Whats the story with Hot Hatch's...

[ishigakisensei]

what's wrong with someone buying the type of vehicle they like? how does it affect you really?

Oh please! Acting like you're naive and really don't know. Well, the rest of us who have to share the roads with fat soccer moms talking on their cell phones while they think their queen of the gawddamn road certainly know what's wrong with having so many SUVs on the road today.

 

[Blind_Io]

That's the person, not the car.

Look, it's easy:

I can see how you would get them confused.

For f---s sake, take a basic logic course.

To get back to the Hot Hatch thing for a moment. I was in a waiting room today and was reading an issue of Car and Driver about *gasp -dun dun Dun DUUUN* the best Hot Hatches in the US for about $15,000. There's quite a bit out there even on that cheap of a budget. If you got up to the mid $20K range there would be alot more and higher performing models.

 

[Peter3hg]

yes you did.

hot hatches are popular in europe/uk because hatches are popular there. muscle cars and big sedans are popular here which is why big mercs, bimmers, audis, and now chryslers are so popular.

a 300C is not better or worse than an R32, they're very different cars, for very different people.

I think our definition of a truck is different. To me a SUV isn't a truck so I have never said SUV's are useles.
I agree I should never have said trucks were usless so lets just let this die.

 

[ishigakisensei]

That's the person, not the car.

No, it's the car and that is specifically why I stated so.

 

[Blind_Io]

That's the person, not the car.

No, it's the car and that is specifically why I stated so.

Let's examine that claim. You said:

Oh please! Acting like you're naive and really don't know. Well, the rest of us who have to share the roads with fat soccer moms talking on their cell phones while they think their queen of the gawddamn road certainly know what's wrong with having so many SUVs on the road today.

Fat - person trait
Soccer mom - person trait
talking on their cell phones - person action
think they are queen of the road - person action
SUV - oh, look, we finally found something about a car in the last 5 words.

You spent most of your short post talking about traits and actions that relate to human beings, unless you are antrhopomorphising the cars on the road - if that's the case you need to lay off the Pixar films.

My last car was an SUV, my parents have an SUV. We don't think we are "queens of the goddamned road." We also are not fat, play soccer and only one person in my family is a mother. What annoyes you are the actions of people and for some reason you think that everyone driving an SUV has those traits. There's a word for that kind of thinking: prejudice. Get over yourself, you sound just as entitled as the fat cell phone talking SUV driving soccer moms you hate.

 

[Cobol74]

UK definitions: a truck is a non articulated lorry that has a separate cab and load area but not a Luton which is a type of cabbed van. A van is something bread is delivered in and is not an MPV. An Artic (Articulated Lorry) Something a bit smaller than a Semi but with articulated trailer. Semis are too big to fit on our roads and there is an all up weight limit of 44 Tonnes on our Artics.

http://www.cfit.gov.uk/docs/2000/44tonne/44tonne/index.htm

 

[ishigakisensei]

You spent most of your short post talking about traits and actions that relate to human beings,

That the dreaded SUV translates to more danger on the road. Idiots in SMART cars are no great threat. It is the mass of the vehicle that imbues these useless people with a false sense of power and isolation from responsibility & courtesy. I stand by my statement.

 

[Vitamin J]

I think our definition of a truck is different. To me a SUV isn't a truck so I have never said SUV's are useles.
I agree I should never have said trucks were usless so lets just let this die.

my "SUV" is built on the same chassis as a 3/4 ton Chevy HD Pickup and its got the drivetrain from a 1/4 ton Chevy pickup. so to me its a truck.

That the dreaded SUV translates to more danger on the road. Idiots in SMART cars are no great threat. It is the mass of the vehicle that imbues these useless people with a false sense of power and isolation from responsibility & courtesy. I stand by my statement.

so a Bentley Continental GT weighs more than my truck and has 550hp isn't dangerous because its not an SUV? my Suburban at 50mph isn't as dangerous as an Audi A4 at 70mph.

you guys have to get over yourselves. SUVs are a part of modern life. they are useful, they are comfortable, they are easy to drive, and they are a status symbol. some people need them and some don't.

there are more important things to worry about than what type of car someone drives. like for instance, the braindead population of our country blindly following a facist leading who has hijacked our country right in front of our faces.


you brits outta have pretty good seats for the 2nd American Revolution, because i'm convinced its gonna happen in my life time.

 

[ishigakisensei]

so a Bentley Continental GT weighs more than my truck and has 550hp isn't dangerous because its not an SUV?

It can be though it is a rare car with only a miniscule number of people owning them. It is a car that does not concern me, but could.

SUVs are a part of modern life. they are useful, they are comfortable, they are easy to drive, and they are a status symbol. some people need them and some don't.

They are not any more useful than a Subaru. They are not any more comfortable than mini van. They are not easy to drive and that is why idiots in them are such a menace. They were a status symbol but now represent the selfish gluttony that is sadly too much a part of the American character. I'm in the American South and I am quite aware of what I am saying and exactly why I am saying it. REAL off-road vehicles kick ass. Poser-mobiles suck ass.

there are more important things to worry about than what type of car someone drives. like for instance, the braindead population of our country blindly following a facist leading who has hijacked our country right in front of our faces.

I could not agree more. But then again, pain is an excellent teacher and so America must suffer for not paying attention. Its like peeing on an electric fence after being told that the power is on. Your balls should hurt.

you brits outta have pretty good seats for the 2nd American Revolution, because i'm convinced its gonna happen in my life time.

Agreed as well. The Christo-Fascist bible tumpers must be stopped. I prefer at the ballot box but freedom is not negotiable and these people are not prone to critical thought.

 

[Wizegui]

What really pisses me off is that around where I live, 80% of the people don't need to haul things. Yet, they decided to buy an X5 or Jeep as a sort of social status symbol. Do they go offroading? No. Do they haul anything? No. Do they carry any more than four people in it? No. Yes, there are some that need them in places such as Colorado, but out here in where I live, there is no need for them. Not only that but the stupid people who drive them always hit my dad's van so its full of scratches now...

 

[Steve Levin]

What really pisses me off is that around where I live, 80% of the people don't need to haul things.

You could argue tht 95% of the time all anyone needs is a VW Lupo with a 1.4 TDI.

And that lots of smaller vehicles would haul an MX-5 on a trailer. Heck, when I was younger we hauled a 16' trailer with two XC motorcycles, spares, tools, etc around with a 1988 Ford Ranger pickup with a 3.0 liter V6 that made, I think, 145hp. No, it didn't banzai up mountain grades, but it did get the job done.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm all about the "want" thing -- wanting a larger car, wanting power, etc etc. And I'm willing to pay the price. But I don't honestly "need" it. Fortunately, in the states, the cost of what we "want" -- cars with lots of power and poor fuel mileage, etc. -- isn't nearly as high as it is in Europe where fuel is taxed out the wazoo, and parking is difficult.

Steve

 

[transtek]

I've got a hot and always had hot hatches AND an SUV.
You can certainly argue about the NEED for an SUV when taking kids to school (safety), going on vacation (comfort) or just when going to buy a new TV or going shopping at SAMS, i.e. you need the room.
As long as other people have SUVs for the school run, then, as Clarkson said, I need one to keep my family safe as well. Here most roads are pretty wide, with up to 6 lanes, so not really a problem, but I think I would be stuck driving it back in the UK due to narrow lanes and shortage of parking space which, as I mentioned earlier, is due to the towns being a lot older and the roads were originally made for horses and carts, not big cars.
To sum up, horses for courses And each to their own.

 

[Wizegui]

They are the safest things on the road I have to admit. I never liked looking up at a Tahoe in my mum's Tercel. The thought it it bumping in to us just scares me...

 

[Redliner]

^
That is relative. Bigger mass is harder to stop or corner, so I would say it is safer if you crash, but it is harder to avoid a crash.

 

[fbc]

so I would say it is safer if you crash,

Depends on what you crash into:

Crash into hatch = SUV wins.

Crash into another SUV = everyone loses big time, in fact bigger than if they'd all been driving hatches.

The whole 'SUV's are the safest things on the road' argument disappears when everyone is driving one, or when you crash into something similarly solid.

 

[kekekeke]

i know the R32 is AWD. but its built on the FWD chassis, so it handles like a FWD car.

Isn't it funny how a car that handles like a FWD car is quicker round the TG track than the BMW 130i which has more power and is RWD.

 

[HeadRusch]

The only people I see driving like assholes on the highways around me are never in SUV's (like me), they're in tiny little cars.....you won't see a Chevy Tahoe weaving in and out of traffic, but you'll see a dozen Civic R's or Accuras or shitbox Neons doing that...

Hence, SUV's are safer than any other car on the road because being in one reduces the likelihood of you driving like the highway system is your own personal test-track.

 

[ishigakisensei]

Hence, SUV's are safer than any other car on the road because being in one reduces the likelihood of you driving like the highway system is your own personal test-track.

Bullshit.

 

[HeadRusch]

Hence, SUV's are safer than any other car on the road because being in one reduces the likelihood of you driving like the highway system is your own personal test-track.

Bullshit.

...I can just see the logic dripping from your one-word reply
"HOW COULD I HAVE BEEN SO WRONG!" I cried, as this new way of thinking suddenly made itself clear to me....

</dripping sarcasm>

Now seriously, just think about this for a second.....if you are in a large, heavy vehicle, you reduce your risk of being injured in a crash regardless of whatever it is you hit, or hits you. This arguement is as old as the hills...if the vehicle is well-designed with reinforcements and crumple zones, airbags and the like, having all that mass between you and potential death is a blessing...not a curse. Safer for You.

At the same time, you're in a large, heavy vehicle that rides like a car (at least mine does) but also handles like a truck (at least mine does), you are highly unlikely to go barreling down the highway, weaving in and out of traffic, and if you know the limitations of your brakes (I do) you're also a LOT less likely to think you can "stop on a dime" and tailgate, the #1 cause of Rear-Ender accidents on the highway. So it forces you to be a smarter driver because you ARENT driving some nimble, spritely vehicle that you can weave around with impunity. Hence, safer for everyone else.

I dont see SUV's causing a whole lot of accidents...but I DO see tons of small, nimble cars causing massive pileups because some jackhole forgot his Neon wasn't wearing Z-rated tires as he tried to play Fast-And-The-Furious during the highway rushhour commute.


How is that logic flawed.

 

[ishigakisensei]

if you are in a large, heavy vehicle, you reduce your risk of being injured in a crash regardless of whatever it is you hit, or hits you.

You obviously know nothing about engineering.

I dont see SUV's causing a whole lot of accidents...but I DO see tons of small, nimble cars causing massive pileups because some jackhole forgot his Neon wasn't wearing Z-rated tires as he tried to play Fast-And-The-Furious during the highway rushhour commute.

Then you see very little. Many SUVs suffer single car accidents because the drivers think they are invulnerable by being in a big vehicle. Not reality.