Stupid SUV poll

[BlondGirl]

I am looking at the explorer sport trac as a purchase next year (gotta admit that I am interrested in seeing the Avalanch first though).

I have a kid and I want more--I must seat more than my current Ranger holds. Gotta upsize for that reason.

I have a dog that pukes his lungs out every time he gets into any moving vehicle for any reason at any time. I've GOTTA have a hosable-pickup-bed for that.

I live in a flood area--gotta have height.

They put seriously shitty speed humps on my street--every new vehicle purchased on my street now seems to be a truck or SUV--I know that my entire muffler from front to back dropped off my last car going over one--that was the final straw--2 speed humps that equal jumping a curb times 4 trips a day--yeah--that is hard on a little Mazda that has survived saltwater flooding.

Of course, the most important reason--I have worked in a trauma center for years. I used to make it a point of asking the people who WALKED in the ER after an accident what they were driving versus the people who were ambulanced in. Getting another car was not even a consideration. I love my kid and he is better protected in a bigger vehicle. (Number of accidents in the vehicles are not important--number of accidents that people actually get up and walk out of cussing instead of bleeding is much more important.)
When I worked trauma, it was interresting to see the vehicles that the docs drove-- The trauma docs and ortho docs always drove something more druable. The pediatric faculty docs all drive little things--ie-VW-bug. The neuro surgeons drive streamlined too-expensive cars.

I have had to torture too may people by "manipulating" those broken legs when their front in was impacted enough to shove into the leg space. Nnnnoooooooooo thanks! (Shuddering--gee, my knees are aching all the sudden!)

 

[Sparky Kronkite]

I agree with you Muff but.......

I hope you don't go postal on all SUV's just cause "we both know" most people don't need them.

Fact is - the market is changing and Subaru in particular are downsizing, lowering, lightening, uni-bodiing and all wheel drive all the timing. Better milleage - more like a station wagon.

But beyond that - some people just like the feel of "beeing up in the air" and having a bunch of metal around you. You should see the Lincoln's and Caddy's here in Manhattan - they use'em as limo's - it's all the fad. Big black, Secret Service looking SUV's and they just ferry business men back and forth from the airport in 'em.

And yes - recently I sold my two huge, old Ameri-boats (a '79 Lincoln and a '69 Coupe DeVille) to get my new bike and a new ride (the new baby required AC) and I just happened to walk into a puff of a deal on a Blazer. A super puff deal. But it could have been any "car" that fit the bill - the money was the key. This deal just happened to be an SUV.

But I've had'em before and I do use the 4wheel function - I take'em on the beach - mostly in Nags Head. I surf fish while the kids swim.

So - that's my take.

 

[LordMagicMan]

I drive an SUV when my car is on the fritz. Its a '91 blazer. That truck has seen some amazing things. I do take it off road, hell its been to the top of pikes peak in colorado and back. We've taken that thing up some narroooow passes, which an inch to the left and you pludge a good 1000 feet. Talk about exhilirating... We've seen ghost towns that arent even listed on the maps because we spent so much time up in the mountains... Some really great things I'll probably never be able to see again in my life. I'm proud to own an SUV, just wish I could take it back to those places again, but its about lived its years. *solemn moment for my Blazer*

 

[Myrrdin]

Because of improvements in design , comfort etc. SUV's now drive like cars. They're comfortable even for long distances. The old sit up an beg driving position, light steering, space to stretch your legs. Not huddled up, knees under your chin, backside scraping six inches above the road, like the average family car. The big back door, makes it easy to get stuff in and out without wrenching your back And you've got the grunt and traction to get out of any problem that might befall you.
One thing you do notice in a SUV, you get a lot more respect at roundabouts and junctions. That bullbar is a real deterrent to the carve up merchant.

 

[Simply Me]

I think SUV's are yet another way people attempt to be sporty. They also wear $150 Nikes with the matching running suits, and sit in a sports chair drinking gatorade and watching kids play soccer. They need four wheel drive to get to the mall.

After a blizzard, who do you think is stuck in the ditch?

Bunch of sheep.

It's amazing to me the way people stereotype others. I own an SUV, for numerous reasons, one of which is that I live on top of a mountain, secondly, as a nurse, I am expected to be at work regardless of the weather, and my SUV gets me through the snow, when the smaller cars are off in the ditch. Also because as Blondegirl pointed out, I work in Trauma, and I see the people who survive and the ones who don't. I also know that the ones that survive drive bigger vehicles, be it SUVs or Trucks. The trauma docs also drive larger vehicles. It's no harder to see around me than it is a truck with a camper on the back, and besides I drive what I drive because it is my choice. $150.00 Nikes, I don't think so, what an assumption to make, I wear 30 dollar shoes to work in, I don't sit in my SUV drinking gatorade, maybe a Diet Mt. Dew, and yes I use it to go to the mall, it's my transportation. You want to drive a small car, fine, that's your choice, as what I drive is mine. It's not a social status, I'm a single mom working my ass off to pay my bills. But do I feel safe when I get in my SUV, you bet I do. Have I toppled over from going around a curve too fast? No, I'm smart enough not to drive that fast anytime. But the sports cars are the ones zooming by me at 75-80 miles an hour, and also the ones I see in the E.R., most of which don't survive. Yes, it uses more gas than I'd like to pay, but it's a lot cheaper than the hospital bills. We have semi-trucks on the road, large, gas guzzling vehicles, but needed for our economy to thrive. My SUV is needed by me for my lifestyle. I am an avid camper,hiker and outdoors person. The exta room allows me to make one trip whereever I go. I will continue to drive my SUV till it breathes it last breath, then I will purchase another one. I have been in two accidents,none involving another vehicle, but animals that have run out in front of me, had I been in a small vehicle, I would not have walked away from it.
You can have your opinion about SUVs and I respect that, but don't attempt to stereotype me by what I drive, you don't know me..

 

[Bluenose]

Well I agree with Simply there, You drive what you drive because it is your choice. Whether it is for off road, weather conditions or as a status symbol what is the difference. There is no difference between some one that drives an SUV and some one that drives a sports car that is registered to go 160 mph, why have one when the top speed limit is 70. Right now I have a small station wagon and a minivan, because I have kids and have to drag a lot of shit when ever we go anywhere, but my next vehicle will be an SUV of some sort we the shitty weather that we get here.

 

[Vivid Blossom]

I drive

an SUV - Izuzu Rodeo -- Only because that is what my husband wanted when we traded the vanl But since it is newer that the sedan we have and I didn't get the convertible I wanted - I drive the new one.

 

[ranajja]

oh oh

 

[DriveSouth]

Maybe the federal government should ban the use of said vehicles -

Being very sarcastic there - I'm not sure I understand the problem with the SUV.

Dangerous? More so than let's say a Pinto? Seems to me to be a no brainer. The suv is the safest ride on the road. I drive a Suburban, the original SUV, why?

Well, let's see there's me and the wife, an 18 y/o cheerleader, a 16 y/o cheerleader, a 15 y/o offensive lineman, a 13 y/o trumpet player and a 3 y/o who "needs her space".

Can we ride with ya'll to church Sunday or should we take two of whatever car it is you guys think more appropriate for the driving families of America-

So, - Feel threatened in the Corolla? Feel like a sardine with the wife sitting atop you? Can't afford the one you really like? What's the rub?

 

[KillerMuffin]

Why? We pulled one out of the mud this weekend by an idiot who thought all wheel drive meant monster truck. That's about it.

Some people, not all, who have them are very stupid when they drive them. They go from Corolla, like the one you have sweetie, to an Isuzu Trooper and get pissed off when they tip it over. They drive their suburban into the ditch and can't get it out. Until someone pushes the Four by button for them. Then wow hail mary! They are difficult to see around and over because the people who drive them think they actually need to be on the very verge of the intersection when making a right or left turn. The shorter vehicle beside them either has to wait for you rude happy ass to figure out it's okay to move, or they have to creep into the intersection. They think because they have a four wheel drive they stop just as well as they start going forward in the snow and ice.

An SUV is the new soccermom vehicle of choice. Call it the millenium minivan.

I lived in Alaska for four years, average snowfall of 20 feet a year. We had a four wheel drive, still have it, and we rarely had the hubs locked in. Spent most of it in two high, why? Because a four wheel drive DOES NOT make you a better driver in the snow. The only thing that makes you a better driver in the snow is yourself. It may make you feel safer, but if you don't really know what the hell a four wheel drive or all wheel drive is and how to work it, then you've got a false sense of security. It's easier to get stuck with a four wheel drive because you think you can drive better with it and when you discover the brakes work the same no matter what kind of drive train you have. For instance, did you know that in a four wheel drive only two wheels are spinning? The right rear and left front. Now, if you have limited slip, positrac, lockers or something, the diff will kick the left rear wheel should your drive tire spin. Yeah, that's what that jolt is when you're spinning on ice.

The worst of it though, is the fact that people who've upgraded from a car two an SUV that take it into their head to actually go offroad don't have the decency, common courtesy, or knowledge to tread lightly. Nothing pisses me off more than an idiot who trailblazes. Why? Because they needless rip everything up.

I have nothing against SUV's. I have everything against stupid people.

 

[KillerMuffin]

Dear Drive South

You are obviously stupid.

One. I am a female. I have no wife. Though your husband never puts out, does he dear? (Yes, I know your sex. The dog must love it when you force him to do gay sex.)

Two. I can't drive. I don't drive anything. Ever. Though if you like, I'll drive your SUV and kill a bunch of people on the highway with it. One less moron if you're one of them.

Three. Corollas are one of the best made vehicles on the road today. If you own a Corolla no one can complain of you being a moron, because it has a low incidence of mechanical defects, good gas mileage, and preforms well in safety tests. I'm not going to purchase a corolla, I'm going to purchase an Echo. We'll be putting on at least 300 miles a week. I think it's a point of intelligence, not a point of mockery.

Four. You've been on this board how long and you still don't know I'm a female??? Good gawd that's hard to believe. It was the Muffin wasn't it. Dammit, I'll change my sig line. "Hey drive stupid, I'm a girl." Will that help you?

Five. So I'm below poverty level. Whooopee fucking do. If you were in my circumstances I'm sure you'd be whining to every public and private agency there is. I'm not only employed gainfully, I refuse to go on welfare unless the only other choice is starvation. Walk a mile in my shoes. Don't attack my cash flow like it's something bad darlin dearie. You'd probably curl up and die if you suddenly found yourself earning a whopping 13,000 bucks a year after taxes. Well, not all of us have character.

Six. Ignorance is bliss, isn't it?

 

[Weevil]

Well, let's see there's me and the wife, an 18 y/o cheerleader, a 16 y/o cheerleader, a 15 y/o offensive lineman, a 13 y/o trumpet player and a 3 y/o who "needs her space".

Can we ride with ya'll to church Sunday or should we take two of whatever car it is you guys think more appropriate for the driving families of America-

So, - Feel threatened in the Corolla? Feel like a sardine with the wife sitting atop you? Can't afford the one you really like? What's the rub?

Maybe if wiseasses like yourself smarten up the 3 y/o might have air to breath by the time she's 20.

 

[Texan]

I drive what I want

Three of my boys are over 17. Between my wife, myself and the boys, we have two pick-ups a Caddy Seville SLS, a Suburban and a Jeep Wrangler.

I guess some people have called me a "dork" and a "sheep". But when this dorky sheep wants to check on a horse on the other side of 500 acres, or pull a boat trailer, or a horse trailer, it could be a little tough in a Yugo. And if I happen to drive the same vehicle to the mall, well maybe I just want to.

 

[Purple Haze]

Hey Texan, nobody called you a dork or a sheep, at least I didn't.

I was saying only a dork would think their SUV was the "ultimate status symbol" I'm still chuckling over that one.

Not everybody that drives an SUV is a sheep either, misunderstood again. What I meant was the sheepie people with the Nike badge of buffoonery all over their clothes tend to move in herds, and the current trend is 4WD vehicles for city streets. I'm pretty certain you put yours to good use, as you do all of your pricey vehicles.

I know a guy with a rear-wheel drive Explorer. Can somebody fucking explain this?

 

[Cheyenne]

I hate SUVs almost as much as I hate mini-vans. I live in a place where we definitely have winter complete with snow and ice. My front wheel drive car (300M) works just fine. I have no need for anything bigger.

 

[lavender]

 

[Weird Harold]

SUVs are the ultimate status symbol.

Does this look like a status symbol to you?

It's currently 15.5 years old, on it's second engine, but it gets me to where the deer are. It's not a status symbol for me, it's just transportation to where I want to go -- out in the boonies where 4WD is very useful.

 

[Cheyenne]

Drive South

You sound like Todd insinuating that people hate SUV's because they can't afford them. P-shaw!

I missed that- I could afford them, I just don't want them. They are ugly.

 

[Weird Harold]

Why? We pulled one out of the mud this weekend by an idiot who thought all wheel drive meant monster truck.

When I bought my first 4x4, back in 1972, my father told me, "The only thing four wheel drive is good for is getting you into trouble someplace you probably should be in the first place."

 

[Texan]

my wife tells me

that 4 X 4 ing is a guy thing. She doesn't understand it at all.

However, when we get way back in the woods with the top down on the Jeep, and the breeze blowing her hair, and the sun shinning on her shoulders, ..... I see the smile on her face.... and think... she understands....