Kids is the biggest. Small cars absolutely are horrible to deal with two kids in car seats. Plus, most need some ergonomic fix for the back seat access. A couple with two kids (or Lord help you three) is not probably buying an SUV.

Truthfully, if some designer got off their butt and designed a car that focused on actual use of the car in American, then SUVs wouldn't be so popular. Just saying people don't need a SUV is ignorant.

And, honestly, at this point, living in a city, I feel like I can either just hop in an uber or I need to borrow a truck for the utility. So, maximum utility-wise, it almost seems to me (as someone with an active lifestyle who drives away from the city for activities) that owning an SUV/truck to drive part time and using ride sharing for basic commute is the best compromise.

Your experiences doesn't necessarily equal that of millions of other people. Owning a vehicle for part time driving and Uber for everything else is likely not very cost effective for many, if not most people. Never mind the assumption that Uber, or something like it, exists everywhere.

Not intended as an insult, but that's city thinking.

It's certainly city thinking, I agree. However, if the demand for personal vehicle ownership in cities drops but stays level in suburban and rural areas, the overall demand still drops (or, perhaps, doesn't grow in the next decade).

I guess my point was that personal ownership of small cars will be the first to decline as self-driving and service-based (Uber and the like) car use increases.

The SUV/Truck car market I believe will last a little bit longer because a large part of the use of those things is for transportation and storage of personal belongings as well as numerous children, which Uber/Lyft don't cater as easily to.

I don't know what city he's living in if that's city thinking. Owning a car, and paying for an Uber equivalent as your regular commute seems like the most expensive and annoying option you could pick, short of using a horse and letting it live in your living room.

How do you use Uber with kids in car seats?

You move to New York and limit yourself to one kid, of course!

New York is the only market that I'm aware where you can ask for a (one) car seat when you request an Uber. It worked fairly well when I went to visit, but most cars only have one seat, so if you have two kids you're still out of luck.

> You move to New York and limit yourself to one kid, of course!

Yeah, no

> New York is the only market that I'm aware where you can ask for a (one) car seat when you request an Uber. It worked fairly well when I went to visit, but most cars only have one seat, so if you have two kids you're still out of luck.

Interesting. I wonder why only New York? This is another one of those corporate decisions that I would really like to know how they arrived at.

I was being a bit facetious with the first part. I was also curious about why only New York and was thinking they would institute it elsewhere.

For example, in Madrid we were often being told having toddlers in taxis was a big issue, as the law isn't very clear on the legality of it. You'd think that type of market would be ripe for providing a competitive edge.

We have a kid in New York; we have our own car seat that fits fine in any car, be it an Uber, a taxi cab, or a friend's car.

I also don't really see why you necessarily have to limit yourself to one kid; there are plenty of taxis that aren't small sedans, and most Uberlike apps allow you to sit in the front, so you could pop two kids and a spouse in the back, and ride up front.

Just curious, how portable is that car seat, and would you mind providing a link?

Most car seats I've seen are difficult to transport, mainly because they are heavy, bulky, don’t fit onto a stroller, and they certainly don’t roll. Once I found out Uber had that feature in New York I didn't even bother doing additional research for that trip, but could benefit from the knowledge in future trips.

I've never had to compare to to any other, but I'd say "fairly portable", especially since it comes with a stroller that can go in the car's trunk: https://urbinibaby.com/product/omni-plus/

We've done two plane trips with her so far, and obviously the car seat has come with every time, and it's worked out very well.

I'm not sure whether the car seat is heavy or not - just earlier, I was discussing laptop weight with someone, and I definitely don't mind carrying heavy things - so I honestly don't know if I'd call it heavy or not. It feels fine to me, and if I had to take her somewhere in a car without the stroller, it would be annoying, but much less annoying than owning a car in the city :P

The point of my statement is that you would use the SUV/Truck for hauling around the kids to school/sports/roadtrips when you need a larger car and use uber or walk when you are just transporting adults or going quickly to the grocery store.

The same way you use a regular car or taxi - our car seat, at least, can be safely installed in a car with a seatbelt without the need for a base.

Space is a luxury. Everybody wants luxury, but it has a cost...

Mainly, it's cultural. I remember challenging my friend on why he wanted to drop $50K on a large truck. His only practical reason was it would be easier to pack for camping trips. American's tend to buy excess space that is rarely used. A big truck for those few times a year you have to haul something. A big house for the annual Thanksgiving dinner.