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This was an easy choice. Most insurance companies today base insurance rates on a variety of things including credit report, type of car being insured, estimated mileage driven annually, and geographic location (this also based on garage kept or not).

Cities with higher automobile crime rates typically cost residents more in premiums.

I own an early 2000 Chevrolet 4 door Tracker equipped with four-wheel drive. This car is considered an SUV because it "looks" like one. However, it is the size of a Subaru Forester.

When I think of SUV, I think of Expeditions, Tahoes, Suburbans, and other bulldozer-sized vehicles that tower above me in traffic. My car is penalized because of this label when "station wagon" would be a more accurate description of it.

I am also penalized because it is 4WD. Living in a high snowfall climate, driving this vehicle without 4WD would result in more accidents than with it, yet insurance companies penalize owners for having what could be a "safety" feature increasing stability and traction on icy surfaces (as long as good judgment is used when driving on slick roads).

I have never filed a claim against my vehicles. I have owned another 4x4 pickup for going on 23 years without ever filing a claim. Yet because insurance companies base their rates on what "some have done" and believing that 4x4 automatically means 4-wheeling, they apply penalties to all owning this feature.

Have you seen a Tracker!? It fits inside a standard garage with plenty of room left all around! If I were to have an accident, I am certain that unless I hit a plastic beach ball, my car would suffer the brunt of the damages and the other car driver would be hard pressed to locate any damage.

My car is equipped with air bags and as many safety features as were available the year it was marketed.

I, on the other hand, have close to 30 years driving experience, never filed a claim EVER against a vehicle insurer, have never caused an accident although I have been rear-ended twice due to inattention and negligence of the other drivers (yet neither caused damage to my vehicle requiring repairs).

I drive approximately 1,500 miles annually (not a typo, it is actually 1,500) in an average year. My car spends 99.98% of its time inside my garage, yet I pay full insurance prices as if it were risked daily in high traffic areas.

In addition, I live in an extremely rural area. The nearest neighbor right now is about mile away (or further) so it isn't like there is great risk of fender benders,

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