Your Attitude Towards People Who Drive Gas Guzzlers

[Eagle43]

Choice is good.  You want to drive an SUV, go for it.

I love choice.  All freedom lovers do.  You can drive your SUV thru the McDonald's drive-in on your way to WalMarts to buy a rifle, listening to Rush Limbaugh, while you're smoking a cigar.  That's called choice.  Or you can vote for more control by the do-gooders who just know they are smarter than you.  If you do, they will probably find a way to limit, tax or destroy one or all of the above, for your own good, of course.  It's all about choice. 

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

So given that I regularly put four people, two dogs and a baby into a vehicle, and I only buy about 40 gallons of gas every six weeks or so across three vehicles, am I still damned to go to hell, the cause of our economic ills and the executor of our soldiers?

:

 

[Andre1969]

I voted to each their own, because you simply can't lump all gas guzzler/SUV drivers into one category. A friend of mine just bought a Nissan Xterra, the smallest SUV Nissan makes. It's EPA-rated at 16/21. On his first fill-up, he got about 20 mpg, although granted it was mostly highway driving. But still, for something that's got 4wd, weighs 4200+ pounds, has 265+ hp, and can do 0-60 in around 7 seconds or so, I'd say that's pretty damned impressive!

Also, interestingly, most full-sized SUVs, like the Tahoe and Expedition, despite their bulk, get similar economy to smaller ones like the Trailblazer and Explorer.

As for me, I drove to work today in a 1985 Silverado that gets around 10 mpg around town. Do I consider that a guzzler? You bet! But at the same time, it's paid for, has gone maybe 9,000 miles in the 3 1/2 years I've owned it, and has proven very useful in hauling stuff to the dump, picking up stuff from the hardware store, and just doing projects around the house. And I just don't see the benefit of paying $16K or more for a brand-new standard-sized truck that might get 16-17 around town, just to drive it a few thousand miles per year and then abuse it by dumping a cubic yard of topsoil in it (which was heavier than I thought it would be! )

Now okay, yeah, there are plenty of people who buy these big guzzlers just to show off, or make up for some kind of sexual deficiency. But many of them might also use that big guzzling SUV on the weekends to tow a boat, haul a bunch of people around, etc. And by and large, having one gas guzzling vehicle that can do everything still usually ends up being cheaper than having one guzzler to handle your heavy work, and one fuel sipper for daily commuting and such.

Honestly, I don't see a guzzling SUV to be any worse than a guzzling luxury car or a guzzling sportscar. Buy it if you can afford it. Don't expect me to be impressed by it, but you shouldn't be buying it to impress ME, anyway. Unless you're buying it FOR me

 

[Danny]

So given that I regularly put four people, two dogs and a baby into a vehicle, and I only buy about 40 gallons of gas every six weeks or so across three vehicles, am I still damned to go to hell, the cause of our economic ills and the executor of our soldiers?

:

No CSB, you are damned to go to hell even before you get to that, unless you have I Support Our Troops decal on the back....Minivan? When I was running around with the little ones I had minvans - 7 passengers and hauled just about everything...good mileage too....understand they were uncool for awhile but are now making a comeback... just read in the AARP mag that old VW bus hippies are picking up Scions and Elements to get the old groove on again...

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

If I got twice the mileage I'm getting with the expedition, I'm still using 10-40% of the gas used by someone in a civic who elects to work an hour away from home. And way better than someone who decides to drive into a major city rather than the inconveniece of a train or bus.

Get a different job, shorten your commute, or take public transportation to work.

THEN you can sneer at people whose transportation needs are completely unknown to you. And those damn cell phone users too! And tell those kids to get the hell off my lawn! Who touched this thermostat? Am I made of money here? Do I look like a money tree?!?

 

[brewer12345]

Personally, I think they are mostly self-centered peckerheads who have decided that following a fad is worth putting me and every other person who would like to drive a small, fuel-efficient car at risk if they hit one of us in their behemoth. But since I don't make the rules (yet), there's not much I can do about it besides moving up to a bigger, safer car that still gets decent mileage.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

So does buying a bigger, safer car to offset the other peckerheads make you a peckerhead too, or are you pecker exempt?

What exactly is the GVWR/Peckerhead crossover point, or is it tied to EPA mileage directly?

 

[Martha]

I drive a diesel Jetta and carry a gun to protect me from the peckerheads.

 

[Danny]

So does buying a bigger, safer car to offset the other peckerheads make you a peckerhead too, or are you pecker exempt?

What exactly is the GVWR/Peckerhead crossover point, or is it tied to EPA mileage directly?

eh, saw that coming....He's talking about self-centered peckerheads, not regular run of the mill peckerheads...there's a big difference I understand, but I'll let you guys sort that out...

 

[brewer12345]

So does buying a bigger, safer car to offset the other peckerheads make you a peckerhead too, or are you pecker exempt?

What exactly is the GVWR/Peckerhead crossover point, or is it tied to EPA mileage directly?

That's an exercise left for the reader, I suppose. I'd be happy to drive something more fuel efficient than my current ride, but no way am I doing so with all the 5,000# and up monstrosities running around.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Same here, as described in the "other" car thread. I'd probably rather buy a car or a wagon, but I'm almost rammed 2-3 times a day and regularly cut off by an f-250 or excursion where the driver barely slows to 10mph before running the stop sign and never looks in my direction once. And I dont drive much. Plus if I was in a car, I wouldnt be able to see anything other than the door panels and rear bumpers of pickup trucks.

 

[Andre1969]

Personally, I think they are mostly self-centered peckerheads who have decided that following a fad is worth putting me and every other person who would like to drive a small, fuel-efficient car at risk if they hit one of us in their behemoth.

Well, when it comes to accidents, over the years I've been the one who's gotten hit more often than I've been the one doing the hitting. And I've driven some pretty big behemoths in my time! My take on it is that the bigger the battlcruiser, the more harmlessly the careless little car drivers bounce off my car when they hit it!

Now, that being said, I do most of my driving these days in a 2000 Intrepid, which really isn't that big of a car and would still get slaughtered by something like a full-sized pickup or SUV. Still, I prefer to demonize the driver rather than the vehicle.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Thats my favorite line too when my dad exclaims from the back seat "Wow...he never looked and almost ran that stop sign and hit you!".

"Yep, I'd have been picking bits of that piece of crap out of my grill for a week or more!"

 

[Danny]

Useful reference for just about everything related to your ride.

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/


My rides all-round Ave MPG
Mazda 6 - 25
Outback - 24

 

[Martha]

My Jetta is double that.

 

[lets-retire]

The DW drives an Explorer and I drive a full sized truck.  She did drive a Pontiac Grand Prix, but we got rid of it after evacuating for a hurricane.  Try stuffing a kid, cat, Rottie, two adults and enough clothes to last a week in a car.  I can be done, but you better be real skinny.  The Explorer got 2 mpg more then the Grand Prix in similar dirivng conditions and is ceritifed LEV vehicle.  Oh yeah and the engine is .2 ci bigger in the Explorer.  

My truck is a pig but I've done remodeling on my house and without it we would have had to spend much more renting a truck.  It also has a notoriously truck engine in it and is not designed to be a car-like truck.

Like CFB stated move closer to work or use mass transit if you are paying too much for gas.  Although if you move to close to work your engine won't have time to properly warm up so you'll be running rich all the way in and burning more gas and spewing more emissions, so your better off taking a taxi.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Lets go lynch that frickin guy who has the 8 hour a day commute. Doesnt matter what he drives, its a huge waste of gas.

He must be a peckerhead of biblical proportions. And he must really, really hate america.

 

[brewer12345]

There's that psychological problem of yours again...

 

[Nords]

"Yep, I'd have been picking bits of that piece of crap out of my grill for a week or more!"

I don't feel the need for a bigger car when I can scarify the current vehicles.

A '94 Ford Taurus wagon that gets washed every year for Father's Day. A '97 Nissan Altima with a crumpled fender that gets the same loving lavage.

Usually the SUVs are changing lanes to get away from our cars.

 

[brewer12345]

Usually the SUVs are changing lanes to get away from our cars.

Yeah, there is a lot to be said for driving a $1000 car. Used to be real easy to change lanes in traffic drivng my elderly Ford Escort: "hey, look! there's a brand new luxury car!"

 

[Andre1969]

One thing I think is kinda cute is when someone tries to bully you out of the way or into speeding up by tailgating you. At least with my pickup truck, once they get up so close that I can't see them in my mirrors, I look at them as out of sight, out of mind!

 

[Danny]

I don't feel the need for a bigger car when I can scarify the current vehicles.

A '94 Ford Taurus wagon that gets washed every year for Father's Day. A '97 Nissan Altima with a crumpled fender that gets the same loving lavage.

Usually the SUVs are changing lanes to get away from our cars.

makes me remember my 1970 Mercury Montego with missing grill - looked like a shark - no problem who had the right away at the 4 way stops....

 

[Nords]

One thing I think is kinda cute is when someone tries to bully you out of the way or into speeding up by tailgating you.

My favorite is the guy who pulls up alongside with just a foot or two of overlap between his back bumper and my front bumper, matches course & speed, and then turns on his signal to merge. There'll be two or more lengths in front of me for them to complete the process but they'll sit there waiting for me to back off and give them even more room.

 

[Andre1969]

My favorite is the guy who pulls up alongside with just a foot or two of overlap between his back bumper and my front bumper, matches course & speed, and then turns on his signal to merge. There'll be two or more lengths in front of me for them to complete the process but they'll sit there waiting for me to back off and give them even more room.

Ah, yes, those are always fun! As if the traffic is supposed to just part for them, like Charleton Heston parting the Red Sea! My response to them usually depends on what I'm driving. If i'm in my pickup, which is old and beefy looking, with a few character dings here and there, and I think was last washed around the time Hurricane Isabel came through, they'll usually back off really quick. In fact, just yesterday coming into work, I scared an overly-blinged Suburban back into its own lane when its driver realized that I wasn't going to just magically go away.

Now in my Intrepid, which is modern and comparatively flimsy, I might be inclined to drive a bit more defensively. Besides, the way they build cars these days, a hit that would just dent the fender on an old standard-sized pickup truck could easily disable or total a modern car.

In my 1979 New Yorker, which is probably tougher than the truck, I'll usually be a bit more defensive as well. Partly because the horn doesn't work. But also partly because, even though it's a solid, sturdy car, it's also in pretty good shape, and it would be damned near impossible to find parts for. They only built this style from 1979-81, they weren't popular when new, and most of these things fell into the hands of cabbies as used cars and were pounded into the ground years ago. Mechanical parts are no problem, but specific stuff like sheetmetal, trim, interiors, etc can be a pain.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

There's that psychological problem of yours again...

At least I can read.