• @[email protected]
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    4110 months ago

    We have two electric cars, a big one and a small one. The small one is “mine” and the big one is “his.” However, we both work from home so the only commute anymore is taking the kids to school. So, whenever possible, we take the little one because it’s more efficient by far. He doesn’t mind and thankfully it saves seat profiles, even if we always have to adjust the mirror.

    • @[email protected]
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      710 months ago

      The day when they make that adjust to the profiles! In mine we found kind of a sweet spot for seating position with the mirror adjusted the same for both of us. Heights are close through.

      • @[email protected]
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        210 months ago

        I’m seeing cars with the rear view mirror is just a screen. At that point you shouldn’t have to adjust it

        • @[email protected]
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          110 months ago

          That seems really rough anywhere with snow. Whole car accumulates so much crap on it that gets kicked up in the winter between freeze/thaw cycles, dirt that gets shoveled/plowed with snow, slushy muck getting kicked up from the road when it’s just close enough to freezing to form, etc.

        • @[email protected]
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          410 months ago

          Mine has that too. Its cool and not so cool. Camera gets dirty, but I can spray to clean it. Driving in rain you just see water kicked up from the tires so it’s all you see. Its also harder to gauge distance IMO. On the plus side, if you have the back window blocked by heads in the back seat / recently purchased a big object like a TV, it’s a great backup so you can see out the back. Also, mine at least seems too use a wide angle camera, this is pretty nice since you can see blind spots and more lanes when on 3+ lane highway.

      • @[email protected]
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        610 months ago

        Wouldn’t that be great? I think some fancy cars do it, but not ours. To be fair, it’s a small price to pay for giving gas companies and PG&E less money.

        • @[email protected]
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          110 months ago

          If you’re talking about adjustable rear view mirrors then I think one of the last and only cars to do it was the 90s Mercedes Benz S class. They had it memory linked with steering and seating. It was weird and cool.

          Also, if you’re charging your car in a PG&E area you’re technically giving them more money since the gas they provide is natural gas and not petroleum gas. You’d be sticking it to BP or Cheveron (or standard oil if you want to go old school).

          • @[email protected]
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            110 months ago

            We do have solar, which doesn’t cover everything but covers some. Either way, we figure if we use the more efficient car, less goes to PG&E than if we were charging the larger car more frequently.

    • @[email protected]
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      310 months ago

      Same, but with a hybrid and a minivan. We use the hybrid whenever possible (~2x the gas efficiency, cheaper repairs, etc). It’s not a big deal, and our adjusting process is completely manual (adjust seatbelt, seat, and mirrors) since we’re very different heights.

      I haven’t done the math, but I imagine it saves hundreds every year on gas alone. We put something like 15k miles on the small car, and 5-10k miles on the big car.

    • @[email protected]
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      1410 months ago

      We do the same, but opposite. We have a minivan and a smaller EV. The minivan is technically hers and the EV is mine, but it’s really more what it’s used for. If one of us is taking the kids somewhere (school, birthday parties, fun) we take the van. If we’re running to the store, normal errands or just taking a single kid we’ll use the EV.

      It doesn’t make sense for her to take the minivan to run to the store to pick up something small and it doesn’t make sense for me to take the smaller car to bring the kids somewhere.

    • tiredofsametab
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      59 months ago

      Not in my country!

      (Seriously, though, Japan doesn’t do joint bank accounts).

    • @[email protected]
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      2210 months ago

      My partner and I have joint financial accounts, but it still would be weird to us to take whatever car.

      • @[email protected]
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        710 months ago

        Why? Is it weird to use whatever plate or fork? What about couch cushions? Umbrellas?

        I see cars as tools, so there’s not “my car” and “their car,” but “the small car” (hybrid w/ great gas mileage) and “the big car” (minivan). Before we had kids, we only had one car, and if we needed to be in different places, I would ride my bike, walk, or take the bus. That almost never happened, and it wasn’t a big deal when it did.

            • @[email protected]
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              10 months ago

              That’s just your opinion. To me, clothes are tools and there’s no reason to personalize - just wear black everything, that’s what I do. Other people don’t seem to share my opinion and that’s fine too.

              • @[email protected]
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                19 months ago

                Sure, and I agree with you. I don’t find much value in chasing trends, so I wear something respectable for my line of work and call it good.

                Cars can be more than tools, and at that point I’d understand the OP that it would be weird to switch those between a couple, but I don’t see any reason for that to be the norm rather than the exception, just like chasing trends shouldn’t be the norm.

  • @[email protected]
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    1110 months ago

    My wife and I have only vaguely assigned vehicles. There’s whatever she wants to drive and what I normally drive to work.

      • @[email protected]
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        4010 months ago

        Power seats and mirrors with multiple memory is still a luxury car feature and not mainstream like power windows.

        • The Pantser
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          910 months ago

          The OP did not say what kind of cars they have. It is possible to have 2 cars with memory seats and mirrors. Now if only we could get memory rear view mirrors on the same cars as memory seats. Oh and seatbelt height adjustment memory.

          • @[email protected]
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            110 months ago

            Both of my cars set the outside mirrors when they set the seats (one by which phone unlocked it, the other by a driver 1/2 button)

            But I find I change the centre mirror every time I get in the car, maybe even more than that as I often adjust it while I’m driving

          • @[email protected]
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            410 months ago

            Camera rear views allow this, common in a lot of trucks, they use the backup camera and feed it through a screen where the mirror is.

        • @[email protected]
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          110 months ago

          I wouldn’t call it a luxury car feature. In the US basically every car >30k has that. And most new cars cost >30k at this point. Basically every trim over base that’s like the first thing they add.

          I had a Ford Focus rental car with power seats once.

          • @[email protected]
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            110 months ago

            When I bought a $50k US car in 2017, only the top trim had memory seats, and they penny pinched it off the top trim hybrid model so I couldn’t get them at any price.

            • @[email protected]
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              110 months ago

              Some OEMs do stuff weird. Hyundai and Kia are some of the worst. Some common features are on the trim just above base, the rest are all in the top trim.

              When I bought my Outback in 2018 every trim besides base had it. But that Focus for example was a top trim and apparently only top trim has that. Granted that’s an smaller economy car, vs the Outback.

      • @[email protected]
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        510 months ago

        As someone who used to work on other people’s cars, I think I’ve had my knees jammed into the dash way too many times to ever want this on one of my cars. Fuck that.

        • @[email protected]
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          10 months ago

          I can relate to this so much lol. I’m very tall and I remember getting into the Mercedes of a little old lady. The seat started moving forward while the steering wheel extended towards me. Felt like I was about to be featured on the hydraulic press channel.

          • @[email protected]
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            310 months ago

            Mercedes was the exact brand I was thinking of when I wrote that comment. For me it brings to mind the trash compactor scene from Star wars

        • @[email protected]
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          310 months ago

          The absolute panic when you put the keys in the ignition and the seat starts moving forward. You try to move it back before your knee slam into the dash, but the controls arent exactly where you thought

        • @[email protected]
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          110 months ago

          You mean due to the risk of accidentally hitting a button that sets the seat to a short position while you drive?

          • @[email protected]
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            10 months ago

            Nope, I mean due to them being automatic when you start the car, and linked to the “driver comfort” profile stored in the key.

            As soon as you start the car the seat starts cramming your knees into the dash if it happens to belong to a shorter person. And of course, there’s no sign in the car that the owner is short because the seat moves all the way back when you turn the car off.

            /Rant (sorry, the real problem in my opinion is that there isn’t a resistance/safety sensor that stops the whole thing)

        • goferking (he/him)
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          1210 months ago

          Yeah but if they’re just grabbing keys that wouldn’t work, but hopefully would let them pick the profile when car starts

          • @[email protected]
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            310 months ago

            I guess if you have one set, but there are usually two that come with most cars. Probably whoever grabbed theit preferred car key first means the other grabs their key for the second car?

    • @[email protected]
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      210 months ago

      I just angle the back and slide the seat and i am good to go. It’s all analogue, quick and easy.

      • @[email protected]
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        610 months ago

        Same with my wife and I. Seat doesn’t move, only adjust rear mirror. The side mirrors are set up for her since it’s minimal adjustment for me, it’s not worth it unless I’m doing a long drive like 3+ hours

      • @[email protected]
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        210 months ago

        I’m quite a bit taller than my partner, but she has a big bum and I don’t and it nets out to us having the same seat position, just different seat back angle to accommodate our different arms

    • @[email protected]
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      710 months ago

      It’s not a big deal. My SO and I are very different heights (like a foot/35cm), and it takes all of 10 seconds:

      • slide seatbelt adjustor up/down
      • move seat forward/backward
      • adjust mirrors

      We do it like 2-3x/week, and as the taller person, I’m totally capable of doing the adjustments while driving out of the neighborhood. It’s really a non-issue.

      • @[email protected]
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        910 months ago

        My wife and I are just the right height difference that the little flicky switch on the internal mirror will swap between the angles each of us need.

        One day we got a car that has some auto light filtering for night driving and it doesn’t have the switch. Can’t wait to sell it.

      • scops
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        210 months ago

        When I drive my girlfriend’s SUV, I have to stand outside of it and work the controls until I’ve got enough room to get in. It’s not awful, but does kind of suck on hot summer days when I just want to be in the air conditioning.

        • @[email protected]
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          10 months ago

          Our old (2006) minivan has an electronic adjustor, so I just hold that down while getting in (butt in seat, press button, swing legs). Our other car (2007 sedan) is even easier, since I just tap the adjustment bar under the seat and it slides back as I’m sitting on it (again, sideways). Then I adjust the shoulder seat-belt just before grabbing the belt to buckle, then I adjust the rear-view mirror while checking as I back up. It’s pretty smooth and routine.

          Our AC takes a while to turn on anyway, so I don’t expect any AC until I’m at least a mile or so down the road. We park in the shade (garage at home and work), so I don’t need the AC anyway when setting out.

    • redfellow
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      210 months ago

      My car does this automatically depending on the key fob used, or the smart phone that’s closest to the driver seat depending on which you are carrying. Seat, and mirrors.

    • @[email protected]
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      110 months ago

      My wife and I happen to use the same seat position and wheel position, so we just have to adjust the rear view mirror and during the time of year when it’s really hot/cold maybe adjust the vents to how we each like. Takes like 5 seconds to adjust

  • PhobosAnomaly
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    10 months ago

    The kids are our deciding factor.

    If one of us going somewhere with the little 'uns, then the “family car” with the nicer booster seats gets taken by whoever it is that has them. Whoever is getting the peace and quiet, drives the little runabout.

    I usually take the little car, and it surprises me sometimes when I jump into the family car and I’ve got another 50bhp under my right foot.

  • @[email protected]
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    1010 months ago

    She definitely has her car and I have mine. Mine’s over a decade old with over 100k miles, and hers is a year old. I think her car is really neat, but there’s a lot I don’t like about it. Too much tech, too many weird quirks in the systems, and it’s a little compact for my height. I’m glad she likes her car, but we definitely have assigned cars.

  • smokebuddy [he/him]
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    810 months ago

    Would make the most sense really if you have a narrow driveway where one car is always blocked in, save on the valet parking moving games tbh

    • @[email protected]
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      210 months ago

      We have a 2-car garage and both cars fit side-by-side. We both prefer driving the smaller car, so that gets the majority of the usage. We used to have a singe car, but since I took a job too far away to bike to, we had to get a second car.

      So for me, I think it’s weird to have cars specific to an individual, I have always seen cars as a tool that you use when you need it, and you pick the best tool for the current job. I would love to drop back down to a single car, but I’m not ready to leave my job yet.

  • @[email protected]
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    2810 months ago

    My wife and I each have our own cars, but they’re both in her name so she can drive whatever the fuck she wants.

    • @[email protected]
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      10 months ago

      So if they were both in your name she couldn’t?

      I know that is not probably not what you are saying, but that is the implication of this argumentation

      • @[email protected]
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        210 months ago

        Not hard to put both vehicles in both names. I don’t think they are “arguing” anything, just stating a legal fact about marital property.

  • v_krishna
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    210 months ago

    We have one (volvo xc90 with 3rd row seats) that is for going places with our kids, and another (a nicer/newer mercedes e350) that is the adults only car. I think the Volvo is technically in my name, the Benz in my wife’s but I’d have to check to see if I didn’t reverse those.

  • @[email protected]
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    1510 months ago

    We have two cars and they are both kinda mine. He bike commutes and way prefers it. I work two hours away though and have always driven more. So generally I take the van if I’m going to be at work for a few days, I’ve got it camperized, or the bmw if it’s a there and back, or other trips like that. Since I’m gone for a few days at a time he still needs a car for some errands, otherwise we’d just have the van. I do all the organizing for service work and cleaning, and general car stuff as well.

        • bizarroland
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          510 months ago

          I don’t think it’s that weird to have one car per working or otherwise functional adult.

          • @[email protected]
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            610 months ago

            It’s not weird to you probably because you’re used to terrible infrastructure. One car and multiple bicycles. Or just no car at all and multiple bicycles. And good public transport. Now those are reasonable things to have. Not two cars.

            • @[email protected]
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              10 months ago

              Here’s our situation:

              • I work 25 miles (40km) away, and transit would take >2x as long as driving
              • we like road trips

              So, I have a commuter to get to/from work because transit takes too long. We have a family car for going on a yearly road trip. We used to have a single car (I used to bike to work), and the only thing keeping us to two cars is that commute, but I like the company and the team, so I stick with it. But maybe we’ll drop back down to one car when I change jobs and no longer need the commute.

              To me, that’s pretty reasonable.

                • @[email protected]
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                  110 months ago

                  It’s not terrible, it’s actually pretty okay. I live a couple miles from a commuter train station that takes me most of the way to work, and there’s a bus connection to get to my job, so I could take transit if I wanted. But it would take a couple hours because my office is a bit out of the way and I live unreasonably far from work, and most of that is a stupid connection. If I get an e-bike, I could bike the rest of the way (about 7 miles) for a total commute time of a little over an hour, but I’m lazy.

                  I only do the commute 2x/week, so it’s really not a priority for me, and if my SO wasn’t so stubborn about sticking w/ our charter school (the public school is walking distance away), we could have a single car today.

                  Most of my neighbors don’t need two cars, yet they have them. So we were weird when we only had one car for a couple years, and we’re definitely weird when we almost never use both cars simultaneously (I like riding my bike to the local grocery store instead of driving).

    • @[email protected]
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      210 months ago

      We had more vehicles than people for awhile at my place, more than we could drive at once