Am I heading into soccer momhood? I need to get a new

to me car and all I want to look at is Camrys and Accords--boring but damn reliable. This is after I have driven a head-turning, very glam, Infiniti J30 for several years.

I need glam, gang; but I do have a school-age kid. Anybody with kids drive a coupe; I really love both the Accord coupes and Solaras?

Sedans. All the way. Coupes are nice if you're single, but if you have kids, they're a pain in the ass.

The soccer mom's all drive SUVs.

Many "environmentalists" would rationalize their decision to buy a tank due to having to take their children to the next soccer game. Bless you.

OK, I'm rationalizing, I know. But my husband drove a gorgeous Accord coupe for two years after the kid was born, only one year was the kid able to get HIMSELF in and out.

Hubby has a sedan, anyway--this is far harder to give up than I thought.

Anticipate the legs!!! And the gear. :)

I checked out all the other sedans in the 20K price range, and the good ol' Taurus blew them away (at least by my criteria).

My criteria:

1) Safety
2) Acceleration
3) Reasonably good looking (some will upchuck at this)
4) Features that make sense

Best car I ever owned.

fork the what I'm SUPPOSED to do crap.

Be cool, get a jeep wrangler or something.

with the kid in there.

That's cool.

Does it have passenger airbags (kid is six)?

Reliable?

A friend has one; he has an 8 yr old).

Thanks!

Small kids shouldn't even ride in the front seat of a sedan.

I fear we're parting company here, and I will be labeled a prude, but...

I've had a Miata. It was a gas. Small cars are FAR less safer than sedans (fact) with airbags or not. You get broadsided in a Miata and your life is over.

I was willing to risk my safety for my vanity at one point, but IMO no one should risk someone else's.

I always see little kids riding in the front seat of any kind of car, or even in the back, without a car seat, and I could have *sworn* the right age is something ridiculous like 8, or 80 lbs or something...

Seems like most folks ignore that.

but seriously the NTSB has good information:

http://www.ntsb.gov/Surface/highway/childseat.htm

I worked for summer camps for awhile, and I NEVER, EVER saw any of those kids in a booster seat (the youngest kids were 8). Hundreds and hundreds of kids... I saw a lot of of under 12 kids in the front too.

That seemed kind of unsafe to me, looking at how those seatbelts fit. But 12 seems kind of old, though, on the other hand.

I plan on keeping my kid in that booster seat until I'm supposed to, but I'm in the VERY VERY small minority.

Thanks for the link, wanted to make sure I wasn't cuckoo. I don't mention that to other parents, because I don't want to be seen as "minding their business", ya know?

http://www.mazdausa.com/MusaWeb/handleHomeFlash.action?vehicleCode=MIA&modelYear=2003

That's the page, it's got a *sweet* silver one there.

The problem with a coupe, though, as far as I can tell, is that if you're driving your kid's friends anywhere, it can be annoying (or impossible), and I don't know how much trunk space you have there--because getting things out of the back seat (if you have one) is annoying too.

My sis has a coupe and only two doors drives me crazy. Although, it looks *really* nice and goes fast.

*on edit*
Plus, I don't know how comfortable or safe I'd feel in such a lowrider. Especially when there are so many SUVs around here.

and the homework came out on top. And I LIKE IT. That, most of all, is the kicker.

I never see the small cars in accidents, I see the big cars and huge cars.

The whole passenger airbag kids should ride in back seats thing is great and all, but if you're a good driver and a defensive driver, accidents just don't happen. Accidents CAN be avoided. I've had one accident in my 20+ years of driving, and the idiot was on a cell phone and rear ended us while we were at a full stop at a cross walk.

I appreciate the folks who care, but I'll tempt fate. We LOVE our miata, although, keep in mind, I have an explorer too, a 93, all paid for and in good shape. So I get to go back and forth.

The jeep wrangler is a good idea, provided you aren't a stupid kid doing 70 around corners. Oddly, with a kid, I'd have to believe you'd not do something so silly!

Buy what makes you HAPPY. I DO love my miata! ZOOM ZOOM!

How about an ultra-cool mini-van? It's inevitable, you know. Ask my wife.

My other car is a Windstar and it's convenient...

Sometimes you just have to look for other ways to be cool.

:toast:

...and I think it looks especially cool with a baby seat in it.

What's also nice about mine is I can disarm the passenger side airbag so kids can ride in the front seat.

Probably the nicest thing about it is that it's paid for.

mm

Short trips are the standard for me, but I insist the kid stay in the back till he's older.

That is, if you can't afford the new Infiniti G35. ;-) I have an old Infiniti myself.

But, the new Nissan Altima looks pretty sharp, and Nissans are reliable, as you know, since you drive an Infiniti! :bounce: