Most of my rides start and end at home, and, for coastal rides, I can conveniently transport a bike on our superb 6-day-per-week commuter rail line (http://www.gonctd.com/coaster/coaster.html). However, when I do need to transport my bike by car, I use my 2001 VW Passat station wagon ("estate" to you Brits and Aussies, "variant" to you continental Europeans). If I need to transport more than 2 people and/or more than 2 bikes, I simply and quickly bolt on my rooftop load crossbars and bike carriers, which I conveniently store on bicycle hooks in the garage rafters, directly above where I park the car.