Then again, there are also people who live in remote areas, and really do need a sturdy vehicle with off-road capability. It just doesn’t make sense for city driving though. I try not to be disapproving, because I’m no saint, but it just seems wrong. Not wrong as in immoral or unethical, but wrong in terms of appropriateness and serviceability. For example, it reminds me of a time when I was picking up my dry cleaning and I saw the previous customer trying to hang two weeks worth of dress pants, shirts, ties, and jackets–he obviously worked in an office where he had to wear dress clothes every day–in the cab of his little mini-pickup truck. I just looked and thought of how a different kind of car would be so much more practical for this person.
The funny thing is is that people keep stating that the H3 is a gussied up Colorado, but in fact they only share a FRAME. The two vehicles only share 10% of their suspension components.
That’s why people need to do research on their own, and instead of regurgitating what other people say.
I had a Jeep Wrangler until 2005 and I test drove an H3. The H3 was definately the better executed and more adult of the two vehicles.
And, what I learned about 4 wheeling is that it’s an EXPENSIVE habit. So I can’t fault someone for only driving their SUV on the street only. Having 4wd capability is an excellent option that could help in ways you can’t imagine and it’s not exclusively for off roading. So, don’t let someone else determine how you should use YOUR vehicle. If you like the style of something… buy it.
…or the Porsche “cayenne”/VW Toureg (both get less than 20 MPG)
Or the Toyota Tundra?
The only way to have a sensible energy policy is for vehicles to be taxed by engine size. Anything else makes no sense.
A Lanborghini driving around on city streets is not doing what it’s supposed to do any more than a Pinzgauer or Uni-Mog driving around on city streets.
Yet we have mid-sized sedans that have more horsepower than either the H3, or my Pathfinder. Probably the H2 and H1 as well.
They can’t tow as much though.
The way I see it, any SUV is designed to do a lot of things. Even the H2 or H3. It’s not a rock crawler or a race car. It’s not supposed to be.
I’m outa here. I’m hooking up my trailer to my Pathfinder and am going to pull about 3500 pounds over the continental divide to the land fill.
Ok, baby came a bit early so I’m going to have to bow out for a day or three. This is probably one of those things that different Dopers are just going to disagree on. While I don’t disagree that some of the people that purchase one of the hummer models are going for the “oh look at me!” factor I do hope that some of you can understand that not all of us that purchased one did it for that reason.
BTW, my husband is a VP and wears a suit and tie every work day. He drives a BMW X5. What the casual observer couldn’t possibly know is that on the weekends he goes down to our lake cottage, which is at the end of an unpaved road, and hauls a 30 foot boat in and out of the water. He chose his vehicle, which incidentally was used when he bought it, based on his lifestyle. Whether someone else approves of his choice is not a concern to us.
Here’s a little something that might interest you, just for completeness sake - not amphibious like the VBL, but the inspiration for the MRAP that’s supposed to replace the HMMWV. Proven in Africa’s worst conditions.
Hmmm. Maybe some of the ire in this thread would be better directed at half-wit manufacturers who roll out enormous numbers of boat-sized SUVs and then discount them massively to get them off the lot. You can’t fault someone for grabbing a deal like that, but the corner offices in Motor City obviously need flushing.
Lord save us from the people who demand that others defend their personal choices.
If I had one, this would be my defense: “I like it for various reasons. I could afford to buy it. And it’s none of your damned business.”
I’m starting to think that this nonsense is just the modern version of tribalism. Ford guys hate Chevy guys. The people who don’t drive SUVs hate those who do.
I don’t know anything about the H2 or H3; I think they’re both ugly, and without the functionality of a real, honest-to-Og HummVee. I will say, for the BMW X5 (my hubby’s current ‘dream car’; he’s trying to figure out how he can afford one ) that they are available in V-6 or V-8. I made it crystal clear to him that if he buys one, it will be a V-6. It’s not so much that I’m green, per se, as I can’t see the appeal in having a nice car that you can’t afford to drive anywhere because it gulps too much gasoline!
Now, if we find that place in WV with free natural gas, and can convert something to run on natural gas, that’s a whole 'nother thing.
I certainly see your point to Lisa, which is that it’s impossible to know why anyone chose a specific vehicle, but I did want to add that little factoid about the X5.
My problem with the Hummer isn’t that is a waste of space and a burden to the environment and a waste of money that does nothing well (okay, those are some of my complaints, but not my biggest). My complaint is that their ridiculous choice of a vehicle makes my driving experience much less pleasant, they’re a hazard on the road, and a pain in the butt in a parking lot.
Like the Rolex watch analogy I used earlier. I think they’re a status symbol and a waste of money, and if you want to keep accurate time, a cell phone works just as well or better than a Rolex. But if you want to buy one, whatever… your dime, not mine. However, if said Rolex used a custom alarm every 10 minutes to make sure everyone within earshot knew you were wearing a Rolex, it would interrupt conversations and be a complaint annoyance and nuisance, to the point that I would hate Rolex as a company and avoid anyone who wore one.
The Hummer is the same deal. It’s a ridiculously huge monstrosity that gets in my way whenever I see one on the road. Just the other day I was parked next to one at a red light, and out my window all I could see was a huge yellow door and about a half inch of window. Thank God I wasn’t parked behind him… I’ve been there before, and it’s not a pleasant view or a pleasant experience, not knowing what was in front of him or when to expect him to hit his brakes. If they’re parked on the side of the road they stick into traffic. It’s nearly impossible to park between the lines, so more often than not they just take up 2 places.
The dumb things are just in the way. The X5 is definitely not a choice of vehicle I would make personally, and while it still screams “status symbol”, it’s at least elegant, and not in the way constantly like the dumb Hummer.
I was just going to point that out. A tax on “gasoline” (sorry, I hate that word) is also more sensible from an environmental point of view, as it’s essentially directly proportional to CO2 emissions.
Now taxing by environmental cost of producing and disposing of the car… I’d love that. Would screw the prius and its smuggy owners over so much.
Not sure how you came to the conclusion that I thought that it wasn’t okay to own a Hummer, or an X5, or a Pathfinder. I’ve pretty consistently said that you should own whatever the hell you want and quit pointing fingers at your neighbor. The notion that you should have to defend your choice of automobiles to some stranger is contrary to the libertarian in me.
My brotherinlaw has an H2, a big yellow one. They are not that much bigger or the same size as the monster trucks around here with raised wheel bases. It is an expensive purchase in the general sense because of the gas consumption, but I didn’t think they were super expensive cars. He drives it up in the mountains, it can carry his 4 kids, wife and nanny and he can afford it. I don’t think he purchased it to piss anyone off. He lives nears some mountains and he drives up there with it and that was his main reason for buying it and holding all the ppl he has to bring along. To balance it out my FIL has a prius.
In the first place, I would wonder why an electric motor, which is mostly copper, is not recyclable. The Prius’ batteries uses nickel, not lead. Toyota pays a bounty of $200 for the battery pack from a scrapped car.
As for your cousin’s information, it sounds like a distillation of several anti-Prius articles that have been making the rounds the past few months. Review of the articles and a debunking can be found here:
Prius vs. HUMMER: Exploding the Myth
To put it bluntly, the supposed high environmental impact of the Prius is bull.
In the interest of full disclosure, I am a Prius owner.
I was just going to mention the trip to Constanza from Santo Domingo!
Driving from Santo Domingo to any place inland, like Jarabacoa, or even places like Higuey or (in the other direction) Barahona mean long stretches of 10 mph careful navigation around huge holes in the ground. A Hummer is not a luxury in those circumstances.
) that they are available in V-6 or V-8. I made it crystal clear to him that if he buys one, it will be a V-6. It’s not so much that I’m green, per se, as I can’t see the appeal in having a nice car that you can’t afford to drive anywhere because it gulps too much gasoline!