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To: medved
I don't know whether my husband has driven a Neon or not. He has driven most small rental cars, but he really prefers a safer, heavier car for all the distance driving that he needs to do, especially in bad weather in the Pacific Northwest. I don't think that Neons are known to be particularly good in the snow. He also frequently needs to carry more than two or three passengers with luggage and gear.

Cars are simply not a one size fits all item, and I really don't think that it is anyone's business to try to dictate what I drive.
166 posted on 08/13/2002 8:56:28 AM PDT by Eva
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To: Eva
I'm recommending that people who need SUVs also own something more rational for the 70% - 90% of their driving which does not require the SUV.

Other than that, there are few things much less safe than SUVs; I mean, I don't really enjoy rolling in vehicles that terribly much myself...

Moreover, I've always favored the approach which says that the factors which keep you out of wrecks in the first place are your best safety features. A guy my brother used to work for once told me the Alfa Romeo was unique amongst the cars he'd been involved with in that he'd never had a customer die in one. The handling and response were so good that there was invariably some way out of situations which didn't involve hitting another vehicle or a tree, or going off a cliff. Neons and othre Dodge cab-forward cars, and a number of current Japanese cars share that trait.

In fact, the old (pre-graduate) Alfa had heavy-grade steel and curved surfaces with the structural strength of Roman arches at all exterior points. My father once got to going down the road sideways in an Alfa Spyder in a freak snowstorm and ran into an Oldsmobile which weighed more than twice what the Alfa did. It put a $70 dent in the passenger door of the Alfa and destroyed the Olds. The cop who came to investigate could not believe what he was seeing and radioed all his buddies and there were 30 cops standing there staring in disbelief.

168 posted on 08/13/2002 9:23:33 AM PDT by medved
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To: Eva
Forgot to mention, Neons and the other cab-forward cars are spectacularly good in rain and snow.
170 posted on 08/13/2002 9:26:39 AM PDT by medved
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