What Did I Do?!?!

"Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness" (long-voyager-2nd-edition)
11/08/2018 at 12:14 • Filed to: None

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Had to go and comment........

DISCUSSION (43)

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness
11/08/2018 at 12:14

https://jalopnik.com/1830307448

vondon302 > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness
11/08/2018 at 12:17

You poor bastard.

Chariotoflove > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness
11/08/2018 at 12:20

Every time I think of commenting on the FP now, I hover my hand over the publish button and think, “do I really want to do this”? I think maybe I’ve just been moving away from impromptu conversations with random people on the internet and toward people I’ve established some kind of recurring relationship with.

For Sweden > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness
11/08/2018 at 12:20

If wagons were mom cars, moms would buy them.

TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness
11/08/2018 at 12:21

You dun goofed son.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > Chariotoflove
11/08/2018 at 12:22

Sometimes I just enjoy stirring the pot......

farscythe - makin da cawfee! > For Sweden
11/08/2018 at 12:22

no shit.... the missus dont want me to buy a wagon coz they’re too big

but those new suvs sure are nice huh

*dies*

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > For Sweden
11/08/2018 at 12:23

They’re still perceived as “mom” cars, that’s why moms don’t buy them......

Ssfancyfresh > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness
11/08/2018 at 12:25

RAabble rAAabbblle RRRRAabble!!! MY OPINION IS DIFFERENT THANT YOURS<><><>< > YOOOO MUS BEEEE DUM!!!

Philistines. All of them. Stay here where all shapes and sizes are welcome.

EXCEPT CUV’S !!! ! ! ! ! Rabble RRRRRABBBLE RRRraaaraabRRBlle!!1!

Chariotoflove > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness
11/08/2018 at 12:26

Yeah, as long as you’re up for handling the notifications.

The other day , I came out and said I can’t like Alfas because of the beak grille. I was expecting to get slammed, and I did, but not too harshly and not by a many people as I thought. The worst I got was a grey telling me I don’t belong on the site. I enjoyed the minor irony on that one.

Chuckles > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness
11/08/2018 at 12:26

I partially agree with your assertion. I do think that a certain percentage of people have gone for CUVs to avoid soccer mom stigma, but that’s only part of it.

I think that we are witnessing a genuine evolution in terms of popular car design. Plenty of people without kids end up in Nissan Rogue instead of a Nissan Altima these days. And it's got nothing to do with soccer moms, it just fits their needs better. Thanks to our failing infrastructure, a little extra ride height isn't a bad thing. And if you aren't doing performance driving, it handles fine.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness
11/08/2018 at 12:27

My mom bought a CUV.

Oh that didn’t come out right...

farscythe - makin da cawfee! > Chariotoflove
11/08/2018 at 12:28

right there with you... course often as not when i ask meself do i really want to do this the answer is

Kinja'd!!!

i really need to find me another hobbie... or a car...

Chariotoflove > For Sweden
11/08/2018 at 12:28

Wagons were mom cars. Then they just lifted them. Funny how people think the CUV is an evolution of the SUV, but that’s not their phylogeny at all.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > Chariotoflove
11/08/2018 at 12:29

I think the bulk of them have already passed at this point. We’ll see how the day plays out.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
11/08/2018 at 12:30

Kinja'd!!!

Chariotoflove > farscythe - makin da cawfee!
11/08/2018 at 12:31

Kinja'd!!!

functionoverfashion > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness
11/08/2018 at 12:31

Ironically, I had a Suburban but sold it years before we had kids. I used it for work, moving large things and towing boats , so it was at least partially justified. T he first time my wife (then girlfriend) drove it she just smiled out the window and said “holy soccer mom, batman!!” as she was driving a Volvo S40 at the time.

Now she’s literally a soccer mom, as in , our kids are in youth soccer - and what do drive to soccer? A Mini.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > functionoverfashion
11/08/2018 at 12:35

When we show up to my daughter’s volleyball games in the car, we are literally 1 of 2 parents who don’t have a CUV. The other parent has a 5th gen Grand Caravan.

I just find it funny that people still view minivans/wagons as “soccer mom” vehicles, yet all the parents are driving CUVs.

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness
11/08/2018 at 12:35

I actually have another take on this... i think they all add up to the full reason , but there is a real and palpable decline in America’s infrastructur e that has now gotten to the point that many small cars are genuinely UNCOMFORTABLE to operate on our roads in the condition they currently are. This is especially true in the north-east where budgets, weather, traf fic load, and legacy road layouts designed for a time when the area had half the population (or less) make it especially difficult to execute the needed repairs. Our roads suck. There are potholes in Boston that can swallow a Mirage whole, not to mention the ones that eat tires and bend rims for lunch every day. A CUV/SUV avoids the stigma of MommyMobile a ttached to to minivans and wagons/hatchbacks, but the ride height and larger tires improve the comfort experience of just operating a vehicle on such degraded roads.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t
11/08/2018 at 12:38

The 18+ inch wheels and super low profile tires ( that almost every new vehicle comes with ) don’t do much for soaking up potholes.............

random001 > Chariotoflove
11/08/2018 at 12:41

Star for the proper use of phylogeny in a car article...

lone_liberal > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness
11/08/2018 at 12:42

CUVs don’t really compete with sedans or wagons when it comes to familiy haulers. They are too low and space restricted to easily deal with child seats. They compete with minivans and I don’t see the distaste for minivans abating soon. It will eventually , for the reason you mention, the CUVs will be seen as the mommy/daddy-mobile and the minivan will be then be the “cool” option but I don’t think sedans are going to be coming back until the population gets younger. It’s just harder for old bones to go down in to a car and then back up as opposed to sliding in horizontally.

functionoverfashion > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness
11/08/2018 at 12:43

Ha!

P reschool dropoff line - this is about 1/3 of them, but highly representative: (notable others - F250, 2500HD, Tacoma, Tundra, Volvo 240)

Kinja'd!!!

I’m in my 3-wagon, quite likely the only manual of the lot.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness
11/08/2018 at 12:44

Talk to me when you get 1000+ stars... on a reply. On Jalopnik.

boredalways > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
11/08/2018 at 12:45

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness
11/08/2018 at 12:48

I agree that the low-pro tires suck, but larger circumference tires roll easier over broken pavement and don’t fall into as many small imperfections. Also, even though the trend is to tires with no sidewall, most SUVs still have a tire set with a taller sidewall than most sedan/hatchback/wagons these days.

So Shiney. So Chrome! So Frunky > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness
11/08/2018 at 12:52

For the record I think you have a point. Though I think there will be a weird culture around CUVs when 16 year olds start getting Grandma’s hand me down small CUV. I’m expecting to see them lowered and hot rodded in some way or another. People will play with what they have

Quadradeuce > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness
11/08/2018 at 12:53

I think a point that is too often overlooked in this discussion is car seats. Kids are required to be in them much longer than in the past (4 year min before moving to booster, depending on states), and the seats themselves have grown larger.

My wife drove a Fiat 500 when we only had one kid. Kid #2 comes along, and we had to find something that can fit 2 car seats, plus a sit & stand stroller (the most compact option). Small and mid size cars don’t cut it, and there are very few large sedans left. Enter the CUV (or in our case, SUV).

Also, it’s a lot easier to get kids in and out of car seats if the car sits up higher and there’s more headroom. CUVs just take some of those headaches away.

That being said, my wife would love to be driving her Fiat again. Or some other fun car, not the SUV.

RiceRocketeer Extraordinaire > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t
11/08/2018 at 13:01

Agreed , and the funny thing is that in areas where the weather doesn’t destroy the roads, the residents don’t see the need to repair them regularly and they end up pretty bad too.

BeaterGT > Chariotoflove
11/08/2018 at 13:44

The Forester started this all back in 2005 ... too small to be considered a SUV they said! That precedent merely carried on.

Chariotoflove > BeaterGT
11/08/2018 at 13:51

So then, a Subaru is the “missing link” as it were.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness
11/08/2018 at 14:59

All the parents at the school thought I was crazy for driving a WRX. But the kids LOVED IT when I picked them up.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > So Shiney. So Chrome! So Frunky
11/08/2018 at 16:00

I d on’t have a problem with this.....

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > Chariotoflove
11/08/2018 at 16:01

If they are grey and even remotely rude then I tend to dismiss them...let them stay grey until the learn some manners.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > Quadradeuce
11/08/2018 at 16:03

I think a lot of this issue comes from the unnecessary rounding of the bodies of cars taking up usable space.

My little Acclaim for instance has no issue fitting 2 rear-facing car seats. Even now, it fits 3 kids in the back with room to spare. One of which is in a front facing seat, one in a booster, one without a car seat.

Same issue goes for usable trunks, the rounded bodies make the trunk opening too small to fit things in.

Quadradeuce > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness
11/08/2018 at 16:10

Very much so. I’m 6'5" tall so I’m keenly aware of sloping roofs. Trying to fit a stroller in most trunk openings these days is almost impossible.

Chariotoflove > SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media
11/08/2018 at 16:11

I have this idea that many of them are young and full of piss and vinegar and come to the site thinking , “I’ve found my people!” Then, they proceed to be smart-asses to demonstrate that they belong. This idea leads me to smile indulgently while at my keyboard, as an adult does to a small child, and then move on. It’s kind of a guilty pleasure.

merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc > Quadradeuce
11/08/2018 at 17:27

That’s why minivan is the answer. Best of all worlds and no worries about door dings trying to get kids out of the 2nd row. Much more user friendly than CUVs/SUVs

Quadradeuce > merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc
11/08/2018 at 18:16

Totally agree, except most minivans have been made to a "lowest bidder" standard and marketed to people who treat cars like a diaper pail. So those of use who want a quality minivan with some luxury touches and a bit of style are left wanting. My wife is considering a Pacifica, maybe. Maybe. At least it's not styled like a Martian shuttle craft. But I doubt the quality is there, and I have severe reservations about spending decent money on an FCA product.

merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc > Quadradeuce
11/09/2018 at 13:40

Your reservations are valid. We bought a pacifica right when they first came out. It’s been great so far, but I figure we will be driving it into the ground so I sprung for the lifetime mopar warranty. I’ve seen the older powertrains run over 200k without issue, but this is the pentastar and new ZF 8, or 9 speed transmission, don’t remember off the top of my head. But we like to live dangerously. We were replacing an 07 Audi Q7 that we bought out of warranty with almost 70k miles on it, and drove it to 140k before we sold it off after we bought the pacifica.

We cross shopped the odyssey, but it felt totally soulless. Not so with the pacifica. It’s not Audi levels of refinement, but it’s still very nice. I really wish the premium brands would make a good minivan... the metris doesn’t count as a good minivan.

Quadradeuce > merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc
11/09/2018 at 13:46

Put the Sienna drivetrain in a Pacifica (In the S appearance package) and I would buy one tomorrow.

merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc > Quadradeuce
11/09/2018 at 16:30

Yeah, that would be nice. I’m thinking more along the hellcat line for my fantasy minivan. Drop out the trackhawk drivetrain and install in the pacifica... a guy can dream right? I wish the S package was available when we bought ours.