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
Need need? Just my truck.There’s a reason they are the best selling vehicle in the US. I can tow my camper, I can haul stuff, I can cruise on road trips. Driving and parking in big cities sucks, but it’s doable. Which I know because for a long time my only vehicle was a full-size truck. It’s not as much fun to drive on back roads, but it can do that too.
Need from the perspective of ideal for all my uses? 3. My truck, my Corvette, my Prius. The Corvette and the Prius fill all of the weak points in the capability of the truck for me.
This is an excellent vehicle quiver
Proper response here.
Generalized: Utility, Sports, Economy
I will never again voluntarily own less than 1 vehicle. If nothing else for when the one decides not to start, needs scheduled maint, etc.
Currently at 3 and easier to manage than 4 was. I’m trying to hold off on 4 again, but there’s a really cool MR2 not far away with the 4th gen engine.
We are currently sitting at 4 at my house.
Jeep Grand Cherokee – Wife’s
Audi S6 Avant – My daily
Viper GTS – Fun/track car
Miata – Top down fun car, also wife likes driving it
I think 2 more would probably be a good spot. A mild off roader for backwoods and camping, maybe classic full size Cherokee/Wagoneer. Then some sort of classic car for cruising with the whole family and fun road trips.
I want to be you when I grow up with the exception of the Miata. I bought a 2001 Miata, a BRG SE, just out of college. It was fun but terrible as a daily and still the most expensive payment I’ve ever had on a car.
(Doing Steve Martin in The Jerk)
‘I only need THIS MCLAREN F1. And THIS 1965 LINCOLN CONTINENTAL 4 DOOR CONVERTIBLE. And THIS SQUAREBODY SHORT BED STEPSIDE CHEVY PICKUP.. And THIS 1959 CADILLAC SEDAN DEVILLE. And ALL THESE MOTORCYCLES. And that’s ALL I NEED.”
I find that the following list covers every need and then some:
2013 Viper
2024 CT5 BW
2020 Sienna
2019 F350
1972 K5 Blazer
If there’s a vehicular requirement unmet by that group, I haven’t found it yet.
Can’t travel over water. Start exploring the other 71% of earth’s surface!
2025 Ford Maverick (hauling and stuff)
1987 Porsche 911 Targa (the fun go to car)
2019 Porsche 911 GTS (the fun go to car for longer trips)
2025+ 750,000 plus airlines miles for the travel over the pond.
Vietnam motorcycle trip coming up next.
You need a Miata. Or a Lotus Elise. Or an S2000. Something light and nimble (ideally with a high-revving engine) to go with all those bruisers.
I had an MR2 Spyder once and wouldn’t mind another, but yeah if there’s a gap that’s it. Just hard to justify another 2 seater with kids.
Seems like a Miata / BW would be a better pairing (less overlap) than a Viper / BW? I’m guessing the BW is better handling AND more powerful / faster than the Viper. And maybe sounds better too? (I heard a 5BW at the local track day and the noise it made on the front straight was magical – blower whine followed by v8 bellow)
No, the Viper has similar power and weighs 800 lb less; it handles more sharply and accelerates faster. Not that I begrudge the BW, after all, I can have my whole family with me.
The Cadillac does sound better.
Need? Two.
Want? At least one or two more than I have space for.
I’m single, live in an apartment, and currently have five vehicles registered, insured, and operable. Only the first two I use on the regular:
2004 V-6 Toyota 4Runner: the adventure mobile for overlanding/camping
2006 Manual Subaru Outback: for driving around town and going to the ski areas (including long trips)
2002 Subaru Forester: Same as the Outback which has taken over those duties
1998 4WD Mazda MPV: The 4Runner has taken its place; slow but roomy and capable, still it’s old
1998 Subaru Legacy Wagon: Haven’t gotten around to selling it yet–once my only car
In the future I’m looking at buying a Chevy 2500HD ZR2 Bison (gas) to haul a slide-in Outpost camper.
With the pickup above, my dream fleet would also include:
Lexus GX550
New Subaru Outback
Mazda Miata of any vintage.
“live in an apartment, and currently have five vehicles”
Your neighbors must love you.
Well, it’s a fourplex with parking front and back, and every unit gets three spaces. So two on the street isn’t so bad.
[Mercedes looks around nervously]
If your talking about real life size vehicles, one will do. If your talking about model sized vehicles, including hot wheels, matchboxes and such, another thousand or so of them would be nice.
Yeah, lets not go there. I try not to think about how many 1:18th scale cars I have.
I understand, I have 2 rooms full of them! They do fill a need, though. I can get a tangible version of a vehicle I’m lusting after for less than what a set of good wiper blade refills would be for the life sized vehicle I’m desiring at the moment. At least that’s the story I tell myself to justify my model car splurge of the week.
Yeah, pretty much the same here. Though I have mostly broken the habit, I haven’t bought a new one in years. Now I keep buying LEGO cars. Those are a lot more expensive. And harder to display. My new house is getting a whole wall of display/bookcases, and there won’t be very many books in them.
BTW I still have the box of Legos that my grandmother bought me as a kid back in 1966 or so.
I think she paid like 5 or 6 bucks for a huge set.
But my late wife discovered them in a box years ago, and spent a lot of time building stuff out of them. She wanted to buy more, but balked when she saw how much the current offerings cost.
These days I would need to take out a loan to buy anything Lego sells.
LEGO was always expensive. Adjusted for inflation they really haven’t gotten more so, other than some of the licensed sets.
“Now I keep buying LEGO cars”
I didn’t discover Legos till I visited my relatives in Sweden where, to my delight I founded my cousins were loaded with them. One of the sets they had was the 8860:
https://www.brickeconomy.com/set/8860-1/lego-technic-car-chassis
If you don’t have that one you should.
I got that one for Chistmas 40-odd years ago. I had the previous, RWD one too.
This one:
https://www.reddit.com/r/legotechnic/comments/b78cku/853_956_auto_chassis_review/
Ooh, that’s the one I was thinking of!
I would LOVE to have both today for my collection, but they are $pendy. The new sets are a lot more impressive, I have the Land Rover Defender (both Defenders, actually) and G-wagen and they are works of mechanical art. I’d love to have some of the big construction machinery sets but both $pendy and I have nowhere to put them (not yet anyway).
It would be really cool if LEGO would re-issue old sets. I would love to have the original space sets from the ’80s I had as a kid too.
200 1/43rd models and counting. Almost no maintenance required!
Exactly! Congrats on your collection.
I am hoping that I will reduce my fleet when my 3 kids get to teenager age and be able to drive. In that case they will take over:
09 Ford Ranger for the oldest (In 5 years he will be 16)
23 Bolt EUV for the princess
04 Honda Insight for the youngest (He wants that car so bad for some reason lol)
By then, I could sell the minivan and buy myself an EREV truck. I will keep my 96 Mustang along the Miata and Beetle, plus whatever car my spouse wants by then.
That will be 3 fun cars, 2 daily drivers and 3 for the kids = 8. DAMN
Kind of surprising as a lot of kids today have no interest in driving.
I told them: you are learning to drive manual and you will drive yourself to events or sports classes. I am tired of driving them everywhere lol and they are very excited since they think they can drive the Miata or Beetle eventually.
I hear insurance for the under 25 crowd is…not cheap.
My extremely honest, straight laced parents put my first car on the insurance as mother’s primary because they were angry about what I would be charged…this was in 1971. Of course, she never drove it.
Happy for them, my parents didn’t want to drive me and didn’t let me get my license either until after I turned 18 so it would arrive by mail and they wouldn’t have to go to the courthouse!
Well, the commentariat has quickly put its finger on the difference between “Need” and “want,” so here I shall elaborate no further.
I need to be able to tow a trailer from time to time, and haul a bunch of semi-bulky items at others. It’s also nice to offer rides to friends. So the vehicle I’ve got that does all these things is a Kia Telluride. It’s all the above, plus nice inside, and gets enough MPG to satisfy me.
But…I’d like to have a Myers Manx for fun. And my wife thinks we’d have a lot of fun with a motorhome, too. So if a winning lottery ticket shows up in my wallet, maybe a little shopping is in order?
Amusingly, I tow my trailer with a 1-series convertible. helping a friend move with it tomorrow in fact.
More.
That will be my answer as long as I have space to park them and money to buy and insure them.
I like my vehicles in a garage, so in my case the answer is 3.
-2013 Focus ST for road trips and fun daily driving
-1995 F-150 302 4×4 for hauling, kayak and bike recreation, and bad weather.
-2006 Honda Shadow for 2-wheel fun
Plus bikes and kayaks in the garage too.
If I had a garage spot for another car it would probably be a 2-door convertible like a Miata or Fiat 124.
I learned that most of the time I need zero, but that having at least a toaster is useful.
I stopped using cars as a conveyance whenever possible 17 years ago. They’re just toys now, but I will use one to visit folks and such, because might as well use it.
The times I’ve needed a truck or van? I’ve rented them. Need AWD because of a snowy mess on holiday? Rented. Maybe spent $1500 in 17 years to get that utility for only exactly when I needed it. I’ve been RWD in Boston the entire time, no issues.
I got 1000HP in two vehicles, across 14 N.A. cylinders . I’m good. There’s a lot of stuff I LIKE, and I WANT, but I don’t NEED nor want to occupy my time, money or attention.
“I stopped using cars as a conveyance whenever possible 17 years ago”
Good for you! So how DO you meet those daily conveyance needs?
I buy out-of-season Nikes for $40 and put 3500-4000 miles a year on ‘em.
For other local trips, primarily subway. A small amount of light rail and bus.
Sounds like a good plan.
Family of 3, wife and I are privileged enough to work from home for the foreseeable future, 1 modestly sized car with light towing capacity, 2 bikes (the kid and I, wife just will not bike), and a pair of transit passes cover our needs pretty well. I’ve also got a decrepit, slow motorcycle, but it only barely qualifies as transportation right now.
Although, the in-laws bought the kid a 50cc dirt bike, so that means I need a dirt bike of my own now, because how else can the kid ride his unless I can accompany him?
This is easy. 8.
Vibe – Almost as great as an Element, and it was inherited.
Altima – I’ve heard this Jatco CVT is the business. Also inherited. Wife dailies.
C4 Corvette – I wanted something somewhat compelling to drive since I sent the GTI on. Also it is teal.
Gen 1 Tundra – a real truck with an 8′ bed and manual windows. Truck things, plus timing belt.
Gen 1 4Runner – Too cool to get rid of. Objectively something of a pile but the 22RE is as reliable as a hammer.
996 911 Cabrio – Went to college because I wanted a 911. So I got one. That doesn’t run.
R107 Mercedes – Learned wife had a favorite car, so I bought her one.
1968 Lotus Rep – I wanted something visceral enough to make me forget motorcycles. This does that to the extreme. Also three is the perfect number of convertibles. I guess.
I’ve learned my wife is an enabler. Having the barn makes it feel like less of a car lot.
You get a Like and a heart.
Username does NOT check out.
I know, I know. I still have:
2009 Triumph Scrambler
83 Shovelhead
2005 plated KTM 520 (and supermoto wheels)
1970 Vespa Sprint
98 Suzuki TL1000S
Coleman minibike
They’re not all long for my world, though.
No bicycles?
Just an eleventy hundred pound Kona Roast taking up space.
Did my spouse put you up to this? I refuse to answer questions under duress!
Need to own? None. Walking and cycling would easily cover the vast majority of my day-to-day travels. For the rest, mass transit or renting a vehicle as needed would do the trick.
Want to own? Many, many vehicles. I want trucks for the once a year I need to haul things, multiple sports cars for track days, big comfy sedans for road trips, old army trucks for no reason at all.
Over the last twenty or so years I’ve carefully filtered down my car fleet requirements and I need:
1) A two seat RWD coupe
2) Another two seat RWD coupe
One of them needs to be able to fit a bike in the back.
I currently have a third car, which is a two seat RWD coupe.
As someone who has owned multiple Miatas at the same time with no other vehicles I completely approve.
My other car when I had my MX5 was a Lotus Elise!
My folks have a fleet similar to Pete’s:
Volt for actual travel
Focus wagon for trips to airport and schlepping stuff
F150 for furniture & dirt
American LaFrance for cruising the beach
American LaFrance? I’m only familiar with that mark as manufacturers of fire apparatus. Do your folks drive a retired fire engine down the beach?
A google search says they produced passenger cars between 1910 and 1920. I think we need a “Members Rides” on this thing.
Good news!
Well, I didn’t see anything about the American LaFrance in the article. There is a classic fire truck in the header image, so I will assume you cruise the beach in a classic fire truck.
Now the big question is what happened to the Ferrari; excuse me, 40 year old used car? It’s not listed in your fleet run down.
It’s been a while since Brandon put that together and I admit I should have revisited it before referring to it. So Yes: that’s my dad’s 1942 American LaFrance pumper in the topshot, the crowning jewel/punchline in his fleet. The reason I didn’t mention the Mondial in my comment on this page was because my own fleet is really just one car and one toy, and isn’t well-rounded enough to mention here. But luckily, for a few more years, I have unfettered access to Dad’s vehicles, so I don’t “need” anything else.
The Ferrari is great! Thanks for asking. The neighborhood shop finally admitted they were in over their heads and I found a fairly local guy who is an actual expert who sorted it in about three weeks and it’s been running great since early spring; I figure I’ve put between 500 and a thousand miles on it with zero issues (aside from the myriad of used car things like no dash lights, dead hood release button, torn side mirror cowls, etc). Any day it’s not raining is a great day to run it up to the grocery store, hit the beach, or let it loose on a local freeway…but I haven’t yet come to trust it enough on a trip of any real distance. Maybe by this time next year I’ll have gotten over that anxiety.
Yes. Yes we do.
The Bolt we have for our family of 3 is really the only car we “need”, as anything else that is really necessary can be done on bikes and such (do e-bikes count as “vehicles”?). The old Jeep is “needed” for accessing places offroad and occasionally as a 2nd vehicle, but that is recreational, and isn’t truly necessary. The setup we have right now of the basic EV for 90+% of driving, an e-bike and trailer for around the neighborhood, and an old Jeep for adventures beyond what the Bolt can do is quite optimal for us.
I only need one. But I want more than one. For me the ideal number would be 3. I had 2 for many years, but had to go down to 1 for financial reasons earlier this year. Now that I’m out of the financial hole, I’m ready to rebuild – LOL.
My ideal 3 car garage is as follows: Audi S3 to daily, ND3 Miata for summer fun, Mk7.5 GTI for the great back roads in my area.
Who’s Bozi? Is that a presenter from HGTV?
I’m semi-retired and when I did/do work, it’s at home. I run errands/do volunteer work once a week, just a few miles away. One car would be sufficient, and though I don’t use a smartphone (and thus, don’t use rideshare apps) I could probably get by with no car at all most of the time, bumming a ride now and then with a neighbor driving down/up the hill.
But of course I like cars, and ‘need’ doesn’t really factor into how many I might own at any given point. I’ll never reach the stratospheric heights achieved by Mercedes or David or even Jason, but I currently own three cars and a motorcycle. One car and the bike are registered PNOP and not used at the moment. There’s a NA Miata that I don’t drive enough, and an ’80s Volvo wagon, which is my ‘daily’ though ‘weekly’ would be more accurate.
I often tell myself I should just sell them all and get a late-model used Mazda crossover instead, but it has yet to happen.
Bozi Tatrevic (sp?). Ace racing mechanic and possibly an occasional contributor here and contributor to many automotive media. One of the automotive people I would really like to meet along with Mr. Tracy and Mr. Gossin
Thanks Jeff. 🙂
You only need one, always one (you being singular in this case, we’re not talking about families). But want…that’s another story.
/thread
We currently have a Civic hybrid hatch and a 6MT Fit, and I’m currently wishing for a jaunty project vehicle that I can neglect and eventually park in the front yard specifically to upset our horrible neighbor. So 3, probably.
Oooh! A manual Fit! Now I ‘need’ one of those too! 😉
I have one, only car, covers all the needs and most of the wants.
I suppose a ’70s barge of a convertible would cover the rest of the wants with one other car but it’d have to spend the winter outside since I only have one covered parking place and don’t want to have to brush snow off my daily.
Mine’s not a manual (thankfully as the gearing is too weird for highway travel), but it does everything for us two retired 70 year olds, from around town, hauling, and long distance. But I do need a silly cruiser convertible to pile in friends and roam around with the top down on the way to early bird dinner.
Mmmmm… early bird dinner! 🙂
Well it’s really cocktails, but I’m driving so not so much.
I enjoy cocktails of course, and pretty much like/enjoy any dinner that I didn’t have to cook myself. So color me envious. 🙂
As many as I have indoor/covered storage for, so, let’s go with 5, maybe 6, tops