God, I hate SUV's..

It's getting bad. AReally bad. I drive 40 miles each way to work. It's gotten to the point that every time I'm nect to some piece of shit SUV I take a peek at the driver and call him/her a stupid, selfish asshole.

There are *only* three reasons to drive one of these things-

1) You live in Vermont and need the 4 wheel drive to get up the hill that gets you home
2) You're pulling a trailer
3) You have a large family

One good reason *not* to drive one of these big, pointless, pretentious pieces of shit is that it "makes you feel safe".

Learn to fucking drive...

Even the names of these fucking things suggest stupidity.

Explorer
Excursion
Expedition
Navigator
Forester
Pilot
Aviator
Yukon
Denali
Discovery
Sequoia

What are they trying to tell us? That it's some kind of adventure driving some obese gas guzzler to Starbucks for a cup of coffee?

How about more realistic names for these abortions-on-wheels? Names like the "Kia Placenta" or maybe the "Lincoln Pretense"?

There is nothing more frustrating than being stuck behind a hummer being driven by a 90 lb. woman talking on her cell phone.

Rant over.

My apologies to all people with good reasons for owning these vehicles and who are polite drivers and good citizens.

I fucking HATE IT when they park them on the corner of a street and make it impossible to see oncoming traffic if you're turning on to the street!

Escalade is a French word meaning a scaling or climbing, as in climbing a cliff. The only climbing involved for most of the drivers of these things I'll bet is climbing in and out of them.

"Escalade is a French word meaning a scaling or climbing, as in climbing a cliff."

It figures :(

two huge SUV's, the one on the right an Escalade. There were three, count them, THREE people in it, a married couple and their son. They guy asked me what kind of gas mileage I got and I said "thirty five on the freeway, 28 in town" and he grimaced and said "wish to god I could get that" and I looked at him and his Escalade and said "looks like you have the wrong vehicle" and smiled, got in my Vibe and left!

Good for you! I had a similar run in at the gym with a guy driving a jacked up ford f150 4 door. I'm doing 32mpg highway with my 4cyl. Acura.

Too expensive on gas and idiotic to boot unless you need such a thing for work purposes. SUV's will be icon for generations to come to illustrate just how spoiled Americans were once upon a time.

Hummer's days as a GM division seem numbered. GMC too (just rebadged chevys).

I heard Nissan isnt re designing their huge Infiniti/Nissan Armada thing. They are phasing it out a year from now. They arent even making their next truck. Its combined with Chrysler.

:wtf: is an escalade? The art of scaling a fortified wall or rampart.

So seen any of those walls in your neighborhood?

if all you do with it is drive back and forth to work -- but my work parking lot is full of them. One guy was complaining that just driving to work and back costs him $10 per day, but he says he "needs" it.

Even more appropriate names for the damn things might be:

Ford Overcompensator
Chevy Dick
Lincoln Handjob

Maybe the "Lincoln Handjob" is slightly more hilarious than the "Chevy Dick"

But they're all right on!

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

I was driving a smaller model Camry. The driver was on his cell-phone didn't notice ALL the cars in front of him stopped (metropolitan area, he was sole occupant). He didn't even hit his brakes; totalled my car and I got whiplash along the length of my back.

I'm with you. I hate SUVs. Traffic tickets and liability should increase 5 times if you are in a 87-ton vehicle.

What an a-hole.

Take the selfish SOB to the cleaners!

She knocked me into a pole and if my kids had been in the car they would have been VERY messed up. She sat there putting on lipstick and calling her husband (did not help me out of the car, had to crawl out of my hatchback!) who picked her up in a fucking HUMMER!

Nice to see that you have supernatural powers of divination that can discern not only the personal needs of the driver, but their intellectual acumen.

And since I drive far less each week than you do, it's YOU wasting resources by living so far from your place of employment and having a long commute. Eighty miles a day, five days a week, four hundred miles every work week? Now who's the selfish one?

I might fill up once a month, if that.

Nanny staters should mind their own damn business before trying to run everyone else's affairs.

There never was anyone injured or killed on our motorways before the reign of the dreaded SUV.

It's a proven fact, because I said so.

the dog groomer, the local florist (cause they often have to pull a trailer too), lots of the farmers here use them and the 4 door pick-ups...selfish farmers, selfish selfish selfish farmer.

Without personally asking a multitude of questions to each SUV driver you see, you cannot automatically assume they are selfish, over-compensating assholes....except for the Hummer owners.

who transport dozens of pets to safety every weekend.

I had a small car, but found it inadequate for dog crates. Especially for the large hounds I typically rescue.

Animal rescue! :thumbsup: :applause:

Glad you don't have to drive it that much.

I formerly was permitted for 127,500lbs. and 112.5 feet in overall length (turnpike doubles, twin 48' trailers); tell me about mass, momentum and stopping distances.

I fear ALL four-wheelers. They, for the most part, are crappy drivers that speed, change lanes without signaling, cut others off without a moments notice, drive distracted, and are generally a menace not only to themselves but to everyone else on the road, including ME.

Doesn't matter what size vehicle; but lately the littler ones think they squeeze in front of me to get to the exit ramp they are going to miss, and I can stop eighty thousand pounds in twelve feet.

Go two million miles without so much as a parking ticket, and get back to me about safe drivers.

It isn't the vehicle, it's the driver. Always.

What an ass.

.

When was your last speeding ticket?

Get back to me when you have two million verifiable miles without any infractions.

Yes, you are not as good as me.

I got a ticket for an outdated emissions sticker about 15 years ago, though. So like I said, you're soooooooo awesome at something you are trained to do. I bow down to your awesomeness, and your ability to judge everyone else. I might even have driven a couple million miles, though, I've never kept track. But you are required by law to do so. I've driven in every conceivable condition, from in a hurricane to across the Carson Pass in a snowstorm. I still don't know what your point is, other than to thump your chest like a big dumb gorilla.

:eyes:

.

I was being reasonable, but I must have struck a nerve.

I judge no one. I am relaying personal experience.

The point I was making, which you so obviously missed, is it is the DRIVER, not the VEHICLE, which makes our roads unsafe.

Folks here are painting a brod brush on people just because of what they drive and wheather they drive alone or not. And your exactly right, their are idiots in all kinds of autos. My brother is also a big rig driver and states the exact same experience your having.

I drive a Dodge Dakota 4x4 crew cab, I haul around pool cleaning equipment and to keep the chemicals dry, I installed a fiberglass bed cover. So everything is basically hidden. I'm sure a huge number here would lable me as a self centered rethug just for a driving a truck, alone, and no construction/cleaning equipment in sight:eyes: Plus the fact that it cant average anymore than 16mpg.

I drive the "interstates" quite a lot in my '07 Toyota Matrix and let me tell you, I've seen some very stupid shit from mostly 4 wheel vehicles, a lot of what you describe. Always assume the other person in the vehicle ahead, behind and on either side of you is a complete fucking idiot and you'll do fine. OTOH, I have also seen some pretty reckless rig drivers, those who do not use signals at all even though they have HUGE blind spots. I've been nearly run off the road by a few of these. But, having said that, those of us who drive the 4 wheel vehicles have no idea of how long it takes a fully loaded 18 wheeler to stop. It's simple Newtonian physics and inertia really, something a simple minded idiot yakking on a cell phone or applying lipstick or even reading a newspaper (I've seen this too!!), cannot begin to understand or appreciate.

He didn't say everyone is a crappy driver but himself.

Why the name calling?

This is one of the reasons we get "Bitter Gate" scandals and the like...people unable to break down simple sentences. I did not call the poster any names at all. I assume you think I called him a "big dumb gorilla," as that is the only part of my post even remotely akin to name calling. But please read what I actually wrote...

I said the poster was just thumping his chest "...I still don't know what your point is, other than to thump your chest like a big dumb gorilla.

I didn't call the poster a big dumb gorilla. I said the manner in which he was presenting his argument -- bragging about his driving skills while calling everyone else inferior -- was akin to "...thump<ing> your chest like a big dumb gorilla." Of course, you may not see the subtle difference in the language. But I didn't call him or anyone else any names.

Converesly, while you claim he didn't say everyone is a crappy driver but himself, his own words say otherwise...

"I fear ALL four-wheelers. They, for the most part, are crappy drivers that speed, change lanes without signaling, cut others off without a moments notice, drive distracted, and are generally a menace not only to themselves but to everyone else on the road, including ME."

He fears ALL drivers of four-wheeled vehicles. Those were HIS words, not mine. He fears us all because we all -- "...for the most part..." -- are crappy drivers. Apparently he's never been in a "four wheeled vehicle" and had some dick-head semi driver bear down on his ass end, so close that the only thing seen in the rear-view mirror is a Mack or Peterbilt logo. He's not the only one afraid on the highway, mark my word!

He said it. I think he made a ridiculous, broad-brush characterization of "ALL drivers" based upon his one-sided perspective. I just responded to what he said. Deal.

:shrug:

.

Course then they will bitch about the truck that tried to hit them cause you know it is all your fault for not being able to stop on a dime. :evilgrin:

very small, with one truck. I learned a lot from the delivery drivers. I always give you guys plenty of room, and I never pull out in front of one. Personally, I find it rather impressive that you have logged that many miles without any traffic violations.

:hi:

the big rigs and so on "because they can't stop on a dime". Well then why the hell do they like to tail gate and try to push especially if one is doing the speed limit and they (truckers) want to go Just a little faster?

The better truck drivers tend to be older. They are professionals. I've seen a few good ones that are younger but mostly the younger ones are camel jockies only interested in getting from point A to point B at least 2 hours quicker than expected, and if you don't get your ass out of their way they'll roll right over it.

It's no different that ALL drivers. As the generations move on we just simply are getting more and more selfish and aggressive toward each other. Even in the south I've noticed less and less of simple manners, like holding the door for the person behind you, helping old ladies get the heavy stuff in the car, letting someone out in traffic, or keeping the shopping cart over to the side so someone can pass blah blah blah.

I, from time to time drive large trucks and trailers ( up to 80,000# ) and its been my experience that if there is one group that causes the most danger it would be the little "buzz box" street racers. They are the ones that you always see weaving in and out of traffic and so forth. Most SUV drivers I have found to be the complete opposite. It seems to me that there are alot of people out here with too much time on their hands that wish to control others. How anyone can get so upset over their neighbors choice of vehicles is something I just can't understand. I think they should maybe get an hobby or something to take up all this time that is spent worrying about the activities of their neighbors. Like you I have driven many many miles, and completely agree about the driver and not the vehicle.

I drive a SUV to the bus and commute 140 miles a day on the Clean Air Express which burns natural gas. I fill up maybe every other week. The OP puts more dirt in the air in a month than I do but he'd give me the finger if I were next to him. What a fool!

:applause:

Ugh! Hate those damn cars.

If you drive one you're part of the problem, not the solution. So get off the cross and quit playing the fucking victim of the so-called "nanny state" :eyes: Excuses are like assholes everyone's got one (or is one). Nothing rational or logical about it.

Turn turtle on highways and in intersections to consider them safe.

I watched a sub-compact car ram into the side of one of those things taking an illegal left in front of my apartment. The SUV fell over and flipped onto its roof in slow motion....it was the damndest thing. The cop just stood there for a minute, shaking his head.

I don't like them, but I do recognize that some folks do have to have them and the four-wheel drive. If you do most of your driving in the city, however..........

Navigator (his fault) clipped an Escort at about 20 mph, rolled completely over busted out all the glass throwing groceries all over. The Escort was still drivable.

The reasons given by most assholes driving the maneuverable behemoths, safer, able to see better are total BS. Most of them constantly look and act surprised that any one else is even on the road with them.

How dare you drive 40 miles.


:eyes:

Thanks to outsourcing, the company I was employed by chose to obtain product from the Pacific Rim. They no longer required the services of a well paid electronics tech, as it now costs them less to throw away product and replace it than it does to repair it. Not living in a large city, a commute to Reno was necessary.

If you drive an SUV, how necessary is it?

For the record, I drive a Corolla that gets me 45mpg. I use less than two gallons of gas on my 80 mile daily commute. Shit, a fucking Yukon uses that much going 18 miles.

That way you'd be less irritated by people who drive cars of which you don't approve.

Seems fitting.

But, alas, I live in Colorado. I have 3 100+ pound "puppies" and 2 teenaged boys. I'm not sure 1 of my pups could fit in the back of a Prius. I long for a larger vehicle that is truly ecofriendly. But, until then I drive my little Santa Fe, which gets 24 mpg on the highway. Not too bad but, not good enough.

Union-made in the USA.
This is a full hybrid, unlike the GM "hybrids", and gets 29 mpg on the highway and sometimes better than that in the city. With 4 wheel drive. (The 2wd model is supposed to be a couple of MPG better).
Cleanest-running SUV you can buy. SULEV. (The Toyota SUV hybrids are only ULEV).

People who need an SUV should take a look at this one.

The Ford Escape Hybrid, the Mercury Mariner Hybrid and the Mazda Tribute Hybrid are all the same vehicle plus or minus some trim, built in the same factory in Kansas City.

I will have to take a look at them! We're planning on moving to Logan, UT this summer and it gets more snow than we get here. I keep hoping for major advancements in Hybrids and alternative fuels. But, it seems the technology is just not keeping up! When you have 3 Great Pyrenese/Husky/ Alaskan Malmutes, small just isn't in the cards. I have 2 puppies, 8 months old, and already over 100 pounds. Intimidating, sure, but the biggest sweethearts you'll ever meet. here are me and my "babies" 2 months ago. They are quite a bit smaller than they are now and we still have at least 6 more months of growing! Maxie Bear's (the white one) head comes to my waist now!

at least some of her dogs/kids. It has a very large back seat, which folds down for hauling stuff with fewer passengers.

but, I don't want to tell 3- 125 pound dogs that only one of them can go to the dog park! And three trips defeats the prupose. But, things are looking up in the bigger ecofrindly cars, so, I have hope that one will come along that's perfect.

back seat of a Prius, 3 if they are human and can sit still. I was responding to her concern that only one would fit back there; definitely two would (and she could put the third in the front seat). But the points are (a) there is a lot more space in a Prius than most people need, most of the time and (b) if you are in the category of truly needing only one vehicle and that it MUST be bigger than a Prius, you do have other hybrid options. I do agree it would better if there were more choices.

You are right that you can fit a lot into a Prius.

I can fit a long-wheelbase recumbent bicycle with the wheels on, inside the Prius if I put all the seats down.

3 Dogs? Depends on how big they are.

Those are 2 of my babies at 5 months old. They are 8 months old now and are trending to be about 125-130. Big babies though, sweetest guys you'll ever meet. Unless you are of the feline persuasion, like my other baby. He doesn't care for them much but he stands his ground and has earned the respect of all the canines in the house! It's hilarious to see him sit there stoically while they surround him. I think I need to take some video of that. It's kinda like Yoda.

...let me also interject the green aspects of the vehicle 90 percent less co2 emissions and 90percent fewer other pollutants. Getting 29.8 highway 32,1 city stop and go.

I love that episode!! Homer buys one only to discover that he bought a trim line designed for females!! So Marge starts driving the Canyonero and develops road rage.

Great episode. Krusty sells out..

Low gas mileage
High rollover risk
Increase gridlock and pollution due to the increased idling in traffic (they did a study that showed that fewer vehicles get through an intersection when the light is red due to the large number of heavy and large SUVs on the road)
Decrease visibility of other drivers (being able to see over everyone else comes at the expense of everyone else not being able to see around you)

Reason's to drive an SUV

Hauling stuff? (a truck is better)
Hauling people? (many SUVs don't hold any more people than a car)
4 wheel drive? (there are many other lower profile 4 wheel drives)
Better visibility? (who cares if your better visibility comes at the expense of anyone else who is not in an SUV)
Safety? (disregarding the roll over risk above, again - who cares if your increased safety comes at the expense of anyone else on the road)
?

For the record - I drive a 9 1/2 year old Honda Civic Hatchback with about 68K miles on it (that mileage includes a drive across the country from New York to Arizona) - that would be 7,200 K miles/year

You probably would assume I'm an 'offical moran' rather than bother to find out it's a lift van because I'm wheelchair bound and use that sucker to carpool other wheelies to everything from jobs to doctor appoints to water therapy to just a freakin day in the park.

And yes, being less that the perfect driver I have once or twice changed lanes thinking it was safe to go and some speed demon ping ponging lanes in the teeny little car got cut off and flipped me the bird.


Edit - BTW I'd LOVE to stop belching smoke. So far I've not had any success coming up with the $3000 it will take to fix what I have or the 10's of 1000's it will take to replace it.

I don't know about the other posters here, and won't hazard to speak for them, but someone like you gets a pass by me! You have to give extra effort in all you do... I'd rather see that than the alternative. And you help others... that quality is becoming scarce, and it's a big shame.

I give a pass to a lot of people who don't have a choice in what they drive. But for those of us who do have a choice, a wise choice is just as easy as a bad one.

(Baptist Assault Vehicles)

:thumbsup:

lol! Funnies thing i've ever heard.

Or by what someone looks like behind the wheel.

I do have a family and it gets decent mileage (the same as my previous car, a VW New Beetle). I'd love to get a different car, but we can't afford it, and I'd like to wait until one of my kids is old enough to be out of her carseat and into a smaller booster.

But seriously, maybe you could save your judgement?


And BTW, if you called me a selfish asshole or whatever just because of my car, I'd have a nice finger gesture for you, too.

are all CUV's. They get good gas mileage and seem to be really useful. I like the Honda CRV personally. The Ford Escape is even a hybrid now.

The problem is with the TRUCK BASED/FRAMED S.U.V.'s. They are just overkill.

You're not buying their gas.

"Our" gas prices are based on supply and demand. When demand is higher as a result of gas guzzlers, the price of our gas goes up. It's not only SUV drivers, but people driving too far to work when they could find something closer to home.

if we don't find better ways of conserving what we have left; fuel, the environment,and all natural resources in general-things are going to get much, much worse sooner than anyone thinks.

And polluting our air unnecessarily.

And taking up my clearly marked compact car parking spot with something that clearly isn't a compact car.

I traded in my SUV in 2002. When I need one for hauling people around or vacationing, I rent one. I can afford to do that with all the money I've saved in gasoline... and I don't feel badly about using the extra when I've saved us all so much the rest of the time.

That's how it's MY FUCKING BUSINESS.

One person traveling by himself in one car that gets 25 mpg driving 400 miles to work a week is using at least 16 gallons a week for M-F.

Compare a mother driving an SUV with an average of 3 passengers per mile, getting 15 mpg, driving 150 miles that same M-F schedule uses 10 gallons a week for that time frame.

Which one is creating the demand for gasoline? Which one is getting fewer miles per person per gallon of gas?

I certainly favor vehicles which get much better gas efficiency, however.

I don't care for people cruising around solo in SUVs, either, but I do see the need for them in many cases. I still don't care for Hummers, but they are fundamentally different from something like a Tahoe.

Living near where one works is the best way to fight the useless consumption of gasoline. A person that drives 10 miles a day in an SUV is less a problem than a person who drives 80 miles a day in a Prius. Consuming large amounts at a better efficiency rate is still consuming gasoline to satisfy some emotional need.

Thank you.

Thanks.

When we live far from where we work, it is often about having more square footage in neighborhoods considered better. That daily trek to and from work at great distance is a primary cause of pollution in our cities, as well as the wrecker of gas efficiency.

We tell ourselves that a house with an extra 600 square feet that is 20 years newer is a trade off we are willing to make, at the cost of an extra two hours travel time, and an extra 4 gallons of gasoline a day.

Wanting less of everything is the start of conservation in all areas. We confuse needs with wants, and chase the latter.

Houses out in the country 20+ miles from cities are so much more cheaper plus quality of life is usually more comfortable being far away from crowded, noisy places. This the case for me, cause my summer job at the beach is 60 miles from my house, yet I'm fortunate enough to stay at my aunt's camper close by my pool cleaning route on work nights (I dont have a normal 5 day schedule) so the miles I drove to and from that job actually turns out a little bit less than how much I drove 18 miles to and from town 5 days a week. My work vehicle BTW is a Dodge Dakota 4x4 crew cab, its more than enough for my work but theirs been times when I really needed it instead of a simple 4cyl compact truck.

But yeah, I wouldn't be able to afford a decent house close by my current job. Houses at the Outerbanks NC cost a fortune, while I financed my 1800sq/ft double wide sitting on 2 acres for only $200k, which a 21 year old like me rarely ever has a place like this.

In exchange for a big house they are willing to drain natural resources, increase traffic problems, increase pollution, and give up 2-4 hours of their lives per day sitting in a car.

It's crazy. And it goes deeper than that.

Maybe THEY are crazy. I mean, sitting in a car for 4 hours per day has to take its toll on people. And then they effect the work environment too.

Another issue -- they probably don't have much sense of community. They picture one community as for work, one is for their subdivisions. But a community can't be nothing but work, just as a community can't be nothing but subdivisions. Their whole idea of life destroys communities.

Plus they are doing nothing for any community when they are sitting in a car.

The only solution I can think of (that would not be considered Totalitarian) is making it easier to get good jobs close to home. Make telecommuting easier. Create more smaller corporate offices in local areas. It's time for all of us to wake up.

Their home isn't always a McMansion in the 'burbs. Some of them HAD apartments in the city, close to work. Their apartments got turned into condos in the recent real estate bubble and they were evicted. The only apartments they could find that they could afford were 20 miles away, so they were forced to commute. This happened to several people I know.



I don't think most people develop much of a connection for the community surrounding the business district where their office is located. That is not the problem. Community is based on the social networks one builds with ones neighbors and those near one's home. Building community has become increasingly difficult because people move more often. This increasing frequency of moving reflects declining job stability more than anything else, and it will get worse as (1) high fuel prices drive some to move closer to work, and (2) rising rents resulting from (1) drive others to move further away.

Sitting in a car doesn't do much for community (unless it is a carpool, which we are likely to see more of with gas hitting $4 here)



Works for me. I live in a tiny community in the mountains and telecommute.

I live 45 miles from work. Why?? Because there are no affordable houses in Palm Beach County. We tried, but everywhere we looked it was over $300,000. NOt only can I not afford that, I don't want to afford that. So, we decided to purchase a house in St Lucie County. We have a 3/2 in a nice neighborhood for 1/2 the price than in PAlm Beach County. So, we commute (my husband and I) each day to work. And yes, we have an SUV. Mainly because we can't sell it now. We bought it 4 years ago when gas prices were a reasonable amount. We get pretty good gas mileage and I feel safe. So, we are keeping it until we have to sell it or it dies.

Please explain how that was a "reasonable" cost of gas back then

:shrug:

:hi:
edit to add: The mass murder is a result of policy by those in power. They could have chosen other ways to deal with "voracious consumption".

So no, it's not the Bush Regime.

They're just fucking it up even worse than it was before.

People died for oil under Carter and Clinton.

I think that makes the price of gas unreasonable but I'm funny that way.

I waited over a year to find a decent job in my field that was close to home.

I'm not asking to win a gold medal for it, but I just wish that both workers and employers would work with one another locally, in order to reduce environmental waste.

Reducing traffic and improving air quality would be an added bonus.

I grew up in a family of 7 kids, my folks always had HUGE station-wagons, that got about 10 miles a gallon. But here's the thing, when there were 8 (sometimes 10! on ski trips) in the car it was getting damn good miles per gallon/per capita!

I work in Downtown Los Angeles, and I won't live here. Mainly because the only thing I could afford is a dump and anything I would care to live in starts in the low one million range.

I live 20 miles from work because I live where I can afford to live, and I work downtown because I make $25k more a year downtown than I would working within 10 miles of home.

Quote-
One person traveling by himself in one car that gets 25 mpg driving 400 miles to work a week is using at least 16 gallons a week for M-F.

Compare a mother driving an SUV with an average of 3 passengers per mile, getting 15 mpg, driving 150 miles that same M-F schedule uses 10 gallons a week for that time frame.

Which one is creating the demand for gasoline? Which one is getting fewer miles per person per gallon of gas?

I certainly favor vehicles which get much better gas efficiency, however.

I don't care for people cruising around solo in SUVs, either, but I do see the need for them in many cases. I still don't care for Hummers, but they are fundamentally different from something like a Tahoe.

Living near where one works is the best way to fight the useless consumption of gasoline. A person that drives 10 miles a day in an SUV is less a problem than a person who drives 80 miles a day in a Prius. Consuming large amounts at a better efficiency rate is still consuming gasoline to satisfy some emotional need.


You're only hearing the things I have said that you choose to hear. I did say that there are reasons for driving one of thise obese, pointless, pretentions gass-guzzling pieces of shit. You must have missed that.

As for your logic, it's biased. Why is the commute of the SUV less than half my commute? One simple answer would be that setting up the numbers that way makes an SUV more sensible than a car that gets close to 3X the mileage. How about an even playing field? How about assuming that my commute is a necessary one, and that the soccer mom in her SUV also makes the same commute I do? Then work the numbers and let me know what you come up with.

My commute is necessary. I'm making the best out of a bad situation. You think it's OK to drive your Yukon because you only drive 15 miles a week? You're taking advantage of a good situation.

I own a Honda Pilot (22 mpg Hwy.). I own it because I have my own manufacturing (small) company and it is the only vehicle that I can fit the stuff I make in, other than buying a van, that gets decent mileage. I am also a working musician and carry 3 guitars, amp, PA system with main speakers, monitor speaker and 4 microphone stands, plus assorted equipment. I also carry two kayaks...not that I need the Pilot for that.
On the other hand I also drive, when I can, a 1994 Mazda 626 with 200,000 miles on it because it gets over 30 mpg. We all do what we have to do so it pisses me off when people speak blanket statements like I'm some kind of monster. Am I any worse than the guy that drives a pick up for his work....of course not. If I didn't have to I wouldn't. I am not crazy.
On another note I live in New England and do live at the top of a Small mountain. My wife drives a Subaru Outback. Four wheel drive can certainly be factor getting home sometimes in the winter.
I drive it because I have to and I pay the gas cause I have to. I don't like it but it is my reality.
Not everything is black and white.

I like the out of sight safety of a trunk. Even if you have that flap thing on a wagon/hatch/SUV to cover your shit, someone could still think there's something in there and BMW (break my window). I just can't chance $10,000 worth of photo equipment where the storage compartment has a window.

Everything I have for a job can fit back in the trunk, except for my backdrop, which can sit on the dash and rear deck between he seats. That's two cameras, lenses, accessories, light set, battery pack, tripod (a heavy, industrial one, not the $50 cheapos). I find it works for me, but I'd say amps are much bigger than soft boxes and reflectors, so I can't say that it would work for a musician. Your stuff is bulkier. :hi:

My passion is photographing birds and wildlife. When I go out, I also take a big tripod, long lenses, camera bodies, flash on a bracket, the usual. When I'm shooting a wedding I take everything stated above plus lightstands, monoblocs, backgrounds, supports, computers, extension cords, ladder and God knows what else. This all fits in my car. If anyone has justification for owning a big, gas-guzzling piece of shit it would be me.

Thankfully, a brain is a part of my standard equipment.

I'll tellya what kills me. When I hear "You drive 400 miles a week in your Corolla, I drive 15 miles a week in my SUV". So what is this telling me? Here's what- That I'm making the most out of a bad situation while you're taking advantage of a good one.

There's this jerkoff wingnut that is on the radio. I listen to him when Hartman is on commercials. First, the asshole (Bill Manders) calls himself a "Good Steward of the Earth". In his very next sentence he defends driving a big piece of shit by stating that it has the most reliable drivetrain of any vehicle out there. I can just see a bunch of you listening to him and nodding your heads in agreement from behind the wheel of your SUV's.

Fucking pitiful.

Go ahead, flame away.

I'm not putting my nine thousand dollar double bass in the back of a pickup truck when the temperature here can vary from 5˚ to 105˚.

I also have to haul about 16 cubic feet of amplification gear, so a compact wagon isn't going to cut it.

I drive one of these. (almost have it paid off)

According to the OP, I guess we're just assholes.

It's lives up to its name.


Overall length 207.7

Didn't they flee the fight and lose their ships and DROWN?

Driving a SUV during a war for oil makes you look like a douchebag.

"Driving an SUV during a war for oil makes you look like a douchebag"

Perfect.

Here's what I saw last year during a repricklican rally in front of Reid's office in Carson City. An Excursion with a "Support the Troops" ribbon stuck to the rear tailgate, right under the the "Excursion" emblem. That is also perfect. Support the troops by shipping more money to those who would do our troops harm? That makes a lot of sense.

You know what I hate is judgmental jerks who think they know other peoples need better than the people themselves. What is even more annoying is when those people don't have the courage to actually say anything to your face and instead mouth names at you from another vehicle. My wife runs a dog rescue and routinely hauls 4 or 5 dogs in the Forester, I appreciate you judging people on your preconceived ideas. Did you grow up in the south in the 50's that type of thinking was popular in that place at the time?

David

I can't stand "SUV Addiction" - like the woman up the street who needs a Suburban to drive herself around town - no kids, no cargo. I've always looked at people who drive the Forrester or Escape Hybrid as people setting a good example by making reasonable choices.

Sorry, couldn't help myself!!:hi:

Quote-

"You know what I hate is judgmental jerks who think they know other peoples need better than the people themselves. What is even more annoying is when those people don't have the courage to actually say anything to your face and instead mouth names at you from another vehicle. My wife runs a dog rescue and routinely hauls 4 or 5 dogs in the Forester, I appreciate you judging people on your preconceived ideas. Did you grow up in the south in the 50's that type of thinking was popular in that place at the time?"




Sorry, David, but I did lump in the Forester with the Excursion and Navigator. It wasn't because the Forester was as pointless as those big pieces of shit, it was by virtue of the name. Forester.

You wanna tell me the last time you had that thing off road in the forest? Shit, maybe you do go four-wheeling, but we both know the majority of Foresters never, ever see anything but pavement under their wheels. And that was my point.

Listen, I'm just the messenger. No doubt a few of you have good enough reasonsto drive these things, but we should both agree that the overwhelming majority of SUV owners don't use them as sport or utility vehicles. A perfect example are the luxury models. You spend $60,000 for one of those things and you ain't using it to load up sheets of plywood you bought at Home Depot, and you ain't taking it off-road. And the same mindset applies to most SUV owners. They didn't but their SUV because they needed it, they bought it because they wanted it.

You probably should have made that clear. I can't help what they call it, it fit our needs. So you are calling people names because of what the car companies name their cars. That makes a lot of sense.

David

First off, I don't know of any $60,000 Foresters. Even the decked out Eddie Bauer models with all leather interiors are only in the mid 30's. Mine was in the low 20's. These things aren't status symbols and aren't priced like them.

Second, Forester owners do tend to get them out into the world more often than SUV drivers (Foresters aren't SUV's...my registration says WAGON, and they market it as a crossover). Foresters were designed to be practical off-road transportation, not urban glitz-mobiles.

Third, and again, Foresters aren't SUV's. The SUV thing is pure marketing, because they're trying to lure people away from the behemoths. A Subaru Forester is no larger than a normal station wagon, and it gets better gas mileage than many road cars (my 06 Forester can pull 31 highway with the roof rails off). They have bumpers level with other vehicles for crash equalization, they have small engines (no V8's here), you can buy SULEV models with emissions so clean that you can breathe them straight out of the tailpipe, and they're built in one of the greenest industrial facilities of any type on the planet.

The Subaru Forester and Outback are to outdoors people what the Prius is to flatland urban dwellers...it's not perfect, but it's as earth-friendly as you can get without riding a bicycle. Don't knock a company that is already doing what it can to break the SUV mold and get the guzzling monsters off the road.

40 miles in your car generates a lot of polution for someone as pure as you.

I don't know if you've paid attention to the economy lately, but right now one's chances of staying employed at the same place for the life of a mortgage are approximately zero.

I have an 88 mile round trip daily commute. I love my job and I love my house. That being said, I have looked into moving to cut down on both cost and environmental impact, but right now that's not an option. Due to the real estate market, the credit crisis and the eight houses on my street in foreclosure, my house is worth about $40,000 less than I paid for it.

The more realistic option is to drive the most fuel efficient vehicle possible. I'm hoping to get out of my minivan and into a hybrid within the next few months.

but I am not.....the funniest thing all week was hearing that some dealerships will NOT take them as trade-ins. Sometimes, you reap what you sow.:evilgrin:

I have to have an SUV or 4wd, I had a car before but the snow/ice 4 months out of the year tore my little car to pieces. I only get 20.00 gas at a time and it lasts me a week or two. I am a safe driver, not planning on running over any small cars, I would love to have a small economical car, if I moved to another part of the country then I would have one, but my situation warrants a heavier, hardier vehicle.

don't like SUVs. I know some cannot afford to live near work so how many people carpool with you? I know when I had to travel about that distance we had 5 people in the carpool. It was great since each person only drove once a week and we got a better parking spot. If you aren't carpooling and are in your car alone it doesn't matter what you drive, you are just as selfish as those SUV drivers you hate. Some of which might be hauling or even carpooling.

what about people who drive Chargers, GTO's, Mustangs,Corvettes, they are cars but probably get no better gas mileage than some SUV's or even pickups, screaming down the highways at 100 mph,(because they can), how safe for other drivers is that...

:crazy:

They new Corvettes can easily get around 30mpg on the highways/interstates. My 01 Trans Am averages around 22mpg and has reached 31mpg on the interstate, thats with a 350hp 5.7 v8.

When was the last time you drove on an Interstate, and traffic was going LESS than 85 miles an hour?

Get real. Those cars are such a minute percentage of the problem you must be jealous of the horsepower.

PS

Those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones at SUV's, they can drive through your house none the worse for wear.

should be more like 120 or more

Jealous of the horsepower? I have owned several muscle cars over the years and am fully aware of how much it takes to keep them on the road in gas and repairs, as well as overinflated insurance rates. I am not into that anymore, I grew up.

I can understand the rage over the SUV drivers.....some people own them because they are big, they seem to be the icon of wealth and influence, but some SUV/pickup drivers have to have a vehicle of this size because of family/weather conditions/the need for room, and these people should not have to deal with people yelling at them, flipping them off, etc.

As for the comment about people driving them to feel safe....I don't feel safe at all when I am driving a small car and a big 18 wheeler or SUV or pickup comes up on me, especially on icy or snowy roads.

When you lose your enthusiasm for life, and feel "growing up" is more important than having some fun in your life, then your soul has died.

I am sorry for your loss, it is a pity. Oh, and whenever I get the chance, I make sure I take about 2000 miles off the life of my tires. I'll never grow up.

I have kids, hobbies, etc. I would rather spend money on those things than on a muscle car, so don't pity me, you are wasting your time.

Enjoy your childhood and do whatever makes you happy, I do.

Carly

:shrug: Ragging on people who drive SUVs is a favorite pastime on DU. Has been for quite some time.

wow
Carly

They're also selfish.

Look, you drive one of these things because it's necessary, then I'm OK with that. Would I think you an asshole when I looked over at you in your Yukon? Absolutely I would. And I would be wrong. But consider the love affair the public seems to have with these things. What percentage of people driving these things do so out of necessity? A very small percentage, I imagine. So I lump the .001% (if that) of people who actually have a reason for driving them in with the 99.999% of selfish assholes who drive them because they truly believe that excessive consumption is their God-given right as Americans. So if you're in that elite .001% and I call you an asshole, please forgive me.

But why is it my business what *you* are driving?

I believe the Earth is warming, and that it should't take 550 ft/lbs of torque to transport a few bags of groceries.

I believe that when the likes of ExxonMobil cites "supply and demand" as justification for sticking it to us right up the ass, it's difficult to argue with them when every other vehicle on the road gets maybe 18mpg on the highway. Essentially, ExxonMobil looks at what people are driving and say "Fuck 'em", we can get whatever we want, and they stick it to us right and proper. So guys like me pay for the selfishness of others. That alone is reason enough to make it my business. But wait, there's more...

Without getting into the politics of it, I believe that the less money we ship of Mideast the better off we'll all be, both in terms of the stability of our own economy, and on general principles.

I believe that if you drive one of these things because it "makes you feel safe", you should learn to drive. Take a shitty driver and enclose them in a fucking tank. Yeah, that makes sense.

People that drive 80 miles a day forfeit the right to complain about environmental choices that others make.

Well, I guess you can complain about anything you want to but you do look silly, no matter what excuses you have for consuming so much gasoline.

To approach 80 mpg.. "Hypermilers" can do better than that even.

So an 80 mile round trip commute for a week could conceivably use as little as five gallons of gas..

I could do it on about seven gallons on my most efficient motorcycle, while doing well over 70 mph.

In a family member's Expedition that 7 gallons of gas would take me about 80 miles total..

Even if he's telling the truth (which I doubt);
He's going through about 10 gallons a week, which is excessive.

In the job market today, just having a job is an accomplishment, regardless of commute length.

I used to work construction and fifty miles one way was not all that uncommon.. Job sites change on a regular basis and you have no way of knowing where the next one might be..

Not everyone has the luxury of living close to work, our society is explicitly set up to make it difficult to live close to work (zoning laws).

Obviously.

Zoning laws aren't really the problem. The problem is people's desire to live out on the frontier, which made sense once upon a time, but not anymore.

Are not a problem?

We desired to live somewhere we could actually afford to own a home, pretty much any home. Our home is only 1100 sq ft, hardly a McMansion, we bought the only place we could make the down payment and the mortgage.

At the time were were in the exurbs, now it's suburbia, a lot can change in fifteen years.

Shopping is still a long and dangerous walk away on very busy roads that often don't even have a shoulder to walk on.

It's hilly here and already hot enough to be uncomfortable walking in the daytime.

Sorry, no forgiveness here. That only comes when you've walked a mile in the other guy's shoes and know from whence you speak. If you haven't, it's you who's the a-hole for taking such a sanctimonious stance.

Work is about 6 miles away, thats 12 miles per day five nights a week. 60 miles a week is what I drive, plus one day for groceries, which is about 7 miles away. 74 miles a week. That's all I drive. I use less gas than you. I can get out of my PIA driveway in the winter, and down the shitty roads they don't bother to plow. We can also go off road. Which we do.

1 kid
1 dog (used to be 2, the other died last Sept)

Now, at this point, if my credit wasn't shot because of this economy, I'd be looking for something in a hybrid, but I also couldn't afford one of those anyway. So, I'm rather stuck with my 7 year old vehicle with only 80k miles on it. It's also the best damn vehicle I have ever owned. Only basic maintainance, and never any problems. (knocks on wood)

and no Peeus can carry more than four people and their briefcases. The Peeus is best suited for single commuters not larger families or people who have special needs (in a vehicle), which is why the Volkswagen Bus was so damn popular and practical in the 60's and 70's, when gas was nickles a gallon.

My neighbors have FIVE kids, and guess what vehicle they own??



So when they ALL go to church this morning, they FIT, and no one stays home, plus Dad is a contractor, so his tools fit in the back where the third seat is during the week, and ALL of their groceries fit back their too.

I guess the next thing is "people" will tell us that you are kid restricted so you don't use too many resources.

4 kids, 2 parents, and an Irish Setter. No heat. 1 kerosene heater. Yeah, it's amazing we're still alive.

as for kid restrictions, there are plenty here who are for that. They call us "breeders" and used in a derogatory way. Just the one for me though. I'm 34, and she's 18 mos. By the time she's 7 and in school, I'll be 40. Not playing that game again that's for sure. :hi:

as should you.

http://www.zpg.org/

And state forced population reduction is not laudable, it is abominable. And YOU should do what is best for YOU not is what is best for ME. :mad:

Sounds very freeperish to me.

Adam Smith said the best result comes from everyone in the group doing what's best for himself, right? Adam Smith was wrong! The message: Sometimes it is better to cooperate!

How do you cooperate without communication? All those guys in the bar with Nash would be labeled as meddlers and busy bodies according to the DU naysayers.

What is the nature of free will? Why do companies advertise? Why do governments spend on PSAs? If behavior can be strongly and successful controlled by some expenditure, where does that leave free will? Much like our "Democracy" many things in life are just pleasing lies that we invent to prevent depression and or insanity.


I hope you in some way acknowledge the huge bind that industrialized civilization is now in. There are no replacements for the addictive opiate of fossil fuels and happy thinking and exponential growth are in no way going to fix it. Also a literal reading of my above post does not indicate either sentiments for nor against Chinese style birth control. Me thinks you project to much.

I have nothing further to say to you.

everything you just described can be accomplished with a station wagon/cuv or a mini van. Does the family weigh a combined 3000lbs?

yea i guess they may need that v8 then lol

The Ford Country Squire. No air conditioning. Want does not equal need.

They legislated fairly tight CAFE standards for automobiles and looser ones for "light trucks".

The auto companies responded rationally by building light trucks with lots of passenger seats and all the interior comforts found in automobiles.

It's sort of a rerun of an earlier episode in the '60s and '70s where Congress set emission standards primarily on the basis of the percentage of polutants in the tailpipe emissions. The manufacturers found that they could meet them by mis-tuning big V8s that pumped a lot of air through the cylinders. This led to the behemoth sedans of the '70s that people were driving during that fuel crises.

Stupid politicians, mostly lawyers who don't understand business or technology, keep screwing up the economy by not thinking beyond the next contribution.

it's ok to block traffic as they double park to let the soccer kids out at the mall or school or where ever they want to hang out.How many accidents has this caused by people trying to get around them?:rant:
Oh and none of them seem to know how to drive above 40 mph, even on highways.

there is a road in front of the school, the only reason for being on that road is because you're going to the school, but the minivans don't think they need to use that road they can use the main road to drop off they young and block traffic while being double parked.Mind you at 8:00 to 8:30 and 3:00 to 3:30 it's very busy around here, but let's not inconvenience them.

but don't blame us all!

I have to deal with obnoxious people every morning and afternoon at day care - the folks that are "late for work" or "in a rush" who think that makes it okay to park their vehicles in front of the door, blocking the exit, to drop their kids off. I had a person double park and block me in my parking spot for ten minutes last week and then have the nerve to SCREAM at me for staring at her when she approached. Apparently I was to avert my gaze from her royal highness.

to blame all suv drivers for gas prices and anything else they have their panties in a wad about on any particular day.

they're just another type of vehicle...nothing more nothing less.

yes, there are a bunch of ridiculous ones. OTOH, I bought a 4wd Explorer 13 years ago because I wanted the 4wd for Midwest winter driving. I bought the 2 door because it was the smallest version I could get. It has 4wd on demand, so minimizes the hit on mileage when 4wd is not needed. I can name half a dozen incidents where it probably saved my life, or my wife's. I have also stopped and pushed people out of snowbanks who otherwise would have had to wait for a tow truck.

I'd replace it with something more efficient but the energy expended to build a new one would eclipse the savings in energy burned by the thing over the next decade or so.

It is 13 years old, but still nice looking. So if you pull up next to me and call me a "stupid, selfish asshole," well, fuck you.

rant over

In my neighborhoods, I'm seeing a lot more smaller cars/hybrids these days....

But I tow a trailer with it anyway. Believe me, I drive it with a really light foot these days, and don't take it anywhere if Mrs. Ironflange's car is home. Besides, here in Calgary an Av is more or less a midsize vehicle, lots of jacked-up trucks around here. I was in Portland last summer, and felt pretty conspicuous in it.

What a waste of gas...I moved down the street from my job and I walk to work every day. My SUV is parked in the city garage 5 days a week. I use it on weekends when I travel to the local state forest and haul out litter. I drive an average of 4K miles per year :P

Sucks, but in order to drive the same number of miles each week, I work at home 2 days a week. I'd probably move if I could buy another house, but even with the loss of home values, I still can't afford to live near my job.

...I don't really hate people who commute, hey we can't all live next door to work. You say you work from home a couple days a week? That's great! It's tough when your company moves away, not much you can do about that.

Fortunately there was no other traffic around me, so I had enough time to actually ask myself, "Swerve or hit the gas?" I chose the latter. I used to think that if I'd been just a little faster, I'd have gotten out unscathed. But if I had avoided the Hummer completely, it would have gone right through the railing it eventually crashed into.

Maybe you should have to get a special license to drive an SUV, like you need to with a motorcycle.

:headbang:
rocknation

And a lot of people in general who seem to think they know and are in a position to sum up what other people's circumstances are. Such conceit!

My best friend was accosted at a service station recently by someone who thought it was a good idea to berate her because she was filling up her SUV, a smallish one at that. Well let's see. Her primary vehicle is very small and fuel-efficient, but she has fairly large property where she has animals. Dogs (big ones) and cats and pigs and a bunch of goats that graze and nibble and keep the property tidy without using gas-driven equipment. The SUV is used for hauling feed and animals and very little if anything else.

I have another friend who runs a rescue. She did yeoman's work saving dogs after Katrina and transporting them to safety and then taking them to be reunited with their owners whenever possible. She should maybe have been hauling big labs and bassett hounds, sometimes two or three at a time, in her Prius?

The point is that there are some people who have legitimate need for large vehicles, like some who have posted here who need their SUVs to run their businesses. Of course, there are also people like my niece who makes it a point to drive the biggest, ugliest most expensive behemoth she can find just because she can when she has no such need. But who here is really in a position to know which are which and pass judgment?

Others deride those of us who commute fairly long distances to work. We should all live very close, preferably walking distance, to our jobs. And those of us who don't are just too attached to our McMansions to do so. Uh huh.

I live in a two-bedroom condo in a very middle-class town. I bought it partially because it was less than a 10-minute drive to work. Too bad life isn't a static thing. My company's business plan changed over time and my job was no longer necessary (not offshored, just eliminated). Being over 50 and in a youth-oriented field, it took awhile to find a new job and the one I did find in my arena that paid enough to live on happens to be substantially farther away. Does it automatically follow that I can afford to sell and move to be closer to the office, despite the fact that there is NO housing closer that I could afford in the first place? And should I have to move again in December when my office moves and will again put me within 15 minutes in rush hour traffic from where I am now? Should I have moved 13 years ago when the only job I could find was at least 40 miles from where I was living despite the fact that I was continuing to job hunt and was re-employed in my former area six months later? In most instances, people live where they can afford to live and work where they can find a job. It isn't always possible that the two locations will be one and the same. Without knowing all the circumstances, who are you to criticize?

No one here is in a position to judge others with the broad-brush approach that I see here in this discussion. That doesn't seem to stop a lot of you, though. Must be nice to be so all-knowing and omniscient.

for our sons. My oldest is autistic and sometimes goes ballistic (no one knows why). The hitting can get really bad. We're able to separate the kids and still travel to see family way out of town. It isn't a long SUV (SL).

The odd thing is, there are newer SUVs that are bigger than ours. They are taller and wider. I doubt very many people bother putting them in the garage at night, even though most of them can fit. Yeah, the Excursion cannot. What a stupid vehicle.

They're called station wagons.

Not exactly safe for the kids. His sisters got to sit in the seats. Those were the good ole days. Right.

fuck the suburbs, the only place you need a car should be rural areas.

I especially liked this:

"That it's some kind of adventure driving some obese gas guzzler to Starbucks for a cup of coffee?"

:hi:

All the high-flown, patriotic slogans the last couple of generations of Americans were raised on seem to parse to little more than "we're gonna drive the biggest damned gas-guzzlers we can find."

that they don't even know are places. But boy if they ever did go there, they'd shonuff rip it up with them big fat tires, ya'll.

Kill 'em all.

as hell in the main ---

once they're in a parking space next to you, your visibility is pretty much blocked ---

and they are often very aggressive.

Yesterday afternoon around school game time in our local park, one was pulled up onto the grass
-- and it's always like a clown car act with multiple beings exiting the SUV --- including
equipment and dogs!!!

I cant stand them either. Its a symbol of American excess that i'm glad is going away.
Even some reasons people state for "needing" suvs are false dilemmas.

In Europe you see front wheel drive cars/cuv's towing things. Yes 4cyl. can tow! imagine that!

Big family? see Mazda5 or a regular sedan...unless you are a family of giants.....which you may be because of the cheap food


Dont give me any of that libertarian "freedom of choice" bullshit either..........I think as far as consumers and products go freedom of choice didnt work out too well for us.

they are nothing more than re-branded station wagons. The industry figured out how to re-package the family station wagon on a neutered truck frame, give it some macho name and all of a sudden it's "cool" to drive one.

No thanks, I'll keep my little 1/2 ton pickup with the rubber floormats and crank-up windows....at least it's a real truck.

With a 15mpg Jeep Cherokee. I definitely don't need the space or the extra size, but it's paid off and I only put on maybe 50 miles per week, so gas prices really don't affect me too much. I also like not having to dig myself out of a snow bank during the winter.

At only 70k miles, I'll drive it into the ground before I spend more money on a new car.

So do I, my son.

Call us stupid but the kids equipment just won't fit in the Element. Hope you never need a wheelchair and someone calls you stupid for having a vehicle large enough to carry it. Ouch! Oh yes, husband's job is about 1 mile from the house. He can even ride his bike there. Works for us.

Flag this person down. Invite him or her to spot-assess your life in return and find out which of your habits and consumptions (those not immediately on display in your 80-mile-round-trip commute!) are stupid/selfish/assholish. Weigh their evaluation against your pop judgment of them. Go somewhere for coffee. Discuss productive ways for both of your to improve your lives. Part as imperfect people but friends.

That is all. End of response rant.

What's four miles long and two lanes wide
Sixty five tons of American pride?

Canyonero!!!! Canyonero!!!!

You have no business telling people what types of vehicles to drive. That's their own business in a free country. And you obviously have some pretty serious mental issues if you need to drive around calling peoples in SUVs assholes.

What I hate are the low-MPG fossil fuel engines that most often power these vehicles. But as soon as they start putting 50+ MPG hybrid or alternative fuel engines in them, I wouldn't care if the whole world drove around in Hummers.

I drive a Jeep Cherokee. If you're going to be a bigot please be inclusive.

bigot




Main Entry: big·ot
Pronunciation: \ˈbi-gət\
Function: noun
Etymology: French, hypocrite, bigot
Date: 1660
: a person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices; especially : one who regards or treats the members of a group (as a racial or ethnic group) with hatred and intolerance
— big·ot·ed \-gə-təd\ adjective
— big·ot·ed·ly adverb


on edit: to add

So what do you do for a living so that I can make a blanket statement about you, your lifestyle etc.?

I'm glad its gets good gas milage. I also detest SUVS and my parents have two of them as does my brother and Grandmother. None of them need one. If you have more than two kids, own a business, etc, I can understand. If you don't then crying about gas prices does not make me feel sorry for you.

Most families in other parts of the western world do just fine with civic sized cars for a family of four. Its not like Americans are that much larger. My fam used to be like your parents but i made them see the light lol. now their proud 4cyl. drivers.