SUV critics

[Expat]

I've just purchased a new 4x4 V8 Sport.

My 'buddies' on other forums are giving SUV's some serious bashing. Mostly in jest but a few really get serious and under my goat.

Is there a really good come-back to the critics about the problems they (non SUV people) face with

vision
fuel consumption
soccer mums

??????

It's mostly the guys in SoCal who have 'issues' with SUV's.

Maybe there isn't a comeback except to say that the beauty of the free world is the freedom to choose and to comment freely.

Have you guys seen the most visited website devoted to Hummers? It's a hate site where everyone posts pictures of themselves 'flipping the bird' at any Hummer they find. It's very amusing....until you think that they might start targeting your car next

 

[Kanab]

I've just purchased a new 4x4 V8 Sport.

My 'buddies' on other forums are giving SUV's some serious bashing. Mostly in jest but a few really get serious and under my goat.

Is there a really good come-back to the critics about the problems they (non SUV people) face with

vision
fuel consumption
soccer mums

??????

It's mostly the guys in SoCal who have 'issues' with SUV's.

Maybe there isn't a comeback except to say that the beauty of the free world is the freedom to choose and to comment freely.

Have you guys seen the most visited website devoted to Hummers? It's a hate site where everyone posts pictures of themselves 'flipping the bird' at any Hummer they find. It's very amusing....until you think that they might start targeting your car next

Check out my sig. I'm an equal opportunity driver we don't have that problem in the mid-west, trucks and SUV's all over the place and we love everyone.

 

[EdDucks916]

There was a book written about it, it was called High and Mighty: SUVs--The World's Most Dangerous Vehicles and How They Got That Way...I have yet to read it, but some people who have felt the book isn't fair to SUV owners. The book's hardcover edition had a picture with a 3rd generation 4Runner on it.

Interesting to know that SUV owners are getting a lot of flak...the critics seem to not care about those who own pickups, which are equally as "bad" as SUVs in their own terms, and are a part of the American landscape for decades.

High and Mighty (Amazon.com link)

Wonder would they'll think when hybrid technology and diesel power is introduced over the next few years (although that only answers the fuel economy question).

 

[peter78]

There was a book written about it, it was called High and Mighty: SUVs--The World's Most Dangerous Vehicles and How They Got That Way...I have yet to read it, but some people who have felt the book isn't fair to SUV owners. The book's hardcover edition had a picture with a 3rd generation 4Runner on it.

I have read, bought it at a discount book store. The athour's biggest concern is geo-metric incabability and the deaths inflicted to others. He reluntantly adimits SUV's may be safer, but at a cost to other drivers. If a Hummer and Honda Civic get in a crash, the Hummer will win. The athour does go overboard, the last sentence on chapter 11 says "Just as serious and possibly even more damaging over the long term are the harm thye cause to the air we breathe, the climate of the earth and perhaps even to international peace."

Now, I think SUV's causing harm to international peace is a bit much. My job is an Environmentalist and the athour does say Environmentalist are attracted to the SUV for the outdoorsy image, which he says is part of the problem.

My view is people get a mix of what they need and want and a 4Runner is a good mix of mileage, safety and off roadability.

 

[Jayded]

I agree...the 4Runner is definitely not the biggest culprit as far as contributors to gas consumption and global warming go (the H2, Suburban, and Excursion immediately come to mind).

I tell anyone who criticizes me for driving an SUV, about all the heavy and bulky equipment I've hauled over the last 6 years, and all the towing I plan to do when I get a speedboat....

:cursin: :upset: :rant: :dammit:

 

[EDGE]

Whats other forums and what they say is fact based or just their feelings:

 

[Thai]

Screw them...i don't care what they think! They come within 5 feet of my car and they will have a shotgun up their ass!:gun:

 

[Locster]

The 4Runner here does not get bashed much. But I tell them that my gas milage is not much different from theme.
Most people I know and chat with are against the H2 cause the bumpers set so high that a side impact will cause great carnage to the occupants of the car that gets T-boned.
Here is a site a freind sent me. Hate H2 also???? Does have some foul language, and the birdy

 

[ScottAW]

I tell those who criticize me for my 4-Runner purchase to give me extra money so I can afford to have both a commuter car for going to/from work, a pick up truck for hauling tools and project materials, a mini-van for hauling family and friends when needed, and a safe, robust vehicle for Northeast winters that can get me from point A to point B in a snow blizzard.

 

[aj884runner]

:iagree:
I do have a commuter car. it was cheap and if it breaks down I`ll take my bicycle. Bikes don`t have cup holders for my coffee. The car has cost me $2500 to keep it on the road for the past 5 years, excluding insurance and gas which are both cheap. I live close to work and I go home for lunch. My wife is getting a minivan next.
As for the Hummer vs. Honda, that is just a tonnage rule. what about an Astro/Safari vs a Honda. I think the van would win.
My first gen 4Runner bumper is the same hieght as an Excursion and it is still stock. In Canada there is rumour that a law will be passed to have new SUV bumpers lowered to a mandatory hieght.

 

[Guest]

Put the 4Runner up against any $30,000 sportscar.

Compare versatility, safety, comfort, practicality performance, features and gas mileage. Yeah, 4Runner is looking better now ain't it?

What does a 4Runner have anything to do with "soccer moms"? minivans and car-suv's are soccer mom cars.

What do they drive? VW bugs, Miata's and MR2's are for girls and gay guys.

The VW Cabrio is called the bitchbasket (rollbar makes it a basket).

Porsche, Corvette and Ferrari's are mid-life crisis cars for small penis, chubicillin popping dudes with gold chains and silk shirts.

Camaros and Firebirds are redneck.

Honda's, Mitsu, etc are all the "Fast and Furiously retarded"

Lexus, Caddy, etc are old man's cars

escalades, navigators, etc are all bling completely useless and even more offensive than a luxury boat sedan.

There is crap said about everything, everyone; every make and model of car, truck, suv, plane, boat, clothes, food and people.

btw, the 4Runner already lowered it's bumpers to the required pass car height.

 

[Mark86]

Screw them...i don't care what they think! They come within 5 feet of my car and they will have a shotgun up their ass!:gun:

:iagree:

Also, for all of those people bashing SUV's, why don't you invite these drivers to a day of offroading and see how they feel after that. I also challenge those people bashing SUV's to drive 10 miles in the middle of a blizzard without spinning out. The 4Runner is definitely not a soccer mom car, although I have seen 2 4th gen's equipped with the official soccer mom id (the soccerball sticker that goes on the liftgate). Those are the two times I gave a snarl instead of a wave while passing a fellow 4Runner! :bash:

 

[bluewolf]

The majority of complainers are college students, college professors, book-writers, wanna-be hippies, and those fortunate enough to have been born into money. They are stubborn, hypocritical, oblivious to factual supporting arguments and generally bitter people. They are typically NOT farmers, ranchers, carpenters, plumbers, electricians, or any other kind of hard-working people who need to carry the tools of their trade. They have no need for pulling a trailer to the dump, or moving furniture, or hauling supplies home to restore an old house, or getting to work despite a foot of fresh snow. They can either afford to hire someone else to do their work, or simply don't do it at all. Many of them frequently travel in airplanes which heavily pollute the atmosphere and consume more fuel in one 4 hr trip than twenty SUVs would in an entire year! Still others are so inept as to believe a smoke-belching '72 Volkswagon bettle is friendlier on the environment than an '04 truck with hyper-efficient emmisions equipment!!

I have no patience for hypocracy, but I have even less patience for people who can't even formulate a logical argument, except to say something like "F--- you and your H2"

 

[Iman74]

Just tell your buddy there is nothing wrong with soccer moms. Some of them are really hot. I see them all the time when I drop my daughter off at day care. MILFS all the way.

I've just purchased a new 4x4 V8 Sport.

My 'buddies' on other forums are giving SUV's some serious bashing. Mostly in jest but a few really get serious and under my goat.

Is there a really good come-back to the critics about the problems they (non SUV people) face with

vision
fuel consumption
soccer mums

??????

It's mostly the guys in SoCal who have 'issues' with SUV's.

Maybe there isn't a comeback except to say that the beauty of the free world is the freedom to choose and to comment freely.

Have you guys seen the most visited website devoted to Hummers? It's a hate site where everyone posts pictures of themselves 'flipping the bird' at any Hummer they find. It's very amusing....until you think that they might start targeting your car next

 

[NoDak]

Re: Re: SUV critics

Just tell your buddy there is nothing wrong with soccer moms. Some of them are really hot. I see them all the time when I drop my daughter off at day care. MILFS all the way.

lol, only the 3rd person i have ran into (sorta) that has used that word "MILF"!!


nothing against the soccer, etc. moms, otherwise they would be at home driving each other nuts.

 

[MAC4Runner]

I've just purchased a new 4x4 V8 Sport.

My 'buddies' on other forums are giving SUV's some serious bashing. Mostly in jest but a few really get serious and under my goat.

My advice..........

Get new buddies.....................................

 

[sharp4runr]

Yeah dude, MILFs are the best. At least you know they put out

Back to the topic though. I bought a SUV because I started playing paintball a lot. I needed to carry more gear and I needed to a vehicle that could handle offroading better. I was driving a 93 Celica and it wasn't cutting it in those two departments. Maybe these yuppy city boys haven't seen past the highrises and can't fathom why you'd need anything else but a civic hybrid.

july

 

[mac0822]

.

the man

 

[jazzy jae]

i just got my 4R and traded in my celica. At newcelica.org they are giving me grief about gas...i think they are just jealous.

 

[prlundberg]

I also challenge those people bashing SUV's to drive 10 miles in the middle of a blizzard without spinning out.

\

I'm not bashing, but I've driven a Mustang across SD in a blizzard without a single spin-out. Even as an SUV driver I must say the "I need an SUV for bad weather" excuse is pretty lame. My wife's Civic handles icy roads great, it easily outhandles and out-brakes my 4Runner.

Of course, in most crashes, my 4Runner is safer. But only because of its mass, not any special off-road or bad-weather ability.

The bashers do have a point, that many (of course not all) SUV drivers would be better served with a more efficient vehicle. But as long as gas is cheap (and even at $2.00/gal it still is) people will buy vehicles primarily for image and wants rather than needs, and if they want to be a poser and haul groceries I don't really care. I'll laugh at them, but I won't tell them how to spend their money. Unless they ask.

Personally, I'm not much of a truck guy. I think my 4Runner is cumbersome, slow, rides rough, handles poorly, gets poor gas milage, doesn't have much space considering how big it is, and was way overpriced. But I needed (OK, wanted) something with some hauling ability, towing capacity, and off-road ability so I can more easily enjoy my hobbies. I still feel like I'm driving a station wagon at times though :

Don't get me wrong, I like my 4-Runner, it does what I need it to do, but it (or any SUV) definately isn't my 1st choice for image or driving fun.