Size? Does it matter?

Okay, get your mind out of the gutter. This isn't what you think it's about. Recently I was sitting at a red light, and waiting for it to change around the corner came a Chevrolet Silverado. This thing was decked out in fake plastic chrome, chrome wheels, and it was elevated about a foot above it's natural ride height. I gave the truck a glance, and the mustachioed driver looked down at me in from his seat, and gave me a "disapproving" glace. Really? I get a dirty look for driving my 1998 Volvo S70 GLT?

I ask you: Is this a car that would inspire dirty looks?

Now, anyone who knows me will tell you that I'm not a fan of trucks or SUV's. Why? They're big, obtrusive, suck down an inordinate amount of gas, and they are rarely used in this country for what they were designed for; Work. However we Americans do love size, and it seems fitting that just as their size killed the dinosaurs, size will also kill the the SUV. Let's take a look at some of the popular truck/SUV myths that many American car buyers will

SUV's are safe!

Statistically speaking, you are no safer in an SUV than you are in a normal car. Why? Because primarily the higher center of gravity tends to make the vehicle LESS stable. Studies also by the National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration says that you are actually MORE likely to be injured in an SUV than you are in a normal passenger car. In 2004 the New York Times reported that the safety gap between cars and SUV's was indeed widening.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/17/business/safety-gap-grows-wider-between-suv-s-and-cars.html

But the size of the truck makes it safer? Well not necessarily. In the United States, if a vehicle weight in at a hefty 6,000lbs. or over, it falls into the classification of "light truck". Therefore it's exempt from having many safety features that passenger cars have, and it's also exempt from many emissions standards. Hopefully the new mileage standards passed by President Barack Obama will help these leviathans reach their timely end sooner, than later.

Fortunately the government has mandated that SUV become safer, however the old myth of "I'll survive being hit by a tractor trailer" still doesn't hold any water. The only thing you can hope for in that matter, is that your dental records are up to date. Vehicles are only as safe as the driver. Which is why you don't want to get behind this person on your morning commute.

Trucks and SUV's are manly vehicles!

Really? You're still clinging to that one? Take a good look at just WHO is driving those behemoths. Is it men? Nope, it's overwhelmingly WOMEN. At the risk of sounding sexist, how "manly" can a vehicle be if it's being driven to Wal Mart, and the roughest terrain it encounters is a speed bump? I've often said if you advertise how SUVs and trucks are really used, nobody would buy them. And many of the people driving them don't know HOW to drive them. You can't drive an 6,000lbs. vehicle the same way you drive a passenger car. I know this first hand when a woman backed into me about a year and a half ago, and claimed "You were in my blind spot!". You know where the blind spot is? Between her ears!!

SUV's are safer in the snow. I can go as fast as I want, I have four wheel drive!

Yeah, but try stopping! The first law of physics is that a body in motion tends to stay in motion. Four wheel drive will help you start, it won't help you stop.

Americans want trucks, not cars!

Americans want cars, but they want them made by VW, Nissan, Honda, Toyota, Subaru, Kia, Hyundai, BMW, and Mecedes. Take a look at all those Hondas on the road. Those could easily be Chevrolets. If anyone has ever been to Italy, you'd know that EVERYONE drives a Fiat, Lancia, or Alfa Romeo. The auto industry has given us inferior products for DECADES, and then they sat back and played dumb and said "I guess nobody wants cars". Now that gas is $4 per gallon, they are FORCED into making decent cars because they finally figured out that you can sell a VW Golf and Fiat 500 anywhere in the world, but you can't sell a Chevy Tahoe in a country where gas is $11 per gallon. Soon, you won't be able to sell them here either, but given the way we like to waste money in this country, it might take a while.

So why do we like SUV's as a country? In my opinion it comes down to one word; EGO. Many Americans won't let their ego allow them to drive something small. Granted, streets are smaller in Europe and you literally can't drive a large car down those streets. However, after years of being used to gas being cheap, many are reluctant to give it up. Now though, we have an entire generation that's growing up never knowing what cheap gas is, and to whom the words "Fix it again Tony" are meaningless. Smaller cars are indeed more fun to drive. They accelerate quicker, they handle better, and when you turn the wheel, the whole car moves. And quite frankly this...

is much cooler than this any day of the week.

 

 I always point out to the people who own these "I'm quite happy with the size of my manhood, thank you very much".