Link!

very scary article.... :eek:

A dear friend lost his mother (wearing a seatbelt) in a SUV rollover...very sad...

I refuse to enter any political discussions... :???:

Our family just lost a friend due to an SUV rollover. She was only 17. :???:
According to witnesses, she veered onto the shoulder of the road, over corrected and the vehicle flipped. She was doing the speed limit of ~70mph.

I don't see how unsafe vehicles have anything to do with politics. It is a sobering fact that many of the SUV's bought in the 90's are soon going to be given to children with no driving experience and minimal driver training. Rachel's father gave her the Jeep Cherokee because he sincerely thought it was safe. If she had been in his Corvette, an "unsafe" vehicle, she would most likely still be with us today.
I'm not totlly against SUV's, but people should be aware of their limitations and drive them with the respect they deserve.

Wait till those SUVs filter down to the poor years from now. Poor tires, tired suspensions, etc., do not bode well for them, or others that share the road with them.

I have nothing against big SUVs if they are used for their intended purpose: towing, hauling, true off road use. But around here, theyt are just automotive jewelry of the moment. It's sad for everyone, except the manufacturers! :roll:

>>I'm not totlly against SUV's, but people should be aware of their limitations and drive them with the respect they deserve.


This is one of the things about the AntiSUV argument that drives me nuts. I can make a 90 degree turn in my jeep doing 70 and not lift the tires at all ( ok so thats a bit of an exageration :grin: ) but i've seen idiots flip jeeps going straight. People should get a class or something when the get a car to learn how to use it with out being a total tard.

At 70 mph not many cars are going to protect you in a multiple roll over crash at least not unless you have a full NHRA/NASCAR spec rollcage.

I flipped my jeep at 50 mph into three trees and walked away with only a big gash on my forehead over my left eye. I later found out that I crushed the sinus cavity above my eye there but that was my only injury.

Any vehicle with a real unibody structure using a safety cage is going to be saver then the ancient body on frame design that most SUV's use.

>>I don't see how unsafe vehicles have anything to do with politics.

It has to do with politics because the current underregulation of SUVs is a function of our non-representative "democratic" government, which caters to special interests such as the automaker lobby and the tobacco lobby at the expense of the health and safety of Joe Citizen. And let's face it, Republicans are particularly odious when it comes to exactly this kind of debate. All this war talk has kept their soulless trashing of environmental regulations off of the front pages.

The scary thing is that many so called SUV haters and owners of MINIs are also Bush supporters. Arrrgh, wake up call!!!

>>This is one of the things about the AntiSUV argument that drives me nuts. I can make a 90 degree turn in my jeep doing 70 and not lift the tires at all ( ok so thats a bit of an exageration :grin: ) but i've seen idiots flip jeeps going straight. People should get a class or something when the get a car to learn how to use it with out being a total tard.

I'm not sure what exactly is driving you nuts...it is much easier to flip a vehicle with a higher center of gravity than a lower one. It's physics that cannot be argued with in a rational way. It sounds like you know how to control your vehicle. That was my point. It is extremely easy to get a driver's license in this country. That license allows you to drive everything from a 70's Honda CVCC (death trap in a wreck!) to a Ford Excursion. I would no sooner let a 16 or 17 year old driver handle an 8 year old Explorer than I would let them loose with a 600cc sport bike. It's really a similar argument. IF you know what your doing, have training and a reasonable level of maturity, both the sport bike and Explorer are perfectly safe. OTH, it is easy to get yourself in trouble with either vehicle...that is all.

I'm not afraid to say that I *love* bush! I can't imagine life without it.

>>I'm not afraid to say that I *love* bush! I can't imagine life without it.

On the nose! (pun intended)

>>>>I'm not afraid to say that I *love* bush! I can't imagine life without it.
>>
>>On the nose! (pun intended)

It was on the tip of my tongue. :grin:

The thing I really dislike about SUVs is that you can´t see the road when driving behind them. So I change lane, speed to catch them, let the driver drool a little bit my Mini, then pass them and show them my Mini´s butt.

Mini can turn its cuteness into insolence... No one expects the little one to dare do that!

I personally like compact SUVs a lot (liberty, CRV and Escape) but the big ones are soo out of place in a high traffic city.

It's even more strange to see them in Europe, where all the vehicles are so much smaller. I saw a huge hulk (I think it was a Sequoia) parked in London, and it just looked absurd. It really drives home the point of how unnecessary they are. You can have 4WD and off-road capability (as if that's what people cared about, anyway...) without weighing two tons.

_________________
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co.../cuf.thumb.jpg 2003 Red/White Cooper - Brookline, MA

I saw a Ford Explorer flip once. It was at a dead stop. Then the driver started to turn left onto a residential street. When it did, it clipped the front of a taxi coming the opposite direction and the Explorer flipped. It was very scary to see that happen at such a low rate of speed. Luckily everyone involved was unharmed.

Kecia :cry:

>>I saw a Ford Explorer flip once. It was at a dead stop. Then the driver started to turn left onto a residential street. When it did, it clipped the front of a taxi coming the opposite direction and the Explorer flipped. It was very scary to see that happen at such a low rate of speed. Luckily everyone involved was unharmed.
>>
>>Kecia :cry:

The nickname for the explorer is the exploder. They are about the most worthless vehicle ever built but people just keep buying them like leemings.

I'm not afraid to say that I *love* bush! I can't imagine life without it.

I didn't quite get the sign at the War Protest that read "Lesbians against Bush" seemed like an Oxymoron, laugh!