什么车最适合老人开?

That's my late mom's 2000 Toyota Echo, with her 45-year-old vintage license plates. It's a four-generation car; she drove it into her 90s, then I drove it for a few years and now my daughter drives it with her brand new baby. I would have thought it was the perfect car for older drivers; it's cheap to maintain, gets great gas mileage, simple and straightforward with no complicated electronics, and it's really easy to park.

那是我已故母亲一辆丰田Echo2000，上面挂着她45岁的老式车牌。这是一款四代车;她开到90多岁，我开了几年，现在我女儿带着她刚出生的孩子开着。我本以为这是一辆适合老年司机驾驶的完美汽车;它维护起来很便宜，省油，简单直接，没有复杂的电子设备，而且很容易停车。

A four-generation car that started with my late mom. (Photo: Lloyd Alter)

It always surprised me with what it could do. We drove it with five mostly full-sized adults and a lot of luggage for five hours from Toronto to Montreal and it never complained. (I was the middle passenger in the back seat, and I just complained a bit.)

它的能力总是让我惊讶。从多伦多到蒙特利尔，我们开了5个小时的车，带着5个几乎全尺寸的成人和很多行李，它从来没有出现过问题。(我是后排的中间乘客，我只是有点抱怨。)

This is a car for aging boomers? (Photo: Kevauto [CC BY-SA 4.0]/Wikipedia)

So when I recently saw an article titled 5 most popular 2019 SUVs for seniors, I was outraged. I'm no fan of SUVs for anyone, and their top pick is a big, expensive Acura SUV with all the new electronics including "a wide variety of safety features including a rearview camera, blind spot monitoring, brake assist, and pedestrian detection." Other recommendations were Jeep Cherokees and Toyota Highlanders, all monsters that I thought would be too high, too hard to park, too expensive and like other SUVs, too deadly; pedestrians are three times as likely to die if hit by an SUV or pickup truck than they are if hit by a regular car. I was seriously ready to rant.

所以，当我最近看到一篇名为《2019年最受欢迎的5款老年人suv》的文章时，我非常愤怒。我对SUV不感兴趣，他们最喜欢的是一款又大又贵的讴歌SUV，配备了“各种各样的安全功能，包括后视镜、盲点监控、刹车辅助和行人检测。”其他的建议是吉普切诺基和丰田高地车，我认为所有的车都太高、太难停车、太贵，而且像其他suv一样，太致命;行人被SUV或皮卡车撞死的几率是普通汽车的三倍。我真想大喊大叫。

AAA likes fancy new smart tech

AAA喜欢新奇的智能科技

As we get older, some people have limited range of motions, so backup cameras, parallel park assistance, front and rear sensors make life easier. And just in case, airbags everywhere, but be sure that they are "Dual-stage and dual-threshold airbags, because senior drivers risk injury if airbags deploy with too much force."

随着年龄的增长，有些人的活动范围有限，所以备用摄像头、平行泊车助手、前后传感器让生活变得更容易。为了以防万一，安全气囊无处不在，但要确保它们是“双级和双阀值安全气囊，因为如果安全气囊部署的力度过大，资深司机可能会受伤。”

AAA does good research, but they've been around since 1902 promoting automobiles, and there doesn't seem to be a new technology they don't love. It's clear all of these high-tech add-ons can make a difference, but they all add up to make a car very expensive and high-maintenance.

AAA做了很好的研究，但是他们从1902年就开始推广汽车了，而且似乎没有一项他们不喜欢的新技术。很明显，所有这些高科技的附加组件都能带来不同，但它们加起来会让一辆车变得非常昂贵，保养费用也很高。

Consumer Reports likes little SUVs

《消费者报告》喜欢小型suv

They like the mini-SUVs because "older drivers may no longer commute to work every day, but they might need a car for longer road trips or one that can easily fit a car seat when it’s time to pick up the grandkids." I have to note that car seats fit in any car, including the back seat of the Echo. But OK, I agree that "either way, a vehicle that’s a breeze to get into and out of is a must."

他们喜欢迷你suv，因为“年纪较大的司机可能不再每天通勤上班，但他们可能需要一辆车来进行长途公路旅行，或者在去接孙子孙女的时候可以轻松地放一个汽车座椅。”我必须指出，汽车座椅适合任何汽车，包括后座的回声。但是，好吧，我同意“无论如何，一辆进出都很容易的交通工具是必须的。”

My wife's Subaru, smaller than a Forester but big enough for us. (Photo: Lloyd Alter)

But Consumer Reports and the others never mention the small matter of climate change, recommending less fuel-efficient 4-wheel drive so that our older drivers are "ready for adventure." No Nissan Leaf or other little electric car that's cheap to operate and great for short trips.

但是《消费者报告》和其他一些杂志从来没有提到气候变化这个小问题，建议减少四轮驱动的燃油效率，这样我们的老司机就能“准备好冒险”。没有尼桑聆风或其他小巧的电动汽车，它们操作成本低廉，适合短途旅行。

Planning for 'driver retirement'

“司机退休”计划

In Copenhagen, a lot of people ride e-bikes, including me. It's a mode of transportation many seniors should consider. (Photo: With permission to Lloyd Alter)

And I just couldn't write this post without mentioning that other alternative, which I'm trying and have discussed before: throw away the car keys. There are other ways to get around, and you have to plan ahead. Tracy E. Noble of AAA writes that "seniors are outliving their safe driving years by an average of seven to 10 years, and must now start planning for their “driving retirement,” much the same as they plan for their financial retirement." These new car technologies may extend those driving years a bit, but at some point, you are stuck.

我在写这篇文章的时候，不能不提到另一种选择:扔掉车钥匙。还有其他的方法，你必须提前计划。AAA的特蕾西·e·诺布尔写道，“老年人平均比安全驾驶年限多活7到10年，现在必须开始为他们的“驾驶退休”做计划，就像他们为财务退休做计划一样。”这些新的汽车技术可能会稍微延长你的驾驶年限，但在某个时候，你会陷入困境。

I know my limitations, and I know that I and everyone around me is safer when I'm on foot, on the streetcar, or on my new e-bike. More people should consider those options.

我知道我的局限性，我知道我和我周围的每一个人都更安全，当我步行，在电车，或在我的新电动自行车上时。更多的人应该考虑这些选择。