Detroit: Suddenly, Small Is Beautiful

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mugs

Lifer
Apr 29, 2003
48,920
46
91
Originally posted by: Linflas
Envy and a bit of that good old puritan concept the "somewhere, somehow someone is having more fun than me".

You keep telling yourself that, but it won't make it true.
 

Amused

Elite Member
Apr 14, 2001
57,547
20,262
146
Originally posted by: mugs
Originally posted by: Linflas
Envy and a bit of that good old puritan concept the "somewhere, somehow someone is having more fun than me".

You keep telling yourself that, but it won't make it true.

But it is true. The vast majority of SUV hate is nothing more than busybodyism.

Just a bunch of Gladys Kravitzs.
 

Linflas

Lifer
Jan 30, 2001
15,395
78
91
Originally posted by: mugs
Originally posted by: Linflas
Envy and a bit of that good old puritan concept the "somewhere, somehow someone is having more fun than me".

You keep telling yourself that, but it won't make it true.

Then what drives you to think that somehow you are the sole expert on what someone else needs? Why would you even waste a moment of your time thinking about it?
 

mugs

Lifer
Apr 29, 2003
48,920
46
91
Originally posted by: Linflas
Originally posted by: mugs
Originally posted by: Linflas
Envy and a bit of that good old puritan concept the "somewhere, somehow someone is having more fun than me".

You keep telling yourself that, but it won't make it true.

Then what drives you to think that somehow you are the sole expert on what someone else needs? Why would you even waste a moment of your time thinking about it?

Way to make a lot of assumptions there. Ever consider that huge SUVs are pretty difficult to see around, which makes it difficult for everyone else to drive? Ever consider that the raised headlights blind people in lower vehicles?

I'm not even an SUV hater, but people like you really chafe me. I've made two references to needs in this thread. In the first I was merely saying that another poster's implication that you need a large vehicle to be comfortable is absurd, because many people are quite comfortable in smaller cars. [edit: and that comment wasn't even referring to SUVs, it was refering to full-size sedans) I didn't say nobody should be allowed to drive large cars because they don't need them. In the other I acknowledged that SUVs fulfill a need for some people.
 

ai42

Diamond Member
Jun 5, 2001
3,653
0
0
Originally posted by: Horus
My next car will most likely be a Mazda3...I'd like a sedan with 4WD, but I think a 3S Sedan will do quite nicely for me.

Get a Subaru Impreza 2.5RS or 2.5TS if you like the hatch style. Even the Subaru Legacy is quite nice (although a bit pricey).
 

Shyatic

Platinum Member
Apr 5, 2004
2,164
34
91
Originally posted by: NFS4
Why would you need something so large to commute? My Camry is actually too big for me on most occassions. I'd be better served by a Mazda 3s hatch

I love my 3s hatch :D
 

Linflas

Lifer
Jan 30, 2001
15,395
78
91
Originally posted by: mugs
Originally posted by: Linflas
Originally posted by: mugs
Originally posted by: Linflas
Envy and a bit of that good old puritan concept the "somewhere, somehow someone is having more fun than me".

You keep telling yourself that, but it won't make it true.

Then what drives you to think that somehow you are the sole expert on what someone else needs? Why would you even waste a moment of your time thinking about it?

Way to make a lot of assumptions there. Ever consider that huge SUVs are pretty difficult to see around, which makes it difficult for everyone else to drive? Ever consider that the raised headlights blind people in lower vehicles?
So are 18 wheelers, city buses, step vans, delivery trucks on and on and on. And their headlights are just as high if not higher than the average SUV.

I'm not even an SUV hater, but people like you really chafe me. I've made two references to needs in this thread. In the first I was merely saying that another poster's implication that you need a large vehicle to be comfortable is absurd, because many people are quite comfortable in smaller cars. I didn't say nobody should be allowed to drive large cars because they don't need them. In the other I acknowledged that SUVs fulfill a need for some people.

Yet for some reason you took it personally when I added a general reply to Amused's rhetorical question as if it was aimed right at you. There were 2 other people in that chain of quotes besides you and Amused so perhaps you chafe a bit too easily.
 

JulesMaximus

No Lifer
Jul 3, 2003
74,600
1,005
126
Originally posted by: Amused
Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
Originally posted by: Amused
Originally posted by: mugs
Originally posted by: ThaPerculator
Small economy rides suck. Chrysler should look at it's tremendous success with the 300 and run with radically designed cars with fuction/form/luxury & economy.

Actually, you know what.. screw you guys... buy your small civics and scions and I'll take my American sled anyday of the week. You gotta love it when you can be driving luxury-style with a packed car, everyone comfy, great sound system, responsive handling, great safety features and still be able to smoke all of the idiot ricer kids in a race. That's where it's at.

I can't remember the last time I had more than one other person in my car.

LOL

Some people actually have 3D friends. And some even have families. :p

Yeah, but unless you have 4 or more kids you really don't need a fullsize SUV.

I welcome the small car trend! Die SUVs!!! DIE!!!

I love how people determine the needs of others.

What if they have a boat or other recreational trailering need? What if they carpool? What if they often take their kid's friends places?

What if they have to haul a lot of stuff for work, or hobbies?

I will never understand this irrational hate of SUVs. I have never owned one and drive a midsize sedan. But I have never found myself hating SUVs or their drivers.

Bah, they don't needs boats either. Just another gas guzzling device. ;)
 

mugs

Lifer
Apr 29, 2003
48,920
46
91
Originally posted by: Linflas

Yet for some reason you took it personally when I added a general reply to Amused's rhetorical question as if it was aimed right at you. There were 2 other people in that chain of quotes besides you and Amused so perhaps you chafe a bit too easily.

:confused:
My only reply to that post was "You keep telling yourself that, but it won't make it true." I didn't take anything personally. I just don't think that's the reason people don't like SUVs. I suppose there are some, just like there are people who dislike BMWs (although those same people don't seem to hate Lexus or Mercedes or Infiniti, so maybe they're right and BMW drivers do tend to be pricks ;)). But I think the majority of people who don't like SUVs do so because they're directly and adversely affected by them every day.

I've been known to be wrong on occassion though. :p
 

Linflas

Lifer
Jan 30, 2001
15,395
78
91
Originally posted by: mugs
Originally posted by: Linflas

Yet for some reason you took it personally when I added a general reply to Amused's rhetorical question as if it was aimed right at you. There were 2 other people in that chain of quotes besides you and Amused so perhaps you chafe a bit too easily.

:confused:
My only reply to that post was "You keep telling yourself that, but it won't make it true." I didn't take anything personally. I just don't think that's the reason people don't like SUVs. I suppose there are some, just like there are people who dislike BMWs (although those same people don't seem to hate Lexus or Mercedes or Infiniti, so maybe they're right and BMW drivers do tend to be pricks ;)). But I think the majority of people who don't like SUVs do so because they're directly and adversely affected by them every day.

I've been known to be wrong on occassion though. :p

Being married I am pretty much wrong on all occasions when I am home. ;)
 

JulesMaximus

No Lifer
Jul 3, 2003
74,600
1,005
126
Originally posted by: mugs
Originally posted by: Linflas

Yet for some reason you took it personally when I added a general reply to Amused's rhetorical question as if it was aimed right at you. There were 2 other people in that chain of quotes besides you and Amused so perhaps you chafe a bit too easily.

:confused:
My only reply to that post was "You keep telling yourself that, but it won't make it true." I didn't take anything personally. I just don't think that's the reason people don't like SUVs. I suppose there are some, just like there are people who dislike BMWs (although those same people don't seem to hate Lexus or Mercedes or Infiniti, so maybe they're right and BMW drivers do tend to be pricks ;)). But I think the majority of people who don't like SUVs do so because they're directly and adversely affected by them every day.

I've been known to be wrong on occassion though. :p

I don't like SUVs, fullsize trucks and vans because I can't see around the bloody things. I really hate trucks and SUVs with huge lifts on them though. Those are a menace to society and should be banned from public roads.

It's nice to see people flocking away from these giant gas guzzling vehicles. I for one welcome the trend toward smaller more fuel efficient cars.

85-90% of the people I see in fullsize SUVs are driving around by themselves. That's a waste of space and resources. Clearly many people don't NEED these vehicles, if they did then the used car lots wouldn't be full of them now would they? I was merely stating a fact.
 

iamtrout

Diamond Member
Nov 21, 2001
3,001
1
0
Originally posted by: Amused
Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
Originally posted by: Amused
Originally posted by: mugs
Originally posted by: ThaPerculator
Small economy rides suck. Chrysler should look at it's tremendous success with the 300 and run with radically designed cars with fuction/form/luxury & economy.

Actually, you know what.. screw you guys... buy your small civics and scions and I'll take my American sled anyday of the week. You gotta love it when you can be driving luxury-style with a packed car, everyone comfy, great sound system, responsive handling, great safety features and still be able to smoke all of the idiot ricer kids in a race. That's where it's at.

I can't remember the last time I had more than one other person in my car.

LOL

Some people actually have 3D friends. And some even have families. :p

Yeah, but unless you have 4 or more kids you really don't need a fullsize SUV.

I welcome the small car trend! Die SUVs!!! DIE!!!

I love how people determine the needs of others.

What if they have a boat or other recreational trailering need? What if they carpool? What if they often take their kid's friends places?

What if they have to haul a lot of stuff for work, or hobbies?

I will never understand this irrational hate of SUVs. I have never owned one and drive a midsize sedan. But I have never found myself hating SUVs or their drivers.

The point is that most people who own SUVs DON'T have any of these needs. They have no boat, no trailor, no kids, no need to haul stuff for work.

Escalade and Hummer H3/H2 anyone?

If you have a large family and need to do light duty hauling, get a friggin minivan. If you SERIOUSLY need to haul and tow large objects AND need the room that a pickup can't afford, then you've finally qualified for an SUV.
 

Amused

Elite Member
Apr 14, 2001
57,547
20,262
146
Originally posted by: JulesMaximus


85-90% of the people I see in fullsize SUVs are driving around by themselves. That's a waste of space and resources. Clearly many people don't NEED these vehicles, if they did then the used car lots wouldn't be full of them now would they? I was merely stating a fact.

This makes me laugh.

Say a large family buys an SUV as one of their primary cars. Even when regularly used for it's capacity, it will be driven by a single driver better than 60% of the time.

Return trips from dropping the kids off, rides to work and back and errands make up better than 60% of it's use. More like 70%.

Does that mean they need it any less? Of course not. They still have 5 kids and a boat to haul around. Just because you happen to see them when they aren't doing it you ignorantly jump to conclusions.

Gladys Kravitz, folks. That's all it's about here.
 
Jan 18, 2001
14,465
1
0
Having just returned from a vacation in London, there were many smaller versions of the same cars available in the states. In particular, Minivans are considerably smaller, yet still fit 7 passengers...you just can't haul around sheet of ply-wood.

I would love to have a smartie for in-town driving.
 

JulesMaximus

No Lifer
Jul 3, 2003
74,600
1,005
126
Originally posted by: Amused
Originally posted by: JulesMaximus


85-90% of the people I see in fullsize SUVs are driving around by themselves. That's a waste of space and resources. Clearly many people don't NEED these vehicles, if they did then the used car lots wouldn't be full of them now would they? I was merely stating a fact.

This makes me laugh.

Say a large family buys an SUV as one of their primary cars. Even when regularly used for it's capacity, it will be driven by a single driver better than 60% of the time.

Return trips from dropping the kids off, rides to work and back and Errands make up better than 60% of it's use. Mor like 70%.

Does that mean they need it any less? Of course not. They still have 5 kids and a boat to haul around. Just because you happen to see them when they aren't doing to you ignorantly jump to conclusions.

Gladys Kravitz, folks. That's all it's about here.

Walk by any used car lot and tell me what you see there. Then go look at the big 3's sales numbers for September and tell me what conclusions you can draw from that. It's pretty clear to me. Many people have decided that they don't need a fullsize SUV. If they did they'd be buying them or keeping the ones they already have. I don't know about you but that's pretty much the only conclusion I can draw from this recent trend.

Clearly, many people don't NEED them. That's all I'm saying. Want and need are two completely different things and I think most people who drive fullsize SUVs are driving them out of want and not need.

Who the fvck is gladys krackzitz anyway?
 

Amused

Elite Member
Apr 14, 2001
57,547
20,262
146
Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
Originally posted by: Amused
Originally posted by: JulesMaximus


85-90% of the people I see in fullsize SUVs are driving around by themselves. That's a waste of space and resources. Clearly many people don't NEED these vehicles, if they did then the used car lots wouldn't be full of them now would they? I was merely stating a fact.

This makes me laugh.

Say a large family buys an SUV as one of their primary cars. Even when regularly used for it's capacity, it will be driven by a single driver better than 60% of the time.

Return trips from dropping the kids off, rides to work and back and Errands make up better than 60% of it's use. Mor like 70%.

Does that mean they need it any less? Of course not. They still have 5 kids and a boat to haul around. Just because you happen to see them when they aren't doing to you ignorantly jump to conclusions.

Gladys Kravitz, folks. That's all it's about here.

Walk by any used car lot and tell me what you see there. Then go look at the big 3's sales numbers for September and tell me what conclusions you can draw from that. It's pretty clear to me. Many people have decided that they don't need a fullsize SUV. If they did they'd be buying them or keeping the ones they already have. I don't know about you but that's pretty much the only conclusion I can draw from this recent trend.

Clearly, many people don't NEED them. That's all I'm saying. Want and need are two completely different things and I think most people who drive fullsize SUVs are driving them out of want and not need.

Who the fvck is gladys krackzitz anyway?

Many people don't NEED a car at all. But it sure is nice. Just because SUV sales are down doesn't mean the people who would have previously considered them wouldn't have made good use of them.

Hell, we don't NEED 90% of the crap we have. But most of it sure is convenient.

In fact, I bet you waste far more energy on crap you don't need, than a person wastes driving an SUV vs a fullsize car.

Never watched Bewitched, huh? Gladys Kravitz was their busybody neighbor.
 

AgaBoogaBoo

Lifer
Feb 16, 2003
26,108
5
81
Originally posted by: Amused
Originally posted by: JulesMaximus


85-90% of the people I see in fullsize SUVs are driving around by themselves. That's a waste of space and resources. Clearly many people don't NEED these vehicles, if they did then the used car lots wouldn't be full of them now would they? I was merely stating a fact.

This makes me laugh.

Say a large family buys an SUV as one of their primary cars. Even when regularly used for it's capacity, it will be driven by a single driver better than 60% of the time.

Return trips from dropping the kids off, rides to work and back and errands make up better than 60% of it's use. More like 70%.

Does that mean they need it any less? Of course not. They still have 5 kids and a boat to haul around. Just because you happen to see them when they aren't doing it you ignorantly jump to conclusions.

Gladys Kravitz, folks. That's all it's about here.

It's possible the people I know personally are much different than the ones you know because I know families that have Landcruisers (V8 Toyota SUV) for nothing beyond daily driving to work and back and getting groceries for a family of 3, never have they carried more than what a sedan could hold.

I could go on and on but most people I know with SUV's don't really need one at all. My neighbors have an SUV, sedan, and a stationwagon, I understand their SUV is there only because they have a boat they take around, no issue with that, my issue is with those that would be just fine with a smaller car but don't want to.
 

QurazyQuisp

Platinum Member
Feb 5, 2003
2,554
0
76
Originally posted by: iamwiz82
We are looking to get rid of our MINI because it's too small. I can't fit sh!t in that thing :(.

I'd so buy your MINI if I had the money... you have the color scheme I want... badly. I've wanted one since I first saw the original mini cooper (the non-bmw one).
 

DrPizza

Administrator Elite Member Goat Whisperer
Mar 5, 2001
49,601
167
111
www.slatebrookfarm.com
Except for a very small minority of owners, full-sized SUV's are nothing more than a show of wealth.
I couldn't care less that they own them. I'm not bothered by them when they're on the road.
Something like a grand caravan is FAR more useful than an SUV.
(I've owned 2 SUV's - cherokee and pathfinder, and a grand caravan. )
The only thing I miss about the Cherokee is off-road ability when I went hunting.
The pathfinder was far inferior as far as off-roading. I'm glad to be rid of that pos.

At least once a week the caravan is filled to capacity, and often filled to capacity with both rear seats removed. I'd hate to be without it.
But, I don't know anyone else who uses their vehicle for what it's more-or-less meant to be used for...
Seriously, how many people use the 4WD on their Hummer to go off-road?
 

JulesMaximus

No Lifer
Jul 3, 2003
74,600
1,005
126
Originally posted by: Amused
Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
Originally posted by: Amused
Originally posted by: JulesMaximus


85-90% of the people I see in fullsize SUVs are driving around by themselves. That's a waste of space and resources. Clearly many people don't NEED these vehicles, if they did then the used car lots wouldn't be full of them now would they? I was merely stating a fact.

This makes me laugh.

Say a large family buys an SUV as one of their primary cars. Even when regularly used for it's capacity, it will be driven by a single driver better than 60% of the time.

Return trips from dropping the kids off, rides to work and back and Errands make up better than 60% of it's use. Mor like 70%.

Does that mean they need it any less? Of course not. They still have 5 kids and a boat to haul around. Just because you happen to see them when they aren't doing to you ignorantly jump to conclusions.

Gladys Kravitz, folks. That's all it's about here.

Walk by any used car lot and tell me what you see there. Then go look at the big 3's sales numbers for September and tell me what conclusions you can draw from that. It's pretty clear to me. Many people have decided that they don't need a fullsize SUV. If they did they'd be buying them or keeping the ones they already have. I don't know about you but that's pretty much the only conclusion I can draw from this recent trend.

Clearly, many people don't NEED them. That's all I'm saying. Want and need are two completely different things and I think most people who drive fullsize SUVs are driving them out of want and not need.

Who the fvck is gladys krackzitz anyway?

Many people don't NEED a car at all. But it sure is nice. Just because SUV sales are down doesn't mean the people who would have previously considered them wouldn't have made good use of them.

Hell, we don't NEED 90% of the crap we have. But most of it sure is convenient.

In fact, I bet you waste far more energy on crap you don't need, than a person wastes driving an SUV vs a fullsize car.

Never watched Bewitched, huh? Gladys Kravitz was their busybody neighbor.

I don't see that the two are comparable quite frankly. I know a guy who used to drive from Garden Grove to Carlsbad every day in a Suburban. He has a wife and 2 kids and spent 90% of his time hauling nothing but himself around in that thing spending $150/week in gas. Now it would probably cost him $200/week or $800 a month!!! That's a lot of money to be throwing away just for the "convenience" of driving a suburban...whatever that means. :roll:

My point is that people who REALLY NEED a vehicle like that will keep them but those who just wanted it are discovering that the trade off isn't worth the "convenience" and they are switching to smaller more economical cars. I'm happy about that. I don't know why you people defend the SUV and the "right to drive" whatever the hell you want attitude like cheap gasoline is a god given right as an American.