A rant about vehicle size judgement.

[LeftyFingerPop]

I have noticed a common theme at DU where the majority of people (but certainly not everyone) seem to feel that people who drive large vehicles are wasteful.

I drive a big ass Toyota Tundra truck, 4 door. It's filthy, and it gets used. BUT...I have put only 10,000 miles on this truck in 2 years, so I would venture to say that I have burned less fuel than many people here, even those who drive small cars.

Why the truck then?

Two reasons:

1) I am part of a Border Collie rescue chain where we transport dogs from all over the country that have been displaced for whatever reason. We transport these dogs to a rescue farm. We have done as many as 4 dogs in a single pass. You need a large vehicle to do this. We have even rescued dogs that were displaced by hurricane Katrina.

2) I visit our county landfill an average of twice a week. I consistently do several large home improvement projects, and use the truck to move debris to the landfill.

So, before you judge a person for having a large vehicle, please remember that the vehicle may truly be needed for the person's lifestyle, and that the mileage put on this vehicle may be less than you think.

Now, with all that being said, I find myself also occasionally being guilty of being judgmental, especially when I see a squeaky clean Caddy or Lexus SUV, gold in color with all the bells and whistles...AND SQUEAKY CLEAN. But then, who am I to judge? :D

[bertha katzenengel]

1. Some people need behemoths. I realize that.

Every now and then, most people paint with too wide a brush. I think that's true on DU re: SUVs and large trucks.

But I judge, too.

[underpants]

2. The border collie thing gives you a pass

but watch it Mister!

[LeftyFingerPop]

3. ....

:rofl:

[RetroLounge]

4. So you drive an SUV *and* also cause landfill?

:hide:

RL

[LeftyFingerPop]

6. Oh thanks for reminding me...

it's not an SUV, it's an open bed truck. Again, I get judgmental against SUVs....I think....why would anyone need one of those? You can't load them up with mulch or gravel from a loader, so why would you need one?

[RetroLounge]

20. I've owned 2 trucks

a pickup that was a work horse, carryinging ladders, tools, etc.

and a GMC Suburban with 200k miles that I used to lug around stuff.

I like my little Saturn now.

RL

[LynneSin]

5. I have no problem with SUV

If people are actually using them for the way they are attended. But you could tell by the condition of that SUV the worst it's seen is driving down the potholed Maryland Avenue

[LeftyFingerPop]

9. Agreed....

and....I think if you do indeed have a large vehicle, you should do whatever you can to not put unnecessary mileage on it. Want to travel 20 miles for some of your favorite ice cream? Take the compact, take a bus, or don't go at all.

[ChoralScholar]

12. I have a very small SUV (Kia Sportage)

because I needed a 4-wheel drive vehicle, and I bought what I could afford.

Because of where we are in the mountains, the grading is very steep (sometimes 7-10%) in town, and without a 4wd, you can't get anywhere when there's the least bit of snow or ice.

I do get 23 mpg from it, so it's not super wasteful.

[LynneSin]

13. I have no problem with the smaller SUV

If I had kids I'd rather have something like that than a mini-van

[taterguy]

7. If a vehicle is larger than mine it's senseless and wasteful

Right?

[LeftyFingerPop]

10. yes ....

that's the philosophy I am talking about. I am guilty of it too, I just think we should stop and think before judging. It's the "soccer mom with one child" driving a hummer to the grocery store thing that I think most people hate...including me.

[commander bunnypants]

8. I would love/need a truck

CB

[LeftyFingerPop]

11. my last 4 vehicles have been trucks...

before that, I drove a new corolla into the ground....I really loved that car.

Next time around, we will get a used big honker of a vehicle for the dogs and landfill, and a brand new small hybrid for our main vehicle.

[Tyler Durden]

14. Now YOU are the reason there have to be big vehicles.

The problem is when somebody figures they CAN buy something like that for driving just themselves on their 50 mile one way commute to their office job. So they do it. Then they complain about the cost of gas.

[montanto]

15. The anti-suv theme, seems to me,

is a disdain for people who drive 6000 pound 4x4s
to the grocery store, take up 2 parking spaces, all
to pick up a carton of eggs. These same vehicles having
never been taken off-road, used for any actual "utility"
purpose, and never even been filled to capacity with family
members. If you've got a family of 10, seems like a necessity
to me (though a family of ten also seems wasteful to me,
but that's another issue), or if you actually have some "utility"
necessity.

I live in Los Angeles where these things are legion. Every day
I see dozens of Hummers and other such vehicles trooping past
my house with only a driver, no load of kids, no load of lumber,
no load of rescued dogs, and I don't even know where the nearest
unpaved road is.

In a city with way too much traffic and way too much air pollution
a vehicle that gets 13mpg max, pollutes more than two regular cars,
is never used for "utility" purposes and only carries one or two
occupants is a waste.

[skygazer]

16. My husband drives a Chevy Tahoe

He's a carpenter and needs a vehicle that allows him to carry his tools and any materials he needs to pick up. I grew up in the country and understand that many people use their vehicles for things that only a larger vehicle can do.

The great majority of the people I know who have SUV's, however, have them for what I consider poor reasons. One of the main reasons cited is safety - on the theory that the bigger the vehicle, the better chance you have in an accident. This overlooks the fact that many of those larger vehicles are actually more accident-prone as well as the fact that if people keep getting larger vehicles to avoid being the small guy in the accident, the bigger the vehicles are going to get. Size wars - it's absurd. Better to avoid accidents in the first place.

Another argument I hear is "to drive the kids to soccer practice." A small wagon provides plenty of room for kids, dogs and soccer balls and uses a lot less gas. Most of those same people do NOT carry more than 3 or 4 kids.

And the last absurd argument I hear is that "I live in the mountains and need four wheel drive." Hell, I live in the mountains. The mountains I live in are in the Bay Area - we get snow maybe once every 3 years - about an inch. I grew up in the mountains in Vermont and never in my life had a four wheel drive vehicle. You don't need four wheel drive to drive on a dirt road. :eyes:

I don't judge every person I see. But of the people I actually KNOW, most of them don't need the behemoths they're driving. Which makes me suspect that those odds are probably applicable to the general public.

[leftofthedial]

17. You can usually tell if the vehicle is used for work

I have no problem with that

the single commuter in the Hummer or the Escalade or the Expedition that has never seen anything but city driving are what sets me off. Those and the fake monster truck giant pick-up penis substitutes.

[Writer]

18. I live in Colorado. You're in trouble if you don't own a four-wheel drive vehicle here.

Mine's not the "big ass" version, but I'm with you there. My mother in Dallas, on the other hand, who owns a Cadillac Escalade because she'd otherwise drive "a Sherman tank" (she's filled with testosterone) is on my judgment list.

[nini]

19. WTF?

Who ever said a truck that is used for what it's made for is a problem?

It's the stupid ass soccer moms that drive a big ass suburban to drive Chutney around that are the problem. It's the people who have 1 or 2 children and think they have to drive a freaking bus around to get from one place to another.

Anyone who truly needs a large vehicle should have one. It's the status issue of large cars that is wrong.

[guitar man]

21. I have a "big" truck

actually, it's a 1/2 ton, but it has the big motor in it :evilgrin:

I use the hell out of it, it's certainly not a pampered beauty queen. Here is a pic of my latest use for it.

[pagerbear]

22. Heck, I feel guilty for driving a Camry instead of a Prius or Civic

Especially since I might have to start driving to work--to a different work location 30 miles away, not really accessible by public transportation.

[liontamer]

24. I'm the same way

I feel bad taking the bus when I could have walked.

[liontamer]

23. I judge people who drive hummers in manhattan

and stretch hummer limos. Some people commute so I understand that jeeps are necessary if you live really far out. But almost no one needs a real hummer, and hummer limos are clearly tacky.

Oh and what's with turning on high beams in the city? You don't even really need headlights in the city. All you're doing is blinding others. that pisses me off to no end. It's manhattan, the hills were flattened, the valleys filled, the brooks drained. You live in the city, deal. :rant: