Not really, I used to unzip the back window of the MG, and my roommate and I would head out for some quality cross country skiing. My MG would hold 2 people, 2 sets of cross country skis, ski poles and assorted stuff. You slide one end of the poles and skis into the footwell of the passenger side and the other end out the back window. Crank the microscopic heater and bob’s your uncle. It probably would have been worlds easier if we had the shooting brake model however!
The thread was mocking people that always felt they had to explain their purchase of a SUV to people that didn’t ask. It was sarcasm of that behavior. For this it does a wonderful job. The offended people added stuff that wasn’t there originally.
I don’t know if anyone here is calling for a ban on SUV’s. But anyway, if somebody drove an 18-wheeler not to haul goods but simply to project a macho image, I would definitely say that person deserves some contempt.
My immediate problem is not the fuel consumption of the things (making comparisons with air travel a bit pointless), because there are an awful lot of smaller, fairly fuel-efficient “softroader”-type SUVs around my city. My problem is that I might have trouble nosing out into traffic every now and then because of a parked truck, but I have problems seeing around even the smaller SUVs every day. And if I get collected by an oncoming car as a result, the accident might be cleaned up, I’ve been fined by the cops and possibly injured in the accident, and my car has been totalled, by the time the SUV owner gets back from his shopping, and drives off whistling a happy tune oblivious to what his vehicle has caused.
So because of this problem, yet more people are buying them so they can get a high driving position. At this rate, I’ll eventually have to join them. And that sucks, because I like my saloon car. I’ve never driven a small SUV that I’ve enjoyed the handling in, or that I’ve felt safe in, and I don’t want a big one.
Society needs eighteen-wheelers to function. It also needs SOME SUVs. It doesn’t need six out of ten vehicles waiting at the lights to be SUVs, and that’s something I see daily on my commute.
Yep, you nailed it in one. IMO that’s the biggest negative aspect of SUV’s.
SUV’s really ping our “clueless selfish bastard” sensors for a variety of reasons.
- The SUV driver puts a lot of unnecessary kinetic energy on the road, endangering other drivers for a dubious safety gain of their own
- Clearly they consume more fuel than they really need, factoring somewhat into energy prices, being conspicuously anti-green.
- An SUV is designed for offroad cargo hauling, but most of them spend all their time in long-distance solo commutes
- Even though most of them are solo commute vehicles that use expensive amounts of gas, they’re cheaper to own because they’re classified as light trucks
- Even though most anyone with a job and mediocre credit can own one, incredibly, they’re somehow still considered status symbols.
So when you check your rearview to see one barrelling down on you, careening side to side because the driver is on a cellphone, it tickles every neuron in your head that screams “moronic self-absorbed jerk”, a menace to society. But of all those factors, the one that has been most recently linked to world calamity, the most clearly unnecessary waste, is the fuel consumption. That’s the one that bubbles up in our heads because that’s the one reason that even a solo-commute SUV driver couldn’t possibly miss… dude, are you too dumb to think of how much of your own money you’re wasting? Don’t you remember the gas lines of the 70’s? Apparently not.
Truly, it’s not all about the gas. There are many other factors that it is about.
The mention of my Honda Civic was in response to dalej42, who implied people who drive SUV’s are also conservatives.
To enlighten you about my friend at work, she got the SUV maybe a year or two ago, when gas prices were definitely starting to inch up. That coupled with the fact that she’s leasing the damn thing just makes me sigh.
I don’t doubt there are some people who need SUV’s, for whatever reason. But I’ll bet you’ll find a large percentage of those “needs” are blown out of proportion.
I hope that the people described in this post are really feeling the pinch. Also, I hope they all get their legs broke.
I suppose. People don’t ‘need’ a boat (lots of boats are up for sale too). Sell the boat, don’t need a large vehicle to tow it.
:shrug: I donno. The ‘problem’ is taking care of itself isn’t it.
25 feet of snow this year not withstanding, I’m not going to go into the other reasons I own an SUV. Been there, done that. I usually get the “It’s ok for YOU to have an SUV, it’s all the other people I’m complaining about” routine.
How do you know? It seems that the anti-SUV folks find an example of a neighbor that has an SUV or other large car that in their opinion doesn’t need it. They then tend to apply that to all SUV owners.
I started a thread hereabout an interesting new engine design from a small outfit in Australia. Not one response. But boy oh boy, a thread to bitch about what other people drive and how horrible they are and everyone jumps right in.
Never mind; already been said better. Shoulda read the whole thread first. :smack:
Do you apply this to motorcycle riders as well?
How do motorcyclists inconvenience and endanger others?
We have something called the First Amendment, which allows us to speak freely. Unlike your country, which is rapidly doing away with every freedom it can ditch under the assumption that it makes things nicer and safer. Don’t worry, eventually your Nanny State will ban access to boards like this and you won’t have to worry about exposure to snark and sarcasm. 
You mean, aside from weaving in and out of traffic, riding two abreast so they’re crowding the edge of the lane, revving their poorly mufflered engines and occasionally popping wheelies on the Interstate?
Make 'em ride in SmartCars, I say.
Unapologetic SUV owner here.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I own a 2003 Ford Expedition. It is paid off, the insurance is fairly reasonable and I make no apologies for owning it. Get this, I don’t plan on selling it any time soon either.
As soon as I get off my cell phone and put down my Starbucks coffee, I promise, I’ll go throw myself on my sword.
Fuck em. I own three SUV’s and I aint selling either!
The cost to keep em gassed has only doubled in the last year or two, not trippled or quadrupled. Sheesh!
I can fill all three tanks for a month for about the equivolent of 50 hours pay. Considering I work 160 hours a month this is a drop in the bucket. Shit, it aint like the gas even comes close to the maintenance on these things. Tires, ball-joints, transmissions, tune-ups…that’s what’ll kill you in the long run.
How’s that “Patriot Act” working out for you?
Far as I’ve been able to tell, the only folks in serious danger in those situations are the motorcyclists themselves.
One third of your salary is a drop in the bucket? :dubious: But hey, if it works for you, whatever…
bullshit. unless you contend there is no such thing as a chain reaction accident. any sudden debris in the road (including cycle rider, cycle, helmet, etc) can cause another accident. some one swerving to avoid stuff can also then cause another accident. any idiot on the road can indeed harm everyone else.
Yeah, but these days you can fit five hundred dollars’ worth of groceries in two large carrier bags. 