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I was surprised to read so much rabid and slanted hate on the subject; I've grown up around SUVs and trucks my whole life and they are easily at least half the vehicles on the road here in Utah.
Maybe it's not an issue around here, but is it out in your neck of the woods? How do you feel about the whole SUV phenomenon? Is this a general sentiment around the rest of the country or just the ravings of a goofball who wants to grind an ax on something to be part of the liberal club?
One of the largest complaints in the book is that 4x4s are designed for off-road use but nobody takes them off road. Meanwhile, on most 4x4 forums I've been on people consistently whine and gripe about how soft, watered down and ultimately weak 4x4s seem to get every model year. Obviously, someone doesn't know what they are talking about, and I doubt it's the folks who go rock crawling or overlanding...
We are usually out and about exploring the local backcountry a couple times a month, except in the winter months when pavement itself can oftentimes be exciting. It's our favorite family activity, and it would just be depressing to live in Utah without something high and 4wd, since it seems none of the places worth going to around here have paved roads.
I personally support "the other guy's" freedom to drive what he (she) wants. They don't need my approval, or anyone else's approval. Same as I don't need theirs.
Guys who drive for example an Escalade, I personally don't "get" the appeal of the vehicle, does anyone take them off road? I guess I could understand an NFL or NBA player who is really big or tall and wants/likes the "bling" and has the cash to pay for it easily - but whatever. I don't hate on anyone for doing their own thing, just don't crash the damn thing into me and we are good.
We've got a lot of SUVs near our West Texas home and it's a non issue. I mean, you run across an individual or two that has trouble driving one but all in all people do a great job negotiating roads with SUVs. You just have to know and understand the limitations of your vehicle and to not exceed those limitations. It's not sports car that handles like it's on rails...all though the new imports like the Porsche SUV probably does.
Then you got the anti-anything group. These people will find something to b'tch about anything...including the environment. I'm all for the environment but some people really need to get a life or get laid! I mean I for one can appreciate the technology that goes into a Hybrid car but it just doesn't fit my needs. Now if I was a single guy looking to pick up envirmonetal college chicks maybe, but those vehicles wouldn't last a day in my world. And on top of that, Hybrid owners probably make up for the saved fuel by hiring delivery drivers every time they go shopping all because they can't fit half the stuff the bought in their vehicles.
Guys who drive for example an Escalade, I personally don't "get" the appeal of the vehicle, does anyone take them off road?
My father in law about wore his Escalade out driving it all over his ranch. It wasn't anything to pull up and see dirt a cow poop all over it...I had a lot of fun in that thing when time came to visit
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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here in the Seattle area probably 80% of the vehicles are SUVs, or so it seems when you look at what's in the parking lots. My wife's Liberty and my Ranger 4x4 are still both pretty decent off road, and we have used them
in some pretty rough areas, and some days we'd never make it up the hills to our home without them in the snow. True though, more and more of them are
car based now and have a really soft smooth ride and no clearance for anything other than street use. The only "haters" I have seen are the Prius drivers.
They are people who hate SUVs because they find it objectionable that someone drives something that they think is an affront to their beliefs... yes, its crazy but there are nutty people out there... same thing has been done in the name of religion with people actually killing each other over "beliefs"... these people are idiots... unfortunately, we are surrounded by them....
I hate the Toyota Prius but only because it is one of the ugliest car I have seen... next to the Land Rover which I also think is pretty ugly looking... but my hate ends with an opinion rather than a rant...
I think here in California most SUV's do not go off road. They are extensions of minivans. Now I like the high sitting position, so when I buy one I don't really look for the 4X4 function. I pay for the gas myself. I am guessing for every SUV hater there is a Prius hater out there. It is interesting though that someone can write a book about it and sell it. I guess I could write one on how the Prius is not good for the environment.
On a different note, most of these cars are used for proof of status. When someone buys an Escalade or an H1 mostly it is to show they made it. And most people who buy a Prius want to show they are a tree huger, that's why the Hybrid Honda is not selling as well.
The books ten years old.... in the last ten years we've really seen the death of the SUV as they've been replaced by crossovers, which are cars/minivans that look like SUVs. Hell, the Explorer that's often credited with starting the craze is now a crossover. Even before crossovers, SUVs were always compromise vehicles. They did not come from the factory as all that competent of crawlers/overlanders because to make them so would make them worse than they already were on road. Bradsher's complaints about their lack of prowess on road were completely legitimate.
after decades of suv's i went back to a car 2-1/2 years ago. got rid of the car 3 weeks ago and went back to a jeep sahara.
for driving around the nyc roads which suck, a car was awful. we also have a house in the pocono mountains of pa and ground clearence even on a bmw 328xi awd was usually a problem in the snow.
tried a crossover too like the bmw x3 but it was just to small for transporting our bikes and photography gear. gave that a go for 4 years .
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