SUV's. What's the attraction?

In reply to dean1484 :

Nope, it's a standard light duty platform: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hummer_H2  

"The Hummer H2 is a large SUV that was marketed by Hummer and built by AM General from 2002 to 2009, it was based on a modified GMT820 Chevrolet 2500 HD in front and 1500 frame in back."

The H2 has the worst interior out of all the GMT800 based trucks. No clue how they managed to make the dashboard seem that much cheaper than the base Suburban.

Streetwiseguy said:

You guys know that an H2 is a Yukon with an unpleasant looking body, right?  And an H3 is a weird looking Colorado?  The only Hummer that is more sturdy than a regular old Chev pickup truck is an H1.  And the early ones of those are dead slow, and have the ever so sturdy 6.5 turbodiesel.

The early ones were available with a TBI 350.  I can't imagine that being worse than anything Diesel-powered.

After extensive time building and driving an absurdly overpowered H1, I came to the conclusion that it would be the perfect tow rig, because it's so berkin' wide that it would tow off of the rodent-head principle: rodents can't get stuck in holes because anywhere their head can fit through, their body can.  And similarly, an H1 is as wide or wider than your typical trailer, so anywhere it fits, a trailer will pass through.

I've had a 6 spd manual cx-5 in the past and it was nice not having to worry about going down rougher roads or driving over a curb if need be. That handled better than any suv or crossover should. I'd drive another in a heartbeat. 

let's be honest. American's like and love big cars. SUVs are bigger, so they are better liked and loved. Most people do not give two E36 M3s about driving other than getting from point a to point in some sort of non-embarissing comfort. I bought my Disco because I use it for moving my boats around and at the time I knew I would need it as my sole daily driver. As such, how it felt going down the road was much more important to me than most people. 

mr2s2000elise said:

dean1484 said:

 

They actually ride very well and are appointed the same as a Cadillac of the same vintage. As for 65k. I will be selling mine tomorrow if anyone wants to give me that.  Prices I have seen are around 10k for a driver but high millage up in to the 30s for nicer ones.
 

 

That seems inline with what I see. 

Are you looking at 08-09 like I mentioned, or all H2s? And clean and low miles? 

I just did a Nationwide search on Autotrader, here is an '08 for nearly $20k..................it has 265k+ miles. That's just silly to spend that much money on something with that many miles that isn't a diesel.

Everyone can (obviously) post what they want but I'd caution that we shouldn't get caught up in justifying our choices to anyone. Especially to fellow car guys

I've had a 6 spd manual cx-5 in the past and it was nice not having to worry about going down rougher roads or driving over a curb if need be.

That reminds me of a funny moment I had when I first test drove a Cayenne (ended up buying a different one). I pulled into a parking lot and pulled right up to a parking block and bumped into it. I realized I wasn't used to driving cars that felt like that that you could pull right up to a parking block in and not scrape or crack the front bumper. Sounds silly but that was a cool moment for me. This SUV is actually the first pure road car (as in no intentions of off-roading) i've owned that I didn't want to lower or change the suspension on in any way. I even wanted to change my 911 suspension. I honestly think the Cayenne suspension is better executed out of the gate than my 911 was. 

I did put some 10" wide wheels on my suv, but i dont consider that to be modifying the suspension.  

My wife wants me to get her a Cayenne. I would be all for it but she also wants to keep the H2. I really want to move the H2 on to another person but my wife will not even entertain it at the moment. 

Recently a bronco has moved too the top of my want list, I'll be joining the suv driving population. 

In reply to dropstep :

Advanced congrats! Will you wait for the Raptor bronco?

Duke said:

yupididit said:

ShawnG said:

Why can't I just drive whatever the hell makes me happy?

Because people don't understand and need to question what you legally do with your own money and time! 

Everybody is more than welcome to express themselves through driving whatever street-legal vehicle they want.

But just like the First Amendment, having the right to express yourself does not mean you are protected from criticism for it.

[edit] Or disagreement.

 

I don’t think anybody would be foolish enough to argue against your point on a constitutional or legal basis.  On a taste basis though, I had come to expect more from this forum.  If I wanted knuckle dragging mean spirited drivel, I would log into any diesel forum or Pirate4x4.

93EXCivic said:

I hate driving SUVs and have absolutely no use for them in my life (currently no kids and I don't tow anything). if it was up to me, I'd never own one. Unfortunately my wife loves them so we have a Ford Escape.

I'm sort of the opposite although I started where you did.  
My dad had big 60's car's Cadillac convertibles, Wide track Pontiac etc.

Me? At 14 I had a MGTD  Then a Sunbeam Alpine followed by a Jag XK140  etc 

Reliability with all of those led to picking up big Detroit Parts runners  Buick Plymouth etc. as horrible as those $75 beaters were they were bone reliable.  If they needed work they gave you plenty of notice and were butt simple to fix. 

Now at 70 I'm too stiff to get into small sports cars ( except convertibles I can step into ) so the big SUV's and trucks are what I drive

My Wife's Honda CRV is a head banging scrunch down to get into annoyance.  

I saw a late model CRV, and from the back it looked almost exactly like and Odyssey. It had no ground clearance, and if  I'd not noticed the badge that said it was a CRV, I'd have wondered when they did away with the sliding door on the Odyssey and went to 4 regular doors.

A 401 CJ said: I don’t think anybody would be foolish enough to argue against your point on a constitutional or legal basis.  On a taste basis though, I had come to expect more from this forum.  If I wanted knuckle dragging mean spirited drivel, I would log into any diesel forum or Pirate4x4.

Or NASIOC, or StangNet, or Viper Alley... I get it. But I think there's a lot of legitimate frustration with the SUV craze and I don't mind it coming out, within reason.

The cost of driving one of those things does not even come close to reflecting the damage they've done to the driving experience, environment (via a big CAFE loophole) and safety of the rest of us. If you want one, so that you can "actually see" without employing good posture or adjusting your mirrors, fine- but you ought to be taxed to the edge of oblivion if you don't have a better excuse than that.

b13990- but you ought to be taxed to the edge of oblivion if you don't have a better excuse than that.

Interestingly section 179 has led to many people owning SUV..... 

b13990 said:

but you ought to be taxed to the edge of oblivion if you don't have a better excuse than that.

That's the beauty of this country-I don't need an excuse that satisfies you for what I do and you don't need one that satisfies me for what you do. Taxes are to pay for our government, not to punish me for disagreeing with you.

b13990 said:

The cost of driving one of those things does not even come close to reflecting the damage they've done to the driving experience, environment (via a big CAFE loophole) and safety of the rest of us. If you want one, so that you can "actually see" without employing good posture or adjusting your mirrors, fine- but you ought to be taxed to the edge of oblivion if you don't have a better excuse than that.

Don't hate the player, hate the game that made the PT Cruiser and Chevy HHR "trucks" instead of cars.

MrJoshua said:

That's the beauty of this country-I don't need an excuse that satisfies you for what I do and you don't need one that satisfies me for what you do. Taxes are to pay for our government, not to punish me for disagreeing with you.

I wish I could give more than one thumb up to this.

In reply to Wally :

I'll give you a thumb up, to show I agree with you that Mr Joshua deserves more thumbs up. 

MrJoshua said:

b13990 said:

but you ought to be taxed to the edge of oblivion if you don't have a better excuse than that.

That's the beauty of this country-I don't need an excuse that satisfies you for what I do and you don't need one that satisfies me for what you do. Taxes are to pay for our government, not to punish me for disagreeing with you.

Taxes are that, yes, but they are also a tool for guiding peoples' decisions in a way that benefits society as a whole.  Such as making charitable contributions deductibles. (Really, the ONLY tool the government has, short of criminalizing things, and that is a dangerous slippery slope)  Contrariwise, people who drive large vehicles should be taxed for the extra strain they place on infrastucture and traffic in general.  Longer lines at traffic lights due to their length, slower traffic due to their inability to accelerate and decelerate, greater wear and tear on the roads.

OTR truckers already pay through the nose in taxation for these reasons.  It's almost criminal that someone driving a 7000lb Bloaty McBarge Family Truckster is given the same leeway as someone driving a 10 foot long iQ.

Alternatively, let's just raise the fuel tax to $5/gallon and let the free market sort it out.

Knurled. said:

  It's almost criminal that someone driving a 7000lb Bloaty McBarge Family Truckster is given the same leeway as someone driving a 10 foot long iQ.

 

Alternatively, let's just raise the fuel tax to $5/gallon and let the free market sort it out.

SUV's already pay more taxes for all those things you hate about them in more fuel taxes, higher registration, and higher insurance than your beloved IQ. They do that despite being able to haul my family of 5 with backpacks and band stuff and lacrosse gear, while towing a boat if I want to.

Raising taxes to manipulate purchases isn't free market. The free market has spoken and it wants SUV's. 

In reply to MrJoshua :

That free market got told it wanted SUVs when the wagons got killed off.

Daylan C said:

In reply to MrJoshua :

That free market got told it wanted SUVs when the wagons got killed off.

I wish wagons or minivans towed more. I would own one again.

In reply to MrJoshua :

The SUV towing and people hauling niche definitely exists. But that doesn't explain the small ones that can't tow and why everyone suddenly decided they were cool.