Karl on Cars

Last Friday's blog about the GMC Acadia versus Yukon Denali raised some interesting discussion points. The two dominant arguments were either:

1. The Yukon Denali is overpriced and unnecessary when the same division offers the Acadia; or

2. The Yukon Denali has more capability than the Acadia in areas like towing and hauling, and is thus worth the money

As is often the case, both of these arguments are correct, depending on your needs as a buyer. But this brings up the next big question: How much car (or truck, or SUV, etc.) do you really need? The emphasis on "really" comes from a phenomenon I think we're all aware of -- perceived versus actual vehicle needs. As such, I present the following two-step process to consider when buying your next vehicle:

1. Think in terms of common versus extraordinary circumstances. Do you have a family of four and only very occasionally (twice a year?) carry more than five people in your car? Do you tow things (boat, camper, another car, etc.) less than twice a year? Do these two events often coincide (i.e. your relatives come to visit and you all go camping or boating)?

How about inclement road conditions? How often does the snow level in your community preclude travel in anything without all-wheel drive or four wheel drive? I grew up in Denver driving rear-wheel drive muscle cars with all-season tires. How often did the weather keep me from driving around the city? Less than once a year (and usually the whole city was shut down on those days, so there was little need to go anywhere).

2. Think in terms of "rent" versus "own." If you rarely carry more than five passengers, and/or rarely tow anything, and/or rarely drive in weather that would slow a front-wheel drive sedan with all-season tires, then you really don't need more than a mid-priced, four-door sedan 95 percent of the time. BTW, for the purposes of this discussion I'll define "rarely" as four times a year or less. If you need more cargo space than a sedan offers a sedan-based wagon would likely handle the occasional bicycles/sports equipment/girl scout cookies that don't fit in a standard trunk. 

This theoretical sedan or wagon would work for you the overwhelming majority of the time, allowing you to rent an appropriate vehicle for that other 5 percent you spend vacationing with the relatives in a camper or towing your old muscle car across the country. And the money saved in terms of purchase price, insurance rates and fuel costs on the sedan or wagon versus a larger vehicle would easily pay for SUV/Minivan/Crossover rental on these rare occasions.

Now, before all the "Hey! Don't try to limit what I buy Karl! Why don't you go back to Russia?!" reactions begin, let me make something clear -- I don't advocate the idea of restricting what people can buy. I'm even kooky enough to think one of the (many) great things about America is the ability to have more than you need, and the people who don't feel that way really should go to Russia -- actually China since they are still a communist government. These are the same poeple who think we can "regulate" ourselves to economic stability. Little hint people: In the race to sustained prosperity, freedom of choice will beat government restriction every time, and that goes for vehicle design and purchase behavior, too.

Thus my point isn't that people shouldn't be allowed to buy whatever vehicle they want. My point is that you should be honest about your lifestyle and fully recognize when you really need a large, utilitarian vehicle and when you simply want one.

For example, do I need a Ford GT? Nobody needs a Ford GT! However, I'm fully ready to admit I simply wanted one, functionality and earth-saving desires be damned. I'm not sure how many SUV drivers really need one, but I fear many of these folks aren't ready to admit they simply want one.

And at this point I have to add what really kills me is when these same folks, sitting in the cabin of their 6,000-pound SUVs/Crossovers/full-size trucks that they don't really need, claim to be earth conscious and/or scream "No blood for oil!" or "We need to stop being held hostage by our energy policies that subjugate us to Middle East countries."

Whatever folks.