Is it needs, or wants?
What kind of vehicle do you have? I drive a van because my family’s needs require it. I used to have a small station wagon, but it didn’t provide enough seats for my wife, my 4 kids and myself. I couldn’t really ask my son to hold onto the roof rack while I was driving, now could I? Seriously, didn’t the Brady’s have a large station wagon so their 6 kids could all sit in the vehicle safely and comfortable? You remember the Brady’s, don’t you? You know, the youngest one in curls. Even the Partridge family had a bus for their needs.
When I go to the car dealership every now and then for service or when picking up a training vehicle, I listen to the potential new owners of vehicles. They want these beautiful vehicles to drive. Who doesn’t? I’d like a convertible so the wind can blow through my hair…or blow through the hair I have remaining. Perhaps even an SUV to roam the neighbourhood in would be nice. They look great and run wonderfully, but the fuel consumption is tougher to manage than driving a smaller vehicle.
As a driving instructor, we tend to drive smaller vehicles. They are easier on gas and the cost of leasing/buying these more economical vehicles allows us to keep our expenses down. In other words, we get the best vehicle for our needs. I remember someone that was becoming an instructor at the same time that I was who decided to use a small pick up truck for his training vehicle. When he was asked why, he said that because with his hobby of camping and canoeing, he felt the truck was his best choice of vehicle. He made an educational decision based on his needs.
I remember going to our local new car show. Most people would look under the hood and sit behind the steering wheel of the new vehicles. I would do that too, but since I would sit in the passenger seat more often, I would sit there too. I needed headroom and legroom. I needed a vehicle that suited my needs as an instructor. Since I train people to be driving instructors, I also required someone to sit in the backseat during the training day. For this reason, I also sat in the backseat during the car show to test the room. Once while I was sitting in the backseat testing out the legroom and headroom, someone else got into the drivers seat. When they glanced into the rear-view mirror, they were startled to see my smiling face in the backseat! They weren’t expecting someone to be in the backseat of a car during the car show. The look on their face gave me a little chuckle!
Regardless of the type of vehicle you want, choose the type of vehicle that you need. I’ll be doing that, until I reach my mid-life crisis! Sports car, here I come!