Well my SUV is quite easy to see out of and I have never had issues parking. At a Wal-Mart parking lot you are going to judge cars from?! Oh man. Walmart is like the death of car politeness. I won't even take the MINI to one. But even though SUVs may be bigger, sedans can take up just enough room. Yes, I've thought about taking 2 spaces with the MINI but that wouldn't be very nice

You stated over 60% of the cars are parked poorly. I'll buy that (especially at a wal-mart!). But why just mention the SUVs? I'm sure that of that percentage there is still a large non-SUV percentage that are parked poorly.

 

60% includes every type of car imagineable.

 

Since MINIs are small, and since SUVs proliferated in a manner that was uncalled for, and because the "SUV Backlash" was part of early MINI marketing, yeah, we do tend to bash SUVs. I don't think it's really all that serious, though...just an inside joke. Everybody knows that some SUV drivers really need them, and that many SUV drivers park fine, and that some are even good drivers. It's just a stereotype we use to poke fun. Nothing more. Lucas gets some jabbing, too.

 

Fine. Maybe I'll start a thread poking fun at people who own poodles because that must mean they are high maintenance...

 

You guys are going to make me sell my SUV and make my wife and daughter take the train.

Wait, there's no train within 500 miles of here...I guess I'll make them walk.

 

I just don't understand how the things became status symbols. It was quite a marketing coup to get people to buy these high-profit auto-standards-exempt trucks simply to impress their equally dimwitted neighbors. I'm not saying that's the only reason anyone buys them, but it is why there are so many on the road.

If the auto makers took their Navigators or Escalades and kept the same drivetrain and suspensions, but put in cloth seats and manual windows and plain steel wheels; priced them at $25,000, they wouldn't sell a one.

 

What about a MINI with a mid-80s interior, POS seats, 1 speaker, etc, etc...

Who cares? Just because you don't like the SUV doesn't mean that they should not exist. I like mine for so many reasons. Mainly for the space it provides that we use almost weekly just because we're busy people. I certainly don't drive it as a status symbol.

 

Tofu gets regularly bashed, too!!!

 

I can't beleive nobody brought up winter driving! My main complaint with a majority of SUV drivers is that they don't slow down in slippery winter conditions. I have a 25 mile commute each way to work, and it is all highway with one major hill over a mountain in central PA.

When it starts snowing and road conditions start to decline, these nuts just truck along at 75mph or more! I guess they think that because they have 4 -wheel drive they don't need to slow down. Ice is ice, and 4-wheel drive just means you have 4 wheels spinning instead of 2.

By the way, my other vehicle is a 2004 Land Rover Discovery. I know, I know. It is a major gas hog and huge. However, I only use it on weekends for hauling my 4 dogs, or going mountainbiking, or foul weather and only put a few thousand miles a year on it. I do know when to slow down, when to get out of the left lane, and what my vehicle's capabilities are.

 

I think a better question is how do you not? Prove the perception wrong chow.

 

Reason why i dislike SUVs:

1. Big vehicles and i cannot see past them as to wth is going on the road
2. They are gas-guzzlers

Reason why i should dislike SUV drivers

1. They are the ones who buy and drive those big vehicles and guzzle up gas so the government can inv.. oh wait - this will open a whole different can.

 

Too true. Although I must say I'm one of those that HATES driving in the snow (another reason for the expedition) and when I must, I end up driving 20mph or less and really paying attention to what I'm doing while I'm being passed/honked at by a tiny little thing that will probably be on the side of the road in a minute due to the way they are driving. Certainly there are many SUV drivers that drive very fast in the snow, but their cars are more equipped than other small cars (who haven't taken the precautions with proper tires and such) and those small cars are also guilty of driving erradically/way too fast in the snow/ice.

Not the gas problem is a problem with our government in general, not the cars themselves. Maybe we should have people in office who don't benefit from higher gas prices (ie who has "friends" at exxon)...ahem...okay not saying any more. Don't blame the worlds gas problems on one group of cars though.

 

Keywords i'll throw in here:

1. Gas
2. War
3. Deaths

*Puts on his flame shield and leaves the planet*

 

Are you talking about problems with our president or with SUVs?

 

Since I mentioned the parking issue let me clarify again, it is not just about poor parking which any car can do of course, but that so frequently SUVs/big trucks park in compact spaces. Yes regular non compact cars do that as well sometimes but the width and bulk of the SUV makes it especially bad.

In any case, for me the bottom line is that anything done badly by the driver of an SUV is worse then if they were in a car or on a motorcycle in the threat they pose. From the real increased tendancy to rollover that hurts the occupants, to the fact that they pose more of a danger to people in passenger cars when involved in an accident are factual problems inherent to the breed. Even in low speed accidents they cause more damage (http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/bumper_tests.html).

So beyond the variables based on driving skill and borderline dangers like more likely to dazzle higher lights and some visibility issues, the fact remains that SUVs/trucks pose more of a danger.

 

This is purely speculative coincidence. I appreciate the fact that you believe such, but it doesn't neccesarily mean it's true.

I drove a Saturn for 4 years and 9 months, through 69,000+ miles with zero accidents. In the three months I was attempting to sell it, I was hit 4 times by other drivers, 2 of which were in SUV's and decided to play the I'm bigger than you so I'm coming into your lane whether/not you like it game.

I'd like to believe that I was hit just purely out of the fact I was trying to sell my car (murphy's law), but I have no way to prove it.

 

Actually, to be fair, she did mention dogs in her first post.

 

Wow! I had no idea that a larger object would be more harmful! What a concept! Your point is...lets get rid of all the contractors, pets, extra kids, home projects that require large items to be driven around, large pieces of furniture, etc. and then maybe SUVs would go away? Okay, what do you have in your living room, bean bag chairs that fit nicely one at a time in the MINI? Honestly.

Of course an SUV poses more of a threat to others than a small car does. Just like a teenager does, or a drunk person. But that doesn't mean that the drivers themselves are posing this threat. The space in an SUV is necessary in many instances, so why whine about it?

Yay! I wasn't dreaming! I thought I had said that somewhere

Hey...it still worked in my mind (I'm alive now!). Sorry to hear about your car & murphy's law. Maybe for me it was the false sense of security that got me to buy the expedition, but it seemed to work at least (people certainly stayed clear of my car).

 

A market needs to exist for gas companies to flourish. If more people carpooled / bought fuel efficient vehicles / used public transportation, there would be a lesser need for fuel yes?

I know atleast two friends whose drive to work is around 2-3mins (6-8min walk) and yet they insist on taking a car. Fuel consumption in general sucks and i usually refer to SUVs by the term "gasholes".

I know i sound like a hypocrite myself but i am 28 and i have driven around 1500-1600 miles all my life (that will change soon but eh). I take the bus/train whenever i can.

 

Christ you're right, I must be blind. So I guess the "search this thread" function isn't working properly either as I searched for "dog" and came up with nada.

 

Bingo - +2

 

And my drive to work is 40 miles one way. Transportation would take over 3 hours because there is no direct route (I looked into it) and I've looked into ride shares. No one I know lives anywhere near me, and thus I must drive. Due to that reason, I purchased the MINI to stop driving the Expedition so much.

Sure, there would be lesser need for fuel if SUVs weren't around. But that could also mean more cars on the road (ie an suv can fit 7-8 people in it, instead of all taking said SUV, people end up driving 3 separate cars out). Large families would need a van instead, as a mini-van does not hold as much. The root of the problem is not the car itself, but those attempting to prove it is while taking the blame off the people who walk away with billions. Unfortunately the gas problem will not go away anytime soon, as long as lawmakers have anything to say about it. And when you introduce other potential fixes, new problems arise (ie hybrid technology relying on those lovely batteries). Bottom line, we need the space (some do anyway) and thus SUVs are helpful. However, I do agree that driving one every day 80miles/day is a bit unnecessary and wasteful. Hence, the MINI

 

To be fair to SUVs, I went from an Integra to a 4-Runner back in my younger days, and I loved the loss of control, loud squealing of tires, and sensation of rolling over when I took sharp turns. I also enjoyed cutting across grassy medians with lovely wild flowers and running over curbs to bypass parking gates.

Driving my mini is so boring in comparison. No matter how fast I drive or hard I turn, I can't get the thing to lose control.

 

Cute, very cute.

 

Your facetious remarks aside, no, that is not my point at all, although I'd be pleased if people stopped thinking of high SUVs as safer for their kids (which they are not, http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news0...uv_safety.html) and if they really needed them learned to drive and park them correctly. With hope they will regulate them into safer crossever van like vehicles anyway, and ultimately the rest will roll themselves into oblivion

Fwiw, SUVs and trucks can be rented and/or borrowed when moving, hauling, and projects necessitate them. Works great, costs less, and I can get any of that stuff done without being stuck with owning and driving one more then required - too many better cars to own

And we are not whining, you asked why and we answered. Besides, forums are for discussing things, and responding with the issues we have with so many of these large vehicles on the road is par for the course.