Comments on: A Car Named Haig: Driving Seen Decreasingly as Compulsory

By: norm

norm — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 17:03:25 +0000

The last time I drove a car to work on a regular basis, I was 18. I grew up.

By: Rider

Rider — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 15:52:45 +0000

The Vega — a nice-looking car that turned out the be a lemon. A rust-bucket, and that was just the start. That’s how Mom got such a good price. You had to give those cars away.

My girlfriend had a brand-new Vega GT (a hatchback). Sexy car, with racing stripes. A winning design, visually. But automatic with limited power. Then the trouble started with the iron block and aluminum heads. Her car turned into a heap of junk.

One of General Motor’s great disasters of the 1970s and 1980s, the first but not the last. My best buddy’s dad brought a new Chevrolet — an ugly piece of work, circa 1980 — and after several months discovered it had a cracked block. It was a POS in a number of other ways as well.

Amazing that GM ever survived those lost decades.

By: colleen

colleen — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 18:50:33 +0000

We have not owned a car for almost three years now. We are quite proud and figure if we can do it in PHOENIX, we can do it anywhere. Of course, we don’t have kids to shuffle around, but groceries are delivered, and anything we need is within biking distance, or walking distance. If we hanker a visit to the mall, the bus gets us there in 20 minutes. When I do borrow a car for a day of errands or something, I GET SO STRESSED OUT. Parking, traffic lights, other drivers!!! I’d much rather walk or ride the bus. Yes, this is the life! And yes, I do remember BOTH Haigs. Unmistakable in a parking lot…or a sound bite.
Fondly,
your old friend who was greatly influenced by your Haig days

By: Douglas Fawkes

Douglas Fawkes — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 17:13:02 +0000

I have ridden a bike since I was a child. Then I used it for going to school, afterwards it was a natural for work, attending college, bicycle touring, etc. I have had my share of cars and motorcycles but I have always kept riding the bicycles. I’m 56 years old and I have the health of a healthy teenager and riding the bike was part of my health plan. Presently in Nassau, Bahamas we are a car crazy island. The bike enables me to move freely without the frequent jams and gridlock that we have. Ted I enjoyed reading your article. Keep up the good work…. Douglas

By: Island Dave

Island Dave — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 11:42:12 +0000

I was 19 when I got a drivers license and my first car in 1972. I had had a learners permit back when I was 16 and took Drivers Ed but we were a car free family in suburban Washington DC and I rode everywhere.
Almost 40 years later, now a single parent with two teenage girls, after being car light for years, we are now car free. We use our Santana Triplet and or Burley Rock & Roll Tandem when riding with both or just one kid and a Velomobile Quest when riding solo. All our errands and grocery shopping is done by pedal power.

By: Dr. M

Dr. M — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 23:28:03 +0000

I didn’t get my driver’s license until I was about 25. I took mass transit to work during my summers off from college. I also used both the campus bus and a moped during the semester. I’d moped in 16 degree weather with a parka over my helmet. Snow, sleet, etc.
My point is that I survived and only owed a paltry $200 for an emergency student loan when I finished. I would not have had enough to pay for my college and living expenses. Kids are seeing this now too. I own a lovely car but bike most of my errands if the weather is good. I have nothing to prove but our teen knows getting a license = getting a full time job to pay for the insurance jump. Needless to say, she is an avid cyclist and is in fantastic shape. College, here she comes!

By: Ted Johnson

Ted Johnson — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 23:19:54 +0000

I think you’re right about the Vega. Have to update that.

By: BluesCat

BluesCat — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 23:10:23 +0000

Now, I grew up, and turned 16, in the middle Sixties. The years of the Muscle Cars (I STILL lust over owning a 1969 Plymouth GTX with a 440 Super Commando; no effeminate "Hemi" for THIS Cat!). Not having a driver's license simply wasn't an option. Then, in 1973, the year I was driving a Mercury with a 390ci engine, the Arab Oil Embargo hit. Long lines at the gas stations required your license plate to have an even number on even-numbered calendar days, and odd numbers on odd-numbered days. I bought a brown Schwinn Varsity (cost me a hundred bucks) and that was my first experience with bike commuting. People thought I was nuts, but I discovered it was a lot of fun. Pretty much the same as TODAY! Oh, and by the way … Ted? I think the General Haig is a Vega, not a Nova.

By: Karen Voyer-Caravona

Karen Voyer-Caravona — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 22:03:19 +0000

Ted, you and I are about the same age so I grew up in the shadow of the hostage crisis and all the predictions of a later Middle East crisis over oil. Do you recall that there was even an arch of the TV series “Dallas” in which JR Ewing tries to start a war in order to increase the price of oil? They really jumped the shark big time with that one but who knew how close reality would eventually imitate art (or trash when you think about it).

My career choices haven’t actually provided me with the type of income that would allow me to just run out and fill up the tank without a bit of planning on where to buy and how much I was going to drive until the next fillup. Were I in college today, there’d be no way I could afford to gas up a car.
Mostly, I’ve always lived on a budget and my car buying choices have been primarily based on miles per gallon. A car is a mere tool for getting from point A to point B. When gas prices shot up following Katrina in 2005, it was a no-brainer that I’d be riding the bus more often or walking whenever possible. After moving here, taking up bike commuting was easy since Flagstaff is so small and has good bike infrastructure.

I’m not surprised to read that today’s youth are less enamored by car ownership than my generation. There’s something about being car obsessed that just strikes me as so middle aged and five minute ago. All that money required to maintain a car could be better used to support the social activites that today’s youth prioritize. Malls are dead zones. A growing segment of young people today prefer coffee shops and connecting over social media. They’re gravitating to urban centers close to cool things to do, with easy access to public transit. A car is just a ball and chain.