# What is the best automobile to have post-apocalypse? (think Mad Max or zombie apocalypse) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 6, 2023, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-automobile-to-have-post-apocalypse-think-mad-max-or-zombie-apocalypse/994162 "2023-12-06T08:42:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2023, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-automobile-to-have-post-apocalypse-think-mad-max-or-zombie-apocalypse/994162/101 "2023-12-10T21:10:12Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > Considering the age and health of most posters on this board, grabbing enough to survive for the 10ish years of comparative material wealth (depending on type of PA we’re in) is going to be near the maximum expected lifespan anyway without a modern medical infrastructure. This! I’m a few months away from 70, so assuming no apocalypse or other major societal dislocations, I’m looking at another 30 years, max. In the event of apocalypse, I’d be doing well to live half that much longer. So if there’s a decade’s worth of relative abundance afterwards, that’s most of the way there. ---
**Author:** ![Newtonian67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Newtonian67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Newtonian67)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2023, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-automobile-to-have-post-apocalypse-think-mad-max-or-zombie-apocalypse/994162/102 "2023-12-11T01:17:53Z")
Get a Stanley Steamer from a museum or cobble something similar together. No fuel problems. Slow but steady over the decaying infrastructure. Durable as an anvil. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2023, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-automobile-to-have-post-apocalypse-think-mad-max-or-zombie-apocalypse/994162/103 "2023-12-11T01:39:09Z")
They failed in the marketplace then because they utterly sucked by 1920s standards. They stand FAR _less_ chance in 2023 or post-apocalyptic 2055. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2023, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-automobile-to-have-post-apocalypse-think-mad-max-or-zombie-apocalypse/994162/104 "2023-12-11T03:02:16Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > They’re all wasting assets on a timeline shorter than your lifespan, much less that of any subsequent generations you have or hope to have. Good quality tools will last many human lifespans, especially if they’re kept out of the weather, but even if they aren’t. I think everyone in my family has some tool or other that’s spanned at least three generations, with regular use. And speaking of family, my first need for a vehicle will be to head down to my aunt’s house, three or four hours south of here (by freeways, at least: It’ll probably be more with post-apocalyptic congestion). All of us have a fair amount of low-tech survival skills, but she’s near the head of the pack, and she lives in a rural area and already has horses, chickens, etc. And a bunch of my other relatives are probably sensible enough to head there, too, and our chances are a lot better together than separately. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2023, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-automobile-to-have-post-apocalypse-think-mad-max-or-zombie-apocalypse/994162/105 "2023-12-11T03:12:25Z")
It sounds as if you and I are almost the same age. My 69th will be New Year’s Eve. We need to get us late middle age(_snort_) Dopers together for a bug out party. I have a place near water, but it’s a pond that would need filtering. I also would plan to last the rest of my expected lifespan and not much beyond. I would need to figure out how to get a supply of metformin though. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2023, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-automobile-to-have-post-apocalypse-think-mad-max-or-zombie-apocalypse/994162/106 "2023-12-11T08:41:06Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > If there is one thing I have learned from this thread is I am not likely to last a week after an apocalypse of any sort. Do not worry. Some of us will appreciate your sacrifice, alongside a nice Chianti and fava beans. FWIW I own a Toyota diesel, from 2006, and live in a country where Toyotas are so ubiquitous that even the scavenging survivors will not be able to exhaust supply until I am well dead and someone else will be driving my Toyota. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2023, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-automobile-to-have-post-apocalypse-think-mad-max-or-zombie-apocalypse/994162/107 "2023-12-11T19:47:00Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Good quality tools will last many human lifespans, especially if they’re kept out of the weather, but even if they aren’t. I think everyone in my family has some tool or other that’s spanned at least three generations, with regular use. Speaking as someone who has possession of, and (rarely at current costs) plinks with his wife’s great-grandmother’s .22LR Bolt Rifle, yeah. It’s pushing 100 years old but still works fine. But we’re also talking a LOT about simple tools (and I’d include the rifle above in that category) while the OP is asking about substantially more complex options, IE an automobile. And the more that can go wrong, will go wrong, especially with no or unskilled maintenance. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2023, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-automobile-to-have-post-apocalypse-think-mad-max-or-zombie-apocalypse/994162/108 "2023-12-11T20:09:01Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > But besides wear out and break down, even your spare as-yet unused tools are subject to rust, corrosion, plastic embrittlement, rubber or wood rot, etc. They’re all wasting assets on a timeline shorter than your lifespan Not really. I’ve got some wood tools that belonged to my great-grandfather. The sorts of tools where you start with a log and end up with a house. Even with decades of benign neglect, I can turn those back into functional tools pretty quickly. In fact, I did that with one of his old axe heads that I inherited when my Dad died. I cleaned off the worst of the rust and put on a new handle. Admittedly, it was a store-bought handle, but if it were a few years or decades post-apocalypse, I’m pretty sure I’d have developed the skills to make a functional handle myself. If I didn’t have such skills, I’d likely have not survived that long. I mean, back in the 1800s, we sent people across the North American continent with covered wagons that carried just this kind of equipment, and they managed to not only survive, but actually build cities. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2023, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-automobile-to-have-post-apocalypse-think-mad-max-or-zombie-apocalypse/994162/109 "2023-12-11T20:13:47Z")
Now, it is true that a lot of folks nowadays don’t have the skills they’d need to survive with that kind of equipment. And in fact, that’s going to kill off a lot more people than whatever the triggering event did directly. But there are still some who do have the skills, or family who have the skills, or enough of the skills that they could survive long enough to figure out the rest. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2023, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-automobile-to-have-post-apocalypse-think-mad-max-or-zombie-apocalypse/994162/110 "2023-12-11T20:23:49Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > they could survive long enough to figure out the rest. Yep, I’ve always said, any “Survive the apocalypse” plan has to have different stages based on “Survive long enough to survive some more.” Stage 1: Immediate survival. Can you avoid getting killed with the other 90% of humanity? Stage 2: Short term survival. Can you survive the first week of chaos, when all the other survivors are also trying to stake their claim to whatever stuff is out there? Stage 3: Intermediate term survival. Can you find food and other supplies to survive the first few months, maybe up to a year depending on when the shit hit the fan, while also finding a place for long-term survival? Stage 4: Long term survival. Can you survive long enough to learn the skills needed to survive indefinitely? Stage 5: Indefinite survival. You’ve learned everything you need, and have figured out how to hunt, farm, and do basic things like repair or rebuild tools. You’ve down-shifted your technology based on what basic materials you have available long-term. Hell, humans survived for hundreds of thousands of years before we even had stone tools, surely we can do better than that. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2023, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-automobile-to-have-post-apocalypse-think-mad-max-or-zombie-apocalypse/994162/111 "2023-12-11T22:16:30Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > They failed in the marketplace then because they utterly sucked by 1920s standards. They stand FAR _less_ chance in 2023 or post-apocalyptic 2055. To be fair, 1920s standards included reliable internal combustion engines and available fuel for them. They were still just a sort of novelty but a commercial steam tractor of the time would be useful for heavy towing power over all sorts of terrain and could be maintained for a very long time. What it wouldn’t be is speedy. It’d have to be valuable for it’s towing power or tilling land, not getting away from roaming hordes. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2023, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-automobile-to-have-post-apocalypse-think-mad-max-or-zombie-apocalypse/994162/112 "2023-12-12T09:15:07Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > Hell, humans survived for hundreds of thousands of years before we even had stone tools, surely we can do better than that. Actually… we’ve always had stone tools and fire. The hominids had that before _H. sapiens_ evolved. ---
**Author:** ![spifflog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@spifflog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spifflog)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2023, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-automobile-to-have-post-apocalypse-think-mad-max-or-zombie-apocalypse/994162/113 "2023-12-13T17:11:12Z")
I don’t know exactly, but I’d try something that doesn’t rust, like stainless steel, with an engine that can use garbage for fuel, like a flux capacitor. Gotta be one made some time. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2023, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-automobile-to-have-post-apocalypse-think-mad-max-or-zombie-apocalypse/994162/114 "2023-12-13T19:29:48Z")
The Tesla GarbageMaster 6000SUX, a.k.a. the CyberTruck [as reimagined by Paul Verhoeven([You have 20 seconds to comply: US tuner reveals police-liveried Tesla Cybertruck | Top Gear](https://www.topgear.com/car-news/electric/you-have-20-seconds-comply-us-tuner-reveals-police-liveried-tesla-cybertruck))). Hopefully the fleet buys will make up for the flagging sales on the civilian market and the “total recall” [of all Autopilot-equipped Tesla cars](https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/13/tech/tesla-recall-autopilot/index.html). I’ll leave as an exercise to the next poster to work in a “Get your ass to Mars!” reference. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2023, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-automobile-to-have-post-apocalypse-think-mad-max-or-zombie-apocalypse/994162/115 "2023-12-13T20:05:23Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > The Tesla GarbageMaster 6000SUX… Not a Tesla but I think this is what you were on about. Seems about right to me: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Y6v_nrf9nFQ/hqdefault.jpg "Robocop (1987) 6000 SUX Commercial") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6v_nrf9nFQ) ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2023, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-automobile-to-have-post-apocalypse-think-mad-max-or-zombie-apocalypse/994162/116 "2023-12-13T22:09:58Z")
Please, _please_, PLEASE don’t give Elon Musk any ideas about building Robocop to enforce his free-speech (for him) utopia. It’s just the sort of idea his perpetually 12 year old mind would think is super cool. Especially with Directive 4! Although I’m honestly surprised he isn’t trying to build and sell ED-209s a this point. Probably afraid they’d go ‘woke’ on him. Anyway, back to topic. So far we’ve got mostly two categories of answers: immediate to 10 years, and post 10 years. One thing of course we’ve all assumed is that the PA scenario is bad, going to worse, rather than something like [The Postman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Postman_(film)) (film version, which has a tacked on happy ending compared to the original) where it’s bad, but a generation later things are apparently civilized. Does that change anyone’s answer? ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2023, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-automobile-to-have-post-apocalypse-think-mad-max-or-zombie-apocalypse/994162/117 "2023-12-13T23:01:22Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > she lives in a rural area and already has horses, chickens, etc. This would be us. We have a horse for transportation; she doesn’t drive but some of my neighbors farm with horses, who of course do. My husband can build or repair almost anything, he has all the tools, we heat with wood from our own woodlot, and in summer we hardly buy any groceries as we produce our own milk, cheese, eggs, fruit, and vegetables. We don’t grow grains but dried beans, potatoes, and corn are all easy here. We won’t need a car, because I’m afraid people would come to us, we wouldn’t have to go anywhere. There are many people here with rural skills of the first order, with a very long tradition of neighbors helping each other, plus a relatively small population of males saturated in gun culture hopeful violence. Our odds are comparatively good. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2023, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-automobile-to-have-post-apocalypse-think-mad-max-or-zombie-apocalypse/994162/118 "2023-12-13T23:07:15Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > Anyway, back to topic. So far we’ve got mostly two categories of answers: immediate to 10 years, and post 10 years. One thing of course we’ve all assumed is that the PA scenario is bad, going to worse, rather than something like [The Postman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Postman_(film)) (film version, which has a tacked on happy ending compared to the original) where it’s bad, but a generation later things are apparently civilized. Does that change anyone’s answer? That depends on how you feel about [mutants and apes](https://youtu.be/lKencPOg7UI?si=nXqKqVP_ID-X3G2h). Stranger ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2023, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-automobile-to-have-post-apocalypse-think-mad-max-or-zombie-apocalypse/994162/119 "2023-12-13T23:14:05Z")
Looking at current human society, yes, there are far too many moments where a nice, dead planet sounds like a sound choice. Stop encouraging my cynicism you heartless fiend! ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2023, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-automobile-to-have-post-apocalypse-think-mad-max-or-zombie-apocalypse/994162/120 "2023-12-14T15:04:57Z")
Perhaps a slight hijack: so would the Amish and Mennonites not have too munch trouble in the apocalypse (zombies aside)? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-automobile-to-have-post-apocalypse-think-mad-max-or-zombie-apocalypse/994162.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-automobile-to-have-post-apocalypse-think-mad-max-or-zombie-apocalypse/994162.md?page=7)