Yes, but many who choose SUVs do so because they have needs a minivan won't fill, like you. Towing, ground clearance, 4WD, V8 power, etc.

some - I doubt that it is "many" - certainly not most.

BTW - you can get AWD minivans.

Yes, exactly ONE, a Toyota Sienna, but not with center locking diffs or low range, or a tow capacity over Class II

My Camry Hybrid gets a solid 36 mpg in LA, my now gone 1999 Mazda 626 got 21 mpg in the same LA driving.

Yeah, I'm with you on that. Luckily for me the reaction people have to getting a minivan... my wife has that with an SUV. They're both the same to her, and there are probably a whole lot more like her yet to come. I think she'll wind up with a Focus (or Fiesta or Fusion?) and we'll hang on to her Volvo 960 for when kids happen someday.

edit: I hate the gas over here... my car was averaging a bit over 40mpg in San Antonio. On the latest tank I'll probably get 35 if I'm lucky.

How many people really try to maximize mpg?

- reducing weight
- reducing drag
- better tires
- better driving habits
- LESS DRIVING (okay, it cuts usage, not consumption rate)

I guess it's easier to blame the cars.

I have cut my use a lot by a) combining trips and b) staying home one day every weekend

I have been able to keep my fuel expense fixed while prices rise.

There are people out there getting 50-60 mpg's in a crappy diesel VW.

That's a good point.
However, I would guess most consumers look at style, interior room, sticker price, warentee/reputation, and milage first(not necessarily in that order).
I would hope they don't go directly to slalom and g-force specs on the skidpad results when comparing Insights and Priuses;)

Else, the Ariel Atom is still for sale as a d.d.
I would if I could.

On that subject, I've found the long contact patch of taller tires to be more predictable on maintaining steering contact on decent roads, abeit with much greater side flex and roll.
Turning on rough roads is a problem.

It is an incramental trade-off, like everything, if fuel savings is the primary goal.

HUGE solution! Volkswagen sells a diesel Jetta for $18,000. 75% of the guys who drive 8400 pound diesel pickups DON'T NEED THEM. They don't own a business that requires that sort of cargo capabilty/trailering, they don't own a sizeable boat, and and they don't own a large travel trailer. That brings up the question:

"Why do they drive these huge pickup trucks?"

Simple. Some males of our species need to compensate for what THEY regard as a very personal bodily size "deficit" in one particular organ.

I've never understood that, but that's life. I'm not anatomically gifted or anything; in fact I'm completely average. That being said, I've never had a complaint-

That's what I think: Huge pickup trucks are actually a penis extender for males with an inferiority complex. I've noticed that many very short guys have this sort of thing- it is called "short man's disease".

N!

As to gm in the late 1980's....they were famous for building transmissions for the street that were easily race quality. That means they were built 4-5 times stronger than they needed to be, especially the brake bands. Why? Simple: gm built a bunch of low-rpm high torque motors with 6 cylinders, since they figured out that a 3500 pound fwd car with a 3.8 liter engine could achieve 30 mpg if the rpm's were held down to 1800 tops. These cars, which had huge chains to transfer the power from the transverse mounted engine to the transmission....had tranny electronics that lugged the 3800 engine. This same basic transmission was used on all gm fwd cars, including the 300+ hp Northstar cars.

N!