Sport Utility Vehicles - Your Opinion

[PanzerJaeger]

We havent kicked this around in a while. What do you guys think of SUVs and the people who own them?

I got into an altercation at the gas station just yesterday with some woman over my own SUV.

I guessed early on that she was not of my political persuasion do to her appearance, or lack of any attempt to correct it. (Like a spawn of jeane garofalo.) The "Bush Lied, People Died" sticker on the back of her 198? POS only confirmed it.

What I didnt expect was for her to walk right over to me at the pump and tell me that I was destroying the planet. The only other place Ive been confronted in such an overt political manner was the college campus.

From there it devolved into a rather pathetic scene, her telling me what a bad person I was and me telling her what an ugly person she was.. I was a little disapointed in my performance, but by the way she laid out her talking points it was obvious she was a seasoned veteran of the unwilling gas station confrontation.

Finally, she pulled out a flyer and told me something to the effect that "if I could handle the truth, I should read it". Well that was it! She was an activist! She had apparently been doing this all day to SUV owners. My tank had long since been full so I told her to take a shower and left.

In any event, this lead me to believe that there is still a lot of hostility over SUVs. I thought it had sort of died down a little, but apparently SUVs are still a major target of the left wing activists.

[Steppe Merc]

Only ok if used by people in say Colorado, where you need 4 wheel drives. I hate all those damn SUVs in my town. Damn huge things and few of them need it. And no one ever needs a Humvee, unless your in a battle zone.
But I'd never walk up to someone and say they were destroying the planet, becuase there is far worse thing than SUVs polluting the world.

[Del Arroyo]

SUVs are pretty stupid vehicles. If you want off-road, get a pickup. All that extra space is not improving your quality of life, any more than all the extra space in one of those new monster houses they keep building everywhere nowadays.

He who owns a roomy sedan and a ranch home on a sizeable, well-manicured lot is enjoying his affluence. Super-sizers just don't get it.

DA

[Azi Tohak]

SUVs suck. They're pointless and wasteful. Want a 4x4? Get a deisel pickup. Want to carry the family around? Just get a four-door car.

No reason to have an SUV.

Sure there is, compensating for a little unit, and to kill other people on the road. What other reason do you need? Fuel efficiency? Cost effectivness? HA! You're American! You NEED to have the best otherwise you will die alone, unloved, poor and dead.

Can you tell I don't like those stupid things?

Azi

[Strike For The South]

TRUCK THE REAL MANS SUV

[The_Doctor]

I typed suv in google and found an odd image.



If you have a large family then they are ok.

[Ser Clegane]

Hmm ... curious.

While I agree that SUVs are non-necessary fun vehicles that need too much gas and I do not consider them to be particularly appealing, I don not quite understand why a lot of people get so upset about SUVs.

Many people seem to have less of a problem with expensive sports cars like e.g., a Porsche or a Ferrari - both equally unnecessary in a county with a tempolimit, and both also not the most efficient cars when it comes to gas consumption.

Why the borderline (or even beyond borderline) aggressive opinions about SUVs?

[Adrian II]

Why the borderline (or even beyond borderline) aggressive opinions about SUVs?

[PanzerJaeger]

SUVs are pretty stupid vehicles. If you want off-road, get a pickup.

Thats actually not the case.

Offroading is one of my favorite hobbies and I have never see pick-ups on any trails over class 1 - and many of them must be pulled out of the mud. The wheel base is too long, they are not agile, and they do not have differential that is needed for off-roading.

Of course, in that same vein, you never see Ford Explorers or Chevy Trailblazers out there either - unless they are heavily modified. Pretty much only Jeeps, Land Rovers, and Land Cruisers can handle the tough trails.

[PanzerJaeger]

I would love to see a pickup try this! (As long as im not responsible for towing it off the trail!)

[sharrukin]

I think a lot of people get SUV's who have no real need for them just as people get BMW's or a Porsche for the same reason. I am a practical guy and these seem silly to me but if the owner is willing to pay the freight on them and the gas bill, then its their business IMO.

[Geoffrey S]

Bah, chose the wrong option. I meant to vote "if 4x4 is necessary". I've got nothing against SUVs in principal, it's simply that when I see one driving through the busy streets of Utrecht or Amsterdam I can't help but wonder what the point is of using one in that kind of a situation, other than purely as some kind of status symbol.

[Taffy_is_a_Taff]

who honestly NEEDS a Porsche?

[Zharakov]

I like them...

[kiwitt]

My 4WD is the only 4x4 I want. It looks like a standard car, but handles like an EVO, yet is sedate enough to have an an everyday car.

My other complaint, is that 99% of the 4x4s I see in Auckland are to drive the "kids" to school. What is wrong with catching the bus or walking. I did as a kid.

[Meneldil]

I voted 'I dislike SUVs' but that's only because there's no 'SUVs really suck *** and people who drive SUVs are all idiots' option.

[Zharakov]

So my sister is an idoi.... Ohh your French... that explains it...

[GodsPetMonkey]

I don't have a problem with people who use SUVs for their intended purpose, either recreationally or for a living (there is some very rough country out there!). But it is easy to tell those which have been outside of the suburbs and those that haven’t, look for the factory fresh shine.

What really ticks me off is when the suburbanites complain that it is costing them to much in petrol to drive little Timmy 100m down the road to school... seriously, as Kiwitt said, what’s wrong with walking or catching the bus? In a few years time parents will be dispatching armoured convoys to keep their kids safe, it's crazy.
If your SUV is costing you an arm and a leg in fuel, perhaps the problem is you don't have a very fuel efficient car? Whuda thunk it. I don't see why you should get a special petrol price just because you didn't think about running costs when buying that shiny tin can.

who honestly NEEDS a Porsche?

I don't care much about the need, but I would rather be hit by a Porsche then a SUV at the same speed.
Then again, SUV owners are unlikely to be able to afford a Porsche, I knew a lot of SUV owners who got them because they wanted a big, luxury car, but couldn't afford a decent BMW/Mercedes.
If you got the money for a real status symbol, why buy a fake one?

[Taffy_is_a_Taff]

so that's the need for a Porsche...

I bought one because it was a fun drive.

[BDC]

I have an issue with them here because they are killing machines, and Britain's roads are too old and really can't cope with them. Given the choice between being hit by one or a regular car, I'd rather not end up completely splatted over the road/windscreen.

Plus they are pretty fuel inefficient.

[Ronin]

unless you have a farm on some other real need for a 4x4 vehicle you shouldn´t have one.....

there´s nothing i hate more in the traffic in my city then the morons that prance around in their SUV´s that probably never even saw mud let alone actual off-road conditions.

[Proletariat]

I'm happy with my Subaru Legacy and I'd probably stick with this manufacturer even if I won the lottery or was adopted by the Bush family.

Anyway, I hope all of you getting 3 miles to the gallon right now are enjoying your SUVs.

[Strike For The South]

A question is there really any evidence that SUVs are really "killing machiens"

[Steppe Merc]

Well they are big. Normal cars are small. Small things get crunched by big things.
See?

[Strike For The South]

Well they are big. Normal cars are small. Small things get crunched by big things.
See?

Any evidence this happens more often than two cars

[Taffy_is_a_Taff]

they totally trash normal cars. The impact is much higher and makes normal cars just crumple.

[Ronin]

A question is there really any evidence that SUVs are really "killing machiens"

you mean besides the excessive gas consumption and polution production?....i think that classifies them as killers allready....other than that....if an SUV hits a smaller car it doesn´t take a genious to guess that it makes more damage than 2 small cars hitting each other.

[Strike For The South]

Touche

[JimBob]

If your into off-roading, live in Montana and your neighbor is 10 miles away, or if you work in the woods regularly, sure you need it. But its those damn suburbanite soccer moms who think roughing it is the lake cabin that gets two channels, that's just dumb.

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

Fashion SUVs annoy me. No-one who actually needs off-road capability drives a bloody Porsche 4X4. It just seems slightly crazy to me that off-road vehicles are marketed to people who will never, ever drive them on anything other than the school run.

I dislike the arrogance of them too. Driving one is like saying 'My life is more important than yours, so I must drive this huge vehicle that will crush you in a collision, while preserving my life'.

Personally I think we should bring in legislation which requires you to prove you need an off-road vehicle before you can buy one.