Re: baby car...I don't understand!

["John Virnig" <john@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Jay Karolyi replied to a lister looking to upgrade his wheelage:
>
> Date: Wed, 02 Oct 2002 17:34:24 +0000
> From: jkarolyi@domain.elided
> Subject: Re: baby car...I don't understand!
>
> >We've recently discovered that my wife is "with child" and this blessed
> > event brings us to a car-upgrade crossroad.  I currently drive is an E30
> > 2door which will soon be out of the question.
>
> Congrats on the baby!  I don't have one, but all my married friends are
> starting to have kids.  I don't understand this big urge to buy
> a "familymobile" as soon as ONE kid comes along!  I mean,
> COME ON how
> much junk does one kid need to carry around?  A diaper bag, a
> stroller, some
> toys...what's the big deal?  Can't all that stuff fit in an E30 easily,
> especially if half the rear seat is available?

<remainder of rant snipped>


And David Morrison replied:

>
> but, I agree with this sentiment.  When we had our 1st
> kid we got a mini van and found that the amount of
> stuff we hauled everywhere expanded to fill the
> available space...but 90% of it we never used!  Now I
> have a 328 sedan for my 2 kids (8 & 13).  The 4 doors
> are needed with kids.  Yeah it is a little crowded for
> all of the equipment, but even for extended trips I've
> found we can fit everything we need, even for skiing
> trips or camping trips... of course I think getting
> rid of the wife and keeping the kids was the key to
> everything fitting! ;^)

And now I'll weigh in!

As a new father (Caleb is 4 months old as of last week) I know EXACTLY what
you guys are thinking.  I leased a '97 328is (way back before the mere
THOUGHT of children was simply inconcievable....pun intended) and when we
found out we were pregnant I thought to myself - no big deal, it's a little
difficult to get stuff in and out of the back seat but I've carried 4 adults
in there on more than one occasion, an infant and his valuables shouldn't be
an issue.

My wife and I have travelled extensively in the 328is and found it to be
hands down the finest road-trip machine we have ever driven.  It's fast,
it's comfy, it's plenty big enough for the two of us, and it's RED!  We made
the 325 mile trip to my sister's house without stopping it's so comfy!  No
reason to trade all that for 2 more doors, right?

Well, the extra doors are not the issue - the front seats move plenty far
enough out of the way to step into the back seat.  All the crap the parents
think they need to bring when the kid goes anywhere is not the issue - the
E36 while not cavernous, is plenty big enough for all the kid's stuff and
more.  So what's the real issue?  It's the focking car seat.

The only place in my car the infant car seat fits is behind the passenger
seat and then only with the passenger seat all the way forward.  With the
passenger seat all the way forward, my wifes face is about 12 inches from
the dash - much, much too close for safe and proper airbag deployment (and
not an option in my book).  The only remaining position is directly behind
the driver which was not out of the question (we're trying to find a way to
make it work, not look for an excuse why it wouldn't).  So after a drive or
two back there, my wife fessed up that her knees touched the back of the
front seat and she couldn't move her legs, feet, hips, butt....you get the
idea.  Across town, no biggy.  Across the state, not an option.

So what it boils down to is the fore/aft room in the car - everything else
was fine.  Which is why David Morrison with his 8 and 13 year olds has no
problem with room - no car seat issues to contend with and his children are
perfectly sized for the car.

No minivan or SUV for me.  The 328is has to go (it's basically sitting in
the garage right now waiting to be sold or turned back in at the end of the
lease).  We've replaced it with an Audi allroad quattro (hey, 6-speed
manual, AWD and a bi-turbo ain't a big step down) which has limo-like room
in the back seat compared to the 328.

So, I've been there, done that.  Sorry to see it go, but that's the way it
goes.

John Virnig
'97 328is (still for sale)
'02 Audi allroad

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