SUV Haters

[Lace Neil Singer]

Honestly, I'm finding these "why do you need an SUV" statements to be a little strange. Do any of you guys making these statements have *only* the things you need in life? To look at it from another angle, does anyone really need a sports car?

The sports car probably won't kill me, cuz it's smaller and better driven. I've seen quite a few sports cars speeding, but the worst drivers round here all have fourbyfours and people carriers.

[protege]

Trendiness overrules common sense.

Exactly. Locally, *many* SUV owners bought those things for that reason alone. In fact, when gasoline hit $4.00 a gallon not so long ago, some idiot, who had just purchased a new Land Rover of some sort...was on TV whining about how poor the mileage was, and how it was costing him a mint to run it. People like that, I can't have any sympathy for. Every new vehicle has a sticker in the window, with the EPA estimated gas mileage, and the annual estimated fuel costs. He knew it was going to be expensive going in...but he just had to have that expensive status symbol.

But, I have no problem with those who need an SUV. People with large families; those who enjoy camping/fishing/etc.; people where the roads suck (insert obvious Pennsylvania joke here, Mike ); or simply people like CH who need a bigger vehicle to do their job.

Back to the sports car thing. Yes, I do have one...and it gets pretty good mileage (25-30) for a 40-year-old car. If I'd fit a five-speed, or even an overdrive transmission, the mileage would be better still

[Greenday]

(insert obvious Pennsylvania joke here, Mike )

I hate PenDOT. Constant construction making crappy roads...well, I don't notice a change other than stipped roads that are more bumpy than normal and lower speed limits.

As for owners of sports cars, if it's getting crappy mileage, I see your argument. But there are plenty which offer decent/good mileage.

[Wingates_Hellsing]

The point isn't that they get bad mileage, it's that no one needs a sports car. And if it's stupid to have something you don't need, then it's just as stupid to buy a sports car as it is to buy an SUV if not more-so because sports cars are even less practical. MPG is just one of many considerations and, IMO, if I'm paying for it I'll use as much as I damn well please.

[muses_nightmare]

In fact, when gasoline hit $4.00 a gallon not so long ago, some idiot, who had just purchased a new Land Rover of some sort...was on TV whining about how poor the mileage was, and how it was costing him a mint to run it.

It's like they don't realize that those vehicles aren't usually good on gas. *sigh* some people's children.

(also, wow, gas is cheap down in the states, up here in Vancouver we're paying $1.20 a litre, which is something like $4.80 - $5 a gallon. This is why we make sure to fill up in Washington when we go. )

[guywithashovel]

The sports car probably won't kill me, cuz it's smaller and better driven. I've seen quite a few sports cars speeding, but the worst drivers round here all have fourbyfours and people carriers.

Yeah, sports car drivers can get kind of crazy. Some of them seem to think they're perpetually in the Indy 500 every time they get behind the steering wheel.

That wasn't really what I was getting at, though. Some people were saying, "Well, why do you even need an SUV?" Thing is, those of us in the industrialized world don't really need half of the things we have (maybe 3/4ths of the things we have). To me, arguing against having something just because it's not needed seems a bit faulty to me.

[AdminAssistant]

I think people were saying, "Why do you even need an SUV?" because that's the reason so many SUV drivers give. Soccer moms say, "Oh, I need the extended Excursion Deluxe so I can take my child to soccer practice, piano lessons, Boy Scouts, dance class, and wind lessons! It has to be extra comfy since we practically live in the car toting my child to all his scheduled activities! I have to keep all that stuff in there too, because who wants to clean out their car every few days?" And all of that is bullshit.