SUV drivers should be charged with TREASON!!!! (Subaru, Accord, 2008)

[nitokenshi]

People in other countries have children,tow, have jobs that require space but yet we are the only country with mass amounts of SUVs on the road. So if they do not need them why do we?

[Bostonredsock5]

Well we also live in a country where if you can afford it, sometimes not always that, you can buy. Unless there is a law syaing you cannot drive an SUV guess what we will drive them. I will drive My jeep to work and back as I have for the past 3 years and the past 5 years before that with my old Jeep.

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by nitokenshi

People in other countries have children,tow, have jobs that require space but yet we are the only country with mass amounts of SUVs on the road. So if they do not need them why do we?

I'm only familiar with Germany and Austria as having worked these countries...

A couple of observations from my limited perspective outside the US...

America Invented the SUV so it would follow that it would be more popular here... Every Manufacturer from Honda to Porsche now makes SUV's including Audi, VW, Mercedes and BMW... for BMW, SUV sales are a significant share of sales and the BMW X3 production line in Austria was much sought after by the Austrian Government.

Cars in these countries continue to become larger and more powerful... a real problem is families are getting larger and a typical European Car of any size sits 5 people which means the family of 4 has no room to take Oma and Opa with them.

I've noticed a distinct trend towards Minivans... Cars like the 7 passenger VW Touran that gets great mileage as a diesel and still has room for the family.

On a side note... California has the strictest Passenger Car Diesel Emission requirements in the world making it just about impossible for Diesel passenger cars to be sold here... In Europe, more than half of the new cars sold are Diesels...

Towing... You may find this hard to believe, but towing as it is done in Europe would not be allowed here due to safety issues... VW Mercedes and BMW in their owners manuals prohibit almost all of their US model passenger vehicles to tow... while at the same time it is allowed in Europe...

I've seen 3 series BMW's tow rather large light weight travel trailers in Germany. BMW forbids dealers to sell any tow accessories for the 3 series in the states on the grounds of voiding the warranty for misuse and liability issues.

European Auto Buying habits seem to lag the US by 10 to 15 years... due in part to more expensive fuel, license and insurance costs... Even with all 3 factors, the size of European family cars continues to increase.

One of my colleagues emailed me a picture of his new 7 passenger Ford Van... he said his father no longer drives and he and his wife would often have to drive 2 cars to include the the grandparents at family events... now they can save since the new van means no longer having to drive two cars...

[mimimomx3]

Originally Posted by momof2dfw

Come ride w/ me for 1 day. You will see REALLY FAST why some people NEED an SUV for work. Otherwise, next time I have to deliver something to a customer before they have to shutdown a production line and all of my BIG trucks are out it will HAVE to be shutdown and I'll charge a DOUBLE DELIVERY FEE as I'd have to make more than 1 trip to break something down in order to get it to them. Try hauling a large piece of machinery in the back of a Fusion or such. Won't fit and it will make the bumper drag the ground. OR if it is something that is an "inhaliation hazard" and is REQUIRED by federal law to be in an "OPEN AREA" one NEEDS and MUST have a pickup truck to haul such.

Must be nice to have an easy office job Go find out how your company exists. Do they make and manufacturer something? Do they transport goods? There are MANY, MANY industries that would not survive one hour w/o having large vehicles be it personal large vehicles that are required by outside salespeople or delivery personel. Then the small business owner that has the 1 vehicle he uses to operate a business to support his family AND be their mode of transportation.

Go ahead and let them charge even MORE than they already do for people that MUST have a large truck/vehicle to operate a business. We ALREADY DO PAY OUT THE NOSE! All it will do is increase the prices on EVERYTHING you buy and consume.

I realize that lots of professions require a truck, I'm talking about an Escalade/Navigator/Sequoia type SUV. It's one thing for a company to own a fleet of trucks or SUVs, but come on, a salesperson? Selling what, concrete blocks??

As for transporting 'family', that's nonsense. I have 3 active kids who play football, field hockey, lacrosse, basketball, soccer, run and ride bikes. I DONT drive an SUV because of the waste. Very seldom are all 5 of my back seats all taken, usually for a field trip of two a couple of times a year.

I don't really care if someone wants to pay more for a gas guzzler, that's their decision. I don't even care if there's a 'gas guzzler' tax. Gas is a finite resource and will eventually be gone. We'll adjust, and I think, be better off without it.

[mimimomx3]

Originally Posted by momof2dfw

I'm one of those Suburban driving moms. I LOVE my Suburban but it does double duty. I can carpool w/ the other Suburban drivers in our neighborhood. This means that instead of 4 MORE cars going to and from the schools you only have ONE! Just think if more people did THAT! Then we also use it for business. We have large trucks for most but there are times like this week (short 4 day work week w/ 5-6 days of work due to the holiday) that every truck is on the road and we need a large vehicle for customer emergencies. Usually it is w/ my husband pickup. Yes, it is PAID FOR!!! WOO-HOO!!! I also get about 22 mpg and that is MUCH better than the Honda Accord I had in front of me earlier today belching grey smoke that was a fairly new car ! Get mad at HIM not me! I take GREAT care of my vehicles. But, if I DID trade it in that does NOT mean it would be "off the road". Someone else would simply buy it and be driving it. Who is to say they would take as good of care as I have and keep it running clean. No one. And I'd be stuck w/ a car payment. I've got two kids that I'm saving for college for instead. I plan my driving to fit our schedule and don't go somewhere I don't have to.

How much does it cost you to fill up that Suburban?
22 MPG for a Suburban? I think that's wishful thinking. According to Cars Direct, City: 14 MPG
Highway: 16 MPG - 18 MPG
Personally, I don't think it makes financial sense to drive a car that gets 14 miles to the gallon in 2008. I think you should be free to drive (and pay for) whatever you like. Personally, I'm saving for 3 college tuitions by NOT spending $200 to fill up my car.

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by mimimomx3

As for transporting 'family', that's nonsense. I have 3 active kids who play football, field hockey, lacrosse, basketball, soccer, run and ride bikes. I DONT drive an SUV because of the waste. Very seldom are all 5 of my back seats all taken, usually for a field trip of two a couple of times a year.

My take on momof2dfw post is that utility vehicles are more versatile... the same vehicle can take the family, including Grandma and Grandpa to church on Sunday, tow Dad's boat to the lake on Saturday, carpool the kids to school during the week and transport large items in a pinch on the job...

The only thing that ever came close was the family station wagon... you could take 9 or 10 kids to little league in the morning, dad could go to the lumber yard and bring home 4' x 8' sheets of plywood and take the family home at Christmas to visit the in-laws...

My favorite wagon of all time is the 1972 Olds Vista Cruiser, 3rd row seating with the skylights and sunvisors in the back seat

Wagons with the 3 way tailgate would rate second and third would be the clam-shell rear gate... brings back lots of memories

[mimimomx3]

Originally Posted by Ultrarunner

My take on momof2dfw post is that utility vehicles are more versatile... the same vehicle can take the family, including Grandma and Grandpa to church on Sunday, tow Dad's boat to the lake on Saturday, carpool the kids to school during the week and transport large items in a pinch on the job...

The only thing that ever came close was the family station wagon... you could take 9 or 10 kids to little league in the morning, dad could go to the lumber yard and bring home 4' x 8' sheets of plywood and take the family home at Christmas to visit the in-laws...

My favorite wagon is a 1972 Olds Vista Cruiser with the skylights and sunvisors in the back seat

...does it come with wood panelling?
I can count on one hand how many times I've said 'Darn, I wish I drove an SUV'....

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by mimimomx3

...does it come with wood panelling?
I can count on one hand how many times I've said 'Darn, I wish I drove an SUV'....

Of Course... except anything after the early 50's was faux wood paneling

I never owned an SUV... although I have on occasion borrowed them... the last time was to tow a tractor I bought on Craig's list 500 miles.

I told my neighbor I had found the perfect tractor for my needs and was getting ready to go get it with my 1985 Chevrolet Van... he immediately volunteered his 2002 Diesel Excursion for the trip...

I've never driven a finer tow vehicle... it was smooth, quiet, comfortable and one would never know I was towing 7000 pounds through the Siskiyou's near Lake Shasta... The engine compression made it so I never had to tap the brakes going over the mountains on I5... something I was concerned about with my old van...

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by Ultrarunner

I'm only familiar with Germany and Austria as having worked these countries...

A couple of observations from my limited perspective outside the US...

America Invented the SUV so it would follow that it would be more popular here... Every Manufacturer from Honda to Porsche now makes SUV's including Audi, VW, Mercedes and BMW... for BMW, SUV sales are a significant share of sales and the BMW X3 production line in Austria was much sought after by the Austrian Government.



I've seen 3 series BMW's tow rather large light weight travel trailers in Germany. BMW forbids dealers to sell any tow accessories for the 3 series in the states on the grounds of voiding the warranty for misuse and liability issues.

European Auto Buying habits seem to lag the US by 10 to 15 years... due in part to more expensive fuel, license and insurance costs... Even with all 3 factors, the size of European family cars continues to increase.

One of my colleagues emailed me a picture of his new 7 passenger Ford Van... he said his father no longer drives and he and his wife would often have to drive 2 cars to include the the grandparents at family events... now they can save since the new van means no longer having to drive two cars...

Tis true. Another note is that most items manufactured there are VERY FEW in Europe. The United States still has a large manufacturing base (many of our customers fall into this catagory) and the need comes up for businesses including sales people and business owners to have the larger vehicle in addition to their truck fleet. When your starting out it makes MUCH more sense to have 1 vehicle that can do triple duty. Family, vacations, towing the boat/trailer, one car for big family gatherings, work, etc. Many businesses would have gone under if they were forced to not have the 1 vehicle to do multiple duty. And NO I'm NOT bringing in a paycheck to pay for that ummm, $50K SUV, house on a culdesac (yep, got one of those too ), and NO DAYCARE for the kids. We struggled to get here and I have the freedom to be home w/ them but still have to work when they are at school to help out.

A BMW 3 Series TOWING NO WAY!!!! I have one of those and I'd NEVER TOW ANYTHING WITH IT!!! Good grief talk about asking for trouble. So see there all you holier than thou's, I have a "smaller car" as well when I don't need the big SUV. But then these are the same people that put down people that own THOSE cars as well. LOL!!! And BOTH the SUV AND the BMW are paid for so I'm NOT trading it in or getting rid of it. I still NEED it.


I've heard of families that think they are doing soooo much better for having smaller cars but they have to take 2-3 cars to transport the family or go grocery shopping. THAT IS INSANE!!! That is waste AND creating MORE problems.

Believe it or not my Suburban DOES get 22MPG on the highway EASILY as does my mothers Suburban. Take good care of them and they can get great gas mileage. And today it was only $92 to fill it up. I last filled up last Thursday and if we had not gone to the lake over the weekend I'd still have a 1/2 tank of gas. Not too shabby for a "soccer mom" driving a big'ol Suburban Add in the fact I've had to shuttle kids all over this week as well AND work issues and I'd have even more gas and would not have had to fill up.

Let's see something else. How many miles a day do those in what they deem "more efficient" cars drive every day? I try to conserve my driving, miles and gas. More miles on my car just means more maint. and gas not to mention TIME! My roundtrip from home to school to office back to school to home is all of 21 miles.

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by Ultrarunner

My take on momof2dfw post is that utility vehicles are more versatile... the same vehicle can take the family, including Grandma and Grandpa to church on Sunday, tow Dad's boat to the lake on Saturday, carpool the kids to school during the week and transport large items in a pinch on the job...

EXACTLY! The grandparents can come visit and when we go out we can ALL go in 1 car. We live in a big city and they don't like driving in the traffic and might not always know where something is. It has been awhile since they last lived here. We can all 6 or 8 get in ONE CAR and go eat or whatever, kids dance recitals, church programs, sports games, etc. Then we have it for vacation roadtrips. Towing the boat or trailer. Going to the lake house. And not to mention work. Just think if everyone that DOES have these massive large SUV's did not and the grandparents came in and they TOO had to drive their car as well to events/programs/etc how many MORE cars would be on the road. There would be MORE traffic, more cars trying to vie for a spot to park (sporting fields and schools seem to be extremely tight on parking space), gas wasted while sitting in traffic w/ all of the additional cars, circling parking lots looking for a spot, etc.