Are you automatically critical of folks who drive "gas guzzling SUV's?"?

Yes I am.

I never see dirty ones so I assume they are barely ever driven off-road.

I live where we get lots of snow. I need 4 wheel drive. I have 2 kids, 3 dogs, and whatever else I need toted around that day. My family has land up in ski country, and you better believe my truck goes off road. Try putting 2 teenage boys and 2 full bags of hockey equipment in a Prius.
I have another car that is smaller and uses less gas (chevy HHR) but I’ve lent it to my mom since her car broke and she can’t afford a new one right away. Maybe those people who look down on my SUV can stop and think before they make a comment. I’m a good daughter, and I’m helping my mom. Otherwise I wouldn’t be driving it as an everyday vehicle.

An SUV is a 4×4 for people who don’t need a 4×4.

Why shouldn’t i laugh when i see some jackass who has never been outside of a city driving a huge car for which you’ll never find a parking spot that furthermore chugs gas as if it was spring water?

If you want a 4×4 buy an actual 4×4, if you want a city car buy a city car. An suv is a city car with all the downsides of a 4×4 and none of the advantages.

As @elijah says, 4×4’s get you through the snow not just off road.

Doesn’t that make them valuable?

Depends. Where I live the most snow we get on a regular basis is about four inches at a go- most cars can handle this. Plus it’s flat. When I lived in the mountains we would get old beater 4×4’s for snow driving. You don’t want to drive a fifty thousand dollar car down a mountain of snow and ice.

I don’t think automatically that they’re horrible blah blah blah. I do giggle when I see them try to park in a car park though.

Yes, especially if it is a hummer. Ugh. I just want to smash them. (Especially when they live within a city that has oodles of public transportation.)

But why is this? Because they are using gas that you want for your car? Because you think they are causing more than their share of pollution? Because it is ostentatious?

Do you feel the same way about people who live in huge houses or have their own plane? How about people who have boats or skidoos or snow mobiles? Or how about a person who has a gas guzzling car that isn’t a 4×4?

I don’t understand why it would evoke animosity? It’s just a personal choice.

If they need it because of the enviroment they live and have to drive in then I don’t think anything of it.

However, I have a freind who only does/buys things for the status it brings her. She has a great big SUV. She has one child, no animals, we do get snow here but it is rare (and everyone else can usually drive their “normal” cars through it) and she doesn’t live in the country side where the terrain may be rough. I asked her why she has it once and she said “because it looks good”. I don’t want to judge her for this, after all, we all have our indulgences but I can’t help think badly of her decision with this vehicle.

I’ve had two Honda Civics and a CR-V (all very economical). I just purchased a 2006 Honda Pilot as I now cart around five people (two elderly) on a twice-weekly basis. I also don’t live or work near public transportation anymore.

Is this OK or will the environmental morality police come and take my cookies?

Yep. My mother included. She has a 4 runner and never hauls anything or even has a passenger in her car.

@cprevite – the environmental morality police are sounding pretty tough so I think it might be a good idea to hide your cookies somewhere safe!

http://www.good.is/post/is-owning-a-dog-worse-than-owning-an-suv/

@kevbo – well thanks for sharing, that is interesting. I wonder if that study was paid for by how many million tax dollars!!!

I loved the comments though, they were great!

I gave you a ga for that one but I am not sure for what catagory. :-)

What I do know is that every time I see an SUV driving down the middle of the parking lot row instead of on their side, blocking everyone else, or an SUV pulling out of a parking spot and backing up and pulling forward a bunch of times, essentially taking a long time just to get out of a spot, or every time I’ve had a near-brush with an SUV on the highway, when I look, it’s a woman. Just sayin’.

What I’m thinking, more than the gas guzzling, is that I think women in general are just a little too small to drive enormous SUVs. It’s not discrimination (I’m a woman, for crying out loud)... it’s science. People that small have more places around their vehicle that end up being blind spots. It’s just plain not safe. And more often than not, I see no blind spot mirrors.

Nope. Just envious.

No, I’m not automatically critical. I live in a rural area where an SUV can be essential for your job or just to get to town on snowy or icy days. There is no public transportation other than school buses.
I do sometimes kinda snicker at those I see in the city being driven by people who obviously don’t “need” them for anything other than “looks”.

Drivers of Gas Guzzling SUV’s are compensating for something just like the drivers of Priuses.

Please don’t drive a statement, whether it be “I’m bigger and more powerful than you” or “I’m saving the planet, nyaaaahh!”

Buy a driver oriented car, become a skilled and courteous driver, that’s the only way you’ll score points with me.

Note: Anyone that can’t tell that SUV’s aren’t fuel efficient just by looking at them is to stupid to be using our highway system.

SUV drivers: If you crash into me and the damage to my car or person is greater because your bumper over rode mine, expect a lawsiut.

You know if the government would actually give a $hiz about innovation in releaving itself from oil we could have the best of both worlds when it comes to utilization of fossil fuels and alternative fuels. We have the technology to run engines off of tap water and hybrid fuel cell technology that can increase any fuel economy by 3–4X what it is now. So no I am not critical of gas guzzlers because we don’t have any other choice if you need the space. If you have 50 kids and dogs, and gear and whatever you need the space. If you can make a Ford Expedition run on 100 mpg then im ALL FOR THAT!

@Tenpinmaster, Have you not heard of the minivan?

If the Honda Odyssey Touring or Mercedes-Benz R class isn’t good enough for one I don’t know what to say.

Alors, peut-être un char de combat?

Pink Tank!!

The gay punk band Pansy Division should know about this!

http://www.pansydivision.com/Pansy_Division/Home.html

Not automatically. But after discerning their reason for having it… usually.

@elijah: “Try putting 2 teenage boys and 2 full bags of hockey equipment in a Prius.” It’d work. Not with the dogs, as well. But a family and a shitload of luggage? Easily.

I think if whoever is driving it hauls around a lot of people or luggage or stuff, well that’s a different matter entirely. As a future filmmaker, it is entirely possible that I will have to haul around cast and crew members, props, costumes, equipment, etc. and frankly, my little fit may not be the best car for that. However, until such time as I need a lot more space, I will stick with The Colonel because I simply do not need that much room.

@MacBean: Something tell me that cramming two teenage boys into the back of a Prius = two dead teenage boys.

@KatawaGrey: No, seriously, have you seen the new ones? There’s ALL kinds of room in them. Three adults fit back there comfortably.

Without my Subaru Forester, Milo and I would have to live in an igloo at the bottom of my hilly, icy and almost impassable driveway whenever it snowed (which is all winter).

Secondary roads are dirt and when muddy, can be as slippery as ice. I have never had a clean car…after I have it washed, I have to drive home.

Both the UPS guy and my former snow-plow man slid of a nasty curve in the middle of my drive and ended up in the woods. On the day I moved here, the moving van got stuck in the mud.

edit: “slid off”

H2’s are a bit excessive and they’re not even very useful as off road vehicles.
Some people have a legitimate uses for an SUV though so I can’t deride someone for that.
Personally, I like the Honda Element.It’s a great middle ground between utility and economy.

I live in Portland, Oregon. I see Hummers with the rims that are spinning. Those folks can fuck off. More money than brains.

Spinners are so 2003.

It depends on whether I think there’s any chance that they either a) need the 4×4 capabilities or b) use the vehicle for work. When I lived in Colorado, I was a lot less resentful of Suburban drivers because Suburbans actually handle pretty well in the snow and going up hills. Hummers have always bothered me. They’re not for going off-road, they’re for advertising how small your penis is.

I do, but not as much as I used to. Where I live people do not need SUVs they want them. They are all shiny and new and have probably never been driven for anything more than commuting and shopping. I don’t really buy the whole I need the space excuse. There are mini vans and station wagons, and even the new cross-overs.

After my wife was in two car accidents where people made illegal left turns right into her, she decided she wanted a bigger, sturdier car, so she got an Escape. The gas mileage isn’t really that bad. Plus she commutes about 15 miles a day and only needs to fill up about once every 10 days. She is more comfortable driving a big car and the extra space comes in very handy for shopping and moving stuff (we move a lot). And I have a Mini, so I can’t transport anything.

Every one has a reason, though I suspect most reasons are selfish and frivolous.

”There are mini vans and station wagons”

@tinyfaery: Ya know, we considered the Honda Odyssey Mini-Van when we wanted more space, but the Honda Pilot (that we ended up with) gets the exact same MPG (17 city • 23 highway). They’re also comparably priced. So it was really a wash.

Not sure if this is the same with all Mini-Van SUV comparrisons – but I know we wanted a Honda.

@poofandmook – an interesting fact, the mining industry in Australia statistically prefers women to drive the huge trucks that bring the ore up out of the cuts. They are more careful, easier on the equipment and have an overall better work ethic and safety record. So they don’t agree with your theory of females can’t drive big vehicles.

@NewZen – when I hear the immediate knee jerk negative reactions, I do wonder if your assessment has an element of truth.

No one has addressed the added question though, are you also (as environmental morality police) critical of those who live in huge houses with heated swimming pools?
Do you feel this way towards people with large families? Or those who buy tons of prepackaged foods, or use plastic and on and on?

I guess maybe that is another question for another day.

Thanks to all who responded and lurve all around (even if I disagree with you, heheheh)

@rooeytoo: All I’m saying is that I can’t recall a time when I’ve had issues with the driver of a SUV being unsafe, careless, and/or reckless and it was a man.

@poofandmook – you ought to read the NT News. Practically every day there is a story of another death because some guy crashed their troopie.

I actually have become quite adept at parallel parking ours and believe me it isn’t easy with the bull bar and winch on the front and the trailer hitch on the back. Course the reversing camera helps.

@rooeytoo: I’m also speaking from experience. I am forced to drive an old, huge minivan due to circumstances out of my control. I am 5 feet tall. In a car, I am an excellent driver. Men tell me I’m a great driver, and here in the States, that usually means a lot since men seem to believe they own the road. However, when you put me behind the wheel of that stupid minivan, I can’t see. I have blind spot mirrors, and I still can’t see properly. I have cut people off, I have parked poorly, I have blocked others’ way. Why? Because I am too small to drive the minivan. I’m not just being an asshole. I’m proof.

Maybe some small ladies are better at it than I am, but from personal experiences that I’ve had, I am not even close to being the only one.

I’m 5’1” and I loved my regular sized van! It’s this little car I can’t tell where its bum is.

I drive a gas-guzzling crew cab pick up truck. However, I can fit all five of the dogs in the cab with me, go to the dump any time I want without having to rent a trailer, tote wheelchairs, walkers and luggage and still have room for kids, husband and parents, and still get in and out of the neighborhood when it floods. However, I am not a tiny person and have no problem driving the darn thing. There are a lot of men in our area much shorter than I.

But I must admit, a reversing camera would be a nice touch.

I do wonder a bit about the Junior League moms driving nice, shiny Hummers to daycare, but if they can afford it they can do it.

Honda Lurve at @cprevite

Yes, unless they live in a rural or mountainous area with lots of dirt roads and heavy snow in the winter.

Lurve @Darwin. Women in a big pickup are seXXi