SUV Perception

No, I do not even think of the socio-economic-academic position of other drivers...

I have, on occassion, thought disparaging things about <non-specific vehicle> driver's heritage and relationship to their mother's, however

 

I usually just wonder about their gas bill. But like a good friend of mine who owns a huge motor home says, "If you have to worry about the price of gas, you shouldn't be driving one."

I get more pissed off at SUV drivers (and other aggressives) who think they own the road and think everyone around them is slowing them down. It's particularly disconcerting when all you can see in your rearview mirror is a bumper.

 

Can't say I share your perception; I own an Acura MDX SUV which my wife and I haul our two daughters and their spouses/kids and our friends to football games and also use it for hauling all sorts of large furniture items, boxes, etc. I also own a 2005 Prius which we use most of the time for personal transportation. Each vehicle has it's place and I wouldn't trade either. I also consider myself and my wife educated (D.D.S., M.S., Specialist in Dentistry - me; my wife B.S.) and we're certainly no "rednecks" or credit junkies. Oh, and I also own a 2002 Ford Thunderbird which we drive for "fun" in the spring, summer & fall.

 

<_< Based on their behavior on the road, I always viewed them as direct decendants of pickup truck drivers.

Becoming "Sport Utility Vehicles" made for a palatable label for more people to express their misanthropic nature and the population of them soared.

 

Right on, For the last 20 years I have been involved in maintenance and installation of communications equipment, frequently at mountain top repeater sites. For transporting several hundred pounds of bulky, delicate, electronic test insturments over unimproved roads you can't beat an SUV. I have been supplied (by the company) with a variety of Suburbans and Expeditions and they fit the bill perfectly. This is how most SUVs were originally used. I remember being a little dissapointed sometime during the 90s when SUVs became "soccer mom" cars because we were having trouble getting them with vinyl seats and rubber floor mats, but it was nice to have power windows and a CD player.

 

I think it can be summed up as follows: SUVs are fine if you can absolutely use all of it's capability to the maximum. If it's the right vehicle for the job, then great... any other vehicle would mean more headache, more resources consumed, etc.

But car manufacturers and people in general have bought into the idea that the vehicle that they need to drive as their every day vehicle needs to satisfy their MAXIMUM possible usage. So suppose once every couple of years you actually pack your SUV full of people, luggage, etc... or go offroad... but 99.9% of all trips you take are single occupancy through suburbia and highways.

That's what I have a problem with. I have a problem with GM and the other car makers continuing to convince people that they shouldn't be targeting the average case, but the most extreme case...

The problem parallels the technical design of the Prius. The engine in the Prius is balanced for the average power that is needed for driving, while every single other car out there is balanced for peak power...

 

Ditto on all of that. I also wonder if all those people I see on my way to and from work every day that are alone, commuting in their SUV's, really do use them to their full capacity and happen to be alone at that particular point in time on their way to wherever they're going, or if their drives are mostly solo, to the office for another day of work. Then I wonder if they just don't care about the rising cost of fuel and how much it costs them to fill their tank every week or so, or if they have that much money that it doesn't make a dent in their pocketbook. I also wonder how many of the off-road type SUV owners actually take their vehicles off-roading. Makes me think they're the ones paying a premium on a vehicle for something that will never earn back its premium cost...

 

I am opening myself up to even more critique, but here goes. My wife drives a GMC Yukon. She hauls our kids and usually their equipment and dog all over the place. She is anything by gluttonus(?), and does not drive around her SUV for image. Is she a bad person for driving it? WE had a minivan before and it got to the point where we could not fit everything in it! I'll be waiting for the responses.

 

SUVs are "urban assault vehicles" where people substitute oil for knowledge. I am especially disturbed, as others, when I see just the driver in a vehicle designed for 7. It is disturbing when I walk through a parking lot and I walk past a SUV that is idling (occupants on cell phone, watching a DVD or otherwise separating themselves from the outside world).

There are many "if you have to ask . . . you cannot afford it" arguments, but proportional impacts to resource use, road and parking congestion, air quality and noise is beyond question and shows a lack of respect for themselves and disregard of others. There are few times (schools and adverse winter weather) where SUVs may be appropriate, but not daily urban driving. Use and operation of oversized SUVs smacks of ostentatious consumption and a false sense of security.

 

No, because from the sound of it, her use is close to the intended use of that vehicle.

Our beef isn't with her. It's with single occupant SUV drivers who literally never use the extra space, and could just as easily use a smaller vehicle.

 

When I think S.U.V. I connect it to hot soccer mom who traded in her minivan for what she thought was a safer and trendy vehicle. And there is a cell phone in her hand at all times. Oh wait. That's not just what I think, it's what I see. Also I think that some women these days want to project a more kick-nice person, I can do anything mentality and a larger car with a little blond chick behind the wheel (with at least 1 tat) does it. Red-necks are still driving '70 - '80s smoke-spewing full size trucks when they are running and not on blocks and milk crates on the front lawn.

 

Interesting how quickly the slant went to the soccer mom's. While I totally agree, let us not forget the Hummer driving men that are just driving gas guzzlers for the looks!

I'm for car-for-the-purpose - but let's be thoughtful about our future fuel base!

 

Sorry bout the soccer moms. What I ment to say was well-to-do African American's drive Hummers, Escallades and Explorers with big phat gold-dipped rims and LCD screens mounted in the roof as well as the back of every head rest and even flush mounted in the fenders. Any rear storage space is occupied with 20" woofers and gold plated amps and crossovers. Still a blinking cell phone in hand though. Is that better for yah?

 

Bling bling!

 

The Honda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna should suit all of your needs. The extra space that the Yukon seems to have is taken up by the drive train, frame, and very large gas tank. These vehicles are safer( consult www.safercar.gov), less injurious to pedestrians, and can get up to double the gas mileage.

There is more legroom in the minivans than in the Yukon. I know, I used to ride in my buddy's all the time, and my knees are crammed against the dashboard.

You think the Yukon is luxurious? You haven't even known luxury until you've had power sliding doors from the remote.

Nate

 

How sad is this, for the past week (not even seeing this post!)
When I drive around, and to work, I was keeping track of every 'large vehicle with maximum capability and capacity' but not being used.
And tracking howmany passengers were in them.

In the course of my driving, mid day, moring, evening, etc so I hit all targets (not just the work crowd)
98% of them were driving solo - Some had *gasp* two people in the car.

This 98% was based on some 1500 vehicles I had seen.

So, I fully agree with the using large vehicle but not USING it.
I fully respect the need for having a large vehicle if it is going to be used, but when its not, its just a total waste.

 

i dont really care for those who own SUVs/trucks, just as long as i dont hear them complaining at the pump. it's a choice. my sister has a V8 Tundra and her reason was that she feels safer. she does complain about getting around 14mpg, i just say that's the price to pay for her 'feeling safe' and she just shrugs and drives less.