OT: New book on SUVs

[Matt Holcomb]

This is from the latest issue of "AIM", an independent newsletter of the automotive industry:

A new book critical of sport utility vehicles -- High and Mighty: SUVs, the World's Most Dangerous Vehicles and How They Got That Way -- has just hit the bookstands in the U.S.

Written by New York Times correspondent, Keith Bradsher, High and Mighty condemns SUVs and is a strong reminder of Ralph Nader's 1965 classic Unsafe at Any Speed against the Corvair. Mr. Bradsher, who was Detroit bureau chief for the NY Times from 1996 to 2001, and is now in charge of the paper's Hong Kong bureau, claims SUVs are killing thousands of people and wrecking the environment.

This is what Mr. Bradsher has to say about SUV buyers: "They tend to be people who are insecure and vain. They are frequently nervous about their marriages and uncomfortable about parenthood. They often lack confidence in their driving skills. Above all, they are apt to be self-centered and self-absorbed, with little interest in their neighbors or communities."


Matt Holcomb
MFIWDP
PRVC
BOHICA
1974 911 Carrera 2.7 RoW
1975 Mercedes-Benz 280SE
Dedicated Homepage
Engine Rebuild Homepage
Porsche Owners Gallery Profile
Pelican Gallery Profile

[Bill Douglas]

I just love those mass generalizations. I wonder what he thinks of us guys

[cegerer]

Ahhh yeah, let's all holds hands, sing folk songs and drive Yugo's. That would be a better world for sure .... -- Curt

[TimT]

LOL yes mass generaliztions!! do the drivers of SUV's pick there noses and flick the boogers on other cars?

Actually peeps I have a SUV as my main mode of transportation...

Self confidence in driving skills.... hmm I teach at DE's LOL

my Porsche is a track only car......... although I am in the market for a spare ( lookng for a clean 914 to morph into a monster)

porsches are wonderful machines... perhaps not the most pratical.... When I navigate the roads of Metro NY my SUV kinda makes sense.... I can see where Im going....... and there is alot of prtoection around me If I get waylayed by a stray tractor trailer

[island911]

Originally posted by TimT
LOL yes mass generaliztions!! do the drivers of SUV's pick there noses and flick the boogers on other cars?
. . .

No, but they will be (generally) the ones with overly exposed tires, flicking rocks on other cars.
Now that's "self-absorbed, with little interest in their neighbors or communities."

[TimT]

Ok so some of us have chosen diametrically opposed means of transportation.. perhaps both modes are impractical... Porsche or SUV......

but they will be (generally) the ones with overly exposed tires, flicking rocks on other cars

Were you following to closely? is it a car length per 10 MPH?

I find myself defending my position when there is no need to defend? why is that?

I do my every day stuff in an SUV, and drive my Porsche at DE's and races...
I am looking for a clean 914 ( it can be a bare ass stripped tub!!!!!!)

[zuffenhausen]

Originally posted by Matt Holcomb
"They often lack confidence in their driving skills."

And for good reason. Remember, folks, most stereotypes aren't invented, they're based on some statistical reality. In my highway experience, for example, I've witnessed SUV drivers as the most inconsiderate, inattentive, and clueless drivers on the road. They don't signal lane changes, they don't know how to merge properly (read: at speed), and then they blast off in the left lane until they ride somebody's ass and light up their brakes every five seconds.

Just last week here in Raleigh, a woman in an SUV wasn't paying attention and hit a guy on a motorcycle while he was trying to turn. Killed him. And after killing him, she totally gave up trying to control the vehicle, did a complete loop into a parking lot, wiped out one parked car in the parking lot, then exited the parking lot only to wind up hitting another car and finally stopping against a cinderblock wall. If there had been anyone in her path in that parking lot, she would've killed them too. When I saw the story on the news and the skidmarks she left, I was fuming. I ride and I know how dangerous our highways are for motorcyclists as well as drivers of small cars.

While I'm pissing everyone off by generalizing, let me say that minivan drivers take a close second. They do lack the bullish "I own the damn highway" attitude of most of the SUV drivers which is nice, but they're just as distracted and have nonexistent car control skills. Just ask dtw--he used to drive a tow truck while I rode shotgun (literally), and he can tell you all kinds of stories about both SUV and minivan drivers doing asinine things. I'll never forget what one dumfounded woman said after running her minivan into the back of another car at an intersection in the rain: "I slammed on the brakes but nothing happened." I honestly wanted to slap her.

If you drive a small sports car (try an MG) on today's highways and aren't watching SUVvies and minivans like a hawk, you're asking for trouble.

Bravo. I can't wait to read the book.

BTW, I love Corvairs.

-zuff

[TimT]

LOL

Step back and think for a sec

I've witnessed (insert vehicle) drivers as the most inconsiderate, inattentive, and clueless drivers on the road. They don't signal lane changes, they don't know how to merge properly (read: at speed), and then they blast off in the left lane until they ride somebody's ass and light up their brakes every five seconds.

You can insert Porsche, Rice, SUV, Bicycle, Unicycle, Tank, Boat or Ship into that blank...It actually doesnt matter what people chose to drive... its most lack the skills or awareness to drive then in a safe and proper manner

[island911]

Originally posted by TimT
.. . but they will be (generally) the ones with overly exposed tires, flicking rocks on other cars

Were you following to closely? is it a car length per 10 MPH?
. .

The last glass breakage I last rcvd, I was behind in the lane next to the ahole who was (breaking the law) with his experiment in hyper-unsprung rotating weight.
Unless these guys are driving on dunes, WTF is up with those absured tires?

As to your "(insert vehicle)" some vehicle statstically will fit certain descriptions better than others. I know of quite a few who have Volvos or SUV with the primary rational of safety for the consistantly unsafe (read: always getting in to wrecks) driver.
Some people are just dingbats on the road and they know it; and they plan for it. (with their feable reasoning).

[zuffenhausen]

Originally posted by TimT
You can insert Porsche, Rice, SUV, Bicycle, Unicycle, Tank, Boat or Ship into that blank...

I love most Porsches, hate rice, hate SUVs, have no problem with bicycles or unicycles, but I do really need a tank. As for a boat or ship, they can certainly block your right-of-way should they find themselves beached upon an interstate, but it would be hard for them to be any more offensive that that.

I do agree that the public in general are poor drivers and that a license should be much harder to get and much easier to lose. However, it certainly seems that SUVs and minivans have a disproportionate share of the worst drivers behind the wheel. For example, there are more Toyota Camrys and Honda Accords on the roads than there are Ford Exploders, Excrements, and Expostulations, but I can't recall any particular incident where a driver of the former exhibited a total disregard for other motorists, while I can certainly recall many instances of drivers of the latter exhibiting such disregard.

-zuff

[dtw]

Originally posted by zuffenhausen
I do really need a tank. -zuff

He's not kidding folks. This dude plays Grand Theft Auto 3 with wayyyy too much enthusiasm.

The Typical American Roadway Driver (hereinafter referred to as TARDs) goes and gets a license. After that, the TARD must make a vehicular selection- lifestyle, economics, personal taste, they all come into play. The average TARD will end up in one of the 3 vehicles: nameless, faceless car (Honda sedans and coupes), distractionmobile (minivan), or scrotum-inflation-mobile (SUV). The nice thing about the nameless faceless cars is that they reduce the TARD's chances of inflicting damage despite their ignorance. The thing about minivans and SUVies is that they have driving-skill reducing qualities.

Remember the cow Zuff referred to in his first post? The one who's minivan I had to scrape off a rainy highway? She made us set her distraction-mobile down before departure so she could get out all her ***** that made driving bearable. Purse, cellphone, cookies, candies, yada yada. Distractions. She probably had her snout in one of those accessories when she should have been braking.

Don't even get me started on the suvvies. Anyone interested, I can probably still get us into the tow yard. You can judge for yourself. They are there in all their mangled glory, in totally disproportionate numbers. The SUV inflates the male scrotum (and causes a similar but as yet unexplained effect in women). This condition has sinister and pervasive side effects:
-muscles of the right leg contract, forcing the foot down upon the accelerator
-swelling completely blocks access to the turn signal and renders the left foot lethargic, dulling and delaying braking inputs.
-blood flow to the groin diminishes motor functions, causing a characteristic swerving-from-lane-to-lane symptom.

These effects of the enlarged TARD scrotum inevitably result in the tragic mangling of expensive German fenders. That is the most feared manifestation of the enlarged scrotums- the suffering TARDs exhibit an unerring tendency to glue their 11,000lb monstrosities to our bumpers.

Stop the madness! Visit a tow lot if you think it is just a stereotype!

[Matt Holcomb]

Amazon has Mr. Bradsher's book.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1586481231/qid%3D1032923539/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F1/104-2209315-5300712

Former Prime Minister of Australia, Paul Keating, said recently that if he was back in office he'd "tax SUVs off our roads".


Matt Holcomb
MFIWDP
PRVC
BOHICA
1974 911 Carrera 2.7 RoW
1975 Mercedes-Benz 280SE
Dedicated Homepage
Engine Rebuild Homepage
Porsche Owners Gallery Profile
Pelican Gallery Profile

[A Quiet Boom]

dtw, I hope you have a good lawyer! You made me fall out of my chair into a near convulsion type laughing state. I may never walk again LOL

Keep up the good work, TARD I'll have to remember that.

[roGERK]

As Porsche drivers, we have two good reasons to fear and hate SUVs:

1) They are quite a bit higher than any Porsche, so in certain situations we can be literally invisible to the SUV driver. Bear this in mind when overtaking them - there is often a HUGE blindspot to the side/rear.

2) Next time you are in a car park, park next to or opposite an SUV. Look at the height of the front bumper. In low sportscars like ours, the majority of SUV front bumbers are level with your head. Now imagine a side impact. The SUV bumper neatly evades the impact beam in the door, instead encountering a few mm of toughened glass and a slender piller or two before encountering your head and neck.

In short, in a significant side impact the SUV driver gets a rash on their chin from the airbag deployment, the Porsche driver gets decapitated...

- roGER

[Sean Hamilton]

Originally posted by Matt Holcomb
........ They are frequently nervous about their marriages and uncomfortable about parenthood.....

Oh oh, so that's why the wife just bought herself a Toyota RAV4.
Hmmm, I better find the kids and forget about the pub tonight.

[Sean Hamilton]

Originally posted by dtw
....Typical American Roadway Driver (hereinafter referred to as TARDs)

So what's a TURD....... eURo?

Originally posted by dtw
........The SUV inflates the male scrotum - blood flow to the groin diminishes motor functions, causing a characteristic swerving-from-lane-to-lane symptom.

S'funny....... that's why I bought my Porsche! Gees dtw, so am I the only one here suffering this?

[Tinton]

SUV = conspicuous consumption

[cegerer]

"In short, in a significant side impact the SUV driver gets a rash on their chin from the airbag deployment, the Porsche driver gets decapitated... "

Sounds like a REALLY good reason to drive an SUV. Let's outlaw the safe vehicles and legislate everyone into small dangerous vehicles????????????????? It's incomprehensible to me that fellow car enthusiasts desire to have our all-knowing government dictate what type of cars we drive. I think you people need anger management classes. -- Curt

P.S. I don't own an SUV.

[dtw]

Originally posted by Tinton
SUV = conspicuous consumption

It's true in many cases. Here's my stance which I'm sure will get me flamed off the board- why not ratchet income taxes down a few notches here in the US? I'm somewhere along a civil libertarian/not-so-compassionate conservative type. Thus, I'd like to see a reduction in government size in step with this reduction. BUT- here's the part you'll really love- I'd have no problem with the gas tax being cranked up such that prices hit around $4/gallon. Muhahahah!!! Too bad I'm way too blunt and offensive to most people, I'd never get a vote if I ran for office.

[Moses]

When I sell my Jeep Grand Cherokee, I'll buy a Hummer. Not the cute little H2. No, I want the big ass monster. Conspicuous consumption? Hell yes.

You guys can all hold hands and sing Kumbaya together then drive home in your little hybrid go-carts.