posted on February 22, 2004 03:27:27 PM
January 12, 2004
Just thought you might enjoy this article.
Big and Bad
How the S.U.V. ran over automotive safety. by Malcolm Gladwell.
Malcolm Gladwell is a former business and science writer at the Washington Post. He is currently a staff writer for The New Yorker.
". . . internal industry market research concluded that S.U.V.s tend to be bought by people who are insecure, vain, self-centered, and self-absorbed, who are frequently nervous about their marriages, and who lack confidence in their driving skills."
posted on February 22, 2004 03:37:21 PM
"The corpse of every moron who dies driving an SUV should receive the Darwin Award at the funeral with a suitable notation marked on the tombstone so anyone who sees it can have a good laugh. But the safely issue is just the tip of the moron iceberg. Every SUV owner has paid a huge amount of money on wasted sheet metal bolted to the chassis of a pick-up truck with no engineering thought applied to the design whatsoever. Each one will waste huge amounts of money moving this stupid mass of sheet metal around, paying for completely wasted fuel. Burning this fuel needlessly harms the environment and depletes a rapidly disappearing resource. At least they have their cupholders . . ."
Xymphora
posted on February 22, 2004 03:38:25 PM
"Hello Yesterday's News? Helen will be cancelling her subscription." "She will be starting one with Behind the Times"...
posted on February 22, 2004 03:38:54 PM
". . . internal industry market research concluded that S.U.V.s tend to be bought by people who are insecure, vain, self-centered, and self-absorbed, who are frequently nervous about their marriages, and who lack confidence in their driving skills."
Well, heck, that would explain why just about everyone owns at least one...
My Mom and I share a 4-door Honda Civic. It's a cute little car and I laugh every time I pull into a gas station after some hogshead SUV has already begun sucking gas from the nozzle and I fill up (for about fourteen bucks) while it guzzles fifty dollars worth.
Hey, come to think of it, that's not funny at all, is it?
posted on February 22, 2004 05:51:56 PM
I have to disagree. I own a Jeep Grand Cheroke Limited and wouldn't drive anything else in the Cleveland winter. While other cars were stranded on the side of the road, I was passing them by.
Cheryl http://tinyurl.com/vm6u
posted on February 22, 2004 06:01:56 PM
Cheryl, if you lived outside of the city, I could go along with that, but with the way most front wheel drive cars handle, they can hold their own in snow...
Your wieght would make the difference on ice...
My sister and brother-in-law have an Expedition, it is nice but it will never see an unpaved road and the snow here lasted 3 days...
posted on February 22, 2004 09:31:06 PM
i agree with this post. I didnt want one. And I hate parking anywhere near them -- big gorillas you can never see around.
But yeah, we got one. Gives the impression we are doing just great, dontcha know ? - the husband drives it mostly. In the snow I feel safer in it, but then you are higher up and have that tip factor. I still like my car better.
posted on February 22, 2004 10:12:57 PM
I sold my car when I moved downtown - just was not interested in dealing with the parking situation. I probably will end up replacing it this year and will probably buy a smaller SUV (I like the RAV4) I need the space for picking up inventory and I despise mini vans. (do they even make standard transmission mini vans? I can't drive an automatic to save my life, my other foot gets too bored) Besides, I plan on taking more breaks this year which means more exploring Mexico and while their toll roads are fantastic, some of the other areas could use some work... having a little extra weight and power can't hurt.
~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~
If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
Obviously, you don't know about Cleveland the lack of snow removal. Sometimes the side streets are barely passable. There has to be 4" of snow on the side street before you even see a plow! I have an older Jeep (1998) so it's small in comparison with the new ones, which seem to get larger each year. There were a few times this year that a plow did come down our street. Without the Jeep, I would not have been able to get out of my drive. They plow the snow right in front of it. At one point, there was over a foot of hard packed snow in front of our driveway.
plsmith
I live in the inner city where there is a great deal of crime. Stopping to help someone could get you killed. No joke. I generally have my daughter and granddaughter in the car with me. I will call for help for someone though on my cell phone.
I'm hardly a "yuppie." I live in an old century home that is falling down around our ears in a city that's on the verge of bankruptcy. The Jeep is a 1998 that is in constant need of repair, but is good on gas. I work for a non-profit and sometimes I get paid, sometimes I don't. AND, eBay supplements my income. Ha, that takes care of the yuppie right there. My sister-in-law is another story. She has a brand new SUV and lives in a very nice house in Brunswick, which is an up and coming yuppie city.
posted on February 23, 2004 06:17:47 AM
KCpick4U, you can't call my SUV a yuppie station wagon! (It fits 4 on a good day.) I drive a Zuk, and yes, I do take it off road. (The last place I went, I was mystified at how the yuppies in their 4WDs were getting stuck mudding when I got around just fine, but it's not just equipment, but technique. A couple ended up sliding down a hill into a creek, lol.)
But I'm a terrible driver. Just ask all the morons that yell at me on the road.
You have the right to an informed opinion -Harlan Ellison
posted on February 23, 2004 06:42:29 AM
But, but, I am not a yuppie.... [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
[1] But I know some ex, and they weren't into driving the SUVs. More like Up Against the Wall types, if you get my drift
[2] Jung not young
[3] If it gets more than 20 mpg, it's not a yuppiemobile
[4] And you can't go offroad in urban areas, unless you're an ambulance driver
[5] The camper (which has also gone offroad yikes!) doesn't count, since it's a 70s Dodge, and yuppies don't drive classic orange and white Dreadnaughts
More reasons available upon request
ubbargh
You have the right to an informed opinion -Harlan Ellison
[ edited by snowyegret on Feb 23, 2004 06:43 AM ]
posted on February 23, 2004 09:18:52 AM
The main reason we bought the Jeep is that my boyfriend is a musician with loads of equipment to tug around and it all fits nicely in the back. When we took a trip to Washington D.C. we were able to fit all the luggage for 4 people staying a week into the back. We also do a lot of camping so it comes in handy then as well. Ken's the one that drives it off road. He once had the darn thing tilted sideways driving one end up a huge snow pile.
