Comments on: Dodge Grand Caravan gets DogCars.com Best In Show nod

By: Christie Keith

Christie Keith — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 23:26:52 +0000

Well, the airbag thing is a mixed blessing. My passenger was severely injured, almost killed, because he DIDN’T have one, but all my injuries were caused by the airbag. However, if I’d hit not the airbag but the steering wheel, wouldn’t it have been worse?

By: EMoon

EMoon — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 23:17:44 +0000

We rented a Caravan for a trip earlier this year. It was a brand new, shiny red vehicle that we were very, very sad to take back to Enterprise. If I had any valid excuse to keep a vehicle that big around, I would absolutely get one.

It handled well, got good mileage, and comfortably fit three people, two medium sized dogs in their crates, camping gear, and a load of stuff that we were bringing back for a friend that had moved from PA to IN the previous year. This was not a small load, but we managed to pack it in there and still had room left over.

I will note that the carpeting in the vehicle seemed to attract Sheltie hair like the plague. It was impervious to English shepherd hair, however.

I’ve been looking at the Forester for my next vehicle. Good to know it’s got a thumbs-up as well.

By: Anne T

Anne T — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 22:55:37 +0000

I hate airbags period, having lost teeth and gotten a cracked septum thanks to one. The impact from the airbag hitting my face was far greater than the impact of the car hitting a large rock when I encountered black ice and went off the road at 25 mph. I was wearing a seatbelt, however. How can something that deploys with such force, cause damage to a child, and kill a small dog be a legally required “safety” device?

By: Christie Keith

Christie Keith — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 22:28:32 +0000

My 96 Caravan was the best, best dog vehicle I ever had. It was totaled in an accident when a teenager flipped her father’s SUV on a mountain road and skidded into me on her roof — she walked away unscathed, my passenger nearly died, and I had numerous relatively minor injuries, although the air bag impact to my right arm kept me from being able to type for a month, which kind of sucks when you write for a living and no, the voice recognition software of the day was no substitute for a right hand.

I love my 1998 Honda Odyssey but I still miss that old Caravan.

By: Gina Spadafori

Gina Spadafori — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 21:22:36 +0000

Might check out the Honda Fit, which was on our Best list last year. I really liked it.

By: Cait

Cait — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 20:40:26 +0000

Lis, so does my Vibe, which is a 2005.

By: Lis

Lis — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 19:35:18 +0000

Noted! Thanks.:)

By: Lori

Lori — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 19:22:03 +0000

Lis-my co-workers 2006 (07?) Honda Civic has that capability. Nice little car too.

By: Lis

Lis — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 19:11:18 +0000

With a small dog, I have, sadly(?), the same personal interest in a car that will conveniently accommodate retrievers or collies that I have in cars that have enough headroom and legroom for people over six feet tall. Not that I’m dissing the importance of those things; just that it’s not what I need to find when I’m shopping for a car.

What I would like, when I eventually have to buy a new car, is the ability to turn off the passenger-side airbag, so that I can have my little fourteen-pounder in the front with me, when it’s just the two of us in the car. She wears a seatbelt, she’s quiet and well-behaved, and doesn’t stress out in the back. But we’d both like it if I could, safely, have her up front with me.

By: Cait

Cait — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 17:21:09 +0000

I used the dogcars.com reviews when shoppint for my Pontiac Vibe, and I was really glad ot see it mentioned on the list- it’s WONDERFUL. It has anchors in the back that work really well for seat belts, and I can fit two collie-sized crates in it with the seats down. It’s also rated to tow (overseas, anyway- the tow requirements/liability is different here in the US is my understanding) a very tiny trailer, so I’m looking at getting a tiny cargo trailer to pull behind it, which will enable me to fit everything I could ever need for a weekend at a show in there. :P