Re: a dumb query? pls humor me
Freddy Freeloader wrote:
> Mitja Podreka wrote:
>> It can comfortably
>> run at speeds which are within the speed limits and is probably as
>> safe as Hummer and similar monsters.
>
> Ummmm.... Have a head-on crash with a Hummer, or 3/4 ton 4-wheel drive
> pickup and see who survives....
Another strike against the oversize station wagon.
> Also, this idea that having a large vehicle is all related to ego is
> pure bull. I know of lots of people who drive small cars that drive
> them for ego purposes.... There are a lot of small cars around that
> guys have hot-rodded, i.e. added turbo's, exhaust systems, performance
> chips, suspension kits, etc.... That's ego driven in young guys and
> they are small cars, Honda's, Mazda's, Toyota's, etc....
Ricers don't count except to ricers.
> The size of the car has nothing to do with the size of the ego of the
> person driving it....
How many 6, 8, 10, 12+ passenger SUVs sit empty except for the driver for
the vast majority of trips, as a percentage of the total on the road?
> I'm simply amazed at the amount of what seems to be brainwashing on the
> socialist side of the political spectrum. Many people by large vehicles
> simply for the safety aspects of having a large vehicle, as the mass of
> the vehicle assures that in a wreck with another vehicle you have a
> greater chance of surviving or coming out of the wreck with fewer
> injuries.
Given that SUVs and similarly tall vehicles invariably lose in an accident
when it is hit from the side or when oversteered in an emergency by someone
who really shouldn't be behind the wheel of anything larger than a Subaru
wagon, and that larger and especially luxury models tend to put bumpers at
an inopportune height for most vehicles on the road, such rationale
motivating a decision shows a fundamental inconsideration for anyone other
than themselves. They're great if you plan on rear ending or t-boning
someone else, though: They make great motorized battering rams. Vehicles
should not be used as weapons, even in a traffic accident. If you want
something survivable in an accident that isn't going to kill the guy that
hit you before you can take him to court, your only real options are the
full-size land-yacht sedans like the Crown Vic or Chevy Caprice.
I drive a utility vehicle (a '95½ Kia Sportage), but it stays at home in the
parking lot for days at a time without moving. I picked it out for what
it's good at: Carrying groceries, carpools, and going camping in the
mountains. Beyond 3-point seatbelts, it's safety features include having
an awake, alert and professional driver behind the wheel when it's on the
road. That's all anybody needs.
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