Comments on: Finding Economical, Earth-Friendly Family Vehicles

By: Bienes Panama

Bienes Panama — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 21:30:56 +0000

I recently came accross your site and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my very first comment. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this website very frequently.

By: Eileen

Eileen — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 07:21:48 +0000

“I just think it is important not to get wrapped up in buying something for the sake of being “green” which allows you to not change behavior.”

That is an important point Monice. I always cringe when I see the tiny spray bottles of green cleansers you can buy. But another important thing to remember is that all of our choices are just “greener”. Nothing we do is going to have zero environmental impact. Even walking – you’re going to have to replace those shoes more often, right? And every time you breathe out, you are putting more CO2 into the air! When families are faced with this dilemma, it’s always looking for the greener choice that you can manage at this point in time. We are all trying to evolve towards being more green, but that sort of dramatic change in daily routine, routines that have been established over a lifetime, are not going to change overnight.

If you’ve never played this game – it is very humbling: http://sustainability.publicradio.org/consumerconsequences/

By: rebecca

rebecca — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 03:32:45 +0000

Hey Monice, your comment came in at the perfect time–I just posted about taking a baby on the bus today (June 17th). Also, don’t forget that Joy broke her arm biking around town to run errands–a sacrifice for the planet!

By: joy

joy — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 02:41:59 +0000

Thanks for the comment Monice! I would LOVE to be a one car, or no car family for that matter, but haven’t yet figured out how that can happen with both my husband and I working nearly full time. My husband bikes to work but has to drive our son to daycare. My work commute by bus or bike would take nearly an hour each way–which would further limit the time I have with my son. By car it takes just over twenty minutes. As for the “piling on the miles” part, I agree that it sounds rather irresponsible. Our goal is just to use the fuel efficient vehicle for years and years, rather than trying to buy another one soon. So we’ll be piling on the miles over decades, not in the short run. If you’d like to read more about traveling with just one car, see Rebecca’s recent post entitled “Green on the Go: Living Car-Free with a Baby.” Rebecca’s been car-free for years and is an expert on public transport!

By: Monice

Monice — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 21:17:18 +0000

I find it odd that a “green choice” is to buy a car so you can “pile on the miles.” I know its not easy to haul kids around on the bus while doing errands and such. But, the idea of buying a car that will allow you to drive around as much as you want seems like effort in the wrong direction. I applaud you for wanting a car with better gas mileage . . . but how about getting that *and* trying to not drive as much. I just think it is important not to get wrapped up in buying something for the sake of being “green” which allows you to not change behavior. I’m not trying to be holier than thou . . . If I am home with my 18 month old child and we need to go somewhere that is not within walking distance, I usually drive. I rarely take the bus alone with my toddler. However, if my husband and I are both home and we want to go somewhere, we prefer taking the bus over driving whenever possible.

By: Tanya

Tanya — Fri, 23 May 2008 14:01:43 +0000

I have a 2002 saturn sl2, its small, but the gas mileage is great. I bought mine in 2004 @ $6995. Now it has over 143k miles and she still purrs. As soon as I bought it, I switched over to synthetic oil.
I’ve heard from others who had theirs last 300k, I’ve seen where people walked away from a head on collision with this car.
I love my plastic car.

By: Penny

Penny — Thu, 22 May 2008 23:06:41 +0000

I’d like a hybrid car but I don’t think they are cheap. Toyota Prius for example. DH isn’t so keen because he thinks it’s a bit gutless. He wants something we can take on rough roads…