I took a test drive in a Prius last month. The first that that happened when I started to drive the car was “Ow, my sperm!” and I grabbed my crotch. Funny, after about 10 minutes it stop hurting. True story.

Since when did we get into the act of trying to dictate the purchasing preferences of your neighbors?

Oh right, how selfish of me to want to enjoy my money. But then again, who ‘needs’ to have so much money in their bank account?

Admittedly, there are legitimate users but your normal shmo (like me) living in the burbs (like almost everybody else) does NOT need a truck, SUV, 4×4 or SAV. BTW, please can we leave Maslow out of the discussion, as his theories are discredited.

Last time I went camping we took four people and our tents and stuff in a Prius (granted, none of us are large people). It handled the dirt paths alright, even if it wasn’t ideal.

And trust me, U-Haul will not let you use their pickup truck for towing. I tried when I had to haul a car from Maryland to New York. They wouldn’t let me use anything smaller than a 14-footer.

Enterprise says you can.

http://www.enterprisetrucks.com/truckDetailsPickup.html

U-Haul’s pickup truck instructions include the option of towing your own trailer:

http://www.uhaul.com/guide/index.aspx?equipment=truck-pickup

Do you guys actually think you can rent a truck to tow a boat?. Call for a quote or insurance.

I don’t think anyone really has a problem with people buying trucks when they *need* them.

BTW, I use a tent when I camp. If you’re bringing along a camper or trailer then it really seems like you’d rather be indoors when you take your family to the outdoors…(that’s fine and all but doesn’t reinforce the rough outdoor image you’re insinuating)

GM doesn’t have to….not when that argument came from hybrid owners themselves.

Remember this article?
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/27/automobiles/27EMF.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Besides, they don’t have to worry about that bridge unless until they cross it.

Lack of truck = wine-drinking, outdoor hating, anti-family, art afficionado is about the lamest argument I’ve ever seen on this or any other forum.

But you’re partly right, renting a truck is not always a replacement for owning. For most of us (us anti-family types without boats, I suppose) it is.

Do you guys actually think you can rent a truck to tow a boat?. Call for a quote or insurance.

I have a beater VW that get equal mileage to a Prius. Does that make me cool too?

A lot of guys around here must feel the same way, except they are the guy WITH the trucks. Popular bumper sticker: “NO, you CAN’T borrow my truck for hauling.”

At this point, its a matter of sunk costs.

Try hauling a load of stone or wood in the eco friendly ride, or pulling a boat.

On the rare occasions when I might need to do so, Home Despot – 19.95 per hour for a pretty good sized truck.

The best long-distance car I have ever owned was a Toyota Camry – it was quite and smooth and easy to drive for long distances. On one trip, I covered 3600 miles in four days of driving and never got drowsy.

Are you suggesting that owning a fullsize truck 100% of the time is smart because when you need to move you won’t need to rent one?

BTW, where I live it’s the folks who bought the trucks for general commuting/get-the-kids-to-school use that are in foreclosure. At least based on your comment they were smart to buy the trucks.

They actually think that I should move for them!!
Obviously no idea of the mass I can bring them!!

Then where do they go when they have to move out of their house because of the foreclosure?

U-Haul! For a TRUCK!!

Way back when before folks bought trucks because they thought it was cool. Trucks were 10% of the vehicles sold in the US. Last few years it has been 50%.

Looks like it will be about 2013 before they can burn off the current inventories.