Better Beaters - Building Cars and Daily Drivers

 Is the Navigator really too much? Part One.

I've never had an Aviator, but I had a '97 Explorer,
which was the same size.  The Navigator is the big one in the picture!

I suppose that it depends on what you mean by too much.

At the time that I was looking for a replacement for my Explorer, I didn't even consider a used Navigator. It would have to have been a recent model with low mileage, as I was looking for a long term, reliable, family vehicle. Not another hobby car. That would have been pretty expensive. At the time I was considering another Explorer, or the Lincoln version, the MKT. The MKT may have been a bit unusual looking, but I really liked the interior. MKTs aren't very common, and the ones that I found all had too high mileage. I also considered the Flex, another somewhat uncommon choice, but I thought that they were attractive and useful. 

Maybe I should have held out for one of these. I actually like the looks.
Of all the Baleen whale Lincolns, I think this is the best looking.

Remember that this was in the middle of the pandemic, so the supply of used cars was pretty tight. 

Like most people, I thought that the Navigator was just a gussied up big truck that got terrible gas mileage. Which is probably exactly what it is. Just kidding! It didn't occur to me at the time that I might find them attractive or useful. While I'd always been a fan of big, old time American luxury cars from the '50's and '60's, I hadn't toyed with the idea of buying another one. 

Instead we ended up with a nice Ford Flex as our family car.

After selling off my old Jaguars, the idea of a big vintage luxury car seemed like a plausible idea. But they are now expensive and old, not something that I would be likely to use very much. I also considered a DeVille from the 2000s, and then it occurred to me that a big luxury SUV is the direct descendant of the Fabulous Fifties land yachts. 

I wrote a post last year about a certain green Navigator. I didn't get that one, so the search went on until I found my red '05 Navigator. This turned out to be a pretty good example, it was in good shape, ran great, and had very low mileage for it's age, only 109,000 miles. The price was in the right range. It was a completely usable vehicle. I rapidly put on another couple of thousand miles and found that I enjoyed driving it. This Nav was purchased as a hobby vehicle. That brings me up to today. 

Is the Navigator too much because some people see it as ostentatious? They are quite expensive when new, the fanciest examples are over 100K. Are they just driven as status symbols? 

Is it because they are so large? Of course, there are larger half ton and more trucks, like the Ford Super Duties. Or consider all the big motorhomes and rec vans out there.

A lot of people see all SUVs as ostentatious. I wonder if these people have ever driven one on a vacation road trip? Probably not, but they happily deplete the ozone layer as they fly their family to a distant vacation spot, then rent a car when they arrive! Or maybe they prefer ocean cruise vacations. Do you know how much fuel a cruise ship uses? 

Let's explore some of the prejudices that the general public and even some car aficionados harbor against SUVs in general.

If you are going to drive a long distance on a vacation, and you are planning to carry a large number of passengers and their luggage, it makes sense to drive something big enough to hold everything and everyone and that can keep them comfortable while doing it. 

What about if you want to tow a trailer or a boat?

There has never been a car big enough to comfortably seat six adult passengers three across. I know that some of you were crammed into cars like that as children, but I'd bet you remember that you didn't like it.  But the adults didn't care, they weren't the ones seated in the center, getting elbows to the ribs or worse. It didn't matter that you didn't like it, you didn't get a vote!  

Either way, what is the point in being uncomfortable?

Station wagons were the first improvement over a sedan, especially the three row models. They certainly could hold more luggage crammed in the back. Much better than adding a luggage rack to the trunk lid of a sedan, or a carrier to the roof. All the stuff that stayed inside stayed clean, dry, and secure from curious eyes and prying fingers. Of course, if your family needed a three row wagon for all the kids. some stuff would end up being strapped to the roof. As kids we travelled pretty light. My family took several long road trips in wagons, my Dad was a wagon guy. Mom and Dad in front, myself and my two brothers in the back seat.

Then there were minivans. These were what I drove when my three kids were growing up. The oldest in the back, the two younger kids in the middle seat, Stuff in the back and crammed around them if needed. Unlike my childhood experiences of travelling in non air conditioned cars, my kids got to ride in cool comfort. 

Then there is the combination of these two vehicles, the large SUV. 

The large SUV is all about having extra, excess capability. It can seat between 6 and 8 passengers. It can securely hold an enormous amount of stuff. It can tow a large trailer or boat. It can easily cruise comfortably at high speeds. 4WD models can navigate securely through snow, slush, and heavy rain. And it can do all of these things at the same time! That's versatility.

Or it can just carry the driver to the mall or Starbucks.

These abilities require a large, heavy duty vehicle, with a large powerful engine and rugged drivetrain. Vehicles like these are necessarily more expensive than the average passenger car. A lot of folks will have to make do with what they have, crowding in passengers and gear as best they can. But if you have the choice...

Even regular large SUVs are seen as a status symbol, the high end models even more so.  They are expensive vehicles, either way.

So anyone who buys one of these vehicles is going to spend a lot more money than the average motorist. More for the vehicle itself, and certainly more for fuel. A lot of the people who drive these vehicles lead very active lives filled with various types of leisure activities. They are shuttling kids and their gear to school and sports activities. Or on camping trips, or other outdoor activities. Or they have boats, horses, dirt bikes, ATVs, mountain bikes, kayaks, jet skis, big dogs, camp trailers, or antique cars.

We don't really notice the family on their way to the airport for their European vacation, or cruise, but we notice the fully loaded SUV on the highway ahead of us. We can see what they've got going on; they're on their way somewhere to have a good time! It's a clear case of conspicuous consumption.

Some people don't like that! On various forums I've heard from people that are quite self righteous in letting other people know exactly what they SHOULD be enjoying, and then, only in moderation, of course! Maybe there's a little of the green eyed monster involved with these social media Puritans?

I know that I have to pay my own bills, I assume that others do also. We all make our choices and priorities. Finding a way to enjoy family activities is a choice. It's none of my business how you do it, unless someone expects me to pay your bills.

My folks didn't like camping, fishing, hiking, or other outdoor activities. Luckily I  got some exposure to these things through the Boy Scouts. 

Though I had an Uncle that liked fishing, camping, and even hunting. He had a cab over camper on his truck. 

I'll bet he would have bought an SUV, if they had been available back then.