Fewer cars come with a spare tire

This post comes from Lynn Mucken at MSN Money.

Three questions:

• Does your car have a spare tire?
• Do you need one?
• Even if you don't need one, do you want one?

I was stunned to read in the Los Angeles Times that, increasingly, your new car comes without a spare. 

"Automakers are selling more cars without an extra wheel to trim weight, boost gas mileage and shave a few bucks off of their costs," Jerry Hirsch wrote.

How many is "more"? According to the LA Times, 13% of the more than 1 million cars sold in the United States last month came without a spare, even one those little "doughnut" versions. There is no law requiring a spare. Post continues after video. 

Now it's gone mainstream: Big-selling family cars such as Chevrolet's Cruze and Malibu and the Hyundai Elantra have no spares.

• Bing:Most popular cars in 2011

The reason, as usual, is money-based. No spare means the manufacturer has to provide four tires instead of five. Hyundai told the LA Times that, even with adding a tire-inflating kit, it saves about $22 a vehicle. That's $2.2 million for every 100,000 sold, darn near enough to pay the CEO's bonus.

No spare also means more trunk space, and less weight, which should improve gas mileage a teeny bit.

Do you need a spare? I got to thinking: When was the last time I had a flat that required a roadside change? If the memory bank is functioning correctly, it was when my wife and I and a family friend were taking our kids swimming, somewhere in the vicinity of 1976-78.

Tires are pretty hardy. A few years ago, I noticed one of my tires was a bit low, so I inflated it while stopping for gas. I then drove 315 miles across most of Washington, through the panhandle of Idaho and well into Montana before stopping and noticing the tire was low again. Turns out there was a huge nail in it.

I suspect run-flat tires and, in a bind, a seal-and-inflate kit, will do just fine. If not, I buy peace of mind cheaply with an AAA membership (which I've used for a dead battery, but never for a flat in 30 years).

Now, the final question: Do you want a spare?

From the reader comments on the issue, you sure do. Maybe that's why auto dealerships seem reluctant to bring up the fact.

"No spare, no sale," said "zorro.bandito" on the LA Times site.

"Reason #4,539 why I will not buy a GM product ever again," wrote "redgolum" on FreeRepublic.com.

Wrote "JosephLCooke" to the LA Times: "I drive about 35,000 miles a year and have done so for decades. I can't remember the last time I had a flat. Still . . .. My old deputy chief just called. I quote, 'Spare tires, like guns, are never needed until needed badly.'"

Others are more pragmatic.

"The evolution of cars has changed over the decades and this is just another change," "jrwkilleen" wrote to the Times.

Of course, while there are fewer cars with spare tires, you still have options. Ask at the dealership, check the Internet. If you demand a spare, buy a model that still includes one.