Death of the SUV

[ali&ajsmom]

Originally Posted by bibit612

You and your children/passengers are as safe as your own driving habits will permit. Buying an SUV so you could have metal around you just to protect you from a crash is unrealistic. You could still die if you were unbuckled in the seat, yes? If there were no SUV's everyone would be on an even playing field. But because of aggression, SUV's have turned from being a transport mode into an instrument of perceived safety from road rage. I still maintain that you could get a vehicle that has the capacity and payload required without being irresponsible not only about consumption but about emissions as well. It's a thin line between the "I can do whatever I want if I can afford it and it's none of anyone else's business" mentality and still be a socially and environmentally responsible consumer.

if you have been the accidents that I have been in then you wouldn't want to have your kids in a car period. I have had a couple of cars that were in wrecks that were not my fault but the fault of drunk drivers and lets just say it is a good thing that my kids were not in those cars because my daughter wouldn't be walking or worse. and who knows what would have happened to my son. you be at a red light and have a drunk driver plow into the back of your car like it was nothing and push u into the car in front of you. mind you it was a full size pick up that was up shifting that plowed into the back of my car. the other one was when my car was parked out front of my house and it was plowed into by another drunk driver. plus when you live out in the country and have farm animals you need the room for saddles and other equipment or just to get into town because you absoultly have to and to get though some of the water covered roads because you have no choice.

You can drive what you want but don't go and judge me just because of what I drive. I don't do that to other people and I expect the same. the world would be a sad place if we were all the same.

[High_Plains_Retired]

Originally Posted by Smckown

As the New York Times reported, it now costs $100k to own and keep a similarly inefficient full size pickup running for five years.

I rarely reply to anything the New York Times has to say but my GMC Sierra gets 12 MPG at best. I keep it simply because I have to occasionally deliver farm equipment to a yuppie farmer who has a Honda Accord but needs a tractor. If one foolishly thinks they will get a reprieve from rising fuel prices by purchasing a small car, they should know they will pay it back at the grocery and/or hardware store in higher delivery and handling costs. The tractors I delivered a year ago for $2,500 are now delivered for around $3,200.

The New York Times should probably be more concerned that a stonecutter is at this very moment working on a tombstone that reads, "Here lies the newspaper business. Unable to see the forest for the trees but cutting them down anyway."

[titaniummd]

I had the Expedition and ML 320 which got about 13 to 15 MPG. I was so disappointed with that gas mileage that I bought a hybrid. Now that we need a bigger vehicle since there is 5 of us (my parents moved in with us and my dad uses a wheelchair), we got an SUV, again. Gas mileage is about 18 to 19 MPG (I do miss getting gas every 2-3 weeks like the hybrid); however, gas mileage from a minivan wouldn't be markedly better.