Mike
To his credit, he did not even hint at removing your right to buy an SUV. And, by golly, it almost sounds like the "researchers" got their data by asking non-owners their opinions about SUV-owners.
What a maroon.
Let this drooler convince me that a Chrysler minivan has the passenger room of my Suburban. Bulls**t.
Let's not even go into "cargo space".
BTW, I have seven children. What minivan will haul my crew?
Dumbass.
1.Roomy (for the kids, you know)
2.Safe (don't want to be out there in a tin can)
3.Able to travel in inclement weather (because of the four-wheel drive so many of them have)
4.Because they damn well WANT to, you limp-wristed f#@%ing maggot.
Mike
Sounds like win/lose to me.
I'm not cityfolk.
Roomy (for the kids, you know)
Always nice to have the room.
Safe (don't want to be out there in a tin can)
They are safe.
Able to travel in inclement weather (because of the four-wheel drive so many of them have)
My first car was an 85 Mercury Cougar. Since then I've had two Explorers. No comparison, especially in Michigan Winters.
Which would be fine, except that none of those things is true. By the numbers:
Horsecrap - Personal experience tells me otherwise.
Even the biggest SUVs (and there are some monsters) don't have any more passenger room than, say, a full-sized minivan, which costs thousands of dollars less and is easier to park.
Thousands less? Maybe if you compare a base line minivan vs a Ford Expedition, but there aren't much of a price difference between the two. Easier to park? I can park my Explorer just fine.
SUVs have the distinction of being both more dangerous to themselves and more dangerous to other cars than other vehicles. Because of their high center of gravity, they have a distressing tendency to roll over and their fatality rates are higher than traditional vehicles (6 percent higher on the average; 8 percent in the bigger models).
I never rolled my SUV.
However, because of their huge size, in a collision with a normal-sized car, they are more apt to kill the occupants of the other vehicle. A Chevy Tahoe, for example, kills 122 people for every 1 million models on the road, while a Honda Accord kills only 21. This what's known as a lose/lose situation.
So what? What was the situation in each crash? If some jerk rearends me and dies, whose fault is that? Not mine, unless your cop happens to be Officer Martin of the East Lansing PD and the judge happens to be Judge David Jordon.(No one died in this case)
SUVs are not the only four-wheel drive vehicles around anymore, after all. There are cars with all- and four-wheel drive that are superior in every way to your average SUV.
That's your opinion. I happen to prefer the Explorer.
Keith Bradsher, a New York Times reporter
I should stop reading right here. The paper of jerks like Kristof and Dowd....
SUV buyers, the researchers say, tend to be "insecure and vain, often lack confidence in their driving skills [and] are apt to be self-centered and self-absorbed, with little interest in neighbors and communities."
What? I guess all those that say I'm a cocky SOB need to see this here. LOL. I'm also active in the community. This guy is FOS. Hey! I know what I can do. Take public speaking classes. Give myself the title of Phd. Write a bunch of BS that sounds good and make it a book, and strike it rich!! This guy obviously did it!
On top of every else, these behemoths handle badly, get lousy gas mileage
My 85 Cougar had worse gas mileage than either Explorer. My Explorer handles very well too.
don't have to pay the luxury tax that similarly priced cars have to pay.
Ok. That's not right....it's not right that there's an extra luxury tax......
Time for an opinion from a REAL expert on SUV owners. Me. Here's why I bought my Explorer.
1. Good deal. My parents are the original owner. They sold it to me used for the trade in price and in excellent condition.
2. 4 Wheel Drive. In winters and spring on dirt roads and side streets, it's a Godsend. I never spun out in an Explorer. I have in a Cougar. I don't get stuck in the mud in an Explorer either. Great on hunting trips.
3. Room
4. Higher Up. I can see over other cars.
5. Safer in accidents. Geo Metro or Explorer? No comparison.
Forget the gun owners. If you have a vehicle that is capable of moving cross country and you have a government that is interested in controlling the movement of the population..that's an initial conflict to be overcome. They're setting us up for totalitarian rule. I kid you not!
I guess I am another one of those “high and mighty” fascists who enjoy blitzkrieging around the countryside thumbing my high and mighty nose at the peasants in smaller sized cars, but then again, why not – it’s fun! I enjoy the extra height the SUV gives me allowing me to actually see what is coming up ahead on the roadways. The roominess allows me and others in my family to stretch our long beautiful American legs while we gaze (from a height) at the fascinating scenery going by. Finally and most important, I can get to work on time without having to shovel 4 feet of snow off the driveway at 6 in the morning. All good reasons to own one.
As for Mr. Kaul and Mr. Bradsher, their right not to purchase an SUV is guaranteed by the democratic capitalist system in our nation, however limited it may be. I reserve my right to own, enjoy, stretch out in, give rides to the envious, and forge my way through the weather in the almighty SUV.
Mr. Kaul, if I see you standing by the side of a road somewhere, I will temporarily suspend my self centeredness and self absorption to give you a ride. You need not fear me: SUV drivers have the cleanest criminal records around. It’s those sedan and mini van car drivers that hitchhikers have to worry about.
To my experience this is very true....i used to say SUV drivers wanna drive like dale earnhardt but they wanna do it in the right hand lane...come tough guys....if ya wanna drive like a NASCAR man why dont ya step out into the left lane with the BIG BOYS....I think we know why they don't!
Uh...there i disagree....after all...didn't ted Bundy drive a Volkswagan!
1989 Ford Bronco XLT--11 MPG--Any Questions?