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Sunday, Nov 8, 2009
it was pretty lame. i drive a ten year old ford escort wagon that gets 31 mpg minimum, and looks freakin cute in the bargain.
the deal is this: you can have and drive your suv. you just cant pretend you care about the planet while doing so. people change. you used to be crunchy, now you are not. its ok. just admit it, bc there is nothing in the world worse than a fake hippie.
Just glossed over the maintenance issue there. I have a 20 year old car, it takes about $1500 a year to properly maintain based upon long term data for that model car. We have almost 200,000 miles on it, and expect it to last another 200,000. A Volvo should be capable of being a long term, maintainable platform. Sounds like the car got ditched because delayed maintenance caught up to you.
My other car is an SUV, a Trooper, not a crossover. I am guessing I use less gas than most of the commuters that are posting here.
The fact that it is an "SUV" is totally irrelevant except to people who are interested in symbols rather than facts.
As previously said - many "SUVs" and other "trucks", weigh less and get better mileage than plenty of minivans and cars.
Besides in terms of "carbon footprint" buying a used Expedition is probably equal to buying a new Escape Hybrid (you have to include the carbon expended to make a new vehicle)
And ultimately once you bought a charcoal grill any claims of environmental responsibility were lost.
Don't feel bad - real environmentalists are ultimately as self-deluded as you - if they really cared about the planet they'd be hoping for humans to pump as much CO2 as possible and heat this sucker up as quick as possible to kill off the people - It wouldn't take but a short-time for Mother Nature to bounce back better then ever and free of humans forever.
-Enjoy your grill its great - I have two!
is that incredibly fuel-efficient vehicles of all sizes and shapes are out there, but they just aren't made in or imported to the U.S. This is largely because the American public has bought into the nonsense about how much crap we need to haul around, that being "higher" is safer and that just because we can buy something, we should. We are a nation of total suckers. As long as we continue to buy fuel-hogs, they'll sell them to us. It isn't like they are forcing them down our throats.
As for the whole "needing" SUVs/minivans, my kids have never been in a vehicle that gets under 45 mpg. Yeah, it can occasionally make carrying a lot require some inventive packing, but since the hubby and I used to carry our entire lives around in a two-door Chevette, and we've had practice.
Mine even gets horrible gas mileage by SUV standards. 15 mph would be a godsend, and it's not easy to get in and out of.
Oddly though, I couldn't find a non-SUV that allowed me to handle class 3 or greater off road trails (much less what I'll tackle), and I need something to haul all my scuba gear to remote areas.
My 30 mile my daily commute not only doesn't warrant buying another car, I sold my truck that got 25 mph, even with it being paid off, because the $100 in insurance more than ate up any gas savings.
Some asshole environmentalist even keyed my car once. I doubt the prick would complain much when he's stranded and I'm called in to rescue him. I've never once seen someone complain then about being picked up in a SUV.
Let's face it, some people just want to claim superiority and many of the left have latched onto SUVs.
Why not buy a hybrid Highlander?
Well, why don't you get that tattoed on your body somewhere ... so that when the crunch comes we know not to let YOU into the environmental refugee camps.
"Mine even gets horrible gas mileage by SUV standards. 15 mph would be a godsend, and it's not easy to get in and out of"
So you couldn't find one that does better? Or is it more satisfying to piss off other people than to save yourself money and convenience?
"My 30 mile my daily commute not only doesn't warrant buying another car, I sold my truck that got 25 mph, even with it being paid off, because the $100 in insurance more than ate up any gas savings"
WHO's the asshole?
"Some asshole environmentalist even keyed my car once."
How do you know it was an environmentalist? Maybe it was someone who just hates YOU. It's not that hard to believe.
What a dickhead.
Unless you pull something heavy, or leave the pavement frequently an SUV is a complete waste of money. As far as space goes, the cargo space in the SUV's I've been in is fairly pathetic.
Be honest, you wanted something that didn't feel like a truck, but still drives like a comfortable tank.
Be honest, you went with the vehicle with the macho image. Your volvo wasn't appealing to your lizard brain, and you feared your bully neighbors would beat you up if you came home with a practical minivan.
Yes, we're picking on you. However, stop making excuses for yourself. You wanted some luxury and you bought it. That doesn't make you a bad person.
Sure, you could have made a choice that was more environmentally sensitive, but who among us makes all the perfect choices? Change your messaging - you wanted to buy a (bio)diesel VW Synchro van, but they stopped making them. What is a guy supposed to do?
So the guy bought an SUV. SFW? The fact is, we're not going to hybrid or CFL our way out of our current mess.
Ever try to take 500 pounds of production gear a couple miles down an unpaved Forest Service maintenance road? (If you are doing it in a dinky hybrid, maybe strapping it to a roof rack, please be sure to take the curves really hard, just to get a good lesson in basic applied physics.)
The sheer amount of hot air expended in self-righteous posturing here alone is worth 15 Hummers idling in city traffic.
Much as I try to be as liberal as possible, sometimes you guys are downright embarrassing.
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"
The survivor and author is upset about comparisons some on the right are making to genocide
Once seen as a lunatic fringe, reactionary anti-women groups are courting respectability
Salon headlines in your mailbox
