Thursday, August 4, 2011

Balconies & SUVs: People Love Things They Never Use

BalconyMy last two apartments have been in buildings in which every unit a balcony or patio. I can see about 60 balconies from my current parking lot, and if I look up on three different nice summer evenings, I might see one balcony in use one time. I've always been amazed at how all these people paid whatever little bit extra to move into a building with a balcony, almost always populating it with some sort of outdoor furniture, then absolutely never use it.

A friend mentioned this weekend she'd soon be in the market for a new car and asked if I had any recommendations. (Everyone always assumes I'll say a Toyota Prius. Does this happen to Emeril? If people ask what they should make for dinner, do they assume he'll say andouille sausage?)

I asked what she expected to use the car for. She said she mostly makes a very short drive to work here in the DC area, short trips around town, and that she needed something to get to the mountains for snowboarding.

I said, "How many times a year do you drive to the mountains to snowboard?"

"Once. Maybe," she replied.

"Well, maybe rather than paying twice as much up-front and twice as much in gas for an SUV, you could get something more affordable, more fun to drive, and easier to park," I said. "Then when you DO go to the mountains, you can take a tiny fraction of the thousands you'll be saving and rent the biggest, baddest, most tricked out SUV you can find."

I suggested checking out the Ford Focus (including the hybrid), Volkswagen's diesel models (great mileage but not necessarily better emissions), and yes, the Prius, still a great car at a low price compared to other hybrids.

6 comments:

Sean said...

Interesting. I hadn't been aware that they were coming out with a hybrid Focus in 2012. Looking it up now..... H'mm. A standard gas only, a regular hybrid, a plugin hybrid, and an electric option. That's going to be a marketing nightmare.

Anonymous said...

fact! i use my balcony all the time! but point well taken.

Sara said...

if I was buying a new car I'd pick up a Jetta TDI. great recommendation =)

Mary Ellen Kustin said...

the Chevy Cruze (w/ Eco Boost!) is a pretty sweet little car: http://bit.ly/pZUnNx -- 42mpg on the hwy

EveryDayDad said...

Balconies and decks are my favorite things in the world, but I would hate them if more than 10% of people used them. Great point about cars vs. SUV's and good recommendations. My favorite is wealthy "stay at the tennis club moms" in gas guzzling troop transports (excursion, escalade XL, etc.) that spend their days away from their kids, while the nanny drives the kids around in a small or mid-sized car.

mae said...

OMG, Miles, missed opportunity. Smart car all the way! Or at least a Chevy EV or Nissan Leaf! sigh.