I realize this is an old post, but wanted to share. My disclaimer is I am not in any way recommending these ideas below, I am just sharing with you what we found works for us. Here is what we found to be the easiest way to get my 91 yr old mom, 5' 3" 150 lbs.. We have worked with her with a walker in the house walking forward up a half step and backward up the step. (Outside step sold on Amazon) Walkers legs can easily fit on the ground around it. We place this on the ground next to the door. Have mom place herself with heals almost touching the step. She carefully steps up backwards, then with the walker steps back to the car frame (Honda mini van) She reaches back for the seat with her one hand to locate it. (We use a gate belt at all times) then bends at her hips until her backside touches the seat (we have a towel on the seat-dad pulls from the drivers seat to pull her in. Then she turns to get her feet in with our help. After reading about the plastic bag We may try this under the towel. If there is enough room we have also tried from the side stepping forward up to door opening and turning slowly to have her back to the seat before sitting. This method is generally used at the house. We have a heavy duty wood step, same height as the outdoor step but a lot larger. The walker fits completely on top of it. Which makes turning easier. We find all cars/vans are difficult because the doors on cars do not open all the way for easy access. Back seats of mini vans/ many cars have to much of a gap between the door and seat when the person you are assisting is afraid of falling or has a history of falls. Love hearing everyones ideas. We are tempted to have a lift seat installed for her safety.

RE: Help in choosing a large SUV Posted by: beaglebuddy (My Page) on Mon, Mar 13, 06 at 21:59 Could an attorney please step in and explain this to johndeere ? If the person hit is injurded and is in the Hospital for a long period of time and has surgery and then needs Thearapy.Has to take medication for the rest of his life.Then his pain and suffering and lost wages and can not pay his bills.Who do you think pays?Just because your insurance pays $10.000 per victim medical and you have say a $600.000 Liabilty.Does not mean your off the hook.Just because that is all they will pay.Because chances are that will not cover it. If the victim dies.Your not going to get off cheaper.Because a funeral is cheaper then if they lived and had huge medical bills.Say the victim is 40 years old and made $50.000 per year.The family would recieve a minimum of $50.000 x until his kids are grown.Not counting pain and suffering. Insurance Co.Cover there rearend and will only pay so much.You pay the remainder and that very well could be the larger portion. Could a Dr. please step in and explain this to beaglbuddy?

Back to the original question of this post: It is my opinion that large SUVs will decline in sales, but will not dissapear for the reasons given in the posts above. Today, GM annoucned that 750 of their employees (at the Janesville, WI, plant) will be loosing their jobs at the end of June. The 2 shifts of the SUV and truck line will be reduced to one shift. Currently, production has been slowed on the 2-shift arrangement, but GM says they have excess capacity and must trim back to match demand. Currently, GM has a glut of SUVs and pickups on dealer's lots. In recent ads, GM dealers have been placing emphasis on selected Chevrolet models, the ones that produces the best fuel mileage in their product line-up. Around here, people are beginning to moan about filling up their not-so-efficient vehicles, and these are not the middle class, but doctors and lawyers. The average guy is already coughing blood. I am seeing an increase in beat-up older Saturns sedans being pressed into commuting service. How will this play end? Who knows? My take is the big SUVs will decline with smaller, more fuel efficient SUVs taking over some of the sales. Five years from now, it is only a guess who will be yet making big SUVs. It may not be GM. So, who will drop out, or be forced to drop out? iIs a crap shoot. Even Toyota is seeing reduced sales of their largest vehicles. Projections have been advanced that 5 years down the road, we will see a shift in Suburbia and commuting - it will loose popularity. The time is comming when the average working joe can not afford to spend so much of his time working for his car. Small town downtowns may come back with the demise of "big box" mall stores. If crime can be contained in the inner cities and the bullies and gangs chased out, the cities will revive as a living centers. This same crew making these projections also think that the 'real' crunch will begin about year 2012, and that is not far away. My opinion: This change will come as shock to the US citizen. It will not be taken lightly.

Along the lines of what Funky said, in 2015, I bought a used Lexus RX350, with low mileage that looked new. Its been great to haul dogs, compost, small trees, you-name-it. Brace yourself - I bought it after seeing it on Craigslist, and doing careful researching and having it checked out. It's incredible. A friend has a Toyota 4Runner that he loves, but he says the Lexus has more zip. It's called a crossover, meaning "the difference between the two is simple: A crossover is based on a car's platform, while an SUV uses the chassis of a truck. The result is that crossovers use "unibody" architecture, meaning the body and frame are one piece, while SUVs use a "body on frame" design." I also have a WONDERFUL place in Maine that services it for much less than the local dealership. They are all former dealership employees and do not try to up-sell anything like the dealer. I wish everyone had access to a place as nice as this one.