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I generally don't wish death on people who revitalize urban neighborhoods.
When you see an Escalade parked in an urban neighborhood around here, the last thing one thinks about is "revitalization". The best case scenario is more like, "Hey, the Steelers must be having a party nearby." The worst case scenario implies getting your butt out of there asap.
You're not going to convince families to give up their land yachts. There's a (somewhat legitimate) belief their precious cargo of kids are safer in one of these tanks. But there's no excuse to be driving around solo in one on a regular basis.
Personally, I'd be for making metered parking spaces smaller.
I rarely think of any person of means driving an Escalade.
The SUV of choice of the well heeled is a Land Rover HSE series.
Escalades are mainly driven by the lower classes that tend to add all manner of after market accoutrement like large diameter rims and annoying audio components. Of course this already takes a vehicle that is better suited for the ghetto and confirms it.
The starting MSRP for a Cadillac Escalade is higher than the MSRP for the LR2 HSE and LR4 HSE by 34K and 9K, respectively. The Escalade even beats out the Porsche Cayenne in terms of base price by 15K.
Now, if you are talking about a Ranger Rover, which is made by Land Rover, then that is a more expensive vehicle. However, only if you are talking about a true Range Rover model, sans modifier, and not one of their lower end models (Ranger Rover Evoque and Range Rover Sport).
Out in the suburbs, I see plenty of upper middle class families that drive Escalades.
Don't let me get started on that. I know of a woman who drove an Escalade and lived in a gated McMansion community and was ( almost no longer is- since her crime her husband has filed for legal separation) the wife of a lucrative business owner. This woman is very arrogant and with her money she thought she was above the law. Well one day while talking to her BFF on the cell phone ( over something trivial) she was merging on the freeway. She tried forcibly muscled her way into the flow of traffic and caused an innocent driver to wreck. Thank God he was not killed but he was injured pretty badly and had to miss several months of work not to mention hospital and rehab bills and the repair or replacement of his car. She went on driving away, aggressively weaving in and out of traffic and left the scene of the accident. Well, guess what? The authorities had finally caught of with her, and now she is laboring hard as a dishwasher in a mom and pop family restaurant working up to 15, 16 hour days six or seven days a week to pay restitution that the judge ordered her to pay , her drivers liscense is been revoked for several years and plus both her SUV and cell phone were seized .. That is a part of her probation sentence and if she messes up- she will be behind bars. Also to top it off ,her insurance was lapsed at the time of the accident and she did not know it- her payment did not make it to the office before the dead line. As for as I am concerned she brought her woes upon herself due to her arrogance. I am going to give these arrogant drivers with big SUVS ( a cliche) " enough rope to hang themselves", eventually something will happen that will give them their comeuppance. Sadly, often someone innocent gets hurt or worse due to some driver's agressiveness and that is tragic.
Did you by any chance hear of this story via a forwarded e-mail?
When you see an Escalade parked in an urban neighborhood around here, the last thing one thinks about is "revitalization". The best case scenario is more like, "Hey, the Steelers must be having a party nearby." The worst case scenario implies getting your butt out of there asap.
You're not going to convince families to give up their land yachts. There's a (somewhat legitimate) belief their precious cargo of kids are safer in one of these tanks. But there's no excuse to be driving around solo in one on a regular basis.
Personally, I'd be for making metered parking spaces smaller.
Tell that to all the proud SUV owners I know who live in Lawrenceville, East Liberty, etc.
And there's nothing inherently wrong with driving an SUV. Hell, I drive one--all by myself even! But I am a responsible driver who doesn't hog the road. Still, I do admit some of my SUV-owning-and-operating brethren aren't quite so conscientious.
Tell that to all the proud SUV owners I know who live in Lawrenceville, East Liberty, etc.
And there's nothing inherently wrong with driving an SUV. Hell, I drive one--all by myself even! But I am a responsible driver who doesn't hog the road. Still, I do admit some of my SUV-owning-and-operating brethren aren't quite so conscientious.
Not all SUV drivers are arrogant- alot are responsible parents with kids and they will do their best to keep their precious cargo out of harms way . It is that small percentage of SUV drivers that display arrogant and aggressive behavior in traffic. Also truth to be told I believe the SUV's days are dwindling with gas prices now topping 4 dollars a gallon in many places and people are skewing more towards the more fuel efficient vehicles. Hubby and I own one smaller Chevy Cavalier and even we are now keeping our running around to a minimum.
After I showed her my family of 4, with 2 full buggies of stuff from his store alone, I asked her to tell me what's more efficient, 4 people in a loaded down truck getting 17mpg's or 1 person with a candle or whatever in a 24mpg car being on the road. She conceded.
C) Family of 4 with 2 full buggies of stuff in a 35 mpg vehicle.
Tell that to all the proud SUV owners I know who live in Lawrenceville, East Liberty, etc.
And I'd argue that those folks aren't the pioneers who start the revitalization. They move in once the profit potential has been established and the neighborhood has already changed significantly toward "safe".
It doesn't matter the MSRP what matters is the message it conveys.
Just because the Escalade is more expensive doesn't mean it equates to a desirable vehicle.
You can have an older Volvo station wagon vs a new Dodge Challenger and I bet you the older established money within the context of class stratification equates to the Volvo not the Challenger.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kippy
The starting MSRP for a Cadillac Escalade is higher than the MSRP for the LR2 HSE and LR4 HSE by 34K and 9K, respectively. The Escalade even beats out the Porsche Cayenne in terms of base price by 15K.
Now, if you are talking about a Ranger Rover, which is made by Land Rover, then that is a more expensive vehicle. However, only if you are talking about a true Range Rover model, sans modifier, and not one of their lower end models (Ranger Rover Evoque and Range Rover Sport).
Out in the suburbs, I see plenty of upper middle class families that drive Escalades.
When you see an Escalade parked in an urban neighborhood around here, the last thing one thinks about is "revitalization". The best case scenario is more like, "Hey, the Steelers must be having a party nearby." The worst case scenario implies getting your butt out of there asap.
You're not going to convince families to give up their land yachts. There's a (somewhat legitimate) belief their precious cargo of kids are safer in one of these tanks. But there's no excuse to be driving around solo in one on a regular basis.
Personally, I'd be for making metered parking spaces smaller.
Have you ever thought of maybe the kids are grown, the vehicle is paid for and they continue to drive it instead of going into debt for a smaller vehicle or maybe they like the safety/security they feel being in the larger vehicle?
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