For those that despise SUV's, might I ask what you drive?

[PullMyFinger]

vi_edit, truer words have probably not been spoken, amen to that brother.

 

[Deleted member 54998]

<< People who deem SUV's dangerous are narrow minded, they don't realize that the person behind the wheel determines the safety of the vehicle. >>



Following this logic, it would make sense to legalize rocket launchers or even nuclear bombs for personal use. "The weapons aren't dangerous it is the people that have them."

Are you going to argue that SUVs make the road safer? You aren't. Are you going to say that for 90% of the people own them SUVs are necessary? You aren't. You are going to tell me that "SUVs are a waste, agreed, but I am an American and I have the right to waste." Just know that your waste makes the road less safe.

 

[PullMyFinger]

"Following this logic, it would make sense to legalize rocket launchers or even nuclear bombs for personal use. "The weapons aren't dangerous it is the people that have them."

Are you going to argue that SUVs make the road safer? You aren't. Are you going to say that for 90% of the people own them SUVs are necessary? You aren't. You are going to tell me that "SUVs are a waste, agreed, but I am an American and I have the right to waste." Just know that your waste makes the road less safe. "

Following your logic, vehicles would be outlawed and people would have to get a license to handle anything sharper than a Twinkie. Lets see, a gun sitting in a gun rack is extremely dangerous, in fact it could probably hold up an entire mini-mart all by itself, no human intervention required. And if SUV's by themselves are "dangerous" then those evil tractor trailers and dump trucks must be the devil incarnate. Weapons, SUV's, and large vehicles are inanimate objects, they have to be improperly used by somebody to become "dangerous". And I never argued that SUV's made the roads safer, they don't however, make the road more dangerous, bad drivers do that regardless of what they drive.

Based on your post, I picture you as what I call a "panic driver". You drive along oblivious to your surroundings, not paying attention to who is behind or beside you. Then when anything happens in your field of vision, your first reaction is to slam on the brakes, not assess the situation and act accordingly. See how easy it is to generalize and make assumptions (right or wrong) about a topic.

And you should check your facts, I never said SUV's are a waste, so don't try to put words in my mouth. I stated that they are not the most efficient vehicles on the road. However, they fit a need, whether that need is for a couple hundred people or a couple million people. So until you state that you drive the most fuel efficient car on the planet (at maximum passenger capacity at all times), don't spout off to me about efficiency and waste, because you're not doing your part to save the planet either. What about high performance 2 seat sports cars, who needs 350+ hp for only 2 people? How about older vehicles which get bad mileage AND pump out greater quantities of emissions? I don't hear anybody chiming in about how wasteful and needless they are.

So SUV's haters unite, your little toy cars will make a bigger target for my SUV if they are all bunched together.

 

[Bigdude]

93 Chev S-10 ext can 4.3L
99 Pontiac GrandPrix GT 3.8L
2000 Suzuki Bandit 1200
2002 Pontiac Aztec 3.4L

 

[PullMyFinger]

Hey Bigdude,
How do you like your Bandit? Ever since I sold my Katana 1100, I've been leaning towards getting one but can't say that I've heard too much about them from actual owners. Is it primarily stock or have you done some modifications? People seem to rave about Dale Walker's Bandit products.

 

[n0cmonkey]

vw golf

And yes, I have driven SUVs. Its not hard, except the clutch was a little funky. Of course, I didnt take it offroad, so Im not sure why I even bothered to drive it...

 

[Deleted member 54998]

I do not think that vehicles need to be outlawed, but I think people need to think about why they are buying a car. If somebody doesn't need to drive offroad, what purpose does an SUV serve?



<< And I never argued that SUV's made the roads safer, they don't however, make the road more dangerous, bad drivers do that regardless of what they drive. >>



They do make the road more dangerous. I agree that bad drivers cause problems regardless of what they drive. When they drive SUVs they cause bigger problems. I don't care to repeat the statistics, if you would like them read my previous posts.

Coolness is the only reason for most people to own an SUV. Is this reason enough to make the road more dangerous for the rest of us? Not everyone is as good of a driver as you.

 

[PullMyFinger]

Dartman,
SUV's serve numerous purposes, only one of which is the (limited) ability to drive off road. I've always championed the "buy what fits your needs best" philosophy, which in my case was an SUV. Some people only need cargo space, others only need all wheel drive, some need extra towing capacity, and others need great fuel economy. For each of these individual needs there are numerous non-SUV choices which will suffice. But there are people who need or like the combination of abilities which only SUV's can provide. To say that SUV's are useless just because they probably won't be used for serious off roading is quite a stretch. If you apply that line of reasoning, you could argue that even though someone might have 4 people in their family, they don't need a 4 door sedan because they don't all ride together all of the time; a 2 door with a small back seat will do fine for them.

And what is more useless, an SUV which occasionally carries a full load of passengers and luggage and gets 18 mpg, or a Corvette which can never carry more than 2 passengers and gets 23 mpg? (yes, I know the "stated" fuel efficiency of a Corvette is higher but that number was determined with Grandma at the wheel, but a Vette and other sports cars get nowhere near that number when driven typically). I'd call it a draw.

My point is that there will always be people who hate SUV's because they don't fit their needs, just like there will always be people who hate ricers or sedans or pickups or convertibles, all for the same reasons. What I take issue with is the generalizations relating to SUV's being dangerous and SUV drivers being dangerous. A butter knife doesn't appear to be a weapon but give it to a lifer in prison (or at ATOT )and see what kind of dangerous weapon it can be. See my point. Maybe try looking at the other side of the coin ie, all of the smaller vehicles are dangerous and useless because they don't offer sufficient crash protection and cargo capacity. Just a thought.

Out

 

[Ultima]

It just seems that a lot of people driving SUV's are assh!les, and YES, the vehicles themselves DO make the roads more dangerous. They reduce visibility and are more deadly to small vehicles in a crash.

Today I was nearly ran over by a SUV while crossing the street. I was at a crosswalk. A lot of dumbasses won't stop for you at crosswalks, so what I do is when one side is clear, I start walking and when theres enough space on the other side for a car to stop safely, I keep going. Well, there was enough space for this assh!le (a good 50 feet or more, travelling at 15mph est.), and he kept going. I had to run out of his way, and he had the audacity to honk at me! This behavior can be found with other road users of course, but I see it so much more with SUV's that it pisses me off.

The only other group of drivers that pisses me off as much are woman drivers. The other day while crossing at a stop sign some b!tch stopped halfway across the white line. She couldn't turn cause of cross traffic so she had to wait. While, I walked in front of her car cause I had no choice, her blocking the crosswalk and all and cars behind her. When I was in front of her she started honking madly at me and making obscene guestures. Ugh... I saw her the next day honking like hell at some guy crossing at another crosswalk, honking like hell when she was 100 feet away from him! wtf...

 

[snooker]

I would have to agree with those who say it isn't the SUV that is a problem, it is the people that drive them.

I wouldn't mind owning one myself but when you see an 80 year old straining to see over the steering wheel in order to drive the dang thing, well lets just say I would watch them more closely as they pass, turn etc....

I actually seen an eldery man drive a Ford Expedition right over a sidewalk and a person, and what did the driver say? "I was worried of crossing the center line while turning because the vehicle is so long". So he took a person out on a sidewalk instead of crossing a painted line on the road. What in the world was the SUV Salesman thinking when he sold the vehicle to the man???????? There does need to be some kind of Age thing for SUV's, like only operate if between the ages of 25-65. Or to make it take a class C or above CDL to drive it

 

[Facin]

I drive a GMC Yukon....oh wait...that is a SUV... For all of you that bash SUV's, you have way too much time on your hand...if I am willing to pay for the gas, pay for the SUV, and enjoy it, just leave me alone. Spend all that extra money you save on gas and spend it on a good doctor to get that rod out of your @$$.

 

[docmanhattan]

<< I drive a GMC Yukon....oh wait...that is a SUV... For all of you that bash SUV's, you have way too much time on your hand...if I am willing to pay for the gas, pay for the SUV, and enjoy it, just leave me alone. Spend all that extra money you save on gas and spend it on a good doctor to get that rod out of your @$$. >>

DISCALIMER: my only issue is with bad drivers, not SUV's

But why is it when someone criticizes something or "bashes" it, someone always pipes up and says, "You have way to much time on your hands..."?
What does that mean?
You obviously have time to respond to the bashing, so your critique of the "bashers" time management is a bit like the pot calling the kettle black.

I don't know. That just seems to bug me today. Maybe I'm just cranky, but that just seems plain dum... and dum spelled backwards is...

**Renactment of this line of thinking**

person a: "I like the color blue."
person b: "Blue is suck!"
person a: "You sir have too much time on your hands!"
person b: "Damn! You got me there."

 

[Desturel]

I have no problems with SUVs. Especially for people who need them. I do have a problem with most SUV drivers. The ones who don't pay attention to where they are going and took their drivers test in a Neon. The ones who try to drive their SUV like a Neon have a special place in my heart.

I drive a Monte Carlo

 

[Ultima]

<< I would have to agree with those who say it isn't the SUV that is a problem, it is the people that drive them.

I wouldn't mind owning one myself but when you see an 80 year old straining to see over the steering wheel in order to drive the dang thing, well lets just say I would watch them more closely as they pass, turn etc....

I actually seen an eldery man drive a Ford Expedition right over a sidewalk and a person, and what did the driver say? "I was worried of crossing the center line while turning because the vehicle is so long". So he took a person out on a sidewalk instead of crossing a painted line on the road. What in the world was the SUV Salesman thinking when he sold the vehicle to the man???????? There does need to be some kind of Age thing for SUV's, like only operate if between the ages of 25-65. Or to make it take a class C or above CDL to drive it >>



I hope he got his license taken away permanently. He must be senile.. was that person killed? Either way that guy needs to lose his license, definately.