Pete C. wrote:
JoeSpareBedroom wrote:
You'll never change the overall quality of drivers in this country.
There's no point in even discussing it. "The system" is not and
never will be equipped to do what needs to be done.

Probably true, but not an excuse for blaming the vehicle for the
driver's failings.

A very high percentage of people who purchase SUVs do so for reasons of fashion
and fad. Denying that is delusional.

About the time I got married the minivan was king. Everyone was buying them and
loving them. Then they got the reputation of being a soccer-mom vehicle and
after that every buyer that makes decisions with his penis had to switch to
something more "manly".

A few years prior to that the big three couldn't give SUVs away. That was the
time when people who bought Broncos, Blazers, and Suburbans actually did have
some legitimate use for them, but the industry considered them fringe products
that did not make them any money.

When asked, most SUV drivers will not say they bought them for any usage that
actually requires the attributes of an SUV. They will say it was for "safety"
which is a joke as they are about the most likely vehicle to kill you there is.
Or it was because they like the visibility of the higher seating position when
minivans give pretty much that same advantage with better mileage and safety.

I have no problem with the worker, hunter, or guy that needs to tow a boat
buying an SUV, but that is a very small percentage of SUV owners. For most,
SUVs are the "pet rock" of the last decade or so. Eventually their attention
will be moved to some other segment of the vehicle market and all of us will be
better off for it.