My kids started with BMW 3 series. When they officially got their license I let them pick out whatever car they want as a reward. One child stuck with the BMW, other one wanted a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, and the third one wanted a BMW X5.

Older Tacoma pickup truck
manual transmission . Can’t drive fast with the 4 cylinder engine. Can’t accelerate too fast with the manual gears. Can’t give rides to friends. Can’t use it for sex with boyfriend or GF in the back seat cause there isn’t one. Safe car since it is a rigid truck chassis. Ford Ranger or equivalent Mazda pickup or Nissan frontier also.

Anonymous wrote:https://www.iihs.org/ratings/safe-vehicles-for-teens

My kid got to choose from this list. He chose a Ford Bronco Sport.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Those of you advocating cars with the most advanced "safety" features, those really are counter-productive. They will mask poor skills and those poor skills become ingrained bad habits.

But if you think that producing a generation of drivers with worse habits than the current crop of drivers have, then have at it.

There is some merit to this line of reasoning.

Also, too many computer features and displays/talking = more distractions that can actually increase the risk of accidents.

Basic older model vehicles are best for new drivers, as they will be denting them up while still learning to drive.

This is amazingly short-sighted. The least experienced drivers need more safety features, not fewer. You'd better hope your kids mishaps all involve nothing more consequential than a need for some minor restorative body work for the car. That'd be the least of my concerns.

Anonymous wrote:Those of you advocating cars with the most advanced "safety" features, those really are counter-productive. They will mask poor skills and those poor skills become ingrained bad habits.

But if you think that producing a generation of drivers with worse habits than the current crop of drivers have, then have at it.

There is some merit to this line of reasoning.

Also, too many computer features and displays/talking = more distractions that can actually increase the risk of accidents.

Basic older model vehicles are best for new drivers, as they will be denting them up while still learning to drive.

Anonymous wrote:Those of you advocating cars with the most advanced "safety" features, those really are counter-productive. They will mask poor skills and those poor skills become ingrained bad habits.

But if you think that producing a generation of drivers with worse habits than the current crop of drivers have, then have at it.

This is moronic. People don't learn to cope with skids by disabling anti-lock brakes, unless they are participating in a very unusually advanced and comprehensive driving school. The first time any driver skids, they risk losing control completely and potentially disastrously. Do you advocate disabling anti-lock brakes and traction control so your kid may, if they survive long enough, figure out how to control a car at various speeds and on various surfaces without those technologies?

Automated emergency braking is, by definition, for emergencies. Unless you are confident your child will never be even momentarily distracted or inattentive while driving, and will always apply maximum braking force (studies show most people do not brake as hard as their cars can, even in emergencies, because applying that much force is nothing they ever practice and they fear losing control), such systems can be life-saving. But, have at it with a sub-optimally equipped car if your child is that unicorn whose control of their vehicle is always skillful and absolute, no matter the circumstances, the weather, the environment, their mood, road conditions, passenger behavior, or the behavior of other drivers.

And, the latest safety features are sometimes passive and completely independent of driver behavior. Three obvious examples: the strength and performance of passenger safety cells, the effectiveness of anti-whiplash seating designs, and the nature, number and performance characteristics of airbags.

Those of you advocating cars with the most advanced "safety" features, those really are counter-productive. They will mask poor skills and those poor skills become ingrained bad habits.

What does this even mean? Does having backup camera similarly "mask" poor parallel parking? If all cars will be offering a safety feature, that will become the norm that people adjust to. Shall we all learn to drive a manual transmission since at one time that was all there was?

Those of you advocating cars with the most advanced "safety" features, those really are counter-productive. They will mask poor skills and those poor skills become ingrained bad habits.

But if you think that producing a generation of drivers with worse habits than the current crop of drivers have, then have at it.