Another Reason to Hate SUVs

[NFS4]

Originally posted by: Rallispec

When all is said and done. It doesn't matter what the hell you like or what I like. It's what the American public wants. It's their/our money and they/we can do whatever the hell we want with it.

3 cheers for capitalism

Bottom line is, it's downright stupid to sit here and chasitize people for vehicles that they purchased. It's their fuggin' money. Get over it. If you don't like, don't think it's feasible, or just think it's hideous, suck it up and move on.

Life is too short to pine over something stupid like this.

 

[Rallispec]

Life is too short to pine over something stupid like this.

yeah.. especially when i've got to come up when an excuse to explain to my parents why i got a D in physics.
ANd honsetly.. i'm not a fan of SUV's.. but more than anything i just like to debate and argue about this kind of stuff. I love the dodge durango though, test drove that once and it drove really nice. wouldn't mind having it as an extra vehicle around at all.

 

[SuperTool]

Well, the article is how SUV's are dangerous to cars. So yes, it is of my business. People drive SUV's like they are sports cars. They run red lights, speed, talk on the phone. How about I put a steel rail on the roof rack of my car and drive around like that? If I run a red light and hit an SUV and the rail goes through the window and kills the driver, would I be criminally liable for driving recklessly with a rail on the roof?

 

[NFS4]

Originally posted by: SuperTool
Well, the article is how SUV's are dangerous to cars. So yes, it is of my business. People drive SUV's like they are sports cars. They run red lights, speed, talk on the phone. How about I put a steel rail on the roof rack of my car and drive around like that? If I run a red light and hit an SUV and the rail goes through the window and kills the driver, would I be criminally liable for driving recklessly with a rail on the roof?

Jackasses drive all forms of vehicles. Stop discriminating!!!

There are jackasses that drive minivans, sports cars, sedans, pickup trucks, and SUVs. A jackass is still a dangerous jackass no matter what he/she is driving. Learn how to look out for jackasses in general instead of singling out just SUV drivers. Because as soon as you keep looking at what the soccer mom in the Expedition is doing, it's the jackass Civic driver that will end up killing you.

Something to think about.

 

[Priit]

In some points I agree with both NFS4 and Rallispec. Sure, it's stupid when people are buying heavy off-road capable SUV's for city driving, but that's more their own problem so don't care much. Those compact SUV's (Highlander, Honda CR-V, HRV and others) are IMO nothing more than regular cars with little higher ground clearance (if even that), taller body and pseudo-4WD systems. In specs, they are pretty close to average family sedans so I don't see problem in people buying them.

 

[SuperTool]

Jackasses drive all forms of vehicles. Stop discriminating!!!

There are jackasses that drive minivans, sports cars, sedans, pickup trucks, and SUVs. A jackass is still a dangerous jackass no matter what he/she is driving. Learn how to look out for jackasses in general instead of singling out just SUV drivers. Because as soon as you keep looking at what the soccer mom in the Expedition is doing, it's the jackass Civic driver that will end up killing you.

Something to think about.

Ohh, I am discriminating. I guess SUVs are a civil rights issue
The article is saying that cars are not designed to absorb impact from SUV's. The SUV makers design their trucks with disregard to public safety. So to be safe on the road shared with SUVs one needs to buy an SUV. Therefore SUV's are infringing on my freedom to drive my car in reasonable safety. So yes, it is of my business what you drive.
Freedom is fine, but certain safety standards should be maintained to not infringe on other people's freedoms and safety. Bumper height should be one of these standards. There are always going to be big cars that are more dangerous to small cars, but bumpers should not be battering rams for small cars.

 

[NFS4]

Originally posted by: SuperTool

Jackasses drive all forms of vehicles. Stop discriminating!!!

There are jackasses that drive minivans, sports cars, sedans, pickup trucks, and SUVs. A jackass is still a dangerous jackass no matter what he/she is driving. Learn how to look out for jackasses in general instead of singling out just SUV drivers. Because as soon as you keep looking at what the soccer mom in the Expedition is doing, it's the jackass Civic driver that will end up killing you.

Something to think about.

Ohh, I am discriminating. I guess SUVs are a civil rights issue
The article is saying that cars are not designed to absorb impact from SUV's. The SUV makers design their trucks with disregard to public safety. So to be safe on the road shared with SUVs one needs to buy an SUV. Therefore SUV's are infringing on my freedom to drive my car in reasonable safety. So yes, it is of my business what you drive.
Freedom is fine, but certain safety standards should be maintained to not infringe on other people's freedoms and safety. Bumper height should be one of these standards. There are always going to be big cars that are more dangerous to small cars, but bumpers should not be battering rams for small cars.

Again, you're singling out SUV's. What about the pickup trucks that many of them are based on. Are the magically unaffected by this bumper height regulation? Of course not.

Pickups are still the dominating force in sales each year. Fix the pickups, and the truck based SUV's will in turn be fixed. Not the other way around.

 

[chickendinner]

Jackasses drive all forms of vehicles. Stop discriminating!!!

There are jackasses that drive minivans, sports cars, sedans, pickup trucks, and SUVs. A jackass is still a dangerous jackass no matter what he/she is driving. Learn how to look out for jackasses in general instead of singling out just SUV drivers. Because as soon as you keep looking at what the soccer mom in the Expedition is doing, it's the jackass Civic driver that will end up killing you.

Something to think about.

Not on a bike. I have to ride closer to the SUV to get in the driver's side mirror. That means i am following closer than normally. Which can kill me.

 

[Freejack2]

Originally posted by: NFS4



LOL WTF??? You're comparing a mid-sized 4-cylinder Accord to a full-sized SUV? OMG, that is the most lame comparison I've seen yet. Even more so than Rallispec's

Compare an Accord to an Escape which are roughly the same size then get back to me.

Erm, this isn't about stats. If you read my thread carefull you see it is based on what I'd pick if I had to pick between a big supposedly "prestigious" suv or a really great midsize car.
I'm not comparing their engines or anything else. With over 25k posts you are the last person I would have expected to post something like this.

 

[compuwiz1]

Compuwiz1 advocates that all drivers, drive safely, no matter what you drive. I do drive an SUV, but that does not give me the right to ingnore the safety of others, or myself.
We SUV owners need to understand that our vehicles do not stop, nor turn very abruptly. Ok, I understand all that.
I am an SUV addict, and I have many marks on the bumpers of Civics to prove it.

 

[SuperTool]

Again, you're singling out SUV's. What about the pickup trucks that many of them are based on. Are the magically unaffected by this bumper height regulation? Of course not.

Pickups are still the dominating force in sales each year. Fix the pickups, and the truck based SUV's will in turn be fixed. Not the other way around.

Are you going to adress the issues with SUVs or just point fingers and change subject? If we start talking about pickups then you will ask about 18 wheelers, buses, trains, cranes, etc.
The article is about SUV's.

 

[Jugernot]

That's ok...I drive a full size truck.

Guess this means I could smash your car and haul it away afterwards...

 

[Shockwave]

Yep, only one thing to do
Ban big houses - takes too much resources and space
Ban big vehicles - too dangerous
Ban tractor trailer - FAR too big and dangerous
Ban trains - You think an SUV will mess up your car.....
Ban tall buildings - They might fall, or someone might jump off them
Ban electricity - It might shock you
Ban water - you might try to play fish and breathe it

Get the point?

Ok, so lets talk facts. Compare the % of SUV's sold vs the % of cars, once you have that, compare the % of wrecks involving singe car, multi car and car / suv....See something? Yep...The smaller market share a vehicle has, the less times itinvolved in an accident. Novel concept there. Next, compare age of drivers involved in accidents vs amount of damage done. Now, I dont know, but I BET younger drivers cause more money or personal injury. Why? They race and think their Gods gift to asphault. OK, NOW take the age group which has the most in damages per accident, and compare what % drive these "dangerous" SUV's. Or, to do it the fast way, just find out what an 18 y/o pays in insurance vs a 40 y/o

I'll keep my 99 Expedition XLT 5.4 4WD, leather, towing package, lighted running board, many other optioned, land tank. Why? Because I can afford it. So whine about it cause you cant and its not fair....

On a different subject. Dont get the Dodge, Get the Chevy 2500HD with the Duramax Deisel and Allison tranny. That thing is freaking SWEET! OMFG! And it'll outpull a Dodge ANY day of the week!

 

[compuwiz1]

On a different subject. Dont get the Dodge, Get the Chevy 2500HD with the Duramax Deisel and Allison tranny. That thing is freaking SWEET! OMFG! And it'll outpull a Dodge ANY day of the week!

Bad advise!
Two things;
The Allison tranny's shifting sucks.
The heads on the Chev diesel are aluminum (bad idea for a diesel)
They will crack between the valve seats, as already proven by some Ford test engineers.
Nice try Chevy!
BTW, it was designd by Isuzu, but built the way Chevrolet wanted it, and they wanted aluminum heads!

 

[NFS4]

Originally posted by: SuperTool

Again, you're singling out SUV's. What about the pickup trucks that many of them are based on. Are the magically unaffected by this bumper height regulation? Of course not.

Pickups are still the dominating force in sales each year. Fix the pickups, and the truck based SUV's will in turn be fixed. Not the other way around.

Are you going to adress the issues with SUVs or just point fingers and change subject? If we start talking about pickups then you will ask about 18 wheelers, buses, trains, cranes, etc.
The article is about SUV's.

If you know ANYTHING about the design of truck based SUVs (the ones in question here), you would KNOW that you CAN'T do anything about them until you address the PICKUP trucks that they are BASED on.

Expedition --> F-150
Tahoe --> Silverado
Suburban --> Silverado
Xterra --> Frontier
Sequioa --> Tundra
4-Runner --> Tacoma

Get my drift?? You can't make any major structural changes to these truck based SUV's without first tackling their pickup truck based roots first. Anything else????????????????????????????????????

 

[911paramedic]

<<Feeling secure now? >>

In my 4x4 expedition, yes.

If you have peeled people out of these smaller cars (even little car vs. little car, or little car vs. stationary object) you would drive something big too. There is no protection in a smaller car, no matter what you hit.

 

[zimmie6576]

Just wanted to add my $.02. I drive an SUV (a Nissan Pathfinder). My first two vehicles were relatively small - midsize cars, and I hated them. I'm definitely not a small person, I'm about 6'4"/6'5", 250+lbs, and I fit best in an SUV. You could say I'd fit fine in a pickup truck, but I just don't like pickups that much. I probably wouldn't buy one of the very large SUVs, or a full size truck for that matter, just because I don't really like them. I would estimate the size of my SUV to be about that of an S-10 with a 6 foot bed, so it's definitely not huge, and doesn't have a really high bumper.

The one thing that gets to me about SUVs though is when I see a huge one (like the one Ford makes, Expedition I think) pull up, and a woman (or lately, a teenage girl) gets out that can't be more than 5'2" and 100 lbs. Now a person like that could easily fit themselves and whatever they need in at most a mid-size car. It must be a prestige thing for them to say that they drive a vehicle that is two feet taller than them and gets 5 miles to the gallon (I know I'm exaggerating on the miles/gal, but mine only gets 15 - 20, and you get my point).

I think it is dangerous for people to get their kid an SUV for their first vehicle, if they didn't learn to drive with it or didn't learn to drive with at least a decent sized truck. It's not that they are hard to handle, but I personally don't think new drivers (especially female ones, but thats another topic) would be proficient enough to drive one well if they started out on a small car.

 

[CraigRT]

I will never drive one.. almost zero practicality.

I love when you talk with people who are talking about their "Awesome" SUV and they always say stuff like, "well, my truck doesn't brake well, or handle well, or accelerate well" LoL literally, i know a guy that works with me and he says stuff like this.. what the HELL is the point in owning one.. literally, they are not very useful at all! i could go on, but there is no point. people realize they suck at most things, even if they own one..

 

[MaDHaVoK]

9 out of 10 people who drive SUVs are a$$h0les.

 

[ElFenix]

/me considers getting a stripper explorer

 

[308nato]

The side impact crash tests standard is from the early 70's. Have you ever seen a 1972 Buick Electra 225 with a 455ci motor. How about a Bonneville or Cadillac sedan Deville? There is no real difference between getting T-boned by one of these tanks and an SUV in a real world situation. Ride height would be a little higher and the weight of some would be slightly more for the largest SUV's.

The whole thing is a crock of sh!t. Why don't they use a Peterbilt for the crash test instead? If they want to raise the standard they should use the largest vehicle available. Morons p!ssing and moaning about what other people drive is just f@cking hilarious.

 

[TopGun]

All you SUV bashers are just a bunch of jealous socialist nazi pigs. It's my money, last time I checked I live in America, where I have a freedom to choose what I spend my hard earned money on. Don't be jealous of people just because they can afford a nicer vehicle.

These new tests use a bumper that is 12 inches higher than government regs.

Sh!t only 12 inches? I figure my Jeep with a bumper sitting about 30" off the ground should be just about face level to most of those little pos ricer cars. I have to say I feel pretty damn safe in it. SUVs roll easier than cars? Well DUH, my god if you drive it like a fuggin sports car you are a moron and deserve to die in a most horrible rollover crash. Where's all the people whining about 18 wheelers? Sure they have a low bumper, but a bumper isn't going to do jack sh!t if that truck hits you at any speed over 5 mph, the sheer mass of it will completly total any vehicle regardless of a bumper.

 

[CPA]

I love these SUV vs car discussions.

Especially, as I drive my hi-top custom GMC Savana full-size Van. Which by the way, can fit more cargo/passengers than any car or SUV. The best thing, though, is my insurance rates are generally less than both groups.

 

[zimmie6576]

Originally posted by: Yield
I will never drive one.. almost zero practicality.

I love when you talk with people who are talking about their "Awesome" SUV and they always say stuff like, "well, my truck doesn't brake well, or handle well, or accelerate well" LoL literally, i know a guy that works with me and he says stuff like this.. what the HELL is the point in owning one.. literally, they are not very useful at all! i could go on, but there is no point. people realize they suck at most things, even if they own one..

Mine handles great, brakes very well, and I beat cars off the line all the time. Not that there are a lot of sports cars around here, but I have beaten every non-high performance car I've come up against.

For someone of my size, an SUV is very useful. I don't fit in cars (well), and don't like pickups.

 

[apoppin]

Wow, I wake up and find my topic has turned into a flaming monster.

You guys are missing the POINT: Detroit needs to build SAFER passenger CARS!!! The doors are not built to withstand a side impact from a SUV . . . or a pickup (I guess).

In the meantime, EVERYONE, drive defensively!