Thinking About Buying An SUV ?

[c9]

Please read this first: http://www.gladwell.com/2004/2004_01_12_a_suv.html

If you still buy the SUV, stay the hell away from me. kthxbye.

I always knew SUVs were bad, but I only thought of them as bad environmentally speaking. They're bad because they're incredibly unsafe, and potentially cause more accidents and more deaths, than cars. Psychology is crazy, so to speak.

Update: If you own one already, please feel free to debate, I won't actually bite your head off. But be prepared to convince me that you need an SUV for actual factual reasons, like my friend Brad who does environmental assessments and actually drives it offroad all year long. If your best reason is the gravel parking lot at the baseball field, that won't fly. Just as an FYI. :-)

Comments

[putaindemerde.livejournal.com]

Hooray for my little four cylinder sedan. SUVs are not only far too big and nerve-racking for my tastes but they're also gas guzzlers. With predictions that gas prices will top out between $2.50 and $3/gallon this summer, I am glad for my little shitbox Escort.

[c9.livejournal.com]

In Halifax right now, gas is over $3.50 CDN per gallon, or just over $3.00 US. And that's not a huge spike, it's been in that neighbourhood for a year or so. Gas prices in the US are soooooo low compared to the rest of the planet.

[putaindemerde.livejournal.com]

In my town, they've jumped 25 cents in two weeks. It's still not pretty considering that, before the Iraqi conflict, they were averaging about 60 cents or so less per gallon.

*le sigh* my apologies for the shitty gas prices up there, though... I know it's our president who causing all the problems.

[c9.livejournal.com]

While asshat's adventures aren't helping, prices have always been much higher in Canada (and higher still in Europe). And I'm actually a big fan of more expensive gas. We're all willing to go spend $1.99 for 1 litre of water, but when we have to spend half that on gas we have kittens, despite the huge amount of environmental impact that one litre has.

It sucks for the negative impact it has on people who need to drive for work, family, etc. But the impact on the planet really needs to be thought about too, and too many people (not you) ignore that.

[putaindemerde.livejournal.com]

Don't ask how I remember this but, during a summer vacation with family en Ville de Québec, when I was 10 (1985), I remember gas being 53 cents per liter. Sounds as if it's worse now.

If I could get work closer to home, right now, I'd definitely do it. It wouldn't just save the environment, though: it would also save my wallet.

We're all willing to go spend $1.99 for 1 litre of water, but when we have to spend half that on gas we have kittens

This made me laugh my ass off... I love your expressions... and your accents too. I need to make a journey to Ontario so I can hear you guys talk again. *sigh*

[vorpal.livejournal.com]

I remember gas being 53 cents per liter

I haven't bought gas, seeing as I don't have a car, but I believe that gas right now is around 85 cents per litre up here in the Toronto area. I take the bus in to work in the morning, and I feel a lot better about doing that than driving. I sacrifice a lot in terms of convenience that would be bought owning a car, but the payoff in time that it takes to transfer buses, etc. saves me a huge amount in money and feelings of guilt :D.

[cap-hill-latte.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Gas prices in the US (and Canada from what I understand) have always been artificially low). Make it difficult/expensive for people to drive and people are driven towards a) living closer to where they need to work/shop/play/etc... b) use and support public transit. Even in so-left-it's-about-to-fall-into-the-ocean Seattle people are still car-obsessed. Thus, we have crappy public transit. I miss living in a city where owning a car was more hassle than it was worth (Toronto) and can't wait to be in a city where public transportation is a way of life in ten days (London).

[cap-hill-latte.livejournal.com]

Interesting adendum to my point - when the roads fell apart in the San Francisco earthquake people turned to public transit because driving was no longer an option. Even after the roads and bridges were rebuilt people kept using public transit rather than driving because they had discovered how much more economic (in terms of dollars, hours, whatever was important to them) public transit was. One of the proposals to fix public transit in Seattle is to let the viaduct fall down in the next earthquake (or take it down manually) and just force people to deal.

[primary-suspect.livejournal.com]

In Ottawa when the public transit employees went on strike, the opposite happened. People found alternate methods to get to work, gots cars, carpooled or whatever. When they ended the strike, ridership was lower than before and I'm not sure if they ever recooped the numbers.

[vorpal.livejournal.com]

And I'm actually a big fan of more expensive gas.

I agree wholeheartedly. If gas prices continue to rise dramatically, it might inspire people to exercise more judgment about when it's appropriate and when it's not to use gas. Driving three blocks to go to the grocery store, for example, is not appropriate, but I know of no shortage of people who are happy to do so.

SUV Owners Anonymous

[thespos]

I own 2 vehicles... a 1999 Honda Passport EX (an SUV), and a 1997 Chrysler Sebring LXi (a luxury coupe). I own both vehicles outright.

My SUV was purchased for several reasons. Among full sized SUVs, it had the best gas mileage (and I have enjoyed even better gas mileage on the highways, averaging 30 mpg, which is rare for an SUV), and at the time, it was to be sole vehicle. I have 2 medium-to-large dogs (both are 50lbs or larger), and I knew I would be moving. Having owned smaller vehicles in the past (a VW Dasher, a Camaro, and a Chrysler LeBaron), I found it really, really problematic to cart the dogs around, and it was from hell to move. I had almost no cargo space.

Once the moving issue was set aside, and taking the dogs everywhere became less important, and I had the money, I purchased the Sebring. The Sebring gives me even better gas mileage, and I love driving it - but car insurance on it is higher than on the SUV because it is considered a "luxury" vehicle. If I drove the Sebring as my primary vehicle (back and forth to work every day) instead of the Passport, I would spend $500 more per year on insurance. I had purchased the Sebring with the intent of driving it more than the Passport, but the insurance ended up forcing me to reverse my approach.

I still try to drive the Sebring as often as I can, and I drive it almost exclusively when I am home on the weekends, unless I have to go to Home Depot or something. Quinn has learned to ride in the Sebring and stay in the back seat, so it's worked out well - but if the insurance company sees a spike in the mileage that indicates I am driving it too much, it's gonna screw me.

I will say, in defense of the SUV, that the winters of snow and ice have not been an issue for me. The 4-wheel drive of the vehicle has saved my life on more than one occasion, and the cargo space has proven invaluable.

And then there's the reliability of the Honda in general. But as for buying the SUV, I do regret the environmental impact, but it has suited my needs, it's been great on mileage as compared to other vehicles in its class (because I did my research), and I have tried to mitigate by buying a second vehicle that I use when I don't need to haul lumber, animals, or 4 other people and luggage.

Re: SUV Owners Anonymous

[c9.livejournal.com]

Actually, the Passport may be one of those "looks like an SUV, but is actually a car" vehicles. I'm not sure how to be certain, without calling the EPA. A lot of the imported SUVs are really just extensions of the Honda Civic base for example, making them safer than a Ford.

And absolutely, insurance is an issue, and having an actual space-based need is an issue. Both ought to be considered when purchasing.

Re: SUV Owners Anonymous

[simplisticton.livejournal.com]

All you really need to do is stand next to an American SUV and an imported SUV, and you can tell the difference immediately. American SUVs are mostly based on truck chassis (chasses?), and they look, feel, and sound like it. In other words, they're obnoxious.

In my perfect world, you need to show cause to buy a vehicle, and the vehicle you buy has to be properly sized to your needs. Driving a seven-passenger minivan with no one on board but the person behind the wheel should be fineable, like driving in the carpool lane. Cars should be regulated like guns or toxic chemicals -- after all, they're just as dangerous! With any luck, the ensuing hassle would push people to demand better public transit.

Re: SUV Owners Anonymous

[c9.livejournal.com]

One note: a minivan is classed as a car, which means that an empty pickup truck is worse, environmentally speaking, than an empty 7-passenger minivan.

Re: SUV Owners Anonymous

[simplisticton.livejournal.com]

Still, car or not, it's wasteful. Our culture has a hard time sizing our consumption to match our needs. Three-person families with six bedroom houses, consuming the electricity and food and generating the waste of ten.

Re: SUV Owners Anonymous

[primary-suspect.livejournal.com]

Right, and most families don't actually need a 7-passenger minivan, but could easily get away with a sedan or a station wagon that gets even better mileage and just put on a roof-top carrier the odd time you do need the extra storage space.

Re: SUV Owners Anonymous

[primary-suspect.livejournal.com]

Yes, like the Toyota Highlander and Subaru Forrester are built on car chassis so they drive more like cars and are less prone to rollovers.

Now with hybrid SUVs available, the gas mileable debate will be less clear since some of them get better gas mileage in the city than many cars.

[iambic-cub.livejournal.com]

My sister has an SUV. She calls it her truck. I think it's her way of expressing lesbian tendencies. (Non-eco-friendly lesbian tendencies of course.) I was embarrassed to have it in my driveway, though the thing is very comfortable.

[c9.livejournal.com]

Is it american, or asian? The imports are much better, if you have to choose one, since they're more car-like (and often classed as cars).

[iambic-cub.livejournal.com]

It's a Nissan. I'm pretty sure that makes it Asian. I'm just going by name. I know nothing about cars.

[c9.livejournal.com]

The Nissan Pathfinder is a truck, and while useful, it's evil. They have a smaller one too, though it may have been discontinued in the mad SUV rush of late,

[iambic-cub.livejournal.com]

My family expresses our evil in different ways. I tend to scatter little pieces of it all about, whereas my sister packed all of hers into her urban tank.

[miket61.livejournal.com]

No desire for an SUV - the bf drives a Jeep Cherokee, which is basically a station wagon, not a truck or SUV (no matter what philarich74 says). I've got my nice, safe, conservative Buick LeSabre.