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DogCars.com gets some attention as car-buyers dip toes into new-car consideration again
By Gina Spadafori
December 3, 2009
Things have been pretty slow over on our DogCars.com Web site since the economic meltdown. The car companies were too busy struggling for survival to give much thought to promoting their cars, so some of our ability to test-drive new cars was curtailed. Then, too, car-buyers lost much of their interest in replacing their old vehicles, and if they had to, they tended to buy used instead of new.
I took this to the extreme, passing on a last-model used car to replace my increasingly unreliable minivan and snaring two vehicles with lots of good service left for less money combined than one-quarter of the cost of a new economy car. My Plymouth van got donated to charity, and in its place I have a ’97 Toyota Previa van as my DogCar (one owner, 102K miles) and an ’86 Mazda pick-up as my daily driver and weekend farm truck (one owner, 65K miles).
Kim and Keith are still driving and reviewing vehicles — Kim has the Kia Soul this week, with review to follow soon — but I actually got tired of driving a new car every week (I know, seems funny even to type it!), so I’m not reviewing at all.
Seems some people are wading cautiously back into considering new cars, though. Of course, the Cash For Clunkers program really moved the merchandise, but even with that over we’re seeing traffic up on DogCars.com, and more e-mail from people asking about different models.
The media is showing increased interest, too, as evidenced by in this piece from the Deseret News (Utah) about people considering their dogs when buying a car:
More than 30 percent of people consider their pets’ needs when picking out a family vehicle, according to a recent survey by LeaseTrader.com. That’s up from 12 percent in 2006 and 8 percent in 2003. The trend’s not lost on car manufacturers and auto insurance providers, who are making adjustments to make sure Fido stays safe and comfortable on the road.
[...]
Molle Hess, a science teacher at Hillcrest Junior High, for example, had a long list of things she needed to accommodate her five dogs. She wanted a van with rear air, double doors, removable back seats and enough space to fit four dog crates.
“I told the car salesman, ‘I won’t buy the van if the crates don’t fit,’ ” Hess said. “I made him take out the seats and put in the crates right then just to make sure.”
Such demands are far from unusual, said Taylor Johnson, a sales manager for Ken Garff Honda.
“People bring their dogs in all the time to see if they ‘like’ a particular car,” he said. “Just the other day I thought I’d made a sale and the guy told me, ‘Oops, sorry. My dog won’t fit in the back of that.’ ”
Car dealers, eager to accommodate doting pet-owners, which, according to a recent American Pet Products Association survey, represent more than 40 percent of the population, are starting to offer pet-accommodating add-ons for popular vehicles.
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Dogs are our primary concern when buying a car. I drive a boring grey minivan because when we bought it I had two Leonbergers and a Kelpie and a van with all the seats out was the only thing big enough to hold the crates I needed.
Because they took up so much room I also ended up with a Thule box on top. And a ramp for them. And a stepstool for me (to reach the rack). No spill water bowls. Window shades. Thick layers of cushioning (I’ve heard that road vibration is hard on dogs). A small dc refrigerator for their raw food. Vanity plates so I can find the &^%$* thing in a parking lot. The beasties even have their own DVD player. To watch training videos, of course.
There are times I think that the dogs have as much stuff as we do…
Comment by Janeen — December 3, 2009 @ 3:00 pm
There are times I think that the dogs have as much stuff as we do…
Comment by Janeen — December 3, 2009
Yes, there are times: All of the times, in my house. :)
Comment by Gina Spadafori — December 3, 2009 @ 3:24 pm
I once jokingly referred to Zorro (RIP) as my $100,000 dog.
Then I did a bit of quick math adding up: one new minivan (he couldn’t get into my truck); fenced yards at two different houses (my other dogs have been fine w/o fenced yards); his $200-300 a month drug needs; classes, seminars and workshops I went to largely to help deal with his issues; new flooring in one house after he trashed all the carpet (weak urinary sphincter); three size XXXL crates (wire, airline and soft) —- at this point, getting well into five figures I just quit. And hugged him.
He was worth every penny.
Comment by Janeen — December 3, 2009 @ 4:23 pm
If car makers wish to accommodate dog owners better, then they need to make a greater variety of wagons.
I do not want an SUV or crossover. They are bloated, overweight, and inefficient compared to wagons that have the same cargo space. They usually have oversized tires so the wheel wells intrude into Fido’s crate space. Yes, the larger SUVs have more cargo space than wagons. I don’t need anything that large, so minivans and medium-large SUVs are overkill for me.
The other thing auto makers need to do for dog owners is to reverse the trend toward wagons with rooflines that slope downward toward the back. Sloping hatches are bad news too. Both of these significantly reduce and in some cases eliminate crate space. We once had a rental Dodge Magnum, a larger wagon than what we own. The Magnum is so low in the back that unless Fido is a Dachshund, fergetaboutit.
Car makers, please stop trying to be cute. Just square the wagon off back there.
We’ve had no problem getting our 95 lb GSD, 60 pound ES, their wire crates, and a modest amount of training gear in the back of our 2001 VW Passat wagon. It has a nice squared off back.
On the occasion that we needed to bring more — like for overnight trips with the two of us, all 3 of our dogs (GSD in his crate, our two other dogs strapped in their harnesses on the back seat) — we have a Yakima box that goes on top the Passat for the “stuff”. It all fits.
Our 2009 VW Jetta diesel wagon also accommodates the crates and dogs, though it’s a bit tighter inside. We had to do some surgery on the GSD’s wire crate to accommodate the slanting hatch. But his crate still fits, even with the back seats up. Oh, and it’s averaging 42 mpg — try doing that in your SUV or minivan.
Why would I buy a vehicle that is 500-2000 pounds heavier than necessary, handles like a pig, and consumes twice as much fuel than is necessary to do this job? The car makers seem to think I should, given how few wagons they offer for sale in the U.S. Even when shopping for the Jetta wagon, the sales guy tried to push us toward a Tiguan SUV — which weighs more but has less cargo space than the Jetta wagon, and has no diesel option.
My understanding is that it adds little cost to make a wagon version of a car once the costs are sunk into designing a new sedan. So c’mon GM, make the Chevy Volt in a wagon too.
There’s a large variety of super efficient wagons sold in Europe that Americans cannot purchase. Somehow European dog owners, including those involved in nearly all of the activities we do with our dogs, manage to get by without our big gas guzzling dog vehicles.
Comment by LauraS — December 3, 2009 @ 6:11 pm
Laura, you’ve hit my No. 1 complaint: Sloping backs that utterly destroy cargo capacity. In fact, I trashed Honda for turning the CR-V from one of the best DogCars into one of the worst. The new CR-V is a pleasant enough car, but it has NO versatility with its sharply raked rear. I was looking forward to the redesign, and would have bought one. Then they revealed the new CR-V. NO THANKS!
When I do buy new again, I’ll be looking at the little “squares” — Element, Soul, Cube and xB, and at small wagons and hatchbacks with squared-off backs that are fun and efficient to drive and park. Like the Mazda Speed 3, Pontiac Vibe, Honda Fit and Subaru Forester, to name a few I liked when reviewing them.
Anyone remember when the Corolla came in a wagon, and the Accord, too? Bring them back!!
Comment by Gina Spadafori — December 3, 2009 @ 7:24 pm
I have to have a dog car, as my dog is service dog in training, hopefully full time SD by the end of next year.
If the car won’t work for Figaro, I wouldn’t get the car. It’s just me and him, but I still have requirements. I need something low to the ground, with good gas mileage and it has to be a four door. It also needs enough head space for when he’s buckled in on a seat.
It’s good thing I don’t drive. :)
Comment by thetroubleis — December 4, 2009 @ 1:33 pm
We got a Hyundai Tucson this year specifically for the dogs, and we like it. Mind you, our dogs aren’t huge, and it does have a “slopier” rather than square back, but it suits us and the house hounds very well and can easily accomodate crates when we fold the back seats down. Luckily, we don’t have to travel with the dogs very often, but we’ve liked the Tucson when we do have to.
We, too, would never have bought the vehicle if it hadn’t worked for the dogs.
Comment by Glenye Oakford — December 4, 2009 @ 5:52 pm
Glenye’s “other car” is a horse. :)
and her book, “Home Run Horse: Inside America’s Billion-Dollar Racehorse Industry and the High-Stakes Dreams That Fuel It” is one of the best books on horse-racing I’ve ever had the priv to crack open.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — December 4, 2009 @ 8:56 pm
My ideal vehicle is some sort of downsized bread-truckish thing.
Which is why I was so besotten with Emo:
http://picasaweb.google.com/HH.....6366169650
I agree about the CRV redesign. What was that about? (I now drive a 2002 CRV. It’s okay. No Emo.)
Spent plenty of time in LauraS’ diesel Volkswagon this summer, and am really impressed with the roominess for the mileage — but the surgery on the 36” side-door crate was pretty major. One problem with wagons is it can be a lot harder to pull the back seats, which is how I’ve got the CRV configured.
The Corolla wagon was a great little car — as were the old-style Subaru wagons and those great “boxy but good” Volvos — if you could afford the repair tabs.
Comment by H. Houlahan — December 4, 2009 @ 9:43 pm
A CR-V like this one?
Comment by Gina Spadafori — December 4, 2009 @ 9:55 pm
Well, a red one.
Comment by H. Houlahan — December 4, 2009 @ 10:08 pm
Spent plenty of time in LauraS’ diesel Volkswagon this summer, and am really impressed with the roominess for the mileage — but the surgery on the 36” side-door crate was pretty major.
We paid a welder I think $100 to modify a wire crate to fit in the back of our Jetta wagon. If VW hadn’t done the (despised) slanty hatch door thing, the mods would have been less extensive.
Comment by LauraS — December 5, 2009 @ 8:46 am
My ideal vehicle is some sort of downsized bread-truckish thing.
Have you seen the Ford Transit Connect?
http://www.fordvehicles.com/transitconnect/
Incredible amount of cargo space in a short wheelbase vehicle.
Comment by LauraS — December 5, 2009 @ 8:49 am
wow, that Transit looks like a Sprinter with a gasoline, not diesel engine. And cheaper…. interesting.
I solved the slantwindow problem in my old Subie by scrounging fleamarkets for those slant-fronted crates someone used to make. Not the ideal solution, but at least I could get a couple of crates in that space
Comment by EmilyS — December 5, 2009 @ 9:07 am
Have you seen the Ford Transit Connect?
http://www.fordvehicles.com/transitconnect/
Incredible amount of cargo space in a short wheelbase vehicle.
That’s apparently the little bread truck that I yell about every time we drive by the Ford dealer on Route 19. Professor Chaos tries to speed up so I won’t see it. I never knew what it was called.
Mileage and sticker price not bad, all told.
I expect about another 70k miles or so out of Bruce, the CRV.
But maybe when Buttercup the Subaru From Hell mysteriously rolls over a bluff into the Allegheny, I can persuade Professor Chaos to take over Bruce and I can get my bread truck again.
And it comes in red.
Comment by H. Houlahan — December 5, 2009 @ 10:37 am
A German friend of mine said it’s pretty easy to get custom or stock inserts to create crate spaces inside wagons and vans in Europe.
She has a Volvo wagon that has a built-in steel barrier behind the driver seat and a rear barrier with a door. It turns the entire back of her vehicle into one Leonberger-sized crate.
Why can’t we get these things here?
Comment by Janeen — December 5, 2009 @ 12:41 pm
Googling for info on the Transit, I discovered that Nissan is coming out with a competitor soon (it’s already available in Europe).
The NV200 looks like another interesting option, though the non-commercial versions have folding instead of removable seats. I use rear seats so little I tend to prefer just to take them out.
Comment by Janeen — December 5, 2009 @ 2:14 pm
wow, that Transit looks like a Sprinter with a gasoline, not diesel engine. And cheaper…. interesting.
The Ford Transit Connect isn’t as large as a Sprinter. It’s intended to be a small business or urban delivery van. They are stripped down, quite different than soccer mom cars.
Ford also sells the Transit Van in Europe which is more like the Sprinter in size, but I don’t think the Transit Van is available in America.
Comment by LauraS — December 5, 2009 @ 4:10 pm