SUV's get a bad rap!

[SuperTool]

<< my problem with SUVs? They're facking dull to drive. Even the BMW X5 can't match a good sports sedan in the 'fun-to-drive' category. There are drivers and then there are commuters- and most SUV drivers I think fall under the commuters category.

Nothing frustrates me more than being stuck behind a SUV up 17 or 9 in NorCal who's trying to drve quickly and is skidding and weaving up the damned roads while still being dog slow. >>


I love route 9 So much fun, it should be in a need for speed scenario. Hmm, maybe I will go to santa cruz today.

 

[KokomoGST]

Yeah I agree that SUVs get a bad rap... BUT... don't tell me the average US driver knows car control when a good chunk can't even friggin park right. While it may not be the "fault" of the SUV... don't tell me it's that much safer for you to "ride high", block view of people in the passenger car lane (SUVs should be in the truck lanes). You shouldn't hate SUVs, they do have their place, but just not with the majority of people that don't know how to drive them... same goes with any other car. There are induhviduals out there that are plain stupid drivers... not just navigating and obeying traffic laws, but also when it comes to emergency situations. Despite the ride position, many people don't use it to drive safely. The increased difficulty of control with SUVs doesn't make it any easier.

Yes, it's your money... but that doesn't make it a non-crappy trend. 4 gallons of gasoline is pretty darn heavy... that's a lot of liquid... and most car manufacturers overrate SUV gas mileage.

If you don't see big @$$ SUVs like Suburbans and Excursions every friggin day consider yourself lucky. Most metro areas have more than their fair share of SUVs. My friend constantly complains about the sheer # in Texas... a sedan was a rarity.

SUVs are indeed considered a status symbol... but also until now there weren't many alternatives. Sure there's the minivan, but now it has a stigma attached to it (for "soccer moms only"). SUVs didn't have that. They were considered cool and marketed as such... so people bought like the lemming they are... my family are lemmings too. Now I don't complete regret having an SUV in the family... but I'd much rather have a wagon or cross-over since they are now good alternatives starting to come out.

SUVs are good vehicles... in moderation.

 

[conjur]

<< SUV's are one of the stupidest trends in America. >>



SUV dealer: "Hi, how may I help you today?"
Customer: "Yeah. My name is Joe Lemming. My neighbors all have SUVs and I just gotta have one, too!"

 

[911paramedic]

I drive an Expedition because I need the space for all my gear. If you don't like it, go hug a tree.

My other SUV

 

[NFS4]

<< I drive an Expedition because I need the space for all my gear. If you don't like it, go hug a tree.

My other SUV >>


Haha, you tell 'em.

Tree huggers can kiss my ass for all I care. Instead of whining about it here, why don't they write to all the auto manufacturers? All they'll get is a big SCREW YOU!

 

[911paramedic]

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

<< I'll go ahead and post this in this thread as well, I am sure AaronP does not mind me turning his thread into a huge flame fest Right now it is hip to hate SUVs and smokers, well thats all fine, but what is next..................... Will fast food and fattening things be next? Will high powered computers and over sized TVs be next? Will perfumes and cologne with over powering smells be next? Will high powered sports cars be next? Will cars that carry less than 6 passengers be next? Maybe the government will decide how large of a square footage house is reasonable for the number of people who live there. 1 person = 1000 sq ft 2 people gets you 1500 sq ft etc. Maybe the government will mandate that the thermostat in your house will go no higher than 68 in winter, and 78 in summer. Never say it could not happen, this is the same government that gave you 1.6 gallon toilets. HATE SUVs and smokers all you want, but damn sure dont cry when it is YOUR personal freedom that is under attack next. >>




None of these things have ever tried to run me off the road. A car once or twice. SUVs MANY times around here. If you don't get outta the way, they are up your azz if you are on a bike. Usually it's in traffic where there is nowhere to go. Now it is not the SUV that is at fault, but the driver. What do all these people have in common that make them such piss poor drivers?

 

[Nefrodite]

um, the emissions standards suvs face are truck standards, far more lax then car standards. suvs still suck.

 

[CKDragon]

AaronP said:



<< Enviromentalists should LIKE gas guzzlers (which as I said, most SUV's aren't) because we will run out of gas faster and be forced to alternative fuels. >>



Hmm... HAAHAHAHAHAHA.

That is all.

CK

 

[Vernor]

<< I am sick of SUV bashing. Most SUV's sold get only slightly worse gas mileage than most V6 sedans. The Explorer, Blazer, Cherokee, and other SUV's of that ilk get decent mileage for what they are. The HUGE SUV's like the Ford Excursion, Chevy Suburban, yeah they get lousy mileage, but they are only a small fraction of SUV sales. The Ford Explorer gets 16 mpg / 21 mpg while the V6 Honda Accord gets 20 mpg / 28 mpg. Sure the Explorer is worse, but not much worse! I am sick of people looking at the lousy gas mileage of say the Ford Excursion and then lumping all SUV's into the same category. >>




SUVs - hippos of the road.

 

[hans007]

you know , nsf4 said something like

people can buy whatever the hell they like.

yes thats true.

people always say that to me, like, i can do it this way if i want its my choice blah.


doesnt mean its not stupid. people have a right to be stupid. doesnt mean i need to like stupid people. stupid people drive SUVs because they drive like crap, and figure if they are driving a bigass SUV then they wont die as easily since if they were driving a car and got in an accident which is likely because they drive like crap then they are more likely to get hurt.


I dunno an SUV has hit my car coming out of a parking space, SUVs cut me off, SUV people drive like crap. I hate BMW drivers also. I think BMW makes great cars, jsut that so many BMW drivers think they are god. So maybe i just hate people who think they are god on wheels i.e. most SUV and bmw drivers. Hmm.... this probably means that i hate BMW x5 drivers the most.


So lets change the topic of this post. We dont hate SUVs. We hate MOST suv drivers.

 

[911paramedic]

A bad driver is a bad driver, period.

Put them in a bigger car (SUV) and you notice them more. Now call somebody on your cell phone and tell them about it.

...tree huggers...

 

[Jugernot]

<< SUV's are one of the stupidest trends in America. >>



Hmmm, so is naming your kid.... Matt.





Only kidding!

 

[LAUST]

They are fine with me as long as the driver is good enough to manage that mass.

 

[Eli]

<< Fortunantly getting a CDL isn't as easy as the careless DMV has become with handing out licenses to anything with a heartbeat. >>



lol...

 

[Novgrod]

I feel like buying an SUV right now just to prove I can. Then I'll flush the toilet twice, take the water flow restrictor out of my shower head (oops, too late), and start a nice wood fire just because I can. As long as I can, I'll be happy.

If you want to improve the environment, get rid of commercial property and start spreading a plague. Overpopulation is a much greater threat than the less than noble SUV.

Just one man's opinion

 

[Eli]

<< I feel like buying an SUV right now just to prove I can. Then I'll flush the toilet twice, take the water flow restrictor out of my shower head (oops, too late), and start a nice wood fire just because I can. As long as I can, I'll be happy.

If you want to improve the environment, get rid of commercial property and start spreading a plague. Overpopulation is a much greater threat than the less than noble SUV.

Just one man's opinion >>



It's a good thing everybody doesen't think like that. On the other hand, if everybody thought exactly the opposite, just think of how much different things could be? heh...

 

[SuperTool]

<< Then I'll flush the toilet twice, take the water flow restrictor out of my shower head (oops, too late), and start a nice wood fire just because I can. As long as I can, I'll be happy. >>


Hi, how do you do that showerhead mod?
I get free water in my apt, but it's very weak shower. How do I make it flow better? Maybe it's because it's one story building, so pressure is too low.

 

[Tominator]

<< Fortunantly getting a CDL isn't as easy as the careless DMV has become with handing out licenses to anything with a heartbeat. >>



And that's way too easy! I'm ashamed of the way many so-called Truckers drive......I'm a Million Mile Safe Driver btw...and that's just in a Semi in the last ten years...

 

[Novgrod]

t's a good thing everybody doesen't think like that. On the other hand, if everybody thought exactly the opposite, just think of how much different things could be? heh...

Yeh, this is true. And for that matter, it's a good thing I don't feel like that either really I just don't think the government or anybody else should be in the business of legislating morality, unless there is a really, really good cause. And I'll continue to believe that the salvation of the environment lies in demographic trends that imply LEB above some age X implies a declining birth rate.

As for the shower head, it depends on any number of factors; the most important is a good shower head. I like the Speakman anystream, but it could very likely be water flow in your apartment. The speakman has a little valve lookin' thing that's easy to take out.

 

[docmanhattan]

TTT - because chaos and bickering is so entertaining...

 

[glenn1]

<< Are SUV's really safer? Sure they are if you hit a smaller sedan or hatchback with one. But if all people started buying SUV's because they are safer, accidents wouldn't involve small sedan and huge SUV but two huge SUV's. They wouldn't be that safe anymore. >>



Yes, they are really safer. I think the author is qualified to render that opinion.

From Chapter 4: "One vehicle characteristic which does exercise a major influence on occupant protection in crashes is vehicle size, which is best represented by vehicle mass, or weight. When 900 kg and 1800 kg cars crash into each other, the risk of death in the small car is about 13 times what it is in the large car. A driver in a 900 kg car crashing into another 900 kg car is about twice as likely to be killed as a driver in an 1800 kg car crashing into another 1800 kg car. In a single-car crash, the risk in a 900 kg car is about 2.4 times that in an 1800 kg car. Fatalities per registered car show less strong mass effects because smaller cars are involved in fewer severe crashes. Driver fatalities per registered car decreases steeply with increasing car mass for single-car rollover crashes, and weakly for non-rollover crashes."

From the Conclusion page: Vehicle mass, or size, is the one vehicle characteristic that has the largest effect on injury and fatality risk in crashes.

 

[FatDragonn]

SUVs FOREVER. i'll run your damn pinto over w/ my expedition. so what if i only get about 11 mi/gallon. are you the one paying when i'm at the gas station? well then...stfu and move on

 

[BooneRebel]

Do you ever get the feeling that people with horse-drawn carriages had the same complaint about automobiles when they first came out? (Danger on the road, unnecessary features, pollution, etc.) The point is, people are going to do what they want to. You can either join the rest of the human race, or continue to drive around in an itty-bitty econobox and complain that everyone around you drives an Excursion. Either way Darwin will eventually win.

 

[MadRat]

The trend around this county is for sheriffs and deputies to drive SUVs versus the wagons, a trend popular in many states. The real lark is that our state doesn't certify them as wagons, to haul apprehended suspects. (Or sheriff sends out a dedicated wagon to pick up suspects.) They lose gas mileage, have no more space for equipment, cost about the same, probably cost more to maintain, almost never probably get used offroad, and aren't available for service near as much. The local dealership has the local law enforcement SUV's in the garage so regular its comical. SUVs simply do not make good law enforcement inteceptor-cars. What a waste for which we have to pay.

911paramedic-

I don't care if you are a paramedic or Ranger Rick, you are the ass of your own pun. Its pricks like you who make cops and firefighters look like a bunch of bungholes because you go around and toot your own horn. I can see you right now thinking to yourself "I am special because I am a paramedic". A real man wouldn't feel the need to toot his own horn.