Alliance Against Urban 4x4s
April 17, 2005 10:45 AM Subscribe
Alliance against Urban 4x4s (SUVs) Facts, figures and references covering the environment, safety issues, bull bars, and possible new taxes.
The Esuvee. This is more of an awareness measure, though.
posted by joaovc at 12:03 PM on April 17, 2005
posted by joaovc at 12:03 PM on April 17, 2005
Oh... and don't forget to play the game (warning. 4.5 MB Flash).
posted by joaovc at 12:07 PM on April 17, 2005
posted by joaovc at 12:07 PM on April 17, 2005
I was just thinking about this the other day... if everyone in Manhattan drove mini coopers, the streets would be so much less croweded... (and cuter!)
posted by princessfifi at 12:09 PM on April 17, 2005
posted by princessfifi at 12:09 PM on April 17, 2005
Malcolm Gladwell wrote a great article on SUVs for the New Yorker Last year.
Every time SUVs are in the paper the people who own them say how safe they are. I always think of this article and wonder why people who seem to care so much about safety don't seem to have done any research on the subject when buying their choice of ride.
posted by drill_here_fore_seismics at 12:23 PM on April 17, 2005
Every time SUVs are in the paper the people who own them say how safe they are. I always think of this article and wonder why people who seem to care so much about safety don't seem to have done any research on the subject when buying their choice of ride.
posted by drill_here_fore_seismics at 12:23 PM on April 17, 2005
I'm in Paris for a few days and haven't seen a single SUV besides a Land Rover Discovery. Quite refreshing. I think if I drove through here with a Cadillac Escalade people would fall off their asses.
posted by furtive at 12:44 PM on April 17, 2005
posted by furtive at 12:44 PM on April 17, 2005
I'm not sure which pisses me off more, activists who want to "make driving a big 4x4 as socially unacceptable as drink-driving" [sic], or "H2 owners who prefer to own a distinctive vehicle for self-expression." It's really a tough call.
posted by sfenders at 12:45 PM on April 17, 2005
posted by sfenders at 12:45 PM on April 17, 2005
i saw a big white SUV with huge sparkly wheels and thin tires yesterday. people are morons good consumers.
posted by quonsar at 12:54 PM on April 17, 2005
posted by quonsar at 12:54 PM on April 17, 2005
I was going to comment that Mercedes thought so little of American tastes that they felt the only way into the US market for their SmartCars was to create an SUV. In Europe they sell the tiny "Fortwo" but America was only going to get the "Formore." (The Fortwo can be seen around Toronto, today.)
However, it seems that just earlier this month the Stupid SUV was oficially cancelled. Unfortunately, it's not because research told them that American tastes are changing, but because their business is otherwise in shambles.
(As it happens the iconic SmartCar is not as smart as I would hope. It has iPod coolness in many ways; it's easy (and cheaper than a paint job) to just replace the coloured parts for a whole new look. The manufacturing methods show some clever thinking. But when I think "smart" I imagine a car that runs on something other than gasoline...)
posted by KS at 1:17 PM on April 17, 2005
However, it seems that just earlier this month the Stupid SUV was oficially cancelled. Unfortunately, it's not because research told them that American tastes are changing, but because their business is otherwise in shambles.
(As it happens the iconic SmartCar is not as smart as I would hope. It has iPod coolness in many ways; it's easy (and cheaper than a paint job) to just replace the coloured parts for a whole new look. The manufacturing methods show some clever thinking. But when I think "smart" I imagine a car that runs on something other than gasoline...)
posted by KS at 1:17 PM on April 17, 2005
Dang, from the New Yorker article:
In a thirty-five-m.p.h. crash test, for instance, the driver of a Cadillac Escalade--the G.M. counterpart to the Lincoln Navigator--has a sixteen-per-cent chance of a life-threatening head injury, a twenty-per-cent chance of a life-threatening chest injury, and a thirty-five-per-cent chance of a leg injury. The same numbers in a Ford Windstar minivan--a vehicle engineered from the ground up, as opposed to simply being bolted onto a pickup-truck frame--are, respectively, two per cent, four per cent, and one per cent.
posted by KirkJobSluder at 1:58 PM on April 17, 2005
In a thirty-five-m.p.h. crash test, for instance, the driver of a Cadillac Escalade--the G.M. counterpart to the Lincoln Navigator--has a sixteen-per-cent chance of a life-threatening head injury, a twenty-per-cent chance of a life-threatening chest injury, and a thirty-five-per-cent chance of a leg injury. The same numbers in a Ford Windstar minivan--a vehicle engineered from the ground up, as opposed to simply being bolted onto a pickup-truck frame--are, respectively, two per cent, four per cent, and one per cent.
posted by KirkJobSluder at 1:58 PM on April 17, 2005
I see sfenders already commented (sort of) on the term "drink driving"... used in the first link. I was going to make a snarky remark on that, but did a search and determined it is a UK thing...used instead of drunk driving... didn't know that one....
as for suv's... can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em.. well, ok, you CAN live without 'em..you just don't want to...
posted by HuronBob at 2:21 AM on April 18, 2005
as for suv's... can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em.. well, ok, you CAN live without 'em..you just don't want to...
posted by HuronBob at 2:21 AM on April 18, 2005
I want a 4x4 version of the Smart Roadster, powered by that new Toshiba lithium battery. Somebody please build me one.
posted by sfenders at 5:24 AM on April 18, 2005
posted by sfenders at 5:24 AM on April 18, 2005
Ya, this is what rural residents need, a ban on after market bumpers. Luckily I don't see this flying anytime soon in Canada. Good thing too 'cause I'm not sure exactly where one would get an approved brush guard for a 72 Power Wagon.
posted by Mitheral at 9:43 AM on April 18, 2005
posted by Mitheral at 9:43 AM on April 18, 2005
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posted by bowline at 11:24 AM on April 17, 2005