Lamborghini made a boxy SUV once.
Lamborghini made a boxy SUV once.
In reply to pinchvalve :
Love Me some LM
poopshovel again said:If SUVs are the new thing, at least make them look slightly more aggressive and less "bubble car?"
SIGH. I miss windows so much.
In reply to 1988RedT2 :
Inferring that the general public is so dumb that they're spending between $30,000 and $50,000 without significant research is a terribly cynical thing to do. I actually looked it up and saw almost 14 hours of research being done by the average buyer.
That may not seem like much to a bunch of guys that think about cars 24/7 but it doesn't take that long to compare the attributes and options of 10 pretty similar vehicles and then shop by price.
My question is, when are we going to get an affordable performance SUV/CUV? If I have to get a small SUV, I want something lower to the ground that handles well and has some punch. The Macan and Edge ST come to mind, but both are way too expensive. Why are performance SUV's always the tippy-top of the range? Can I get a Kia Sportage WITHOUT every electronic doo-dad and leather and sunroofs and disco-lighting, but WITH another 125 hp and a sport suspension? Or an another Equinox SS with a Camaro powerplant and suspension designed by the same folks who did the Corvette? I'm OK with cloth seats and a manual lift ate if it will keep the $$$ under $35K. I drove the last one and it was pretty good, in Pontiac and Chevy versions.
At the end of the day, I didn't buy an Equinox SS, or a Vue Redline, or a Typhoon, so I guess its my fault.
Duke said:poopshovel again said:If SUVs are the new thing, at least make them look slightly more aggressive and less "bubble car?"
SIGH. I miss windows so much.
Windows!?! We don't need no stinkin windows!
In reply to pinchvalve :
It's gonna be a long wait. Manufacturers recognize that their basic product will appeal to the majority of buyers. For those that want something specific, like "performance," they're going to offer a "Sport" version which will offer more of everything, especially price. I'd offer as an example the Ford Explorer Sport.
ebonyandivory said:In reply to 1988RedT2 :
Inferring that the general public is so dumb that they're spending between $30,000 and $50,000 without significant research is a terribly cynical thing to do. I actually looked it up and saw almost 14 hours of research being done by the average buyer.
That may not seem like much to a bunch of guys that think about cars 24/7 but it doesn't take that long to compare the attributes and options of 10 pretty similar vehicles and then shop by price.
The problem is that they do their research in places that grade on a curve. Most non-car people do their research in places that don't say things like, "Have you considered a sedan or minivan instead of a crossover or SUV?" "Don't get a crossover, they cost $5,000-$10,000 more and in real world driving get 5mpg less than the equivalent sedan" "The driving dynamics of the average car are better than most CUVs and SUVs" "Minivans offer much more usable storage space" etc. Instead their sources say things like "Get the RAV4 or CR-V. Don't get the Jeep Compass." "This model has a 5-star safety rating" "The warranty is X long" "The free oil change period on this is longer than that"
Plus, ask any of us that have non-car friends and family who have asked our opinion on vehicle purchases -- or a mechanic. They don't listen to us anyway. How many people have bought a Traverse, Equinox or used Land Rover despite us begging them not to?
GCrites80s said
The problem is that they do their research in places that grade on a curve. Most non-car people do their research in places that don't say things like, "Have you considered a sedan or minivan instead of a crossover or SUV?"
Oh, apparently you've spoken to these hundreds of thousands of buyers and observed how they do their research. And here I assumed you were just randomly guessing without bias!
Just because you're a car guy doesn't mean you're going to take your wife and kids and a dog and luggage on vacation in a Miata.
pinchvalve said:Can I get a Kia Sportage WITHOUT every electronic doo-dad and leather and sunroofs and disco-lighting, but WITH another 125 hp and a sport suspension?
well, there has been an SX trim to the Sportage for the last couple years, apparently. It does have leather and bells and whistles. And it's only 234hp over the base 182hp... which is also down from the Asante Fe Sport's 264hp. And considering they are both "2.0T"... there's got to be a fair amount of similarity to the VelosterN motor? And they're only 1.8" off from being height/track-width legal.
hrrm
ebonyandivory said:
GCrites80s said
The problem is that they do their research in places that grade on a curve. Most non-car people do their research in places that don't say things like, "Have you considered a sedan or minivan instead of a crossover or SUV?"
Oh, apparently you've spoken to these hundreds of thousands of buyers and observed how they do their research. And here I assumed you were just randomly guessing without bias!
The most popular automobile research sites are how I described. That's how I know.
Y'know, I think the original post is on to something...it's not just that CUVs and SUVs are everywhere, it's that most of them are hideous! I could probably stand to live in a world of big tall vehicles if they weren't disgusting frickin' blobs like the Chevy Trax. Eugh. The Chevy Trax, the official car of "I want to drive something that looks like my toddler drew it."
I had a 13 Mazda CX-5 6 speed manual and that thing handled better than any SUV/crossover should. Its a shame they dropped the manual option after 16 when they went to the new body style.
GCrites80s said:ebonyandivory said:
GCrites80s said
The problem is that they do their research in places that grade on a curve. Most non-car people do their research in places that don't say things like, "Have you considered a sedan or minivan instead of a crossover or SUV?"
Oh, apparently you've spoken to these hundreds of thousands of buyers and observed how they do their research. And here I assumed you were just randomly guessing without bias!
The most popular automobile research sites are how I described. That's how I know.
You used one criterion to form your conclusion of literally millions of people doing independent research on future purchases? Sweet!
How could any of the sites become popular if they're all using different sites?
The vast majority of bodybuilders likely do cardio. Am I to assume cardio is what got them so muscular or should I assume they used other methods in conjunction with the treadmill?
Im not trying to start an argument but I see far too many swipes taken at SUV owners, buyers and potential buyers again, on an automotive enthusiasts website that I have to step in. And to impugn the buyers by intimating that they're all uninformed, underinformed, duped, easily swayed by car ads or whatever other negative characteristic can be thought up is really better left to other websites.
The same goes for all the anti-pickup truck stuff -never mind their owners-I've read in these pages. I just don't get it. If you don't want an SUV (or a truck) don't buy one but don't crap on people that don't think the way you do.
In reply to ebonyandivory :
I'm not saying "don't buy an SUV." I'm saying if car manufacturers are scrapping cars altogether in favor of SUV's, at least give us one that's a little less appliance-y. Is that too much to ask? It's just metal & plastic. Make it not look like every other lump of plastic/metal.
What's this? A difference of opinion resulting in an argument on an internet forum?
Say it isn't so! 
I still don't get the bitterness toward SUV's, especially from the crowd that will go out of their way to buy the least practical car they can get their hands on. It's like everyone had some traumatic childhood experience in a modern SUV, except that they are too new for most of us to have experienced them as children. I didn't like the styling of the first batch of crossovers either but I think some of them are really coming around. The Chevy Traverse for example, is much nicer looking than it used to be. I'd even say the FWD Explorer is better looking than its last RWD predecessor, and I love the look of the new Stelvio Quadrifoglio, especially in blue!
I like the way sedans look but I can't see myself objectively wanting one. It's not 1960 anymore, we can build a tall car that handles well so why not?
Are we circling this horse carcass again?
yupididit said:Are we circling this horse carcass again?
Apparently, we are.
And we wouldn't have to rehash this over and over if some of us "car guys" would get used to the fact that some people drive something they don't like.
Oh, and maybe stop lumping literally millions of people into one shallow, spontaneous group of heathen, brainwashed SUV drivers.
(And get this: I don't even OWN an SUV. In my driveway are two pickup trucks, one minivan, one four-door sedan and three motorcycles. I'm just crazy enough to let people drive what they like without putting them in some less-holy- than-thou box)
In reply to ebonyandivory :
I completely agree.
poopshovel again said:And by "we," I mean the knuckle-dragging, mouth-breathing masses...how hard would it be for every manufacturer to build something that at least LOOKS (not necessarily *performs*) like this?
If SUVs are the new thing, at least make them look slightly more aggressive and less "bubble car?" (Lookin at you, Honda.)
Maybe a little too much Rice Cream, but if something like that was available at an affordable price I would drive it.
If I had this with blacked out windows everybody would get out of my way on the freeway.
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