this post was submitted on 13 Feb 2024
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Fuck Cars

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185
Pity SUV drivers, fast being priced out of their badges of contempt for the planet | Catherine Bennett (www.theguardian.com)
submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[–] [email protected] 56 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

"Insurers, who say the vehicles are too likely to be stolen, seem to be deaf to the suffering of owners whose only fault was to buy an obese status symbol coveted by many hard-working criminals, as well as by Prince Andrew.". Damn, savage! It's a good article, though. EVs are heavy enough, without continuing to make SUVs part of the product lineup.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It turns out the willful destruction of the planet is an uninsurable risk. Who knew?

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 year ago

Shocked Pikachu face

[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 year ago

Owning an SUV is a big red flag for me. Not joking at all, I don't have a single friend who owns one and it's not an accident.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 year ago (2 children)

How much worse than a normal car are they ?

[–] betz24 13 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I think this is just another news cycle to pit normal citizens against each other to blame for current crisises. Given the utility of an SUV, I assume the difference is marginal.

[–] [email protected] 47 points 1 year ago (1 children)

"The utility of an SUV". XD

[–] betz24 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Why don't you think an SUV has utility?

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

An MPV is more useful than 95%+ of SUV that never see anything but pavement.

[–] betz24 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I live in a city with elevations and I'm hard pressed to find any MPVs on the road. I see MPV (vans) broken down on the side of the road because they lack the horsepower to go up and down the highway every day. I don't have an issue with MPVs and wish most short haul businesses used them instead of pick-up trucks, but they just don't offer the same benefits as an SUV.

I own an SUV (clearly), it gets good mileage (27-34), I travel across the country in it, and I can't tell you how many times it has been useful on the pavement having that extra power and height for safety reasons. Is the hate on SUVs how big they are? Is it because it's considered a symbol of status? MPVs are not better mileage wise, unless you are comparing a new MPV to an older 2001 SUV. Hell, Jeeps have the worst MPG and no one is complaining about them.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

I'm talking from an European view where we replaced the MPV body style with the SUV body style. Basically the same type of car underneath, some models even kept their name during the transition. I'm still quite flabbergasted in how we ended up in this situation.

It is true that they don't take more space/consume more but they have zero usability advantages vs an MPV?

They are more cramped, waste space with the higher floor/ bigger wheels, and you don't even have a better visibility since you are more upright in an MPV.

The only thing they have is not looking like an MPV.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'm pretty sure the general recipient of attacks on SUVs is the manufacturers. They're the ones building and advertising the planet killers, and lobbying against restrictions.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 year ago

Yeah but also they're consistently more popular in the North American market since there's a cult of mutually assured destruction among drivers.

"There are so many big cats on the road, if they hit my sedan they won't get hurt! I must buy a bigger car so they get hurt and I don't"

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I keep trying to understand that headline but I just can't parse it

[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Upon further analysis:

Command: [Pity SUV drivers], who are quickly being priced out of their [badges of [contempt for the planet]]

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago

Also implied "you should" at the beginning