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Originally Posted by THGL
Also, our house is not perfect (none are) and I make trips to the lumber yard or Home Depot for building supplies, landscaping supplies, etc. and that's where an SUV comes in real handy. Multiple sheets of drywall are NOT going to fit into a Honda Civic.
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Ahh, memories of hauling plywood and drywall with my dad in our old Honda Civic hatchback. Except for weight issues, the thing could haul anything (and possibly more) than any SUV could. We both thing that 1986 Honda Civic was quite possibly one of the best vehicles of it's time
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Originally Posted by THGL
Yes, an SUV uses more gas than a car... there are more and heavier parts to move so the engine isn't as fuel efficient... that's just part of the cost of owning one. Today's engines are a hell of a lot more efficient than those of 10-15 years ago (there are a few engines so good that what comes out the tailpipe is cleaner what what goes in the intake! It's true.), so don't tell me that we're harming the environment by driving an SUV. Like someone said already, beat-up VW Vanagons are doing a lot more harm than anything I could buy today.
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Good point. Thank god it's not the case that these SUVs are that bad. But to be fair, most people aren't making the choice betwen buying a Navigator and a VW Van.
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Originally Posted by THGL
If you want to exaggerate things how's this? If someone runs into me and my SUV all I have to do is replace a few body panels and I'm back on the road but if someone runs into your little econobox the whole thing is totaled so it'll take up space in a junkyard, dripping fluids and old flaking paint into Mother Earth. If someone runs into me and my SUV there's a good chance I'll walk away but if someone runs into you and your econobox, the fire dept./EMS will have to be called... fire trucks and ambulances pollute a HELL OF A LOT more than any SUV... not to mention the added cost to John Q. Taxpayer who has to pay for the emergency service run you caused.
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What about to poor shmuck who hits your SUV? You don't mind sending him to the ER? The problem isn't really when said econobox get's in an accident, it's when said econobox gets in an accident with an SUV. A few years ago, I was driving one of those econoboxes when I happened to rear end a SUV. Basically, my car went right underneath the SUV. It caused approximately $2000 worth of damage to the car, and about $100 to the SUV (little touch up of paint). Now if I were to have gotten in the same accident with another car, the forces would have been more evenly spread over the 2 cars, and more importantly, the forces would have been on the bumpers. The total damage between the 2 vehicles would have been much less.
But please, if you're looking into buying a new vehicle, which your 2 small children are going to be in, do some research on vehicle safety, and think about everybody's safety, there's children in the other cars on the road too.
Here's a link to get you started:
http://www.suv.org/safety.html
I know it's biased, but it's just to get you thinking.