I just found this article about someone whos Hummer was vandalized in DC. Worthy of some discussion, perhaps?

 

Let's see, he's 32 and lives with his mother....buys the 2nd most ridiculously guzzling vehicle on the planet and puts a lift kit on it?

How do you spell "loser"?

If he has it fixed and parks it on the street again, then he needs to get out of the gene pool.

 

i saw that in the post yesterday.

 

The fact that someone likes something different than you, doesn't make them stupid. Nor does it entitle others to vandalize their property. Someone could decide our Expedition is just as worthy a target. I don't need to justify my ownership of it to them.

 

Who the hell needs 38" tires?

Those kind of people scare me. There trucks are jacked up so high that their floorboards are the same height as our roofs. If they're chatting away on their cells or watching DVDs (and you KNOW they are) they won't see us as they roll right over us.

There needs to be some kind of law for how high trucks can be...

Honestly, who NEEDS a truck that big?

 

And on the other side of the road, there are those who believe small vehicles are a danger and should be banned. Sure you want to start legislating away?

 

Maybe he bought the house from his mother and instead of putting her in a home, she lives with him.

I live with my parents ATM... I guess I am a big LOSER too.

 

I saw it in the Post as well. The guy owns a ridiculous vehicle that is bad for the environment and a symbol of excess. BUT there's no need to destroy the thing. I feel bad for him. Perhaps he's misguided in purchasing this behemoth, but vandalism isn't going to change his mind.

In many ways my MINI purchase was excessive. The MINI replaced a perfectly fine VW Jetta and for about $8,000 less I could have had a Honda Fit with the same gas mileage and in many ways more functionality. Of course design matters to me and I'm willing to pay more for good design (and more performance).

 

There's nothing dangerous about a car that gets good gas mileage, has low emissions and doesn't have excess weight. On the other hand, a 2-ton behemoth that's jacked up with it's centre of gravity 4 feet off the ground and will tip in a strong wind, gets gas mileage in the teens....

Can't wait for that new fuel standards law to go into effect. I wanna see an SUV get 30mpg

and stop playing Devil's Advocate, this is Mini-land!


I do feel bad for the lad. I'd be floored if someone messed up Nigel...oh right, I was!

 

Prejudice is an ugly thing, no matter what venue it uses..........

To each his own, if he wants to drive this thing and can afford the gas, fine.

I really feel that these things (Hummers and such) are going to slowly die out over the next 10 years as status symbols, and go back to being bought by those who use them the way they were originally intended - to haul things or be used in the country or for work vehicles..........

 

It's really a shame. I certainly don't approve of Hummers, but I drove a gas guzzling Jeep Wrangler for a while too. This kind of vandalizm is extremist behavior. It saddens me that given the countless alternate possibilites for getting out a good message on environmentalism that these individuals would resort to these sorts of actions.

Environmentalism is a noble value and worthy cause, but respect for others property and choices should be equally paramount.

 

geez, that's awful. Messing with other peoples cars has always been one of my pet peeves. I hate it when people even put flyers under my wipers, I can't imagine what this guy is going through

 

Yes there is. Physics. In a collision, mass wins. Sure, as cars have gotten smaller and lighter, the technology has been improved to compensate for it, air bags, crumple zones, etc. But if I'm in the MINI and I get in a collision with someone driving, not a modern SUV, but say an early 60s Plymouth Fury, the MINI is going to sustain more damage.

And on the 38" tires... don't get me wrong, I would never buy that or any other Hummer. It's a rebadged Chevy Tahoe. But I do occasionally drive my 1975 Land Cruiser. It's got 32" tires now, but I've considered 34 or 35. Is 38 that much bigger? Where do we draw the line? Just because you don't like trucks, that means I can't modify a vehicle for use at a private off-road park or out on legal wilderness trails? And before you say, "sure, just don't drive it on the road..." How am I supposed to get there? You think I'll use more gas driving my Cruiser to the trail or towing it (and a 1500 pound trailer) behind a Ford F-350?

 

I'm fairly certain Hummer had every intention of the H2 being used exactly how most people use them.....status symbols. Why else would they mimic the H1 styling on a Tahoe chassis.

as for the haters....try getting your beloved MINI out here and call me when you need a tow.

 

and who NEEDS a MINI or low profile tires? no one...but we all like our cars the way they are, so if he liked his hummer should he not be allowed to have it? No one NEEDS anything besides a car to get them from point A to point B....we like to make the trip in our cute little MINIs and he wants to make the trip in his tall Hummer.

There is a law about how high trucks can be....there is also a law about how low trucks/cars can be. We lower our cars and they raise their trucks...luckily people are allowed to do as they please with their car. You can tease him for his choices, but then he has every right to tease you for yours.

MINI's aren't THAT amazing, our MPG's are alright but nothing breathtaking. I laugh when people sit on the MINI high horse as if it were better than hummers or SUV's. The environmental harm done by manufacturers of the clothes you are wearing right now or the production of the thousands of plastic products you own are FAR greater than the 10 or so miles per gallon difference between a hummer and a MINI. Gas mileage is a great way to affect pollution, but driving a car that gets mileage in the upper 20's lower 30's doesn't make you much more environmentally friendly than the SUV next to you at the light unless you are altering many more factors of your material consumption as well.

 

Of course, for all anyone knows this crime could have been perpetrated by some half-clever malcontents that tossed in the environmental reference just to throw any investigation off track...not the most likely scenario, but possible.

It is for reasons such as this that I've always been nervous about, and tried to avoid at all costs, parking my vehicle on the street--unless it happens to be a nondescript beater-wagon. I know not everyone has a driveway or garage but nonetheless the risk is going to be higher on the street. Attention-getting cars (be they MINIs or Hummers) are always going to be an attraction to vandals who simply want to maximize the financial and emotional impact of their actions on the unfortunate owners.

One would think that insurance premiums to cover comprehesive claims would be much higher for high profile autos that are not garaged in an urban setting...true?

 

Yes. I imagine that one day, cars will be dropped so low and trucks lifted so high that trucks will just eventually pass over cars instead of using a passing lane.

 

I have to come down on the side of the Anti-HUGE-SUV crowd on this one.

Sure, it's a free world and anyone CAN buy anything they want, even a barn-sized Hummer.

However, that doesn't mean we all have to like it. Let's see... how many reasons do I have to dislike them:

A) Not being able to see around those monsters on the road unless you travel 400 yards behind them.

B) Not being able to see what's coming when you are trying to get out of a parking spot because one is next to you.

C) An exceedingly high percentage of them drive like they own the road.

D) They increase our country's oil consumption, drive up the prices for everyone, and put more money in the pockets of countries like Venezuela and Saudi Arabia. Without engaging in political debate, I don't think that's a real good idea.

But hey, we're all about free will in this country, even at the inconvenience of others. It's a "me, me, me" world. :impatient

 

I don't like Hummers but it's not my right nor anyone elses to destroy someone elses property. If I lived near there I would stop by myself in my MINI to see if I could help in anyway. Just to show not everyone who drives a small car is a POS like his neighbors apparently are.

 

lol i love the little pencil beard the kid has. And thats what we need is another sports marketing company LOL

 

I'm not sure if it's your point, but....

I don't think anyone in this thread was condoning the destruction of the HUMMER involved in this indident, or any other property. In fact, I'd bet everyone in this thread would agree with your statement.

Disliking something is one thing. Destroying it because you don't like it is totally different.

 

Who the hell needs a car ?......most the world gets along fine without one. For those on bicycles your MINI is "dangerous" and for most of the world a CAR period is excessive

You logic mr weasel is ridiculous, If you want to tell people what they need go move to one of the fine communist countries where you only have what you NEED....THIS country.....This GREAT country is about the LIBERTY, Thank God we can have WANTS! And thank God your wants are not my wants, and your wants are not my wants! People like you want a law against everything

 

Alan, you've smacked a hornet's nest...

I don't agree with acts of violence, even if it's against a gas guzzler.
It's too bad his vehicle was damaged, but it's happened to MINI folks as well including my husband's car that was keyed all over. There was no reason for this vandalism, just someone being stupidly destructive.

As to MINI vs. anything else, to each his own, I guess. There reasons, good, bad, and personal that influence auto purchasing.

 

Maybe the guys mom lives with him due to health issues.

Should 172hp in a 2500lb car be outlawed? Who needs such horsepower?

There shouldn't be 4 seats in cars. Most of the time, a car only carries 1-2 people. More than that is excessive. You shouldn't be going anywhere if you need more people along than that.

Window tinting should be outlawed.

Aftermarket anything should be outlawed.

Leather seats-or anything in a car from an animal-should be outlawed.

Buying a new car before your current one has 200k miles or so should be outlawed.

Soft tires that get less than 50k or 100k miles should be outlawed.

McDonalds hamburgers should be outlawed.

Internet forums should be outlawed.

Rock music (Satan's music) should be outlawed.

YOU might think something is stupid, and wonder why anyone would possibly want it. THEY might possibly think the same about YOUR choices. "That's a stupid little girly car-let's key it". Would anyone seriously suggest that we only be allowed to do something that no one else has a problem with?

The guy likes a big truck and big tires. So what? I'm sure some of your choices would seem just as silly.

I think the kids were just vandals. Not environmentalists. Although they may be both.

 

I bet if you found the actual numbers of oil conusumption between a hummer driver and a MINI driver, you will find that it's remarkably close. Their mileage isn't THAT bad, its what....like 10-15 miles per gallon less? That would account for a very small percent of oil consumption that each person is responsible for. Every piece of clothing, every plastic item in your house, the heating of your home, the electricity you use, the toys you have (boat, ATV, scooter, lawn mower, etc), the production of new tires that you need after a trip to the dragon . All of that consumes oil. Their car consumes goes 120-200 miles less than ours does on 13 gallons....but ocnsidering the massive amount of oil each person uses....that's not enough to make a judgement call.

Not to mention.....it all depends on how many miles they drive. A hummer driver that lives close to work would be more environmentally friendly than the MINI owner that has a further commute....even if he does have better MPG's. My 02 cooper has 44k miles because my commute is small......does that give me the right to feel better than an MCS owner who happesn to commute further to his job and thus puts on 20k a year?

The-anti-SUV thing is fine....but it doesn't have a very solid platform to stand on. You can't see around them, they can't see you when you are right behind them in your small car. They drive like they own the road, small sports car owners "own the road" in a different way as they speed on the twisties and "zip" through traffic. They all use cell phones, and they all have their fair share of bad drivers. The environmental impact is important, but at the same time a small part of a much bigger picture. You can hate on SUV's but i hope their is some actual concrete reason rather than it just being that they are different than you