Why Drive an SUV in Los Angeles (house, buy)

[JackSparrow]

Personally, I dislike them- greatly. As a biker, I see a lot of vehicles (as I am usually passing through vehicles in traffic) and Large SUV's are the WORST!

Although, from the other side of the coin, I can see that a few people need a LOT of space that wouldn't be suited, for say like a Dodge Magnum.

And then there's the 'image' value as other people have mentioned. And as we all know, many people on earth have more dollars than sense. And in reality, it's their money, of they want to throw it away, it's their choice.

[DontH8Me]

Originally Posted by JerZ

You know why people buy SUVs? To defend themselves against other people in SUVs. I kid you not. (Okay, not all people, but many.) What's that marketing term for creating a need and all that...?

Right now I have an SUV for the first time in my life and I HATE IT but I was suckered/begged into it by my in-laws, who claimed they could not longer claim the upkeep on the car on their taxes at the end of the year for their business, so somebody had to be driving it. Uhhhhhhhh...yeah. Long story, involving about six months worth of manipulation. I wish I could dump this horrormobile, it is against so much of what I stand for. I have two children, two, in my car; do I really need a freakin' bus? We're not The Dugger Family.

(ETA: Why didn't one of my in-laws just drive it then, you might ask? Well, because each of them already has his/her own SUV. I said EACH. Meaning, ONE drives each of them at a time. One body in a freaking bus-sized mindlessmobile. Yes. They both "needed" one. Not for lumber hauling, I can tell you that. My mother-in-law once called my father-in-law from the garage to tell him to bring her her car keys from the kitchen table. The kitchen and garage are connected. My father-in-law had to come back inside the house from the back yard to get the keys from the table and take them to this woman in the garage. Erm, nope, not a lot of hauling of anything goin' on over there.)

Before that I always had small cars, but I did notice something. When you're in a compact or a sedan, you can't see over/past SUVs. When they're in making a left facing you and you're making the left facing them, you crane and crane and crane your neck but you can't see who's shooooooooshing behind their SUV to come kill you as soon as you try to make your left. Same thing when you're coming out of a parking lot and you're next to one, making the left while they're making the right and vice versa.

So you as a non-enormous-sized-car owner you can either:

1. Take the chance, and get killed...or not! Wooo hooo, another day above ground! or
2. Wait for that one to go so you can see...which makes everyone behind you furious and start honking...and anyway, once that one pulls out, you're immediately face with another one.
3. Revert to Number 1 above.

About seven years ago I was with my oldest son in my Sunbird (I loved that car), taking him to school. I was at a stop behind a minivan or what have you (still can't tell the difference between them and SUVs...because I don't want to) who was making a left, slowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwly, because she was in a f * cking bus so why should she have to move or anything like that? I mean who was gonna make her get out of the way? So we were sitting and sitting. And lo and behold, up behind us comes another car, with a driver who didn't feel like slowing down.

My Sunbird was totaled. My son had a concussion. We went to the hospital. He was only 13 years old. His back was damaged and he went to the chiropractor for six months, before the insurance ran out; now, at the age of 21, he simply has continuous pain and just lives with it. I too had a damaged back (but not neck...he also got a misaligned neck) and I, too, live continuously with the pain, but I'm a grown-up so I mentioned my son first, because at least I got to be old first before I faced the future full of pain. My son didn't get that.

We went to a lawyer. Our case was dropped. Why?

Too many other people in accidents with these freaking bus-sized deathmobiles, and the state cracking down on cases.

Oh, but you know, there IS good news. The suburban mommie long-fingernailed phone-yapping driver of the SUV was fine! Isn't that good news? Her bumper did need to be replaced, though. So THAT'S not good. Right?

Now that we do have my stupidmobile my husband doesn't want to get rid of it. He's too afraid of what would happen to our two little ones if some idiot on the cell phone slammed into us when we were in a compact or a sedan and though I hate to admit it, based on the above, and from what I've seen and heard, he's right. We'd all be killed. (Yes, BTW, my eldest and I were wearing seatbelts, and obviously I have the little ones in car seats. Seatbelts will keep children from dying, sometimes, in accidents. But they can't stop the damage if you're hit hard enough, and you're in something little, and they're in something big.)

I do not see how anyone could POSSIBLY need anything that big unless you ARE a lumber-hauler as somebody said above. But today, take a trip out to the supermarket, or simply go to work. Look around. Count the SUVs.

Give your best estimate on how many of them could possibly be lumber-haulers.

Look inside, at the driver's side.

And tell me if the tease-haired skinny chick with long fingernails yapping non-stop on her phone behind the wheel is a lumber hauler.

Problem solved - let's all get one of these (they probably have better mpg than hummers anyways):

[Mathguy]

SUV's are generally only "safer" in specific types of accidents.

They are MUCH more likely to have serious trouble with roll-over, tumbling etc.

If someone wants to buy one and pay all those taxes on it and the fuel it consumes then to me it's their personal choice.

Obviously, some people NEED large vehicles for work etc. and I don't think any sane person is suggesting a landscaper try to haul 2000 pounds of mulch in a prius. :-)

[JerZ]

Originally Posted by DontH8Me

Problem solved - let's all get one of these (they probably have better mpg than hummers anyways):

OMG, thank you, DontH8Me. FINALLY, someone has come up with a solution.

My husband (he commutes) always says he's going to get one of these for rush-hour traffic:



...but that he'd settle for that speed cruiser thing from Star Wars Episode Two.

[monti]

JerZ

I was rear ended while stopped at a stop sign with my mother in a small 89 honda civic. The driver was named Al Jalalabad or some nonsense, and he took off immediately (no insurance, no green card, no drivers licence).

Following the accident was 18 months of treatment at the chiropractor's office for whiplash. I still get blinding headaches if I sleep wrong or work on computers too long. The accident happened when I was 8.

It's sad how lax we are in reference to driver's tests - but even stricter guidelines for passing a licence test still can't change the fact that there will always be irresponsible people who will get behind the wheel no matter what. Don't Have a licence? No problem. Drank 8 shots of tequila? No problem. High on drugs? Who cares! It's a car, you're safe!

[sergeyn]

Originally Posted by James T

I cannot believe there are still people purchasing brand new SUV's in Los Angeles, despite all the negative publicity these vehicles have received lately. Is unnecessary air pollution, extra wear on the roads, obfuscating the view of people driving more environmentally responsible vehicles, etc., really worth whatever function SUV's have in Los Angeles that smaller vehicles do not? Do people still invest in these things because there's a slight chance of a freak snow storm in Los Angeles that could cause somebody to miss going to work a day, or perhaps people are concerned the La Brea Tarpits will bubble over onto Wilshire and render passenger automobiles impractical for travel in L.A.?

Because they can. And they can because gas in the US is ridiculously cheap, no matter how much people complain about it. We pay $3 dollars a gallon. Compare that to Europe or East Asia where the price is $5-$7 dollars, depending on where and keep in mind that US average income is among the hightest in the world!

If you go almost anywhere outside of the US you'll see that the typical car on the road is Corolla-sized or smaller. I'm pretty sure that if people in these countries could, they'd buy bigger vehicles because bigger vehicles are more convenient from almost any point of view. In the US people can buy those bigger cars and so they do.

...But even with gas prices at $3, the trend in the US is obviously changing. Compact and subcompact car sales are at all time highs.

[greggd]

As mentioned the SUV has a need especially for businesses that utilize mobile equipment & contractors. Even for personal use to haul boats and rec. equipment there is a real need for these types of vehicles. In the near future, I am probably going to have to get one for purposes of pulling a trailer. But hauling the trailer and maybe other materials will probably be all I use it for.

My gripe is mostly with SUV Drivers:

When they get into the "big-rig trucker mode" and go slow as though their hauling a trailer. (these are usually the really big suburban drivers)

When they drift two tires over and into the other lane, especially on curves.

On a freeway you find out that for the past 15 miles you thought the freeway was just busy but in reality you couldnt see around the suv & the lane is completely empty in front of them. Or, out of no where, traffic suddenly stops and your only indication was a metal wall with two brake lights.

SUV Drivers that think their cars handle like sports cars and tailgate. Love that.

Top gripe of all time: Suvs that roll up to you at a red light and come about 6 inches away from your bumper.

Please don't take this as a hater... I don't hate you, I just pass you.

[sberdrow]

I drive one because I can....because I want to.

[JackSparrow]

Originally Posted by sberdrow

I drive one because I can....because I want to.

And thats a great reason.

But it doesn't mean that everyone else on the road doesn't hate you.

[DontH8Me]

Originally Posted by JackSparrow

And thats a great reason.

But it doesn't mean that everyone else on the road doesn't hate you.

What's to hate? We live in LA after all - we invented the term "conspicuous consumption". Keep spending my fellow amigos...