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Shannon, lol, no I don't "have" 4 kids, only 2 but most of the time (more often than not) I have 4 or more with me. I don't know if that is good or bad . Throw in the dogs and omy - trips to the lake, vet, etc and an 80lb dog along w/ all of us and our stuff needs the cargo space, lol. He AIN'T panting in my face . That is why when I leave the house I have to stop and think which vehicle I can go in or not depending on what the day holds - kids, job, everything. Sure a minivan might hold the same number of occupants but it can NOT hold the cargo that I often have. A hatchback nor station wagon does not even come close either. I have the Suburban and dh has the pickup because of our business. There is just no way around it. I just get tired of being judged for having one when there are people that just flat out have no comprehension of what we do, our lives, etc. I should not have to justify why I have the vehicle to anyone - THAT IS WHAT I GET TIRED OF! You may see just me get out of it at the store or wherever but do you KNOW what I had in it BEFORE then or will later? I paid for it, I pay for the gas, I pay the taxes on it to maintain the roads, etc. It gets the products to our customers when they need it and gets the stuff I have to pickup to our place when we need it. I can not count how many times since we bought my "second" car that is not an SUV that we have been in it and gotten an emergency call and had to trace ALL THE WAY back home to get another vehicle then go to the office, get product(s) and take to the customer - THAT is a PAIN! We just flat out don't go far from home in the non-SUV vehicle because of it.
No one should have to justify to ANYONE why they own/drive ANY vehicle.
No one should have to justify to ANYONE why they own/drive ANY vehicle.
But it's a little ironic that this whole subject is people justifing and explaining why they own an SUV. Hey I have 3 vehicles for the two of us. One is totally impractical and a toy - 81 corvette with a built engine, noisy, smelly, only seats 2 and gets 8 miles per gallon, and dangeriously fast. Another is a convertable - the rag top is all but impractical (too hot or too cold) 8 months out of the year. Really, all we need is one car. I admit it, it's a waste to own the other 2 vehicles.
No argument with justification - America is based on an automobile culture, and buying an automobile is an emotional process. Very few base it on practicality, and I'm glad they don't. Otherwise it would look like Europe on the roads - boring smartcars and vespa scooters. Hey I still think SUV's are impractical for 99% of the people that own them, but they have that right. I think people here would be just more secure if they just admit it - hey I liked the style and feeling of driving a truck. Hey I liked that commercial of that cool looking SUV driving on a trail. Or, hey, just in case a metior hits the world and the ice age starts up again I want to be prepared. Don't come up with excuses like it's safer or holds more because it just ain't true. Drive it because you like it.
But it's a little ironic that this whole subject is people justifing and explaining why they own an SUV. Hey I have 3 vehicles for the two of us. One is totally impractical and a toy - 81 corvette with a built engine, noisy, smelly, only seats 2 and gets 8 miles per gallon, and dangeriously fast. Another is a convertable - the rag top is all but impractical (too hot or too cold) 8 months out of the year. Really, all we need is one car. I admit it, it's a waste to own the other 2 vehicles.
No argument with justification - America is based on an automobile culture, and buying an automobile is an emotional process. Very few base it on practicality, and I'm glad they don't. Otherwise it would look like Europe on the roads - boring smartcars and vespa scooters. Hey I still think SUV's are impractical for 99% of the people that own them, but they have that right. I think people here would be just more secure if they just admit it - hey I liked the style and feeling of driving a truck. Hey I liked that commercial of that cool looking SUV driving on a trail. Or, hey, just in case a metior hits the world and the ice age starts up again I want to be prepared. Don't come up with excuses like it's safer or holds more because it just ain't true. Drive it because you like it.
I agree. I LOVE my SUV. I have a Z71 Suburban and think it is actually "cool" looking. Not some boring box or something. I'm also one of those people that does not just buy whatever car they can get a good deal on or whatever. I want the color I want and nothing else will do. By the time I've decided on what car to buy and when I already know EVERYTHING there is about it (options and all) and won't settle for anything less. If a salesperson tries to talk me into or out of something that is not me I'll go somewhere else.
You want to talk impractical, my household totally qualifies. Only two of us drive and the SUV is actually CLEANER than two of the ones we have out of 6. Yep, SIX vehicles. My husband collects cars. Two are 60's muscle cars. One night when he and the guys were out in the garage "playing cars" I opened the door and said, "hey, the EPA just called" . Even on those we have been selective on what we buy. It has to be THE color, trim package and all for us to be interested in considering it. So that is the SUV, P/U, sedan, 2-60's muscle cars and his newest edition a Porsche (SUV one, lol). He is looking at another purchase and it soooo does not fall under the environmentally friendly catagory either.
So if we were to all totally go freak out green what would we do w/ all of these cars that don't qualify? Like the classics and such? Destroy them? I hope not. Think about how destructive THAT would be to the envirnoment. Right now all of these cars are sitting in someones garage only coming out for shows or nice weather drives. IF they were banned then we would have to find enough land to throw them away taking away lots of green space not to mention the MANY jobs that are in our economy feeding this habit many Americans have.
. You may see just me get out of it at the store or wherever but do you KNOW what I had in it BEFORE then or will later?
No one should have to justify to ANYONE why they own/drive ANY vehicle.
I get ya Mom!!! I was talking about people I know personally that don't really need them ...they just want them.( My Mom drives an Escalade) Your right...it's nobodys business what you drive. I think we are all just giving our opinions. There's no right or wrong opinion here.
It kind of goes both ways. I think it's funny that people think SUVS are the only safe vehicle to be driving and the rest of us who don't drive them are lucky to be alive!!
Ok fair enough. I've always found the cost thing ridiculous. If they want more people to drive hybrids then why do they make them more expensive?
That is a MAJOR problem w/ ANYTHING that is to help reduce the harmful effects of population on the environment. There was a great article awhile back on the Toyota Prius and how the costs were totally out of whack and it actually cost MORE to buy, own and run than vehicles that are not "green". Same goes for anything solar related. There is a news story right now here in the Dallas area about a guy being told to remove solar lights from his home by the HOA (homeowners association). I saw it on the news and they are not ugly or anything. Hardly notice them at all as they look just like a regular attic fan on all houses. But they are "different" so people fear it. I have no problem w/ it. Then you have the issue w/ the wind farms. People throwing holy fusses because of them or the "threat" of them. But a huge power plant is okay???? LOL!!! Back to the car thing though - there are hydrogen vehicles out there but there is a long way to go on making that a common vehicle on the road (Heck, even Hummer has one ) and trying to operate one on a daily bases would be totally insane as there is nowhere to refill hardly. Same goes w/ the city buses and vehicles around here on natural gas as they have to put in their own filling stations at the yards. There are many options but the operating costs of the vehicles and the places to refill are holding back everything on that arena.
I love our 2 SUV's (Volvo XC90's) because of the comfort, the handling, the ability to haul just about whatever I want to - the visibility - the ability to go "off road"
But I also love them because, they basically cost us NOTHING - when the Government had the tax credits a few years ago for SUV's, we not only got to deduct them but, we go checks, from the Government, for MORE than what be paid for the units
Location: Between a nook-a-ler reactor and a dump, North Cackalacky
283 posts, read 1,259,190 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by boycew02
Ok fair enough. I've always found the cost thing ridiculous. If they want more people to drive hybrids then why do they make them more expensive?
Maybe because they cost more to produce?
For the automakers, there needs to be either the capacity to mass produce and the demand to consume that production (a whole new car or drivetrain line, e.g. Prius); or a very low cost of entry / low risk (as in the "mild" hybrids). Automakers are profit-driven, not driven by morals.
The price will come down as the costs of R&D and the systems can be spread across more car lines.
You will have to pry my Land Cruiser from my cold dead hands. Yes it is impractical for daily driving; except that it is very comfortable, its size ensures visibility - of me and by me - to help mitigate accidents, it is 12 yrs old and all original so it has prevented the need for X amount of other cars to be produced, and because there are maybe two other vehicles in the world that can keep up with it when we're offroad (Jeep Rubicon and Mercedes G-Wagen).
Not to mention that SUV's and most american made pickups are comfortable. I've been in Toyota's,Honda's etc and even the high end models are like riding on a board bolted to the floor. Plus, it's like the vehicles are made for people that are no taller than 5'11. I can't bend double just to get in and out and sitting on the ground and then standing up is a pain. Much easier to just step out of a SUV or truck!
Besides, if I'm going to pay in excess of 20k for a vehicle then I darn well will be comfortable!
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. Throw in the dogs and omy - trips to the lake, vet, etc and an 80lb dog along w/ all of us and our stuff needs the cargo space, lol. He AIN'T panting in my face 
. That is why when I leave the house I have to stop and think which vehicle I can go in or not depending on what the day holds - kids, job, everything. Sure a minivan might hold the same number of occupants but it can NOT hold the cargo that I often have. A hatchback nor station wagon does not even come close either. I have the Suburban and dh has the pickup because of our business. There is just no way around it. I just get tired of being judged for having one when there are people that just flat out have no comprehension of what we do, our lives, etc. I should not have to justify why I have the vehicle to anyone - THAT IS WHAT I GET TIRED OF! You may see just me get out of it at the store or wherever but do you KNOW what I had in it BEFORE then or will later? I paid for it, I pay for the gas, I pay the taxes on it to maintain the roads, etc. It gets the products to our customers when they need it and gets the stuff I have to pickup to our place when we need it. I can not count how many times since we bought my "second" car that is not an SUV that we have been in it and gotten an emergency call and had to trace ALL THE WAY back home to get another vehicle then go to the office, get product(s) and take to the customer - THAT is a PAIN! We just flat out don't go far from home in the non-SUV vehicle because of it. 
Yes it is impractical for daily driving; except that it is very comfortable, its size ensures visibility - of me and by me - to help mitigate accidents, it is 12 yrs old and all original so it has prevented the need for X amount of other cars to be produced, and because there are maybe two other vehicles in the world that can keep up with it when we're offroad (Jeep Rubicon and Mercedes G-Wagen).
