Certain lifestyles require SUV's. I agree with your webpage to an extent. Most americans certainly don't need SUV's. I'm actually not an American, I'm Canadian. We own a 2003 Yukon Denali 4x4. We use 4x4 for most of the year, we haul our boat, family, kids, dog, sea-doo, trailers for work, and I feel most secure knowing my family is driving a safe vehicle. And they are safe, it has stability traction, second generation ABS brakes and side airbags. It handles very well, but on the winter roads we have in Canada, we beat any car for safty. I enjoy the appearance of the truck too. It is ultra luxiourious, the perfect utility truck / luxury sedan. If I didn't tow, didn't use the 4x4 to get in dirt trails to our cottage, or drive in snow 1/3 of the year or two heavy trailers that no minivan or car could tow, maybe I would consider a car. Until then, a full size SUV is the only vehicle condusive to out lifestyle. Don't put all SUV drivers in one catagorie.
hey Mark
thanks for the email. i'm with you on most of what you say. SUVs
have been around for decades and they certainly serve a purpose.
it seems to me that you are using your SUV for what it was built
to do. regarding safety, i think anything with a lower CG is
safer, but its debatable. the problem is, for each story like
yours there are at least ten other stories that go kind of like
this *Los Angeles, family with two kids, perhaps three or four
trips to Big Bear per year to ski, 15,000 standard road and
highway miles per year, Yukon Denali 4X4. people are burning an
immense amount of gas pretending to be like you. all that money,
all that smog just cause we want others to see us as outdoorsy.
it kind of flies in the face of some significant problems - oil
dependence - pollution - global warming. people who can't even
afford to buy homes are driving luxury SUVs, go figure. obviously
you need your SUV and i don't mean to categorize all suvs. the
suvs i'm writing about fit into a category with augmented breasts
and toupees.
thanks again for the letter, i really appreciate the interaction!
joe
the Pig
www.gaspig.com
Pig, seems to me like you are right on
the money for what you are saying. People in LA don't need suv's.
I also see exactly what you are saying about the safety issue. I
do see where your comming from with the lower c of g. On
pavement, cars are for sure safer. Even their brut weight can go
against them in the winter driving. I still have to say they are
safer in the winter, once you slap a set of quality winter tires
on in the winter, they stick pretty good to the road. It is
debatable both ways for sure. I'm with you on your website
though, it is disgusting the amount gas being burnt that doesn't
have to.
One other comment I thought I'd make, there REALLY are alot more SUV's on the road in
the US relative to Canada. I never
really knew this until a recent trip across the border. It seemed
like every second SUV in Detroit was a Ford Excursion with a
single driver. Something as large as the excursion isn't as
popular in Canada. We see alot of Mid to Large SUV's... just not
EXTRA large! I think Canadians aren't as much after the
"bigger is better" idea, I certainly don't mean to be
offensive in any way, I know you probably don't drive an SUV.
Even in Toronto, Ontario, I see alot of people who don't need
SUV's, and just buy them for image and snow a few months of the
year. Mostly Mid-Size suv's in Toronto.
Finally, as much as we use our Yukon Denali for towing, off-road,
snow roads and admitably image and our main "going out on
Saturday" vehicle, our second vehicle is a new Mini Copper
which is getting 45 to 50 mpg. We drive it as much as we can in
the city, when we're not hauling kids.
Thanks for the intelligent reply... I was prepared to get my head
blown off by some SUV hater!
Mark
hi mark
there are plenty of suv haters out there without me. people find
all kinds of things to hate but that's a heavy load of baggage to
carry and as far as i'm concerned, they can have it. obviously
i'm not all that fond of suvs but you know where i'm coming from.
the gaspig site is kind of a hobby, my little soapbox on the net.
god bless living in countries where free speech is valued! i'd
have been shut down or thrown in jail in some parts of the world.
it's interesting there are so many more suvs in America than in
Canada. Logically you'd expect fewer of them the further south
you go. Southern California is crawling with SUVs including the
big daddy excursions and hummers, you'd be amazed. most of the
photos posted on gaspig are from the los angeles area. los
angeles... nothing but 500 square miles of paved roads,
occasional rain, whew! it's fashion, plain and simple. city
dwellers acting like ranchers. - not a blanket statement cause i
know even here some folks need them -
Now as for the Mini Cooper... i want one of those, they're
awesome! if i had a load of money i'd buy a fleet of them decked
out in gaspig.com stickers - hog heaven! maybe i'll propose
something like that to the rich people i stumble across on
occasion. course they didn't get rich funding silly things like
gaspig, but who knows!
thanks again for a great letter. i had no idea there were fewer
suvs in Canada!
all the best,
the Pig
www.gaspig.com