I know that a lot of people have very good reasons for owning SUVs -and a whole
lot of
people don't, or are buying them for the wrong reasons. Personally I fail to
see the logic
behind "hates minivans and station wagons" but buys an SUV, much less
"trad(ing) the SUV
for an expensive 4 door she doesn't really like".
My wife and I donated her too-small-for-our-family-but-still-going-strong '84
Toyota
Corolla to charity (not the junkyard) and bought a VW Passat Wagon in 1999.
Fantastic car
- great quality, excellent road-handling, great power from the light-pressure
turbo-charged 1.8 litre engine, roomier and less expensive than it's Audi
cousins. A
couple of months ago the VW was totaled by a careless driver in a 1980 Mercury
Monarch - a
vehicle that is, structurally speaking, the road-going equivalent of a
battering ram.
My wife walked away from that accident, slightly bruised and definitely shaken
up, but
essentially unharmed, thanks to modern vehicle construction (not just mass...
). Since we
have recently added another member to the family and our oldest child is at the
age of
wanting to be able to bring friends along to the movies or what have you, we
decided to
replace the Passat Wagon with something with more passenger capacity. You could
have
knocked me down with a feather when she suggested we look at the Acura MDX,
because my
wife dislikes SUVs - she is more comfortable in smaller, easier to handle
(park, etc. )
vehicles.
We decided on the Honda Odyssey minivan (yikes - there's that word!). It has
more
passenger capacity (7 vs. 5) than the MDX and all but the really big SUVs, same
240-hp
VTEC V-6 engine and 5-speed automatic transmission as the MDX, fully independent
suspension at all 4 corners (double wishbone, I might add... ) and more cargo
capacity
than the MDX - for about $12k less - not to mention excellent gas mileage and a
ULEV
designation. I haven't had the opportunity to try it out in slippery conditions
yet (at
least, not more slippery than heavy rain - it DOES rain here in sunny San Jose,
CA) but I
know from past experience that FWD is reliable and stable in the wet, mud or
snow - much
more so than a rear-drive 2-wheel drive SUV, for example.
The Odyssey is no sports car, and I don't drive it like one, but it has a lower
CG than
your basic mid- or larger size SUV and is therefore a much more stable vehicle.
Don't
believe me? Go look up the rollover accident stats.
My basic premise is that most people have little no real understanding of the
physical
facts governing vehicle behaviour, or a flawed understanding, at best. "Bigger
is Better"
only takes you so far, and there are limitations AND shortcomings to the
vehicles that
sort out when that criterion is applied. There is no denying that there are
many good
reasons and situations which would recommend the purchase of a large and/or
4-wheel drive
vehicle - but many, many of these vehicles are bought by folks who don't really
need those
attributes and are ill-equipped to handle the vehicle (or in many cases, let's
be honest -
any vehicle) in an emergency maneuver.
Gary McCormick
San Jose, CA
"Hall, Phillip" wrote:
> On the SUV subject. A lot of people on the list have/had SUVs. We bought
> them for good reasons.
> So, way does a Mom buy a SUV? One reason is the husband wants a SUV to haul
> the boat, go hunting in, etc.. but can not afford or just does not want 2
> car payments. Sooo, "hey honey the mini vans getting high miles and I think
> a SUV will haul the kids". Second, as in my wife's case. Want the room
> but hates mini vans and station wagons. Of course she traded the SUV for an
> expensive 4 door she really doesn't like......
>
> Phil
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Gary McCormick [mailto:svgkm@halley.ca.essd.northgrum.com]
> Sent: Thursday, January 17, 2002 10:07 AM
> To: mikeadam@wcnet.net
> Cc: efris@qwest.net; datsun-roadsters@autox.team.net
> Subject: Re: Light trucks (OT)
>
> Don't be an @$$ - I haven't tried to stop anyone from buying what they want,
> now have I - or
> even advocated it - I have just pointed out flaws in the reasoning people
> use to justify what
> they want to do, something else that we are free to do.
>
> Gary
>
> Mike Adams wrote:
>
> > Humm - last time I looked out the window I was
> > still in America where people are free to purchase
> > and drive what they want.
> >
> > >I'll grant that there are times and places where all-wheel drive is
> desirable, even
> > >necessary, and many people do have the need for a larger vehicle - but
> the glut of SUVs on
> > >the highways is ridiculous.
> > >
> > >Gary
> >
> >
> > ________________________________________________________________
> > Sent via the WebMail system at wcnet.net
>
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