Why some people drive pickups and SUVs

[WhiteBlue]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFQu2HgDTwQ[/youtube]

A little bit of humour to highlight the problem. I have to add that it constantly annoys me to see over sized and grossly over weight vehicles on the roads. The owners waste petrol, endanger other participants by inappropriately large kinetic energy in an accident and block the forward view for drivers of standard cars. I think they should raise the tax three or five fold to punish such vanity and foolishness. At the time when people drove Porsches for penis size compensation you actually had a nice vehicle to look at and the added satisfaction that most of them would spin the thing at the next corner.

Edit of title because I listen.

[flynfrog]

we could do much more by taxing newborn babies.

[MOWOG]

Actually, the manufacturers claim they only build what the buying public demands, but some of us are skeptical. Why? Because the very same manufacturers make about 50% more profit on the SUV than the pickup truck it is based upon. We skeptics believe the buying public wants these behemoths because the manufacturers pay their ad agencies hundreds of millions of dollars to make people want them in the first place.

But all is not lost. The other day at Home Depot I saw a man load his Ford F350 Super Duty Off Road pick em up complete with dual rear wheels with a 1 lb box of 12d galvanized nails, so they do have a purpose. Here in the US, it was common until recently to see a pair of giant sized testicles swinging from the trailer hitch of many pickups. Talk about over compensating for itty bitty peenie syndrome!

[WhiteBlue]

Here in the US, it was common until recently to see a pair of giant sized testicles swinging from the trailer hitch of many pickups. Talk about over compensating for itty bitty peenie syndrome!

Found the pic on another forum. Did you realize the size of the tail pipes?

[marcush.]

c´mon it´s the same with a honda Fireblade ,a Hot hatch ,Mclaren P1,or a BMW 5 series..there is no need for this sort of transport apart from the owners feel of need,don´t you think so?
SUVs and in fact everything we can buy is a product tailored to be bought and by definition is aimed at filling a need ....so it´s on first thought the old hen or egg question b ut that´s not true .
If you don´t offer the damn SUV nobody would have asked for it.Clever analysts have found out some people have a soft spot for cars which offer a superior view around in traffic.
you will only be able to regulate this by monstrous fuel cost per litre cutting off the posers who realistically cannot afford to drive big cars anyways.

[Steven]

In Belgium at least I can say that the main reason for people to buy SUVs was mainly for safety. I believe many families have bought suvs (instead of people movers or breaks) because you sit higher and you're safer in case of a crash. It was in my perception mainly women who felt it would be better to have a SUV, "as it will be so much better when clashing with a normal car".

It was something that came up about 10 years ago, with a highpoint approximately 2 years ago. Then, in an attempt to keep the state's finances under control, the tax on cars was increased and reformed. Instead of calculating on "fiscal horsepower", the traffic tax now exponentially increases with higher CO2 output. The result was that SUVs became three times as expensive as before, with many putting their cars up for sale on second hand websites.

I think it's good. Most people don't need SUVs here, hardly anybody drives off road. It is with a reason that there were rumours a while ago that Volvo and other companies would scrap their biggest SUVs.

[Pup]

I doubt WB will be happy to know that I got a tax discount for buying my SUV through my business.

And since he's painting all us SUV owners with the same brush, I doubt he'll be happy to admit that I might have a use for a vehicle than can make it through muddy, debris-filled job sites, can haul a heavy trailer, has room and is rugged enough to hold building material samples, and yet is also nice enough that I can also take clients to tour potential sites or look at past projects.

He might also be upset to know that I find it useful for carrying muddy mountain bikes and that it's kind of nice to have something with enough headroom that my german shepherd can stand up in the back without tearing up the headliner when we head to the woods three or four times a week.

And he'll really be pissed to know that I don't mind driving a vehicle that's just as big and heavy as the other SUV's on the road. I also somehow manage to drive my wife's compact around town without feeling emasculated.

And we waste gas in the US, not petrol.

[Pierce89]

I lay tile and hardwood floors for friends and family because I learned the trade before college and I still enjoy it. Because of that, I need a truck, but I often drive around with my truck unloaded. I think this thread is a little bit ridiculous. Just because a truck is unloaded when you happen upon it does not mean the driver is some over compensating prick. My truck gets better fuel mileage than my old WRX that was lightly tuned. Granted, my truck is a mid sized Toyota Tacoma not an F-350, but I feel a person is entitled to buy whatever car he can afford and chooses. A larger vehicle has always felt safer to me. If a large truck gets in wreck with a roller skate I'd want to be in the truck. Oh and I have mud tires and live in the American South. Yee Haw!

OK lets get all the Alabama/truck/redneck jokes out of your system. It shalln't bother me in the slightest.

BTW as with pup, my dog would destroy a small sedan of hatchback. (a large German Shepard/Chau mix with a nasty habit of hurling herself across the car at breakneck speed whenever she sees another dog or cat(or squirrel or chipmunk or ground hog or coyote or fox, well, you get the idea)

[WhiteBlue]

Obviously some people have a need for the vehicles as Pup explained, but as Tomba said you often find housewives driving Q7 dreadnoughts for the half mile school run of a single child all over tarmac roads and never a single mile off road. And they have no sense of environmental sustainability and how much they create convenience and safety problems for others by making such choices. You can easily identify the Ersatz penis brigade by the looks of their pickups. If the vehicle is used for business they get scratched and dented but the people driving for psychological male reasons as in the above picture will have their tool always polished with a high lustre.

[flynfrog]

Some of us also don't believe we have the right or the moral imperative to tell others what they should do. Then when they don't listen think there needs to be a law to force them to do what I think they should do. PS I hate my truck if anyone is in the market.

[mep]

Most annoying is that the drivers of these pseudo of roaders actually do believe that their cars are any better in off road conditions or saver. I once had the experience where one of these heavy SUV’s with too big and slippery tires was not able to climb up a snow covered forest road. A tiny mini bus with 4 wheel drive and narrow tires managed the climb easily.

[marcush.]

a trailer is just a bit uncool ,maybe.
Don´t get me wrong but for me the mom feeling safer in a SUV is no worse than a guy feeling the need to be free to buy a pallett of tiles spontaneously and taking them home in his own car-NOW-or the guy finding satisfaction burning 50litres of fuel in less than 2 hours on a weekend trip.
My point is :if the industry would not build those cars nobody would know or demand them

[WhiteBlue]

Some of us also don't believe we have the right or the moral imperative to tell others what they should do. ..

.. like the people of Vietnam or Iraq how they were supposed to run their countries?
... or the inhabitants of the Fukushima province that they have to accept nuclear accidents?

I'm afraid law making and politics always have an element of curbing the individual freedom for some given purpose. To me it is more the purpose and the appropriateness of the curbing measures that needs scrutiny sometimes. Unlimited freedom can produce some very bad results. Unfortunately not all people are good people and do good things if you leave them to their total freedom. The responsible person will strike the right balance by reasoning over his choices.

I certainly do not consider to have a moral superiority when I chat over an issue such as frivolous choices of vehicles that are wasteful and an inconvenience to other drivers. I'm just making a point of personal opinion that may be shared by others or not. You are absolutely free to agree with my proposed taxation ideas or dismiss them. Every country in the world will set these things according to the priorities of the law makers. And btw. an open debate cannot hurt in order to learn what other people think of a question.

[donskar]

Here is the US (I sell cars) many people buy large sedans, SUVs, and pickups because those vehicles:
offer more utility and versatility when the time comes to carry more people or "stuff"
are perceived as safer
provide better visibility (are taller)
here in Houston, additional ground clearance is useful in our near-Monsoon season

And some people buy more vehicle than they need for the same reason people buy cars that are faster than they need -- because they can, becaue of ego, because of "macho" (or "macha") [put your favorite bit of amateur psychology here].

Here's the other side: I own a 1998 Nissan Sentra 200SX. I modified the engine so it now requires premium gas and a lot of it. I run soft tires and I drive hard, so I need new tires every 15K miles. I suppose I am environmentally insensitive, even though I drive a small, light car with a small engine. My 240SX, if I live to finish it, will be equally small, light, and sinful.
My point: sometimes big and heavy is no worse than small and light.

[WhiteBlue]

LOL donskar, I give that an upvote!
When you sin you sin for a reason and you do not blame the tax man when he takes your money at the pump.