Last year, I
bought a brand new car. A Nissan Pulsar SSS (as seen in the POTD
gallery) which cost me a fair bit of dosh and worth loads more than
my last piece of junk. So naturally I take really good care of it,
and am careful when parking and driving etc, and have only once
lightly binged it myself against something (you can't even see where
I did it). And yet it seems like once a month I get a damn new dent
in it. You know why? It's the damn SUVs (or 4WDs as we call them
in Australia). I have rubbing strips down the side of my car, but
they don't matter a damn when some huge fucking behemoth parks right
next to you, and all the kids jump out and since the door is so
much higher it dents my car. I have so many fucking dents and scrapes
of paint on my car it's fucking ridiculous. Their huge height means
parts of my car never meant to be hit get nailed. What's the point
of a bumper bar or rubbing strips when they smack into other parts
of your car?
Now if you drive
a 4WD and never take it off-road then just stop reading right now.
What I have to say is just going to hurt. There is no damn reason
why *anyone* should buy an SUV unless they actually have a reason
to go off-road. Size be damned, you can get a van if you really
need space, or an MPV. Yet 99% of people who buy an SUV never, EVER
take them off the road. The salespeople don't even fool anyone anymore.
Have you seen the latest ads? Kids being dropped at footy training
and the dad or whoever having to go through some mud. Real off-road
driving! Jesus.
The type of
driving I've seen from these people is incredible too. It's as if,
as soon as you stick 'em high up in the air with a fortress of metal
around them, they suddenly realise "hey, I could just drive
right over these other cars. If they don't like my lane change,
hey, it's only a minor scrape for me, but a write-off for him."
I read in a survey a few months back that people with SUVs were
more likely to be on their mobile phone, and/or eating food, and/or
not speeding. If you have a look at a similar
survey they say
"For
instance, the most aggresive drivers, by their own admission, are
men who drive sports cars and SUVs.
Among women drivers, the most aggresive by their own admission,
are those who drive light trucks and SUVs.
These
women see themselves as more aggresive than men who drive
family and economy cars."
I think that
sums it pretty well, don't you? The other problem is that the people
that drive them are real posers. Just look at the picture at the
top of the article. Lowered, with a spoiler. WTF? Does that even
make sense? Where's the point in that? (btw, thanks to RiceBoyPage
for the pic). Want another brilliant example? Hey! Let's lower a
chevy and put chrome mags on it! I bet that'd look great! Perform
well too! I hear Chevy are even selling lowered SUVs with front
spoilers directly now. It's called the Blazer Xtreme.
What is the
point of the size of these things, incidently? Yesterday I saw a
Chevy, no joke, 10 metres long. Please explain the need for this?
They're so ugly as well; I truly do not understand the current demand
for SUVs. Please don't write in and try and explain it to my either,
you people have a damn religious fervor. Want an example of what
I'm talking about? They're trying to make SUVs into sports cars.
The whole physics of 4WD cars, to have a high level of clearance
and plenty of suspension for bumpy roads goes against everything
that sports cars strive for. Check this out:
Unbelievable.
So in review:
1. They dent
your car in ways you never knew how.
2. They encourage aggressive driving.
3. They block other drivers' view of the traffic.
4. They take up a ridiculous amount of space.
5. They guzzle gas like there's no tomorrow.
6. They're ugly as hell.
Now I don't
want anyone that drives an SUV to write in and tell me why theirs
is so damn necessary. This is my opinion, but I also have a lot
more facts and figures to back me up. But, I'm too fucking lazy
to post them up here. So in conclusion, It's my rant and I'm entitled
to it - SUVs suck.
An efficient bureaucracy is the greatest threat to liberty.
