If this is the calibre of thought from someone who calls themselves a pilot, then I truly am saddened. No wonder our profession is in trouble.
BigNumber, did you not think a hotel might be a sensible idea? They are often pretty cheap at that time of year. How do you think the person you were flying would have reacted had you told them of your previous nights accomodation?
I too have slept in cars before, but never before work, usually at sailing events across Europe and it is a miserable experience and it is virtually impossible to get any form of decent rest. So when you wake up, you are already shattered and whilst you might think you are ok to go, you really, really aren't.
I would hope that anyone who likes to think of themselves as a Professional would understand this and then either refuse to do it, or use some nouse and find suitable accomodation.
It seems it is only financial constraints that are forcing people to sleep in cars and that is simply not a good enough excuse.
Mind you, if you had the ability to negotiate your contracts to something resembling a decent one, then perhaps the financial pressures wouldn't be so prevalent and the company might even pay for your accomodation away from home base. Some of you seem to think that this is crazy talk, when in reality it's nothing short of the absolute bare minimum you should expect.
Talk about having low expectations and no pride in yourself or our profession.