Hacker News Reader

Comment by flashgordon | Hacker News Reader

I am really not a car person (just need to get from a to b). But as I see large families (3+ kids may be?) minivans and SUVs start to look pretty appealing. Is there a way to address them while not fetishizing size alone? Now large families may not be the norm but Id worry about laws/tariffs penalizing them, no?

For example, to address the front blind spot issue would mandating extra radars and front cameras (and the ensuing cost) be ok? Yes it is still penalizing large families but they may at least be getting a safety feature?

View on HN

Father of eight kids here. I wouldn't really speak of SUVs and minivans in the same breath. SUVs really aren't very suitable for transporting a bunch of kids. They generally don't have extra side doors so kids will have to climb over seats. And despite being so huge, they often hold a shockingly small amount of cargo, unless you add a cumbersome cargo container to the roof rack. We had a Tahoe with a painfully small third row seat and could not even bring a whole load of groceries home in the space remaining in back. It was not possible to use it for camping unless we brought a second car (a Honda Element) to actually hold the stuff. Older minivans like the (now radically redesigned) Dodge Grand Caravan were far better and had far better visibility. I have really not kept up with current minivans - a lot of the models which would hold more passengers have disappeared - but I do think they are designed with better safety features, not to mention better mileage. It's easy to say "just get a Sprinter," but they are shockingly expensive even on the used market.

Minivans aren't a problem. Part of the "mini" of the van comes from the manufacture. A van is built off a "truck platform", a minivan is built off a "car platform".

Thankfully minivans and station wagons do not suffer the same enormous blind spot problem the modern American truck is presently facing. That, and the standard five-seat arrangement can accommodate both parents and three kids, which is already a rare degree of occupancy.

If you’re committed to 7+ seater vehicles after birthing a platoon I think the financial penalties of that decision were already understood at child number 4.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com