with a little remote control 'car' that "gets better gas mileage" than an Escalade.

[htuttle]

3. Is 'Moms' really a valid demographic group in the US?

Seems to me the subset of the entire population that are mothers would be far too diverse to make any generalizations about.

Or is that really just code for 'White Soccer Moms in the Suburbs'?

By the choice of vehicles in this 'poll', I'd suggest it is.

[titoresque]

4. oh, ok I see

SUV sales are down?

[AlCzervik]

5. i'm a mom, a mom that drives a honda accord but i'd love to have

a mini.

[Bonhomme Richard]

6. It's our culture. It is more important.................

what we have than who we are.

[BlueEyedSon]

7. where the heck are the hybrid station wagons?

[mod mom]

8. This mom is getting 50 mpg around town in my Prius and biking when

possible.

[in_cog_ni_to]

9. This mom drives a Prius Hybrid.

They're polling the wrong moms.

[catmandu57]

10. You know those moms

They'de rather put their money in the gas tank, than food on the table :sarcasm:

[NJCher]

11. I tuned in for the first time in six months or more

And I had to turn CNN off after only about 10". I couldn't stand it. When they had Bill Bennett on, commenting about why the NSA phone tracking isn't so bad and why his listeners aren't upset about it, I said, yep, that's why I never have this piece of crap network on.




Cher

[Clark2008]

14. Not me.

I want a decent-looking hybrid - I hate the 'bubble' look they have now.

I want a Mustang that's a hybrid - so Ford, I command you to make me one. :)

[nickinSTL]

17. "they"? Only 2 are even REMOTELY odd-looking

The Toyota Prius and the Honda Insight might be a tad odd-looking, though I'm guessing you're only talking about the Prius.

Clearly, you don't know much about current hybrids.

Most hybrids now are just hybrid versions of long-standing models, such as:

Honda Civic
Honda Accord
Toyota Highlander
Toyota Camry
Ford Escape/Mazda Tribute/Mercury Mariner
Lexus RX 400h

And coming in the next couple years:

Nissan Altima
Lexus GS
Saturn VUE
Chevy Tahoe/GMC Yukon
Toyota Sienna
Honda Fit
Porsche Cayenne

[Clark2008]

31. Not much on that list I'd own

They're all foreign. I only buy American (yes, I know, some are made here, but the profits don't stay here - and I don't want to get in this argument, so, we'll just leave it at this: I don't buy automobiles without the names Ford, Chevy or GMC on them).

I see the Ford, Chevy and Saturn there, but I don't like SUVs, so that rules them out (besides, I'm a tiny woman - I don't like big honkin' vehicles).

So, nope. No sale.

Give me a muscle car - something that's powerful enough to protect me from all the semi's I have to drive with around here (my town is where interstates 40 and 75 intersect - there are TONS, literally, of semis on my roads) and something that doesn't look like all the other cars on the road. I'm VERY picky about automobiles because I'm not spending thousands on something I think is ugly or puny and most of what I see on the roads these days are downright, well, uninteresting and unimaginative, excepting for a handful of sports cars and maybe the adorable Mini Cooper.

Why CAN'T I have a sports car that's a hybrid is the orignial thrust of my question, though. Don't they think that there are Americans who want something attractive, sleek and aerodynamic (and has those nice little bucket seats so short little me can drive it) to go along with a savings and lack of dependance on gasoline?

I think those would sell like hot cakes.

[nickinSTL]

32. whatever.

if you're into muscle cars, that's your thing.

I think you've got a point about making them as hybrids, though I wonder how many would sell... :shrug:

As to the only buy "American"...it isn't like the profits from GMC, Ford and Chevy go into the US economy, either. Mostly into the pockets of CEOs. I don't give a crap whether the CEO is in Japan, Korea, Germany, Sweden or the US.

I buy cars I can trust. Those don't say Ford, Chevy, or GMC. They say Toyota or Honda.

[Clark2008]

33. And I don't trust Toyotas or Hondas

They SUCK - at least everyone I know who's owned either has had waaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyy more problems than I ever have with my 12-year-old Mustang.

That silly theory that American cars aren't any good is SO 1980s.

[nickinSTL]

35. I've owned several Toyotas...

there are minor problems...but nothing major.

If you look at the reliability records of US vs. Japanese makes, there's NO comparison. All the most reliable are Japanese.

I know people with Pontiacs and Fords who HATE them.

I guess you've gotten lucky.

[Warpy]

15. Yeah, well they have to haul kids, car seats,

sports crap, art crap, groceries, and a whole lot of other stuff PLUS have room for their kids' friends.

I have sympathy for moms driving momvans. They have a reason for driving some rolling billboard.

I have sympathy when the thing is full of screaming kids and she's shelling out $40 to my $15 at the gas pump.

I actually considered getting one, don't drive that much but do occasionally have to haul a lot of fleece, fiber and weaving gear. I decided when that happens, I'll go RENT one.

[Javaman]

19. Define Mom...

Is mom a white repuke?

[LeftyMom]

20. Not this Mom

Hell, if you gave me one I'd sell it as fast as I could. I don't want some hard-to-drive, gas guzzling peice of shit I'd need a steplader to climb into. Have you ever tried to put a kid into a carseat when the thing is damn near over your head? Big SUVs make shitty kid haulers. Anyhow, those things are fucking ugly!

If somebody gave me one, I'd sell it and buy one of these:

http://www.autobytel.com/content/shared/articles/templates/index.cfm/article_id_int/473

Good milage, safety, plenty of seating and fun to drive? Sign this Mom up! :D

[Roland99]

21. Ok...more detail on this. The survey came from NADA. **Now with link**

They flashed the numbers up and I don't remember exactly but the breakdown was close to this:

What vehicle do you own/drive?
54% - SUV
22% - 4-door sedan
8% - Luxury car
8% - Crossover
6% - Minivan


Dream car #1 was the Escalade.
Dream car #2 was the Range Rover
Dream car #3 was the Porsche Carrera


Only half were worried about gas mileage.



Oh wait....GOOGLE to the rescue!


When It Comes to Buying a Car, Mom's the Word
Mother's Day Survey Reveals Safety Is Mom's #1 Purchase Consideration, Followed by Fuel Economy
http://sev.prnewswire.com/auto/20060508/LAM07908052006-1.html

[SoCalDem]

22. This Mom prefers one that's PAID for, even if it is old

:)

[SmokingJacket]

26. I'm SO with you on that.

A car payment would kill me.

[CottonBear]

25. CNN was promoting "Pimp Mom's ride" for Mothers Day.

:puke: Mom and pimp in the same sentence is so wrong. :(

[TheFriedPiper]

27. SUVs are ugly and handle poorly

If you are going to waste gas, at least have the courtesy to waste it in a high-performance vehicle rather than hauling 200 cubic feet of air around with you.

Of course, if we just legalize HEMP, we can end our dependence on all foreign oil and have enough left over to drive whatever we want as fast as we want.

[newyawker99]

28. Hi TheFriedPiper!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[nickinSTL]

29. "SUVs are ugly..."

That is your opinion.

I love SUVs. I've loved SUVs since I saw my first Ford Bronco II - when I was about 12.

On the other hand, I have no use for "high-performance" vehicles. I just don't find them attractive at all.

I'd sure rather find a better fuel alternative, though, as I'm not happy with gas-guzzling (and HUGE SUVs are a complete waste for 99% of the people who own them).

[recoveringrepublican]

30. This mother of 2 young ones just bought a new Honda Civic

ok, before you gasp, check my user name. I was disgusted driving my Expedition. Just got home from picking my son up for pre-K. Looks like CNN was right....1 full size hummer, 1 H3, 2 escalades and a Highlander.

[TrogL]

34. You can get fairly good mileage in a minivan

If you pull out the seats when you're not using them.

I've got an older Windstar with removeable seats. I rarely have the back bench seat in 'cause it weighs a ton and if I know I'm not moving people, I'll pull one or both middle seats as well.

Vans with fold-into-the-floor seats are useless.