Richard said:
I own a Pacifica and drive it in a city/suburban envirorment. I am
aware of the rearward visibility handicap but have no problem with it.
I use the mirrors constantly. I MAKE SURE nothing/no person is
behind me, BEFORE I get into the PARKED vehicle (which should be done
with ANY/ALL vehicles). I have had no problems or close calls because
of visibility. Just being aware of what is around you, the same as
with ANY vehicle. Please don't let this PERCEIVED problem keep you
from enjoying the Pacifica. I don't.
I don't own a Pacifica, but I agree with you, Richard. I do own a '99
Concorde, which also has very limited rearward visibility - it used to
bother me a great deal when I first got it. But by overcompensating
(doublechecking rear and side mirrors, being aware of blind spots and
allowing time for things to move within the field of vision, etc.), it
is second nature to me now. I've even gotten pretty good at backing
into head-in/back-in type parking places and judging how close I am to
low dead-end barriers (still some guess work involved, but I'm now good
for ±1 foot instead of the ±3 feet for the first few months after I
bought it.
The only concern now is when/if other family members have to use/borrow
my car, it is bothersome to them and they are still *way* down on the
learning curve for the visibility peculiarities of the vehicle that are
now second nature to me (like when my wife wiped out the drivers door
and side mirror against a 6" diameter concrete filled pipe post beside
the car in a parking deck because she was so focused and paranoid on not
hitting anything immediately behind her as she backed out of a spot.
Bill Putney
(to reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with "x")
