If I see another bloody soccer mom driving a big SUV (XC90)...............

Purple said:
I for one have no problem with women or men using them it they need the vehicle to go off road or carry/ pull heavy loads.
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Why does the Cabriolet driver get to impose conditions on others? Do I get to insist that Cabriolet drivers (which must be the most impractical form of vehicle given our recent summer weather) must 'need' their vehicles for driving with the top down & their hair blowing in the wind?

Or perhaps a bit of 'live & let live' should apply?
 

Right, first of all I'm going bald so the "hair blowing in the wind" bit is just a distant dream
Secondly the type of roof a car has does not change the chances of killing a pedestrian in a crash.
Thirdly I am not seeking to impose conditions on other, just letting off steam about my opinion that people who drive off road vehicles but never go off road are selfish.
...oh, and I'm opinionated

As for live and let live, Mrs Purple wants an Volvo XC90 and while I am against it it's her choice and her car (off road van?) and I will still speak to her when she gets it (or if I don't it will have nothing to do with the Volvo).
 
SarahMc said:
Print off a load of these and stick them on the windscreen of any SUV you see parked miles from rural muck.
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Is it not wonderfull that there is no bigger problems in the world that motivated and well meaning people can spend their time and energy on.
Now that we have fixed world hunger and world peace they have all of this extra energy to spend being critical of people's vehicle choices.
 
I love this thread!

My 2 cent - I work hard and I'll spend my money how I like. If you don't like it ?....Look away and save your ire for something worthwhile.

SarahMc said:
Print off a load of these and stick them on the windscreen of any SUV you see parked miles from rural muck.
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And I'm thinking of printing off 10,000 and then driving to my local landfill in my SUV and dumping them!
 

Why is a responsibly driven SUV a serious threat to all other road users? I've driven SUVs for years and I have never been involved in any crash while I was driving. Driver irresponsibility is the major cause of road traffic accidents and not the type of vehicle one drives, which is why the ad camaigns aim at getting people to slow down, not to drink and drive and belt up - no mention of taking SUVs off the road. Young male drivers are the highest risk group re. accidents - where I live in the south east lots of these guys are speeding( I've seen some crazy driving by these guys on bad rural roads) around in micras, civics, corollas and the like - why should I be prohibited from driving an SUV to protect myself and my family against these guys ?
 

What if the same boy racers were driving SUV's?
Does that mean you get a tank?
 
What if the same boy racers were driving SUV's?
Does that mean you get a tank?
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Hardly a reasonable queston is it. One can only go as far as possible to protect ones own interests and most of us will put our family before conforming to the latest phase ( slating SUV drivers)
 
Pique318 said:
But if they were,
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If, if, if......................" If my aunt had b***s she'd be my uncle ". I'm driving in the real world where the speeding young, male drivers are mostly driving eight, nine or ten years old corsas, saxos, civics and the like (ie the boy racers) or panel vans, and they're driving them for a reason - they are cheaper to buy and insure than seventy grands worth of a 3.0 Touareg, X5 or Range Rover. I'm not anticipating a change in the status quo !
 
Apart from this ongoing 'driver safety' defence, has any urban dweller actually given a good reason as to why they insist on buying these things?

Given the driving etiquette/adherence to rules displayed by some, I certainly don't accept that the majority of SUV drivers based their decision to buy on safety anyway.

People are of course free to buy what they want - but for many, just don't pretend it's for anything other than status reasons.
 
Yorky said:
The Government really does need to tax them off the road and change the mentality back towards compact small engined cars.
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What , ban all cars above 1.3 or something . Will the 998cc micra tow my double horse box with two horses in it ?
 
Caveat said:
People are of course free to buy what they want - but for many, just don't pretend it's for anything other than status reasons.
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And if you followed that logic any expenditure above the minimum on any product could be regarded as ostentatious. It's ladas, council houses and bottles of stout for everybody so!
 
demoivre said:
And if you followed that logic any expenditure above the minimum on any product could be regarded as ostentatious. It's ladas, council houses and bottles of stout for everybody so!
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Where does status come in here?

As you well know, Ladas are unreliable, many people would like to get out of a council estate for a better quality of life and many people just don't like stout...

demoivre, I'm not suggesting that everyone adopt a humble or modest approach to choosing their vehicle. I just doubt that anyone who doesn't have a practical reason to own an SUV, other than this tenuous safety argument, will ever say "It makes me feel important/superior" which in many cases, I think is the sad truth.
 
Yorky said:
No offence, but this is the downside to people having too much disposable income: it just has to be spent on consumption.
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Is there anything wrong with that? We live in a democratic market economy where people are free to consume if they want to.

My pet theory on this is: "man" has a need to "better" his situation and his status among his peers. Where a recognised class structure does not exist or is in decline "man" uses other means to measure his status or standing against his peers. In a market economy this is most easily achieved through money and displays of wealth or expenditure. Society as a whole seems to have accepted this method of advancement and embraced it, thus validating "mans" expenditure, and the cycle continues.

(That is such a Sociology 101 theory but I don't care - it's mine and I'm sticking to it )
 
Yorky said:
You're in the majority with the above philosophy and that is why we are using up the earth's resources at an unprecedented rate.

I trust that sits well with you.
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And your children and grand children.
 
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