After the events of September 11th, the weekend following Labor Day has been changed for many generations to come. Instead of being a time to catch up with friends and chat about our all-too-short three day holiday weekend, it is a time marked by sober memorials and remembrance. The atrocious events of 9/11/2001 have been forever scarred into the memory of every American. People across the country will pull together to remember strangers who will never be forgotten.
Unlike most aspiring automotive journalists, Jerry and I both have a soft spot for the family minivan. Usually, I favor the Honda Odyssey. They’ve got their share of issues, but their reflexes are a little more responsive. That being said, no amount of bribery or alcohol would coerce me into buying a 2011+ Odyssey. The fact that it lags behind its competitors in the powertrain department doesn’t bother me as much as the idiotic styling. I stay away from these things on the road, because their drivers are surely blind.
So when the lady at Avis Rent-a-Car in Skagway, AK pulled up in a 2011 Toyota Sienna with my name on it, I became the first person to smile at seeing a minivan. Here was my chance to wring it out on an extended test drive, no salesman attached, and see what my alternative is going to be when I buy a van down the road. We loaded it up with 6 adults and 2 kids, some light luggage, and aimed for the famed 3293ft White Pass towards Carcross in the Yukon Territory.
Living in a California metropolis is pure torture for a driving enthusiast. It always seems like there is no escape from the prison of lousy roadways. The streets are clogged with traffic, bad drivers and hot tempers. Miles of arrow straight highways put drivers to sleep while the strategically placed potholes keep them from nodding off. It’s more than enough to turn riders and drivers alike into mental patients.
That’s why I had to have a section dedicated to soothing roads. You know the type: faint, squiggly lines on maps that no one cares about anymore – the public and the cops alike. They would rather sit in traffic for 3 hours than to enjoy 4 hours of pure bliss. And for that, we thank them – they keep the back roads clear for the rest of us to enjoy.
Admittedly, I am one of the weirdest people ever to make it out of San Francisco alive. My friends are still trying to figure out how I ended up as a right wing conservative, blasting country music in my diesel pickup. I won’t comment about the other things, but I think my choice of transportation is actually perfectly acceptable by environmentalist ideals.
“City cars,” ranging from the Smart to the Honda Fit (and equivalent subcompacts), are intended for use in urban areas. Their popularity has steadily risen in Europe and Japan, thanks to highly developed rail systems and high vehicle ownership costs. Manufacturers have been pleading with the American consumer to accept these city cars for years now. Only minor changes are needed to legalize these cars for sale in the USA. That allows manufacturers to take advantage of the economy of scale, all while adding to the bottom line.
The problem is, though, city cars are one trick pony’s and will never catch on in present-day America. Why?
It was a scant few decades ago when an America infatuated with Detroit iron said that the Japanese made lousy cars and that they would never succeed. Today, nearly 40 years after Honda made its first foray into the four-wheeled market in America, those statements are holding more water than ever. After the collapse and revival of the American auto industry, as well as the uprising of the Korean carmakers, the dominant Japanese automakers (Toyota, Honda) are faced with a dwindling competitve edge.
Why current cars aren’t reliable enough and how it’s hitting you where it hurts most.
