atlantabiolab said:
Another anti-SUV whiner...is there nothing more worrisome in the world than a person having a large vehicle? Not to mention that every pathetic argument against these "monstrosities" is nothing more than class envy and misguided morality, wrapped up in specious "social good" rhetoric .
This European arrogance which detests the US' availability of choice is getting old. They seem to think that since they can only affordably purchase "wind up" cars, that the rest of the world should follow suit.
Ever read Aesop's Fables: the Fox and his Tail? Every child should know, "misery loves company".
I'm not at all an anti-SUV whiner - I think they are great and serve their purpose on occasion depending on who drives it.
As for your reference to "every pathetic argument", that would appear to imply that my argument is pathetic, and therefore follows the negative path that you reference, and which you obviously believe that since it differs from your own (perhaps misguided) opinion, it is wrong.
I think an SUV is absolutely essential if you are going off-road. If you live in the country where you have a long driveway that isn't paved and is hilly with large ruts in it, the Honda Civic is just not going to get you there, nor is a Porsche. You need something that has high ground clearance and ideally 4 wheel drive connected to knobby tires.
You want it to be torsionally strong for obvious reasons, and therefore the reinforced frame is going to weigh more.
That said, I think we can all agree that out of all of the SUV owners, hardly any of them actually take it off road aside from the edge of the soccer field parking lot or the occasional poor driving skills that land them up on the sidewalk.
Not to mention that the luxury SUVs that are becoming more and more prevalent largely because of their beautiful profit margin for the companies and the willing public - they would just get all scratched up were you to take them offroad - and your moch-chino might spill out of any number of the 30 cupholders inside.
I don't like the SUVs - not because they guzzle gas. If someone wants to pay more for gas, more power to them - I own stock in some of the petroleum refining companies - I enjoy making money off of people.
I don't like SUVs - not because a lot of people have them. A lot of people have Honda Civics and I don't give a shit if people own them - I wouldn't want one myself, but that is different.
The reason I don't like SUVs is because it gives people with poor driving skills the impression that they are invincible. They drive too fast in bad weather because they think their car can handle it. They are bigger than those around them, so they get lackadaisical because they can. They can change lanes without looking or signaling because people have to get out of their way or suffer damage.
Their height on the road makes it easier for the driver to see around were they to put their cell phone down, take their hands off of the kid in the backseat, and face the road. But that height then puts their lights into the eye level of people driving cars. That height blocks the view of surrounding traffic for other drivers. And that height makes them more likely to roll over when they pull some dumb ass move at speeds that the tires weren't designed for - meaning that the ensuing crash puts me at danger of being part of their 4 ton ballet of shattered glass and screaming metal.
If everyone started driving Kias or Pintos, I would be equally disturbed because of their danger in crashes.
SUVs would be safe if absolutely everyone had the same thing - then the mass disadvantage in a wreck would be negated and it would only be a matter of speed and safety accoutrements on the inside.
But instead, not everyone can afford an SUV, or even wants one - so then they are put in harms way by everyone that does have one. The mass of a Excursion will always win out over the mass of a VW Golf.
Hell, everyone could drive motorcycles and it would be safer - but once you add in a car to the equation, they are no longer safe.
As for you reference to the European argument - I am American. I have lived in America all of my life. I don't live in Europe now, and I don't live in America now.
The countries that I listed aren't even really all in Europe (granted, some are).
Why your frequent references to how you dislike what they do - misguided or not - has little or nothing to do with the arguments that are being put forth.
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In a nation of 300 million you can find aspects of it that annoy you! Astounding!?!?! How did we ever make it without your amazing skills of observation, Sherlock? 
