Posted on 05/09/2005 6:52:14 AM PDT by MississippiMasterpiece
It's a Saturday morning on San Leandro's Marina Boulevard auto row, and the big SUVs have been sitting on the lots, waiting for someone to come in and start that dealer dollar dance that ends up with the customer slightly bewildered but paying a lot less for that vehicle than he thought he was going to.
Once in a while, there are takers, although the dealer has to discount the SUV heavily just to get it moving.
Salvador Sotello, for example, recently paid F.H. Dailey Chevrolet in San Leandro $41,000 for a new Chevy Tahoe LT (yes, with leather) SUV that had a sticker price of $58,000. The sale was an anomaly in what is otherwise a pretty dismal selling season. "It's been pretty quiet," saleswoman Crystal Gonzalez said the other day. "Been pretty slow."
At Broadway Ford in Oakland, the grilles of the Mustangs, SUVs and the lone Thunderbird smile at the passing traffic, but the showroom is empty, it appears, of customers; several salesmen are in sight. Up at Albany Ford-Subaru, salesman Myers Howard, sitting a few feet away from a big Ford pickup truck, says things on the Ford side of the showroom "are slow." That might be the understatement of the day.
Just this past week, General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. underwent the humiliation of seeing their credit ratings reduced by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services to the status of junk. The reasons are becoming clear -- the two big companies can't sell much of what they produce.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
In your opinion. OK, thanks. I figured it was something along the lines of: I don't like them.
Um, if my choice is between a Geo Metro and a Chevy pickup, I'm opting for hot quick death.
Evidence please.
Bump to that.
Total restoration on this vehicle. 65 mph road speed, Twin Browning .30 cal machine guns, run flat tires, everything is new or remanufactured. Impress your friends or bank officer while making a deposit. Texas Title and licensed. Located in Houston, Texas Comes with all the extras, manual and a guaranteed good time!
Yes its street legal.
Oh, the Element's not so bad. It looks like parts of it come from the factory pre-coated in grey rattle-can primer. ;^)
I don't hate SUVs, I simply hate a handful of really big SUVs. There's a bit of a difference.
Now that's just plain stupid.
At 12, I was the height I am now, and only about 20 pounds lighter.
I doubt there's a car seat in the world that'll hold five feet ten inches and 125 pounds of girl.
You're spot on! I have more of a problem with punks in their little lowered Civics dodging in and out of traffic as though they were immortal than I have with SUV drivers. My Ranger just chooses not to follow too closely behind the SUVs and it does fine with visibility.
This is America. People can choose their own vehicle and those who don't like it can just get over it.
And you blame the SUV for that? LOL
You use rubber padding on the tracks and the Sherman tank is below the weight limits for a lot of roads. Abrams tanks on the other hand are way too heavy.
That's funny, I don't care who you are!
No. I merely pointed out the SUV completely blocked the following driver's view of the road ahead, and that the SUV's driver changed lanes suddenly as he was right on top of the stalled vehicle, not giving the following driver any time to react.
"a bill for up to $7000 when their car's battery dies less than eight years after purchase... "
OUCH !
I assume the salesman mentions it in his presentation :o)
Maybe not - that's why he goes to Sunday bible classes...
"I doubt there's a car seat in the world that'll hold five feet ten inches and 125 pounds of girl."
Did I mention my nickname is "car seat"?
Spoken like a southernor. Many people I know drive SUVs to navigate the snow. There are places near here where 4WD is an absolute necessity....and Suburu's suck.
"I bet this vehicle would drive you two completely nuts then."
Nope. This really isn't an emotional issue to me. I actually like cars, and some SUVs kind of cool. I'm just looking at it and applying reason, and this is what I come up with.
I will admit, the stereotypical 5'3" woman in the Navigator, on the cell phone weaving down the road does irritate me.
That's why I have two things:
a) the Amazing Fiberglas Car, the Saturn SC1, and
b) my best friend Bacon as my insurance agent.
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