Women, SUV's, and Cell Phones. (1 Viewer)

[Citizen87645]

Oh...so THAT'S what the "s" in SUV stands for!

 

[MarkHastings]

Damn! Guo beat me to it...although I was going to go with "Stinky Utility Vehicle"

 

[Yee-Ming]

Leno's version, in reference to gas prices, was "suddenly useless vehicles".

No doubt I will now piss off all the SUV owners, but I'm with Andrew on this one. In this tiny little country of ours, the vast majority live in apartments, the whole country is basically one big city so there's no "rural area" or "off road" at all, so there is literally no justification at all for SUVs. I'm not fond of MPVs (people movers) either, but I can see why a larger family might need to move 7 or 8 people in a single vehicle, especially considering the price of cars here and two-car households are rare. But SUVs? Purely a luxury item and "status symbol". Which take up too much space and block sightlines on the road for everyone else.

The funniest thing is how some want their status symbols on the cheap. The Lexus SUV is substantially the same as the Toyota Harrier SUV, which is only sold in Japan, and comes in 2-wheel drive only with a smaller engine (while we're on that point, doesn't it just go to show how the point of SUVs has been corrupted, and now people just want "the height"?). The local Toyota/Lexus distributor only imports the actual Lexus SUV, not the Toyota, but parallel importers will bring in the Harrier if you want it. Some people then re-fit their Toyota SUVs by removing all Toyota indicia and replacing them with Lexus badges.

 

[ChrisHeflen]

I like how people now have to try to fit their giant SUV's in all the compact parking spaces that they made in the 80's when having a compact car was the thing to do.
Going into the parking garages in my city, is a nightmare. It's all labled "compact" and most of the vehicles are SUV's.
Which brings me back to the point that most of the people are using them to go tho the mall instead of pulling a boat or off roading with it. And everybody knows when you are off roading that you need seating for 8.
I don't think I have ever seen a dirty Escalade, or a dirty Lexus SUV. In fact, at the boat ramp I don't think I have ever seen an MDX or an Escalade for that matter.
My favorite is when people lower them and put street tires on them. Obviously they need to bring back the original station wagon.

 

[andrew markworthy]

We learn through debate, not all agreeing with each other. Perhaps, instead of gainsaying, explain to us why driving an SUV when a normal car would suit your purposes just as well is a good thing and we will listen and perhaps change our minds. As far as I can see SUVs are gas guzzling, dangerous to others, and cumbersome. I have no problem with their use in specialist circumstances, but we do not have infinite resources, pollution is a serious problem, and SUVs are IMHO a retrograde step in road safety. Tell me why all this is wrong.

 

[MichaelBA]

Man: Oh look, this isn't an argument!
Other Man: Yes it is!
M: No it isn't!
M: It's just contradiction!
O: No it isn't!
M: It IS!
O: It is NOT!
M: You just contradicted me!
O: No I didn't!
M: You DID!
O: No no no!
M: You did just then!
O: Nonsense!
M: Oh, this is futile!!
O: No it isn't!
M: Yes it is!
M: I came here for a good argument!
O: AH, no you didn't, you came here for an argument!
M: An argument isn't just contradiction.
O: Well, it CAN be!
M: No it can't!
M: An argument is a connected series of statements intended to establish a proposition.
O: No it isn't!
M: Yes it is! It isn't just contradiction.
O: Look, if I *argue* with you, I must take up a contrary position!
M: Yes, but it isn't just saying "no it isn't."
O: Yes it is!
M: No it isn't!
O: Yes it is!
M: No it isn't!
O: Yes it is!
M: No it ISN'T! Argument is an intellectual process. Contradiction is just the automatic gainsaying of anything the other person says.
O: It is NOT!
M: It is!
O: Not at all!
M: It is!

The Arguer hits a bell on his desk and stops.

O: Thank you, that's it.

 

[John Alvarez]

Who cares what WE use our SUV's for? If I want one and can AFFORD one then I have every right to drive one. Why aren't you questioning the people who drive mustangs, chargers or vettes? There is no where around the U.S. that you can do 125mph legally and they drink a ton of gas.I have a Yukon XL Denali and I drive by myself 20 miles each way to work every day. My wife has an Explorer with the V8 and drives 20 miles by herself each way to work. Guess what. We work in the same building 5 cubes away from each other. Now you have something else to bitch about.....

 

[Scott_Sch]

Man, I don't even own an SUV, but even I'm getting tired of these SUV bashing sessions. Every thread that has anything to do with driving, or gas or hell probably even the Silica thread eventually goes to SUV bashing. Last I remember, we live in a free market society, if people have the money and what something....they can buy. Like was just mentioned...nobody is talking about mustangs or other gas guzzlers and those things have no utility at all. At least if you do want to do something extra, an SUV allows you that option. Lets face it, some people obviously don't like them, but that doesn't seem to be a reason for turning a thread originally meant to knock women on cell phones in SUVs (amen to that by the way) into yet another SUV bashing thread. Unless people who bash SUVs are conserving energy and looking out for the public good in absolutely everything they do, it sure sounds like a double standard of sorts. Sorry for the rant...now back to your regularly scheduled program.

 

[Jay H]

Did somebody mention silica????

I think it is a Silica Utility Vehicle, you know how much Silica you can haul in an Explorer?

Maybe we should just all just ride bicycles... seriously.

Or how about these:

http://www.bikeforest.com/cb/cb.php


Jay

 

[Robbie R]

Who said we need to buy cars that suit our purposes?? Who is going to decide FOR US what an appropriate vehicle is? YOU?? I am sure there are plenty of places you can live where that is the case. Make sure you send us a post card!

 

[David Hill]

Andrew Markworthy wrote


What I find most irritating is the lumping together of so many vehicles under the heading SUV.

I drove a Nissan X-Trail. You'd probably call it a SUV. It does over 40mpg (British). Sizewise it is fractionally smaller than a standard Ford saloon. Yet I am pilloried?!

Why do I have one? I have a boat that I need to pull around, and I don't want two cars.

Is that good enough for you? Will you admit that some SUVs are no more gas guzzling and cumbersome than many other cars you don't appear to have a problem with? (I am making an assumption, but you didn't indicate otherwise.)

David

PS I remember a poster ad for the Jeep Grand Cherokkee. The line went along the lines of "Some people say the Grand Cherokkee is over-engineered for the school run. So what exactly is the problem?"

 

[RobertR]

There's debate, and then there's pissing people off. It appears you've succeeded in the latter but not the former. People don't learn that way. You've made it clear that you'd ban SUVs if you had the political power to do so.

 

[Andrew Bunk]

I'll again state that the Toyota Sienna minivan has the same MPG as my V6 Highlander (about 18 city, 23ish highway). Should people stop buying minivans too?

Here's another thought, what if by having a smaller car, you had to make two trips shopping, hauling, etc.? If you can do the same work in one trip in a bigger car, isn't that preferable?

Also, when gas prices were starting to go north of $3.25 around here, at work we started planning on carpooling, with me as the driver, simply because I could seat 5-6 comfortably.

My feeling is gas prices will eventually affect change in buying habits, but right now as long as gas stays under $3, most people can afford an SUV.

 

[andrew markworthy]

I really should know better by now. Launch a remark that the intellectually robust can handle and realise is simply debating language and watch the rest leap into acrimony. Michael got the spirit of the thing but otherwise ... oh dear. :frowning:

 

[Scott_Sch]

Wow...condescending much? Or was this statement also meant to instill debate within the intellectually robust?

Ugghh...me no understand big words...

Silica utility vehicle?...hmmm, I believe time travel may actually be possible if someone can put that together.

 

[Robbie R]

It would appear Andrew that you are the one that can't handle it!

I know exactly what you want!! You want me to justify TO YOU why I need to drive an SUV. Then you can poke little holes in my reasoning. Well its not going to happen. I guess I'm not "intellectually robust" enough to handle it.

EDIT- Comment removed.

 

[Holadem]

Can we go back to bashing women's poor driving abilities? That was more fun.

--
H

 

[MichaelBA]

My girlfriend is an AMAZING, INCREDIBLE driver! I am regularly DUMBFOUNDED at what she can do behind the wheel.

But she's the rarest exception, eh?

 

[MarkHastings]

To be fair, men and women equally drive horrible. But there is probably a reason why men seem to think other women drive worse than other men.

In general, women seem to drive a bit more cautiously. And some even tend to drive a bit "Obliviously" to others around them (i.e. the putting on makeup in the rear view mirror syndrome).

Men tend to drive much more aggresively, so we don't tend to see other men drivers as 'bad' because they are driving just as aggressively as we do.
Case-in-point:Now, I'm not saying women drive worse than men, but most womens driving habits conflict with most mens driving habits. That's why men see women drivers as worse and women see men drivers as worse.

 

[Mark Sherman]

I dont Mind SUVs if you want to drive one fine, drive one its a free country. Just dont be lollygagging in the high speed lane doing 45MPH gabbing on the cell and making a sandwich. What I was getting at when I started this thread. was that in the last week I have been almost sideswiped 3 times by women driving an SUV and Talking on the phone. Its almost a cliche' now. When I see an suv I have to see If a woman is driving and if she is talking on the phone. When they are I laugh my ass off. Cause more often then not they are.