The latest (Feb.24) TIME magazine arrived today. There is a big anti-SUV article that shows a IB MCS paired off with a Chevy Trailblazer on page 36.

The MCS is called "tiny & trendy"

Tom

 

guess they are right...the mini is tiny & trendy, laugh...

The problem with the SUV Backlash is that the SUV size with poor gas milage is not to blame.....the technology is there for SUVs to double their current milage, but manufuacturers would rather spend the extra $200 to $500 per vehicle for that technology to give customers a DVD Theater System instead, plus the Oil Companies obviously have a vested interest to not encourage that technology.....what is sad one could have their cake and eat it too, a large SUV and great gas milage, but that is not going to happen anytime soom in America....

 

Ah... the old evil Oil Company conspiracy theory.

If the technology were commercially viable, then one of the car companies would do it. It's just basic competition in the free market. If an automotive company thought they could get an edge, they would do it. However, the benefits would probably apply across the board and a tiny car would still get better gas mileage than the big SUV.

You can't cheat physics.

 

>>guess they are right...the mini is tiny & trendy, laugh...
>>
>>The problem with the SUV Backlash is that the SUV size with poor gas milage is not to blame.....the technology is there for SUVs to double their current milage, but manufuacturers would rather spend the extra $200 to $500 per vehicle for that technology to give customers a DVD Theater System instead, plus the Oil Companies obviously have a vested interest to not encourage that technology.....what is sad one could have their cake and eat it too, a large SUV and great gas milage, but that is not going to happen anytime soom in America....




I agree with photoguy. Where is this phantom technology, what is it called, where did you read about it, has it been proven? I constantly hear about this technology, but whenever I ask these questions I get the same answer, "I heard it from someone else". I guess I still don't get the whole SUVs are bad thing. My wife has a Honda CR-V. Her CR-V gets like 24mpg. What is so bad about that? I constantly have my foot in the peddle of my Mini and only get 26mpg on average. Am I bad now? Oh, I guess my father is bad since he drives a 1ton 4x4 crewcab Cummins turbo diesel. He gets under 20 mpg when hes pulling and hauling.

Are you guys really serious about this SUVs are bad thing. It seems like most of you have fallen under the umbrella of marketting accomplished by the BMW group. They started the add "SUV Backslash" to sell cars, and they did. Most of you just took it too far. I take it as marketting that worked, but I don't base my vehicular strategies on it. The Mini is a fun car. I didn't buy it to save gas, I bought it to haul ***! Doing that uses alot of fuel. Don't tell me that all of you never "drop the hammer" every once in a while.


I think I must be alone on this one,
Frank

 

Frank,
You are not alone, I agree with you 110%. I think a lot of people take this way too seriously. Sometimes when the SUV bashing starts on certain threads I feel disappointment.
I have been driving small cars most of my life (and that has been a loong time), and I have to admit I am a speed demon, but I don't believe SUVs are all that bad. I do think some drivers are the lunatics. Put a SUV driver in a small car and you still end up with an ********* on the road.

I read on this board and others about SUV drivers flipping the bird at MINI drivers, and cutting off people. I feel we are not getting the whole story. For every action there is a reaction.

As far as gas mileage goes, just give it up. Buying the Expedition and the Escalade are choices, and if someone wants to spend that kind of cash every week to fill their tanks then let them.

And yes the environment suffers, but really what good is it going to do whining about it. Let's get out there and enjoy the ride.

This is just my two cents, I'm not here to start a flame war, so you can save the counter attacks for someone else.

Lolo

 

SUV's my rear end! When somebody buys my petrol I'll listen to them....maybe.
Tell it to B.S., Sherryll CRRRowww, George C. Looney, and all the other wimpnicks in Horrorwood. They'll have to give up their energy consuming mansions and their limos and do something constructive before they're listened to by Middle America. And I only have right listening ears, I get very little from the left side.

''There! and it's only a 1/4 to 6 am.

_________________

LTL YELO

 

Which burns more fuel?

Hauling 6 people, the family dog and groceries across town in an SUV, or a small hatchback?

 

>>Which burns more fuel?
>>
>>Hauling 6 people, the family dog and groceries across town in an SUV, or a small hatchback?

So the SUV is more efficient, because it would take three small hatchbacks to do the same thing!!

 

On the other hand, how many SUV's do you see with a full load of kids, dogs and groceries?

 

>>On the other hand, how many SUV's do you see with a full load of kids, dogs and groceries?

So now you're changing your argument? Sounds like an evil liberal ploy to me.

 

Sirron, I'm sure everything sounds like an evil liberal ploy to you.



_________________
2003 Cooper/IndiBlue/AllPackages/Sunroof

 

Real answer: You haul those 6 folks in a Minivan that's more practical, drives better, has better crash-test scores, gets better mileage, uses tires that are smaller (and cheaper), and has 2 fewer cylinders to go wrong than your average full-size SUV.

No, minivans aren't sexy, but they do the job better than SUVs at 2/3rds the weight and cost-of ownership.

My philosophy: Right tool for the right job. For some, an SUV makes sense, but for others, its a fashion statement. Do I support people's right to buy them? Absolutely. Do I think the vast majority of those folks are poseurs? Absolutely.

 

According to TIME Magazine: if the MINI is "tiny and trendy" is the SUV "large and trendy"? How about a good ole mid-sized sedan: "medium and long-term". OOH, how about the Miata: "tiny and long-lasting!" The Suburban's been around a while, the F-150's been around a long time too, so has the old Mini. any other nameplates that have such heritage? Do I have a point? MCS vs. SUV; Hummer vs. Miata; S2000 vs. Z4 vs. Boxster; snow vs. salt; hardwood vs. carpet; leather vs. microfiber; denim vs. lycra; Zymol vs. Zaino; plastic or paper, to-go or dine-in, red wine or white, MCO or MINI2.......................................

 

Exactly my point Harry.

Kids are grown, don't need the van anymore, MC on it's way.

Right tool for the right job. Not a liberal or conservative issue, but a common sense one.

I hope we don't lose the freedom to make sensible decisions.

Andy

 

Sirron, you sir are my hero!

jc :smile:

PS... I will let Sheryl Crow choose the car I drive when she pays for it. Until then she can rock on, and I will live my own life.

 

Yeah. I could never get the backlash thing. I mean, if someone wants to buy a hummer even though they only drive on city streets, why not? They're already paying three times the gasoline tax that I am, because they're buying three times as much gas. And if they're cool with that, I'm cool with that.

As far as phantom technology, the main thing I know of is that if American environmentalists would loosen up on diesal the way European environmentalists have, you could have a 16mpg H2 instead of a 9mpg. Or, come to that, I could have a diesal mini with much more torque than the standard cooper currently does

 

ooo, a turbo-diesel MINI, that would be cool. 50mpg+ would rock big time

 

A Diesel Mini. Have to think about that one

 

There is a diesel MINI in the works. Don't forget that the Suez oil crisis was the inspiration for the original Mini.

Now to add my thoughts to the topic:

1. People like SUV's because they sit high and can see well (at the expense of every other driver on the road)

2. People like SUV's because they are massive and will "win" in any collision involving lighter cars (at the expense of every other driver on the road)

3. People don't care how much oil, steel, rubber, etc. a vehicle consumes so long as they feel it is affordable (at the expense of every other life form sharing the planet)

By "people" I mean you, me, and most everyone else. I'm not claiming any high road here -- just pointing out the fact that selfishness is an inevitable aspect of human nature. SUV drivers are very easy to identify as especially selfish.

 

saw the article. Its about time someone brought negative attention to the suv problem.

 

This is completely rediculous. If you're going to use TIME as your basis for arguement, at least balance it with a publication that isn't blatantly left wing.

My 2p on What Would Jesus Drive - Jesus has 12 disciples, yet he would drive a Honda Civic or Mini Cooper? If he was concerned about the environment he would drive a pair of SUVs.

Vespa - you think SUV drivers are selfish for using up too much rubber? Let me know next time you go autocrossing so I can judge YOU too.

Who here lived in this huge blizzard over in the northeast? Tell me how well your mini did in that snow while those SUVs drove past you effortlessly.

Show me a minivan with the consistent excellence of design found in the Lincoln Navigator and I'll consider it. The fact of the matter is SUVs are just better cars to drive.

SUV drivers are all selfish, apparently. Wow, we've come so far. Stereotypes are all but gone from our society. Hooray for us.

 

I agree with photoguy. Where is this phantom technology, what is it called, where did you read about it, has it been proven? I constantly hear about this technology, but whenever I ask these questions I get the same answer, "I heard it from someone else".

Fuel Efficiency

Car Companies aren't going to invest in the technology till consumers demand it or gas prices go to $3 a gallon +

 

What is it about MINIs that seems to attract these right-wing kooks who find "conspiracies" under every rock they turn over? I've only visited this site a few times, but it seems like they're in every thread.

Just my imagination or what?

 

The analogy made between the wasteful nature of SUVs and waste had by driving a smaller car hard doesn't work. To accurately compare a particular characteristic (such as fuel efficiency), all other variables have to be kept constant. Given the same speed, same distance, same cargo, an SUV is going to consume more resources than a smaller car. In other words, all else being equal, SUVs are more wasteful than smaller cars. It's simply a fact. It could be argued that if you load up an SUV with people then you are keeping two possibly three cars off the road. However, we all know that in the vast majority of cases, SUVs, as with most autos, only have one occupant - the driver. You would also have to have more than four people in that SUV, since autos in general can also hold four people.

Yes, there are many people that drive their MINIs with a lead foot. But there are many people, if not more, that drive their SUVs just as hard. Driving habits are incredibly variable and impossible to monitor. To draw a fair comparison, focus has to be placed on the hardware alone.

(And as has been said soooo many times, the criticism is not directed towards people that use their SUVs for their intended purpose, but rather those who buy them simply to keep up with the Joneses and view them almost as fashion accesories - which I might add, is the majority of them.)

 

>>This is completely rediculous. If you're going to use TIME as your basis for arguement, at least balance it with a publication that isn't blatantly left wing.
>>
>>My 2p on What Would Jesus Drive - Jesus has 12 disciples, yet he would drive a Honda Civic or Mini Cooper? If he was concerned about the environment he would drive a pair of SUVs.
>>
>>Vespa - you think SUV drivers are selfish for using up too much rubber? Let me know next time you go autocrossing so I can judge YOU too.
>>
>>Who here lived in this huge blizzard over in the northeast? Tell me how well your mini did in that snow while those SUVs drove past you effortlessly.
>>
>>Show me a minivan with the consistent excellence of design found in the Lincoln Navigator and I'll consider it. The fact of the matter is SUVs are just better cars to drive.
>>
>>SUV drivers are all selfish, apparently. Wow, we've come so far. Stereotypes are all but gone from our society. Hooray for us.

The Mini's design was meant for it to handle well. Sure it would use tires up faster if someone were to use it for autocrossing. But, what is an SUV meant to do well? Either go off road (depends on the design) or carry many people or things. But, usually (here in California) you don't see that happen too often. I agree with Vespa and some others in this post. It's not so much that people shouldn't be allowed to buy SUV's. It's not that SUV's are inherently evil. It's just that people are really too selfish and rude towards one another and the SUV is the best tool to convey that type of attitude to the world around you (which in So Cal is the rest of us sitting in rush hour traffic). To me it's kinda like wasting water. I pay more for water every month because someone else doesn't feel the responsibility to use water wisely. During the water crisis we had here a few years ago (and the one probably coming up), I would have felt really selfish if I washed my car everyday. My neighbors probably would have called selfish. And I might like being selfish. But, that still doesn't give me the moral right to BE selfish at the expense of those around me.