SUVs and Trucks in PDX (Yamhill: daycare, to buy, disposal)

[TygrrEyzz]

Oh really, mountains? Wow. Never heard of those. Thanks for the sarcasm.

Actually, I've driven plenty in the mountains. My VW bug handles them just fine.

[Yankeemama]

This is a funny topic. Not all SUVs are luxury vehicles. My family of four uses basically this one vehicle. My husband works out of state and commutes to the airport so we don't "commute" with our car. We chose our neighborhood because we can walk to the Whole Foods and the drive is less than a mile away. We walk to school half of the year and drive half a mile when it's really rainy. Our SUV has 4 wheel drive and is great for the outdoorsy activities that is a huge draw to the Oregon lifestyle. We also take road trips to Seattle and Vancouver, B.C. so the extra room is an advantage. Hubby and I are also fans of transporting newly bought furniture in the back by folding the seats down. I know we are very green without getting into too many details on a public forum. I laugh at judgement over what kind of car I drive. And yes, my car is clean, just like my house. Maybe it's generational, but I always thought taking care of your home and vehicles was a responsible thing, not an elitist, "I am so rich" kind of thing. I like being clean though so sorry if that's offensive to some out there...Lol. FYI, most PNWers and specifically Portland born and reared people that I have met during the mast year, drive SUVs and their vehicles are very clean. My two cents...

[aroseinrain]

I don't have a problem with one person driving around in an SUV (it's like trying to share 5 lollipops between 8 kids - there's just not enough to go around, you can't get mad at the kids who get one because pretty soon nobody's getting one anyway)... but it still irks me for no logical reason when someone with a car that's designed for rough terrain has to slow down to a stop to weather a speed bump or enter a driveway.

The whole thing is designed for driving on rutted dirt roads! Take that bump like you mean it, for crying out loud!

[khyron]

Originally Posted by aroseinrain

The whole thing is designed for driving on rutted dirt roads! Take that bump like you mean it, for crying out loud!

Very rarely true nowadays though, keep that in mind.

While some SUV models are still built for the "SU" part the vast majority aren't...they're just toys shaped like what SUV used to mean. They're designed with posh suspension setups which remove the driver so radically from the feedback of real driving that they need silly computers to help the numbed pilot keep the vehicle stable in adverse conditions or during sudden corrective adjustments. In most cases, if you drove them at all like they do in the commercials, you'd end up upside down or broken down.

If you search around on "jeeping" forums you'll find tons of hilarious photos of old school Cherokee folks pulling Hummers (the fake ones, that are just plastic covered badly made pickup trucks) with broken axles out of ditches. The look on the H2 owners' faces is always priceless. Sadly, the Cherokee itself is one of these toys today. It's sad when powerful brands become meaningless, especially with products people get as emotional over as cars. Just ask anyone who loved real Beetles how they feel about the worst modern VW ever made.

[wanderbygrace]

With due respect to khryon says, I still laugh at all the SUV's around the suburbs here in Ohio, watching them cautiously approach speed bumps as if they were land mines.

For what it's worth - I'd guestimate that a good 60% of the vehicles on the roads here in Ohio are NOT passenger cars, anymore. It's just amazing that in this age of $4 gas, people still buy these monster trucks to carry the 5yo & chihuahua to soccer practice across nicely paved roads.

[pdxMIKEpdx]

I drive an early 90's 3/4 ton diesel truck.
It hauls my camper, pulls my boat, my ATV's, takes me hunting and fishing, goes to the dump and yard debris place, hauls bark dust and gravel, things that a car can't do.
It gets 16mpg in the city and 19mpg on the highway.
It's paid for.
It runs perfectly.
Insurance is low.
I can see everything around me, and I feel safer driving around.
It's a pain to drive around Portland's narrow streets, but fine everywhere else.

It is also my daily driver.

I would drive something smaller, but it's cheaper for me to run and maintain this vehicle than title, register, insure, operate and maintain an additional smaller car.

If you feel like I am killing the planet, feel free to set me up to what you feel is correct, at your expense.
To each his own. Worry about yourself first please.

BTW, Most people that drive SUV's and trucks will slow down for speed bumps etc because the shocks and suspension are stiffer to allow for the punishment of off road driving. You feel the bump more at parking lot speeds.

If you took and SUV or a truck over that same bump at say 20-30mph, you would have a far different result than taking something like a Honda Civic over that bump at that same speed.

Also, a late 80's, early 90's Cherokee is an AWESOME off roader when lifted and geared properly!
I wouldn't trust a new Jeep SUV to do anything rough.

[Ryant]

I moved out from your corner of the world. There are trucks and SUVs out here but not as many(at least trucks) as there. I could tell when getting back in Minnesota/Iowa because I started seeing a lot of big trucks with big "Polaris" stickers on them. It's kind of the culture out there.. Here, you see a lot of Subaru's..

I get by fine with camping gear in my two seater : )

[Yankeemama]

Tried to rep you but got to spread the love around.

Originally Posted by pdxMIKEpdx

I drive an early 90's 3/4 ton diesel truck.
It hauls my camper, pulls my boat, my ATV's, takes me hunting and fishing, goes to the dump and yard debris place, hauls bark dust and gravel, things that a car can't do.
It gets 16mpg in the city and 19mpg on the highway.
It's paid for.
It runs perfectly.
Insurance is low.
I can see everything around me, and I feel safer driving around.
It's a pain to drive around Portland's narrow streets, but fine everywhere else.

It is also my daily driver.

I would drive something smaller, but it's cheaper for me to run and maintain this vehicle than title, register, insure, operate and maintain an additional smaller car.

If you feel like I am killing the planet, feel free to set me up to what you feel is correct, at your expense.
To each his own. Worry about yourself first please.

BTW, Most people that drive SUV's and trucks will slow down for speed bumps etc because the shocks and suspension are stiffer to allow for the punishment of off road driving. You feel the bump more at parking lot speeds.

If you took and SUV or a truck over that same bump at say 20-30mph, you would have a far different result than taking something like a Honda Civic over that bump at that same speed.

Also, a late 80's, early 90's Cherokee is an AWESOME off roader when lifted and geared properly!
I wouldn't trust a new Jeep SUV to do anything rough.

[wanderbygrace]

Originally Posted by pdxMIKEpdx

I drive an early 90's 3/4 ton diesel truck.
It hauls my camper, pulls my boat, my ATV's, takes me hunting and fishing, goes to the dump and yard debris place, hauls bark dust and gravel, things that a car can't do.
It gets 16mpg in the city and 19mpg on the highway.
It's paid for.
It runs perfectly.
Insurance is low.
I can see everything around me, and I feel safer driving around.
It's a pain to drive around Portland's narrow streets, but fine everywhere else.

It is also my daily driver.

I would drive something smaller, but it's cheaper for me to run and maintain this vehicle than title, register, insure, operate and maintain an additional smaller car.

If you feel like I am killing the planet, feel free to set me up to what you feel is correct, at your expense.
To each his own. Worry about yourself first please.

BTW, Most people that drive SUV's and trucks will slow down for speed bumps etc because the shocks and suspension are stiffer to allow for the punishment of off road driving. You feel the bump more at parking lot speeds.

If you took and SUV or a truck over that same bump at say 20-30mph, you would have a far different result than taking something like a Honda Civic over that bump at that same speed.

Also, a late 80's, early 90's Cherokee is an AWESOME off roader when lifted and geared properly!
I wouldn't trust a new Jeep SUV to do anything rough.

I have no issue with people like you owning a gas-guzzling vehicle, because you have a legitimate use for it*. It's people like the mother of one of my son's soccer teammates who owns a late model SAV (suburban assault vehicle), but only has one kid and a lapdog. Cripes, the thing doesn't even have a hitch on it, and I cannot imagine they'd ever take it somewhere where it'd get dirty.

*Heck, when we move to PDX, one thing we'll be doing is helping out on weekends at our relatives' farm/ranch in Yamhill County. We're already talking about trading in my wife's vehicle for a truck to help haul/tow things, such as the horse trailers.

[Leisesturm]

??? Isn't a speed bump intended to modify the speed of a vehicle entering a speed protected area of roadway? Is it really that bad of a thing if the driver of an SUV actually does so in response to the stimulus of the impact to their suspension? I mean... imagine if speed bumps designed to bring vehicle speeds down to ~10mph for public safety were inoperative because SUV's could navigate them at 20mph... isn't being happy about that missing some essential point.

H