http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3240753#3240947Oh my.
Cleetus (378 posts) Sat May-03-08 08:29 PM
Original message
God, I hate SUV's..
It's getting bad. AReally bad. I drive 40 miles each way to work. It's gotten to the point that every time I'm nect to some piece of shit SUV I take a peek at the driver and call him/her a stupid, selfish asshole.
There are *only* three reasons to drive one of these things-
1) You live in Vermont and need the 4 wheel drive to get up the hill that gets you home
2) You're pulling a trailer
3) You have a large family
One good reason *not* to drive one of these big, pointless, pretentious pieces of shit is that it "makes you feel safe".
Learn to ****ing drive...
Even the names of these ****ing things suggest stupidity.
Explorer
Excursion
Expedition
Navigator
Forester
Pilot
Aviator
Yukon
Denali
Discovery
Sequoia
What are they trying to tell us? That it's some kind of adventure driving some obese gas guzzler to Starbucks for a cup of coffee?
How about more realistic names for these abortions-on-wheels? Names like the "Kia Placenta" or maybe the "Lincoln Pretense"?
There is nothing more frustrating than being stuck behind a hummer being driven by a 90 lb. woman talking on her cell phone.
Rant over.
I dunno.
Given that the primitives try to disguise base motives, real motives, under a facade of principle, I suspect the anti-SUV primitive is just jealous because he can't afford an SUV, nothing more than that.
It's a big bonfire, about three weeks old now.
There's a nice little bouncy tale:
JeanGrey (1000+ posts) Sun May-04-08 09:17 AM
Response to Reply #2
85. Coming out of Iron Man yesterday my Vibe was parked between two huge SUV's, the one on the right an Escalade. There were three, count them, THREE people in it, a married couple and their son. They guy asked me what kind of gas mileage I got and I said "thirty five on the freeway, 28 in town" and he grimaced and said "wish to god I could get that" and I looked at him and his Escalade and said "looks like you have the wrong vehicle" and smiled, got in my Vibe and left!
Oh my, some pro-SUV primitives:
Ikonoklast Donating Member (1000+ posts) Sat May-03-08 08:39 PM
Response to Original message
8. You forgot Suburban, the one that I drive.
Nice to see that you have supernatural powers of divination that can discern not only the personal needs of the driver, but their intellectual acumen.
And since I drive far less each week than you do, it's YOU wasting resources by living so far from your place of employment and having a long commute. Eighty miles a day, five days a week, four hundred miles every work week? Now who's the selfish one?
I might fill up once a month, if that.
Nanny staters should mind their own damn business before trying to run everyone else's affairs.
taterguy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Sat May-03-08 08:46 PM
Response to Reply #8
11. How dare you inject rationality into this discussion?
Ikonoklast Donating Member (1000+ posts) Sat May-03-08 08:53 PM
Response to Reply #11
19. Basic fault of mine.
There never was anyone injured or killed on our motorways before the reign of the dreaded SUV.
It's a proven fact, because I said so.
citizen_jane Donating Member (1000+ posts) Sat May-03-08 09:21 PM
Response to Reply #19
29. Yeah, and don't forget all the selfish, self employed people that use SUVs..
the dog groomer, the local florist (cause they often have to pull a trailer too), lots of the farmers here use them and the 4 door pick-ups...selfish farmers, selfish selfish selfish farmer.
Without personally asking a multitude of questions to each SUV driver you see, you cannot automatically assume they are selfish, over-compensating assholes....except for the Hummer owners.
susankh4 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Sun May-04-08 08:39 AM
Response to Reply #29
80. And us volunteer rescuers...who transport dozens of pets to safety every weekend.
I had a small car, but found it inadequate for dog crates. Especially for the large hounds I typically rescue.
Wilms Donating Member (1000+ posts) Sat May-03-08 08:51 PM
Response to Reply #8
17. There are problems in addition to fuel consumption that make SUVs unattractive.
Glad you don't have to drive it that much.
Ikonoklast Donating Member (1000+ posts) Sat May-03-08 09:05 PM
Response to Reply #17
26. I drive a forty-ton commercial vehicle for a living.
I formerly was permitted for 127,500lbs. and 112.5 feet in overall length (turnpike doubles, twin 48' trailers); tell me about mass, momentum and stopping distances.
I fear ALL four-wheelers. They, for the most part, are crappy drivers that speed, change lanes without signaling, cut others off without a moments notice, drive distracted, and are generally a menace not only to themselves but to everyone else on the road, including ME.
Doesn't matter what size vehicle; but lately the littler ones think they squeeze in front of me to get to the exit ramp they are going to miss, and I can stop eighty thousand pounds in twelve feet.
Go two million miles without so much as a parking ticket, and get back to me about safe drivers.
It isn't the vehicle, it's the driver. Always.
Atman Donating Member (1000+ posts) Sat May-03-08 09:25 PM
Response to Reply #26
31. Yeah, everyone but YOU is, for the most part, a crappy driver.
What an ass.
Oh my. I think that Saturday morning Pedro Picasso forgot to have fiber for breakfast.
Ikonoklast Donating Member (1000+ posts) Sat May-03-08 09:32 PM
Response to Reply #31
33. I see crappy car drivers every day.
When was your last speeding ticket?
Get back to me when you have two million verifiable miles without any infractions.
Yes, you are not as good as me.
Atman Donating Member (1000+ posts) Sat May-03-08 09:38 PM
Response to Reply #33
36. I can't drive a giant rig because I've never been trained to do so. So what?
I got a ticket for an outdated emissions sticker about 15 years ago, though. So like I said, you're soooooooo awesome at something you are trained to do. I bow down to your awesomeness, and your ability to judge everyone else. I might even have driven a couple million miles, though, I've never kept track. But you are required by law to do so. I've driven in every conceivable condition, from in a hurricane to across the Carson Pass in a snowstorm. I still don't know what your point is, other than to thump your chest like a big dumb gorilla.
Ikonoklast Donating Member (1000+ posts) Sat May-03-08 09:45 PM
Response to Reply #36
37. Look, you started with the name calling
I was being reasonable, but I must have struck a nerve.
I judge no one. I am relaying personal experience.
The point I was making, which you so obviously missed, is it is the DRIVER, not the VEHICLE, which makes our roads unsafe.
CRF450 (1000+ posts) Sat May-03-08 10:04 PM
Response to Reply #37
41. Exactly.
Folks here are painting a brod brush on people just because of what they drive and wheather they drive alone or not. And your exactly right, their are idiots in all kinds of autos. My brother is also a big rig driver and states the exact same experience your having.
I drive a Dodge Dakota 4x4 crew cab, I haul around pool cleaning equipment and to keep the chemicals dry, I installed a fiberglass bed cover. So everything is basically hidden. I'm sure a huge number here would lable me as a self centered rethug just for a driving a truck, alone, and no construction/cleaning equipment in sight. Plus the fact that it cant average anymore than 16mpg.
NotGonnaTakeIt Donating Member (1000+ posts) Mon May-05-08 02:01 PM
Response to Reply #37
138. I agree with you completely, it is the Driver, not the vehicle
I drive the "interstates" quite a lot in my '07 Toyota Matrix and let me tell you, I've seen some very stupid shit from mostly 4 wheel vehicles, a lot of what you describe. Always assume the other person in the vehicle ahead, behind and on either side of you is a complete ****ing idiot and you'll do fine. OTOH, I have also seen some pretty reckless rig drivers, those who do not use signals at all even though they have HUGE blind spots. I've been nearly run off the road by a few of these.
But, having said that, those of us who drive the 4 wheel vehicles have no idea of how long it takes a fully loaded 18 wheeler to stop. It's simple Newtonian physics and inertia really, something a simple minded idiot yakking on a cell phone or applying lipstick or even reading a newspaper (I've seen this too!!), cannot begin to understand or appreciate.
Gilligan Donating Member (1000+ posts) Sun May-04-08 03:32 PM
Response to Reply #31
119. I don't think so
He didn't say everyone is a crappy driver but himself.
Why the name calling?
Atman Donating Member (1000+ posts) Sun May-04-08 05:14 PM
Response to Reply #119
123. First of all, I didn't call anyone any names...
This is one of the reasons we get "Bitter Gate" scandals and the like...people unable to break down simple sentences. I did not call the poster any names at all. I assume you think I called him a "big dumb gorilla," as that is the only part of my post even remotely akin to name calling. But please read what I actually wrote...
I said the poster was just thumping his chest "...I still don't know what your point is, other than to thump your chest like a big dumb gorilla.
I didn't call the poster a big dumb gorilla. I said the manner in which he was presenting his argument -- bragging about his driving skills while calling everyone else inferior -- was akin to "...thump<ing> your chest like a big dumb gorilla." Of course, you may not see the subtle difference in the language. But I didn't call him or anyone else any names.
Converesly, while you claim he didn't say everyone is a crappy driver but himself, his own words say otherwise...
"I fear ALL four-wheelers. They, for the most part, are crappy drivers that speed, change lanes without signaling, cut others off without a moments notice, drive distracted, and are generally a menace not only to themselves but to everyone else on the road, including ME."
He fears ALL drivers of four-wheeled vehicles. Those were HIS words, not mine. He fears us all because we all -- "...for the most part..." -- are crappy drivers. Apparently he's never been in a "four wheeled vehicle" and had some dick-head semi driver bear down on his ass end, so close that the only thing seen in the rear-view mirror is a Mack or Peterbilt logo. He's not the only one afraid on the highway, mark my word!
He said it. I think he made a ridiculous, broad-brush characterization of "ALL drivers" based upon his one-sided perspective. I just responded to what he said. Deal.
It's a pretty acrimonious bonfire after that, Pedro Picasso having set the tone with his name-calling.
