The Holy War on SUVs

Forbes Magazine ^ | 03.03.03 Issue | Jerry Flint

[mewzilla]

Notwithstanding that, they are generally safer than other vehicles...Buckled up, you're safer in an SUV than in a lightweight car that doesn't roll as easily.

Interesting use of stats. Safer depending on the crash, how it occurs, and if anyone else (car/pedestrians) is involved. A lot of ifs. Definitely not safer if it's a pedestrian being nailed. He also doesn't mention the stats on types of serious injuries incurred (which someone has to pay for) in SUV crashes/rollovers.

Then there's the way SUVs have been designed, made, and marketed (basically as replacements for passenger cars).

And then there's the profit, up to four to five figs on some models. And if you need a loan to buy one of these things, you're financing an up to five-fig profit for the car maker. I've got better things to do with my money.

And let's also not forget that roadways and things like guardrails (think tripping) were never designed to work with SUVs. Are we supposed to retro-fit every older roadway in the country? Who's going to want to pay for that?

Just some things to keep in mind.

[conservativemusician]

The only people on the road, here in NY Mon. and most of Tue., were in SUV's. If I had one, the snow wouldn't have cost me two days of work.

Global warming my ass.

[mewzilla]

Most of the vehicles I saw in ditches around here the few days were SUvs. Go figure.

[Redbob]

I've got a couple more things to keep in mind:
First, why do you suppose SUV's were invented?

Simple: Because the government, by means of CAFE, the corporate average fuel economy requirements, has outlawed the traditional full-size passenger car.
The car that would carry a full family and all their luggage on vacation, for example, or a Cub Scout pack on a camping trip.
People don't buy SUV's simply because they enjoy enriching some guy who wears his laundry on his head - they buy them to USE them.

This is yet another example of the law of unintended consquences in action.

And BTW, if you don't like SUV's - don't buy one. Just don't try to tell me that I shouldn't buy one.
When some hophead driving a Geo Metro in a drug-induced stupor decides to cross the yellow line and run into an SUV, well, I sorta sympathize, but I'm much more interested in learning that the innocents in the SUV survived.

[DrNo]

Wouldn't he need something bigger for those twelve guys he hung around with?

;^)

[SpartacusII]

Uh, generally speaking, crashes that are potentially fatal would cause severe injury. Therefore, logic would tell you that if SUV's have lower fatalities, so would severe injuries follow.

And those pesky pedestrians are less likely to die if a car hits them at 50mph rather than an SUV at 50mph?

As for profit, I guess the auto makers don't make anything off car sales.

And gaurd rails. Let's see, are these the same gaurd rails designed for large deisel trucks too? Hmm, they're big too. Am I not getting something here?

[SLB]

Lets see: We have two Suburbans, one is a 1987 GMC that I now drive to work every day, the other is a 1999 Chevrolet that Mrs SLB uses and we take on trips. The 1987 model gets about 16 - 17 mpg going back and forth with me. The 1999 model gets right at 20 mpg on the highway at 65+ mph and around 16 - 17 running around town. My son recently traded his older S-10 Blazer for a 1998 Explorer. Guess we are some of the largest contributors to the reason we are going to war, forget what happened in NYC and other parts of the world hit by terrorists.

[mewzilla]

You need to bone up on your stats. SUV crashes tend to inflict different kinds of injuries, especially neurological and paralytic. You're not dead so you don't rate as a fatality, but you're life's not terrific, either. Secondly, most pedestrians aren't nailed on highways or are hit by drivers going at high rates of speed. That's why things like low bumpers and crumple zones are so important. And why the lack of these things in SUVs makes them so much more dangerous than a large passenger car. Also in terms of crash compatability, too. Not to mention the fact that SUVs still aren't regulated as strictly as cars (think brakes for example).

I'm not for banning the damn things. But I won't drive or ride in one. And I think people who use them in place of passenger cars (no bad road conditions or heavy/big payload hauling to worry about) need their heads examined.

[The Great RJ]

How many of those hybrid electric cars or econo boxes did you guys on the east coast see driving around during the last snow storm?

I'm also waiting for the accident reports when one of those cars with a trunk full of lead acid batteries is involved in a serious accident. In addition to an ambulance, you are going to need a Haz-Mat team to clean up the chemical spill of sulphuric acid--so much for the environment then.

[conservativemusician]

I never said they knew how to drive!LOL

Unfortunately, a lot of people who drive SUVs get a sort of invincibility complex. Any vehicle can skid off the road if you are not careful.

[mewzilla]

It's not just a matter of knowing how to drive. Even if the accident isn't your fault, your SUV will still have high bumpers, no sloping hood, no crumple zones, brakes and a suspension that won't perform as well as most passenger cars. To my mind, you're already behind the eight ball.

Frankly, a good driver is your vehicle's first and best safety feature. But if you're anal about size, a large passenger sedan (ex: a Buick LeSabre) is safer, by and large, than an SUV.

[Red Boots]

When you're done examining the heads of those who buy/purchase SUV's, perhaps you'd care to examine your use of the words you're and your? It'd probably have more long term impact on your life.

[wjcsux]

Here is another fact. The CAFE standards contribute to automobile injuries and fatalities. The auto makers are pairing weight off of vehicles to meet CAFE standards. If they could add approximately 100 lbs of structural material to their vehicles, they would be considerably safer.

[Aggie Mama]

Do you have children? Do you live in the city where you can rely upon public transportation, or in the suburbs where you have to drive everywhere to get there? Do you have to haul things from Home Depot with kids in tow? We just bought a 2003 Yukon XL and love it. It's a people and object hauler, which is what we need for our growing family. If you don't need it fine, but don't think that you know what's better for my family than I do.

[mewzilla]

Hope you never make a typo around here, pard.

[Domestic Church]

Our driveway is an off road experience without the snow. There is a real need for SUVs beyond the suburbs.