SUV Drivers in Paris Get Wind Knocked Out of Them

What a cad!

"The point is to focus on consumers," he said, spewing smoke from a Gaulois cigarette into the haze shrouding the crowded cafe. "We have to get past the idea that there's always a single, identifiable villain: the president, the corporation, the chief executive. Our campaign has to be very marketing, shocking, provocative. I want to make it fashionable to be anti-4X4."

Hey bud, I’m a consumer too. I consume air, and you are polluting it. So, does that give me the right to spit on your cigarette?

Oui-oui, I say.

Would that be “very marketing, shocking, provocative†enough to get you to stop defiling the environment with your foul addiction? Or do you smoke because you like how it makes you look . . . or maybe you actually enjoy it - Much like an SUV driver.

I agree with his point of, "We have to get past the idea that there's always a single, identifiable villain . . .†I wonder if he had any clue he was referring to himself in others’ eyes?

 

Southern California is the "Mecca of SUVs"?

Maybe Urban SUVs, but most Rural areas probably have far higher SUV penetration, and I bet a dollar Texas would be willing to fight them even for the Urban Mecca title

 

Ugh. Many here consider SUVs to be "required" for their daily lives, but I don't know why. My uncle and cousins actually *do* drive on dirt roads and go up hills and have a need for 4WD, but that doesn't explain why so many believe they need a powerful vehicle to go grocery shopping.

So, yeah, the state would probably take that fight. I'll just ... um... go calculate my MPG.

 

You are 1000% correct. Couldn't agree more.

 

Or maybe you're horribly addicted... much like people of this country are addicted to SUVs...

I don't agree with their methods (I don't condone vandalism), but the sentiment is right on. If you don't need an SUV, don't get one.

 

Out in these parts, no AWD means no-go in the winter. I won't let my wife or kids on the road if they are not in an SUV while the snow is flying. Sorry for the environment, but it's a matter of safety. $3 gas looks cheap when comparing it to a three mile walk through ice and snow at night to get the tractor.

Ice bound night walks will never be 'stylish' in my book. I want my SUV when I need it.

 

There are plenty of AWD vehicles on the market, sedans, station wagons, vans as well medium and small sized SUVs which provide the traction you demand and deliver decent MPG at the same time.

Have you ever considered a Subaru? an Audi?

 

I used to have a Saab with Blizzacks. It did fine on ice, but Oh those drifts were a show stopper. My daughter has an Audi and it is really good. We live in the country and snow plows are often long in coming, and they never salt the roads, so ice lingers weeks after a storm.

What I need is a fuel-cell SUV the size of a Blazer that runs on potato peals or something.

Oh well, I am struggling with buying another SUV or a Prius and some ice tires or some kind. If we keep one SUV and plan our trips, we can go in snow as we need to and run the Prius the rest of the time.

Interestingly, the SUV write off is more than the hybrid 2006 tax credit, but gas costs will eat that up quickly.

thanks for the feedback

 

Which SUV write off? The huge loophole you mean that you can drive a free Hummer through? :angry:

Don't get me started about that.

 

Yeah, but only half a hummer after they revised the law. The worst thing any business man can do is buy something that doesn't do the job in the best way only to glean the tax benefits. With our other vehicles, I can rationalize either a Prius or an SUV. The Prius wouldn't be a business vehicle, but I could fold the SUV into the fleet.

What would make the most sense would be a substantial tax credit for any high mileage vehicle. Did you see that the Energy bill gives a massive, like up to $10K if someone buys a hydrogen powered car? Yikes. Sounds nice, but what the heck are we supposed to do with that? H2 vehicles realistically don't exist, and without supporting infrastructure, unless someone lives a few miles from the two or three H2 stations in the country. Thanks for nothing.

Oh, and the free hummer thing is a misconception. Even in the highest tax bracket, a $100K hummer still costs $60K assuming a combined 40% Federal and State income taxes, no local taxes. Few people actually pay that much. That said, economic stimulus is great, but encouraging buying hummers isn't good policy. That law is an example of social engineering on LSD and beer. Totally whacked.

 

OTOH, I've heard of people getting 'livid' over the hybrid "subsidy" (because it's their tax dollar) while the same people are perfectly fine with the SUV 'incentive' you've described.

Quite ironic when you plot how many SUVs are out there versus hybrids.

 

Ya know, I find this air of superiority from Prius owners on this board and their contempt for people who drive SUVs rather amusing.

The Prius may use less gas than an SUV but it still uses plenty. To use the smoking analogy brought up above, would someone who doesn't like smoking really be any happier in a bar where everyone only smoked 1/4 of their cigarettes? After all, if people are only smoking 1/4 of their cigarettes, they are polluting the air less aren't they? So the smoking problem in bars and resturants can be solved simply by only letting in responsible smokers who will only smoke 1/4 of their cigarettes.

The other thing that amuses me about the air of superiority here is that many Prius owners on this board have 40+ mile commutes. These same people look down their noses at SUV drivers.

Have the 40+ mile commute people ever considered the fact that they are being environmentally irresponsible by living so far from where they work? Guess what... a Prius driver who commutes 40 miles to work uses about as much gas as an SUV driver who commutes 10 miles to work.

 

My commute is 3.5 miles. When it gets warmer again I'll think about buying a bike to minimize my fuel consumption... maybe i'll start carpooling in the winter... what's your point?



My problem is with single occupant SUVs who drive 40+ miles to work every day, as is everyone else, i'm sure. My problem isn't with people who use SUVs to their fullest, but people who just have it for the hell of it.

You can come up with two types of people in different situations, but don't generalize like all prius owners live 40+ miles from work and all SUV owners are 10 miles from work.

All things being equal, remember.

Moreover, we're talking about a gradual lifestyle change for millions of Americans here. You can't expect someone to on the drop of a hat decide they want to move closer to work to save gas. It takes a long time to find a house, and in some areas it's just not possible to live in the kind of neighborhood you want to live in close to work. And do you seriously expect people to go out of their way, spend possibly hundreds of thousands of dollars on a new house, go through all that pain and suffering in this housing market right now, INSTEAD of considering a different kind of car, which they'd probably replace with another one anyway?

Whatever you say, man... to keep your SUV...


Moreover, hybrids are transitional vehicles to future non-gas burning vehicles...

You can't expect us to jump to hydrogen or something overnight. That's reality, so don't criticise us for driving gas burning cars, because really that's still the only realistic option... but hybrid is a technology moving toward future ones.

One step at a time... for individuals and for technology as a whole.

 

I don't believe I did. Actually, the generalizations typically are that Prius drivers are environmentally consious good citizens, while SUV drivers are resource hogging pigs.

I was merely pointing out that owning a Prius does not automatically qualify one for sainthood. Many Prius drivers are actually consuming more fuel than soccer moms driving SUVs and minivans.

Soccer moms have a personal preference for large roomy vehicles. Long distance commuters have a personal preference for big suburban homes with large yards that are far from the city, rather than smaller apartments in urban areas near the city. Both consume a large amount of gas because of their personal preference.

 

Of course, when you consider how many of the SUV's qualify for the tax benefit the number drops. Then if you consier how many people actually are eleigible to take this deduction the number plummets. You simply cannot just buy an SUV and deduct it. You MUST keep clear logs of milage and all relevant info. If not, you are asking for trouble. Just driving to and from work does NOT count. Driving to buy groceries and pick up the kids from school does NOT count. Only driving that is done for work EXCLUSIVELY is applicable to the minimum requirement for miles. We bought a 2005 Volvo XC90 which qualified for the deduction, but simply driving to and from the hospital doesn't count. Driving between hospitals does, but it wasn't enough of a percentage for us to be able to deduct it.

Very few SUV actually qualify. I'm sure there are plenty of people who are claiming it who shouldn't, but that's an issue between them and the IRS.

 

Excellent point. To fully qualify, you need to run your own business and use the SUV 100% for work. I can make that work this year, and have the income to offset, so it is tempting.

And the point has already been made that if we really want to save the world, we should just not drive anything, period. That solves lots of problems. Creates others, but what the heck.

 

What parts would that be exactly?