We really have no business driving SUVs

[JulesMaximus]

The rest of the world doesn't appear to need them nor do they want them. I've spent the last week or so in Spain and now Portugal and you see very very few SUVs and almost no pickup trucks.

Wake up America, time to be reasonable and stop wasting the world's resources.

 

[Pacfanweb]

Speak for yourself, Comrade.

 

[potato28]

OK, but how am I going to tow my trailer? Or how am I going to transport me and 7 friends up a mountain with 200-300 kilos of skiing equipment? They do have their uses, but very few people use them for what they were designed for.

 

[zoiks]

I've been to Europe and was in Spain 2 weeks ago. Comparing the US with Spain is pretty foolish. Having SUV's there doesn't seem logical since they have small roads and very limited parking space not to mention the price of gas (which was always expensive there in the first place).
I don't drive an SUV and have never owned one. But who the fuck cares if the rest of the world wants them or not.

 

[Demon-Xanth]

When I was growing up, we needed a vehicle that could tow and haul the family and my that my parents used for going over the Sierras in the snow. An SUV made sense, it was taken off road enough that it got used. We also had a truck since we used firewood for heating and regularly were hauling things around. Now, they don't go up to work in the snow like they used to, so they no longer have an SUV, and now they have an extended cab truck, but it still gets used for truck duties. When you have five acres of land, you find uses for a truck really fast.

Heck, I find enough uses for my own truck (albeit, a much smaller one) that if I were to replace it with a car I'd definitely get a small box (xB, Caliber, HHR type thing) or wagon such as the Magnum.

So while it's true that most people don't need them, there's a good number of people that do.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Troll thread

 

[PricklyPete]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
The rest of the world doesn't appear to need them nor do they want them. I've spent the last week or so in Spain and now Portugal and you see very very few SUVs and almost no pickup trucks.

Wake up America, time to be reasonable and stop wasting the world's resources.

Come on over to England..there are plenty of them here. But yes, we don't need them. I still don't get your absolute hatred for them...you might want to get that checked.

 

[Turin39789]

Originally posted by: potato28
OK, but how am I going to tow my trailer? Or how am I going to transport me and 7 friends up a mountain with 200-300 kilos of skiing equipment? They do have their uses, but very few people use them for what they were designed for.

Do you do that every day? or Every time you drive the SUV? Because otherwise you can take two cars or a wagon for those occasions and be more effecient on the other 95% of your drives

 

[PricklyPete]

And on that note...you could make a lot of similar arguments. Go to Germany...almost everyone drives station wagons there. You could go off on how driving a sedan is impractical and a misuse of space...wake up America/England/Japan/any where else that sedans are more popular to wagons.

 

[Demon-Xanth]

Originally posted by: Turin39789

Originally posted by: potato28
OK, but how am I going to tow my trailer? Or how am I going to transport me and 7 friends up a mountain with 200-300 kilos of skiing equipment? They do have their uses, but very few people use them for what they were designed for.

Do you do that every day? or Every time you drive the SUV? Because otherwise you can take two cars or a wagon for those occasions and be more effecient on the other 95% of your drives

Two cars can't tow one trailer.

 

[hans030390]

Originally posted by: Demon-Xanth

Originally posted by: Turin39789

Originally posted by: potato28
OK, but how am I going to tow my trailer? Or how am I going to transport me and 7 friends up a mountain with 200-300 kilos of skiing equipment? They do have their uses, but very few people use them for what they were designed for.

Do you do that every day? or Every time you drive the SUV? Because otherwise you can take two cars or a wagon for those occasions and be more effecient on the other 95% of your drives

Two cars can't tow one trailer.

Jeez, get a few horses then...or do it yourself!

 

[JeepinEd]

We ran into a Subaru with anti SUV stickers a couple of years ago, while on a trail in Moab.
It was mired in sticky red clay, miles from the nearest paved road. When we pulled their car to a drier section of the trail, the mud was so packed in the wheel wells that the tires didn't even turn. They had never been so happy to see an SUV in their life.

Jules, In your honor, I will leave the Prius at home tomorrow and drive the Jeep to work instead.

 

[slag]

Originally posted by: JeepinEd
We ran into a Subaru with anti SUV stickers a couple of years ago, while on a trail in Moab.
It was mired in sticky red clay, miles from the nearest paved road. When we pulled their car to a drier section of the trail, the mud was so packed in the wheel wells that the tires didn't even turn. They had never been so happy to see an SUV in their life.

Jules, In your honor, I will leave the Prius at home tomorrow and drive the Jeep to work instead.

!!!

 

[Turin39789]

Originally posted by: Demon-Xanth

Originally posted by: Turin39789

Originally posted by: potato28
OK, but how am I going to tow my trailer? Or how am I going to transport me and 7 friends up a mountain with 200-300 kilos of skiing equipment? They do have their uses, but very few people use them for what they were designed for.

Do you do that every day? or Every time you drive the SUV? Because otherwise you can take two cars or a wagon for those occasions and be more effecient on the other 95% of your drives

Two cars can't tow one trailer.

One car can. Depends on what you are towing and the car.

I'd take a truck for the trailer towing, if I ever needed to do so regularly.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: Turin39789

Originally posted by: potato28
OK, but how am I going to tow my trailer? Or how am I going to transport me and 7 friends up a mountain with 200-300 kilos of skiing equipment? They do have their uses, but very few people use them for what they were designed for.

Do you do that every day? or Every time you drive the SUV? Because otherwise you can take two cars or a wagon for those occasions and be more effecient on the other 95% of your drives

Except that a 2nd car requires payments on a second car, maintenance on a second car, insurance on a second car, a place to store a second car, registration expenses for a second car...

That's simply not practical for many people.

ZV

 

[Turin39789]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: Turin39789

Originally posted by: potato28
OK, but how am I going to tow my trailer? Or how am I going to transport me and 7 friends up a mountain with 200-300 kilos of skiing equipment? They do have their uses, but very few people use them for what they were designed for.

Do you do that every day? or Every time you drive the SUV? Because otherwise you can take two cars or a wagon for those occasions and be more effecient on the other 95% of your drives

Except that a 2nd car requires payments on a second car, maintenance on a second car, insurance on a second car, a place to store a second car, registration expenses for a second car...

That's simply not practical for many people.

ZV

That's not what I was suggesting. I was suggesting that maybe one his other 7 friends had a car.

 

[PingSpike]

Regarding the topic of the thread: Seriously Jules, we get it! Oh, good god, do we get it!

About towing: I think a similar thread discussed this, or perhaps I read it somewhere else, but Europeans seem to get by towing with smaller vehicles and apparently their tow ratings are higher for the same vehicle sold over there. Which kind of leads me to believe the tow ratings on smaller vehicles may be underated over here. Probably as a marketing ploy to upsell customers to the larger more profitable SUVs and trucks. Or perhaps due to higher fuel costs and the larger popularity of small vehicles in Europe the towing capacity of a small vehicle is a competitive feature that they're willing to risk some liability to compete on.

 

[Throckmorton]

Originally posted by: JeepinEd
We ran into a Subaru with anti SUV stickers a couple of years ago, while on a trail in Moab.
It was mired in sticky red clay, miles from the nearest paved road. When we pulled their car to a drier section of the trail, the mud was so packed in the wheel wells that the tires didn't even turn. They had never been so happy to see an SUV in their life.

Jules, In your honor, I will leave the Prius at home tomorrow and drive the Jeep to work instead.

LOL
What were they doing in a Subaru in Moab??

 

[Throckmorton]

Originally posted by: PingSpike
Regarding the topic of the thread: Seriously Jules, we get it! Oh, good god, do we get it!

About towing: I think a similar thread discussed this, or perhaps I read it somewhere else, but Europeans seem to get by towing with smaller vehicles and apparently their tow ratings are higher for the same vehicle sold over there. Which kind of leads me to believe the tow ratings on smaller vehicles may be underated over here. Probably as a marketing ploy to upsell customers to the larger more profitable SUVs and trucks. Or perhaps due to higher fuel costs and the larger popularity of small vehicles in Europe the towing capacity of a small vehicle is a competitive feature that they're willing to risk some liability to compete on.

I think it's that they don't tow. Contrary to popular belief, a personal boat is not a necessity! Even most Americans with boats use them maybe a couple times a year... The rest of the time it's sitting there depreciating and conveying status upon the owner.

 

[JeepinEd]

Originally posted by: Throckmorton

Originally posted by: JeepinEd
We ran into a Subaru with anti SUV stickers a couple of years ago, while on a trail in Moab.
It was mired in sticky red clay, miles from the nearest paved road. When we pulled their car to a drier section of the trail, the mud was so packed in the wheel wells that the tires didn't even turn. They had never been so happy to see an SUV in their life.

Jules, In your honor, I will leave the Prius at home tomorrow and drive the Jeep to work instead.

LOL
What were they doing in a Subaru in Moab??

They were attempting to do the White Rim trail.
While it's a very easy trail, give it some rain and that Moab mud can get pretty nasty.
(I'd be really impressed if they can take that Subaru to the outlook at Cliff Hanger )

 

[dirtboy]

I love my SUV. It's the only vehicle I've ever had where I can keep all my sporting stuff in it, transport 4 in a moments notice, and ride around in extreme comfort.

You must hate pick up trucks too.

 

[mooseracing]

Originally posted by: Capt Caveman
Troll thread

whats new....





I can't think of a week that my truck hasn't had a trailer or a plow on it.

 

[AdamK47]

I own 4 vehicles and all of them suck gas, but none of them are SUVs. I guess none of this applies to me then.

 

[potato28]

Originally posted by: Turin39789

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: Turin39789

Originally posted by: potato28
OK, but how am I going to tow my trailer? Or how am I going to transport me and 7 friends up a mountain with 200-300 kilos of skiing equipment? They do have their uses, but very few people use them for what they were designed for.

Do you do that every day? or Every time you drive the SUV? Because otherwise you can take two cars or a wagon for those occasions and be more effecient on the other 95% of your drives

Except that a 2nd car requires payments on a second car, maintenance on a second car, insurance on a second car, a place to store a second car, registration expenses for a second car...

That's simply not practical for many people.

ZV

That's not what I was suggesting. I was suggesting that maybe one his other 7 friends had a car.

Have you been skiing on a mountain when it's snowing? I've been in a few nasty storms, like the 24 hour 36" Vermont 07 storm. You could ski for the day and come back to find a giant pile of snow where your car should be, and then you have to sit there for some amount of time waiting for help.

 

[senseamp]

Hatchbacks and wagons FTW. They are as practical as SUVs for an average user who keeps their cars on the road, cost less, use less fuel, are much more fun to drive, you can still get them with manuals, and look way better and more hip, partly due to the fact that soccer moms have all migrated to SUVs.
I drive a Mazda3 wagon. I can fit my road bike and mountain bike together in the back with the rear seats folded without taking the wheels off. I get about 30mpg, I paid 16K for it. It looks great, and is a blast in the corners. I had a CX-7 loaner from Mazda, and it seemed like a Mazda3 with all the fun sucked out of it and inflated price, ride height, and fuel consumption. No thanks.