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Sunday, Nov 8, 2009
"NEED" an SUV? Are you kidding? How in the heck did families raise kids in the years 1908-1980 without SUVS!? Must have been totally impossible I guess, which is why there were no births until the advent of the SUV.
Another Gen-Y'er buying into the 'lets look like everyone else,' meme, while pretending not to. Very lame.
The discussion of what's green, and what's not, is another matter entirely. I'm coming around to the carpe-that-diem way of life, because all the little green shit we do isn't going to matter a fart in a tornado when Ghawar starts running dry.
OMG! Is GWAR in danger of running out of kosmick jism?
How can I go on!!!!!
I wish I'd known!
Last week I had the pleasure of taking four adults and two kids in boosters all over the place. Which is also possible in an SUV.
Then I folded down the back seats, yanked out the captains chairs, went to the lumber-yard and bought four 4x8 sheets of 3/4" plywood and eight 2x6x10' lumber. Closed the back hatch and drove home.
Try that in your fancy new SUV. Not gonna happen.
SUV is just because you think you're too good for a practical car. Hey, I'm killing polar bears. But at least I'm not trying to hide it.
Remember what it was like when we were growing up? People would cram children in the back. Tommy and Billy and Jane and Bobby and Jeff and Stacey all fit in the back seat at the same time.
Now, Sage and Hunter and Apple and Riley and Eli and Scout require 2 autos.
Which leads me to an 'ask pablo' moment. How many tons of noxious emmisions are in our atmosphere because of the law requiring a seat belt for every passenger? How many tons of carbon emmissions equal the life of one child?
No, man, I understood. I was just being silly, I guess, with all the hard penis stuff. It seemed sorta funny at the time.
What I said about my truck is all true. But the thing is, I'm often pissed at myself for clinging to all this mechanical tonnage as I enter a time in my life when I'm slowing down.
And, actually, I'm hoping hybrids and electric cars get a big boost during the coming Obama Administration. I'm all for them, you bet.
Sorta feel bad for Mark Benjamin catching so much hell here today. But, he does leave his shirt untucked, and he does wear that awful little black vest.
Keep thinking, had_enough. Keep trying to figure all this stuff out.
oh, it's Greeves. A quick Google image search will give you the picture.
BUT:
1) I bought it 18 months ago, and it is a 1994 with 192k miles at time of purchase.
2) I bought it to tow a 29 ft. RV across the country, yes we made it but it was a little scary sometimes. Hint: Check all fluids frequently when climbing mountains and get used to always being in the slow lane.
3) When not towing (98% of the time) my mileage is almost 20mpg.
4) I figure that even though I am driving an SUV around town now (with two labs) I am still impacting the environment less by having a used vehicle (and one vehicle for two jobs) and not buying new.
5) Now that I am in snow/mountain country I appreciate the 4 wheel drive all the time. I wasn't slip sliding in the nasty weather we've had this past month out in the PNW.
5) I love my Jeep. There I said it. I just love it. It's not as huge and muscle bound as some, I love it's pretty dark green color and it's camel leather seats. I love that it has never given me a bit of trouble even after hauling me and all my stuff over 5,000 miles.
Oh, yeah, want to know how much she cost? $3,500.00 Maintenance so far? 3 oil changes, one window ding repair = approx. $120
AM I UNGREEN?
Hi,
I am not going to flame Mr. Benjamin for buying an SUV and his rationalizations are his own business.
What I am wondering is why this was worth an article. It seems like something that should have been directed to the advice column instead.
-Ulysses
My Gawd, people here actually believe carbon is bad for carbon-based life forms. If they really buy into that crap, why don't they do the moral thing and compost themselves?
Sell it.
And then write how that was.
It'll be awesome.
Seriously.
We all change one choice at a time.
Don't sell your new rig,
Enter it in a Demolition Derby at a state fair near you. Then write about THAT!!
And hey. Ditch your present outfit and buy some real SUV clothes. You know, like Tony Lama cowboy boots and a pair of tan logger "tin" pants and a black Harley T-shirt under a blanket-lined jean jacket. If you dress like a mope these earnest young Salon readers will rip your flesh from your bones and compost you while you're still alive.
Mikes Pace...classic
Then--Tommy and Billy and Jane and Bobby and Jeff and Stacey
Now--Sage and Hunter and Apple and Riley and Eli and Scout
The hilarity of juxtaposing millenial yuppie kid's names with 1970's kid's names also brought me back to the days of being crammed into the back of a Oldsmobile Deluxe Cruiser wagon, third row facing backwards, sans seatbelt.
Also very amused by the predictable rancor/uproar generated by this ever-so-slightly naughty purchase of this "SUV."
Hey folks, this guy didn't buy an SUV, he bought a toy. Cut him some slack. Come to TX where I live & witness the endless parade of skyscrapers-on-wheels rolling the highways...tricked-out Suburbans, Excursions, Tahoes.....even the four-door, dual-wheel pickups. Now THOSE are glacier-killers.
You have a choice: Roof or back trunk racks.
http://www.yakima.com/Consumer/Step1.aspx
Well, depending whether you have the coupe, sedan or hatchback.
I was able to put a tandem bike roof rack on a Civic years ago. It looked funny because the rack was so long but it worked fine.
Yamima racks have the best array of options and attachments IMO. I've always used Yakima although I do prefer the Thule rack boxes.
Much of the initial coverage about Fort Hood turned out to be wrong. Is there anything wrong with that?
The accountability imposed by another country for the CIA's kidnapping and torture reveals much about our own.
Fox News' morning show plays to type, talking about whether Muslims in the Army should face "special debriefings"
219 Democrats and one Republican join in favor of the legislation, which passed by a narrow margin
The survivor and author is upset about comparisons some on the right are making to genocide
Salon headlines in your mailbox
