I get it, and even agree, that the vast majority of us only really need one car. And even then, a lot of us could probably get along fine with zero cars, albeit with much less convenience and infinitely less happiness. But if you were to have all the optimized cars (or trucks, or transport modes) for the various use cases in your life, then how many and what kind of machines are we talkin’ about here?
Take me, for example. As a homeowner, I need something that can haul a bunch of mulch or concrete pavers or shrubs or whatever it is I need to recreate – badly – the thing my wife saw on HGTV the previous weekend. Can my 2015 RAV4 do this? Yes. Is it ideal? No. I shall need a Ford F-150, the most basic one will be fine.
But do I want to daily a Ford F-150? No, I do not. And never mind that I work from home. For my imaginary 30-miles-each-way commute, I require something frugal to own and operate, comfortable to be in, and at least kinda cool. The Toyota Prius ticks all those boxes, and if it’s good enough for Bozi, it’s good enough for me.
OK, so I’ve got my hard-workin’ F-150 and my sensible daily, but what do I drive on those four-hour schleps to Austin (I’m up near the DFW airport)? Yeah, fine, the Prius can do it, but I think I need a more dedicated highway cruiser. Toyota Crown Hybrid, maybe? I’ve seen a few on the road, I like ’em.
All good choices, I think, but do they stir my soul? Not really. And doggone it, every car person needs a soul-stirrer. I shall have a Mustang GT.
Your turn:
How Many Cars Do You Need?
Top graphic images: Ford; Toyota
If it weren’t for having to drive down 700 miles to visit my mom and help my brother clean stuff up, I probably would not have a car. I’m 68 and visceral thrills are kind of a thing in the past. I’m kind of more risk adverse at this age. Lyfting around is kind of nice. You get to experience a lot of different cars. But I do enjoy one that I bought. And will certainly outlive me. A ’17 Accord V6. It’s a wonderful last car. I gave my younger brother a Datsun 510 in the late 70s. When my grandfather passed, I gave him an ’86 Toronado I inherited. Because I didn’t want to drive it or have it sitting in my driveway.
I also think four is the right number. My fun car is a 1973 TR6, and my fun get firewood in the worst part of the woods is a 1979 Jeep CJ5. My practical work vehicle is a 2002 S-10, and my vacation vehicle is a 1989 Toyota Sunrader Motor Home that I am restoring.
Need? One. But I wouldn’t be as happy.
More.
My ’18 X3 w/only 24K on the clock fits my needs for everything. Fun to drive, reasonably efficient, has been quite reliable and I need a solid car for my work commute in Arizona traffic. I can haul most things with it, take around my out of town guests on the 4-6 times a year I have visitors and make out of town trips easily. I am toying with having another fun car for weekends – a convertible for the less ghastly times of the year when it’s pleasant to be out. Do I need it no, but I miss having something fun to tinker with. As a single guy in a larger city I’d need no car, but here I have no choice but to have 1 vehicle.
1 large SUV to tow boat, utility trailer for yard stuff and general hauling. Also perfect for my daily driver and for trips with family. Pickups are a pain on trips with lots of luggage and a utility trailer is just as good as a truck bed. I have a GX460 for this role, I downsized from a full size SUV once my kids went to college and I no longer had to drive the soccer team around.
1 fun car which for me is my 986 Boxster S.
1 car for wife which is MDX
It has always been my theory that the ideal number of vehicles an enthusiast needs is four: 1) The “fun” car – whatever fun means to you (autocross, camping, cruising, off roading, etc.). This car is optimized or modified to do that thing so much that you really can’t use it for much else without a lot of compromises. 2) The “project” – needs no explanation, really, but maybe it is something you are working on that may supplant the “fun” car one day by being even more focused on that one fun thing, or something unusual you had to save, etc. 3) Something that can haul the “fun” car and the “project” around and that you can take to pick up large heavy parts like engines and transmissions. It is also useful for doing actual household work. Usually a van or truck, usually with a trailer available. Lastly, 4) the “reliable” car. Like a beater corolla that you daily and use for parts runs to the local auto parts store when working on the other vehicles. Of course there are always going to be variations and the number will always be in flux as you find new stuff you “have to have” or “downsize”, but will always hover around four.
A truck for heavy hauling (eg: Dodge Ram) and a truck camper to go on it. A small fuel-efficient sedan for commuting (eg: Nissan Sentra). An offroad 4×4 (eg: Suzuki Samurai). A small sportscar (eg: Miata). A large comfortable sedan for cross-country driving on interstates (eg: Lexus). Two or three two-wheelers just because picking bugs out of your teeth is fun. A top-end e-bike. A van for moving large numbers of kids to parties and whatever. Finally, a separate (and large) garage to keep them all in.
Retired now, this list can be pared down. It’s getting hard to remember which vehicle has operational tags and insurance…
One.
2009 Honda Fit 5-speed manual.
Fun, practical, efficient, comfortable enough on the highway, fits my mountain bike inside.
Pretty much the first car I can consider mine (although I’m still on my parents’ insurance… even though I’m in my early twenties and have been driving for over 5 years, it’s still crazy expensive. I guess that’s the Alberta Advantage), I’m going to run it until it rusts out. I’ve already covered 35k kms in almost 2 years and I bought it right around 170k. I’m hoping I can get it to 300k plus, but the body probably won’t last long enough.
One, a GR86 and a utility trailer.
Zero.
I live in the city, never need a car in my everyday life. Cycle or walk to work, or I take the tram. Public transport brings you to every corner of the country, and if I still need to drive, I just rent one.
Still fun to have a sports car, but need? Zero.
One more car than there are members of the household. There will be times when everyone needs to be at a different place and carpooling isn’t feasible, and every car will let you down at some point, even if it’s just something as simple as a dead battery.
This is what we have done for last few decades. We tend to drive older cars and have driving kids. Car goes down/wrecked? Not an immediate emergency, just drive the spare.
Only once did I have two go down at once. Triage time.
And a utility trailer is all most people need vs. a truck. Have a lot of miles on mine.
This year we downsized the spare 02 Rx300 to a 92 Miata since two of our three kids are out of the house.
Need?
Well I don’t need any.
I own one that I can drive, four that I thought I would get around to repairing, and titles for a probably a dozen more that things happened to.
Thank god it isn’t about guitars. 12 I could play maybe, parts to build another 12 probably. Or cameras. A hundred maybe??
Today, I think I can get away with one as a need. If all we had was a minivan, I could uber to work on the days my wife needs it and she could have stuff delivered if I had it at work. We tried one vehicle(a minivan) years ago and without delivery services or ride sharing it didn’t work.
The thing about the minivan is it can lug people or things, gets reasonable fuel economy, is easy to maneuver in town and great on the highway. The weakness is the inability to tow, but I don’t tow stuff.
I expect a change soonish when I retire and a single vehicle would be all I need. I would want much more of course
2 driver household, i can justify 5, i have 6.
2 daily drivers. Need a camping, tow rig, home Depot run so i have a truck. I have a cheap track car that if it blew up on track i can walk away with minimal financial hit, that’s a Miata. Evora Gt for a weekend car.
Last car i can’t justify but can’t sell is my s4, nostalgia buy, made lots of friends in 01 when i had my a4, this one came up. Can’t sell cause a friend who i met back in 01 sold it to me for way under market value
One more.
Just one more…
TBH I only need one vehicle. How many do I have? 3. Blew a motor bought a Camry got a new motor so I have two. Mom passed away and while missing my Jensen Healey I bought a Fiat Spider. What do we need or how many can we justify?