[Gossamer]

Originally Posted by itai195

And yet Cody posted a couple months ago that illegal immigrants are ruining our economy by sending $18 billion a year to Mexico. I guess Canada, Venezuela, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, and Iran are better destinations for our money.

BURN

[Gossamer]

Originally Posted by Cody Dawg

Just to let you know, the 2007 Chevy Suburban (I drive an older one that only got 4 stars for driver, and three for passengers) got 5 stars out of 5 stars for crash tests via the government.

Fixed in bold.

[macintologist]

Is it just me or does it seem that the oil companies used Hurricane Katrina as an excuse to jack the price up a dollar and keep it there? :/

[powerbook867]

I don't have a problem w/ SUV's... I have a problem with idiot drivers.

The vehicle is only as safe as the person driving it.

now...back to topic! I was in Springfield yesterday!! I'm gassing up in KC tonight..I'm assuming it will be alot less...

[ghporter]

Cody, my 2002 Civic Coupe got five stars on BOTH driver and passenger protection, plus three stars for front seat side protection and four stars for back seat side protection. And while the coupe wasn't rated for rollovers, the sedan was-and it got four stars compared to your Suburban's three.

If you can't fit three kids in the back and one in the front, maybe you do need a bigger car, but you SHOULD be able to get all of 'em in a Saab; they're built for three carseat space in the back. Unless ALL your kids need a rear facing carseat, you might just have bulkier than necessary carseats. I do remember how much of a hassle they are to get installed... Have you thought of asking a Saab dealer to help you out.

My biggest problem with big SUVs is the way people drive them. In many ways you can blame it on gulible people believing the sales guy who says they're the safest thing in the world-but fails to mention that the Behemoth 2000X drives like a tank and not at all like the little sporty car the buyer came in with. Or you can attribute it to people just not caring that they cut off, run off the road, and otherwise go out of their way to hurt other drivers. But I think the heart of it is that they just do not NOTICE the rest of the world. They don't care about me-but they don't care that the recent rain has reduced everybody's traction to almost nothing so they blithely zip around and kill people with their five tons of steel. People are stupid.

By the way, the Suburban is an exception; they've always built this vehicle well and strongly, unlike a lot of other SUVs which are built like beer cans.

[ink]

Originally Posted by Dr Reducto

Of course that ignores the public knowledge of where our oil comes from

Canada should be thanking us

It doesn't matter where we buy our oil from. Price is set by global demand and supply, hence someone can say that "oil is selling for blah dollars per barrel". The more people that purchase gas guzzlers, the more money Iran gets.

[KeriVit]

Originally Posted by torsoboy

Are you 17 years old?

My car could fill up 3 years ago for $12, now it costs $30+

I'd LOVE to know where you filled up 3 yrs. ago at $1.10+/- a gallon.

(Assumption 12 gal. tank)

[His Dudeness]

Why does a topic about cars and/or gas always turn into some bullshit ranting about SUV's?

[ink]

Originally Posted by His Dudeness

Why does a topic about cars and/or gas always turn into some bullshit ranting about SUV's?

Insecurity on the part of their owners.

[KeriVit]

Justifying the expense.

[- - e r i k - -]

Post-purchase rationalization - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[wallinbl]

Originally Posted by His Dudeness

Why does a topic about cars and/or gas always turn into some bullshit ranting about SUV's?

Entertainment value. If you were talking to a friend about how you stubbed your toe the other day and some dude piped in with, "you think that hurts? I cut off my own foot last week!", you'd string the guy along for a bit just to listen to his inane crap about why it was a good idea to cut off his foot. It's the same thing with gas. Someone posts a reasonable thread about gas prices dropping, and invariably we get postings about how much it costs to fill up a GMC SoccerBus.

[wallinbl]

Originally Posted by Cody Dawg

Oh, like smokers do with secondhand smoke?

Why aren't you trying to make smoking unlawful?

You live in Florida, right? Notice that you can't smoke in nearly any building that is open to the public?

The fact is that your argument about not being able to see around SUVs is lame. Routinely you're going to have to share streets and freeways with vehicles MUCH bigger than SUVs. Like semi trucks for example.

Let's see, on my way to and from work, I see semi trucks. I see 350 SUVs. You're right that semis are bigger than SUVs though. But, they serve a useful purpose in transporting goods and services.

As far as SUV drivers being taxed more, get real. We buy more gas and that means that we spend more supporting the economy so you should be thanking us.

You do NOT help the economy by buying excessive amounts of gas and don't even fantasize that you do. We have an addiction to a finite resource of which significant amounts come from adversarial countries. It causes large imports from countries like Venezuala and Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Hell, we're at war in Iraq in large part due to oil (there were other reasons, but we would have ignored them if not for the oil).

[wallinbl]

Originally Posted by Cody Dawg

Ordered, yes.

we spend more supporting the economy so you should be thanking us.

So, to be clear on this, you have a Suburban and a Saab, and you've already ordered another 2007 Suburban. In several other threads, you're complaining about the price of houses. Yes, you certainly do fuel the economy!

[Cody Dawg]

ghporter:

Thank you for your comments. The Civic is a GREAT car. Great. That's the car that we will probably buy our son when he can drive. No, the Saab will most definitely NOT fit one husband and three boys, one of them almost the size an adult, AND a baby in a car seat. In fact, the back seat of the Saab will really only fit two people comfortably. Plus, it's a convertible. I don't want to drive a car with kids in it that has the potential to roll over. Plus, every once in a while I have one of my son's friends to add to the ride.

As far as buying a 2007 Suburban, did I mention why? Because my husband's company ordered it for him - they are paying for it because he does a lot of driving and carrying of company equipment and supplies and sometimes he even has very large items to bring. That's why I said, "It's ordered." I drive an older Suburban that is very well maintained. (I would never buy a brand new car - every vehicle we've owned was either pre-owned or a demo severely discounted, like the Saab, which had 3000 miles on it from the dealership owner driving it back and forth to work.) Where do I go? One mile to the grocery store one direction. One mile to the beach the other way. One mile to my son's school to pick him up (he's 5 and the law in Florida says that all children living within 2 miles of their school will not be provided bus transportation and must be picked up). That's it.

Oh, and once in a while I go out to the horse farm and I pick up saddles or I go to the co-op to bring bags of grain or bales of hay out there. Try fitting a few bales of hay or 100-pound bags of grain into a minivan. DOESN'T WORK.

So, some of you who are preaching about how I do not "need" a large vehicle are simply wrong.

Yes, by the way, I am complaining about the price of houses. Why? I was saying that the AVERAGE PERSON will never be able to buy a home. There were some people who have that concern and I continue to believe that plunking down $400K for a "starter home" down here in our area is excessive. Excuse me for feeling compassionate for my fellow Floridians.

[ghporter]

Cody, I missed the husband part; that changes things drastically, as I don't think any Saab sedans feature more than five seats.

Suburbans aren't really SUVs; they are working vehicles with enough of a history in passenger service that Chevrolet has been making them "car safe" since long before the SUV craze began. The Suburban was one of the workhorse vehicles at a company I worked for specifically because it could haul six guys and all of our gear to a work site-but at the same time it was safe and efficient enough for the job. I'd hate to think of using a van for that sort of thing.

Now let's look at an Exterra or some other SUV that does not have the history and track record of the Suburban. They're much more top-heavy than Suburbans, much less strongly constructed, and much less safe. The only thing they have going for them is taller seating which provides better visibility. 4-wheel drive? Please. 4WD is typically only a method of driving into the ditch with confidence. You have to know HOW to drive a typical 4WD for it to be worth while-otherwise it just makes you one more person stuck in the ditch. My mom managed to drive on icy, snow-covered freeways in Michigan in a front-wheel drive Ford Fiesta while macho guys in Jeeps and Land Cruisers (and not a few Range Rovers) drove unerringly into the ditch time after time. (Don't get me started on the vehicles Land Rover puts out with the image of Land Rover but the robustness of an old Mini.)

The "Real-Time 4 Wheel Drive" on my wife's Honda CR-V is not the typical 4WD, and it takes zero training to use. Note that Honda really doesn't sell the CR-V as an SUV, and we use it as a stationwagon with high ground clearance.

[volcano]

Originally Posted by Cody Dawg

ghporter, you're wrong - research proves it. I am safer in my SUV than in a car:

From SafeCarGuide.com

I drive an SUV, however, because I have three children - with a baby on the way - and we're always hauling things places. I drive a Chevy Suburban and I love the fact that it's heavy. Also, my insurance company loves the Chevy Suburbans and my insurance for full coverage is a LOT less expensive than the same year car that we used to have. I was shocked by how much. I asked why. The answer Geico gave us was, "Most Chevy Suburban owners, we've found, do not get speeding tickets." That's true I bet. I do not hop on the gas and expect that truck to behave like a Saab, for example, my other vehicle. It's slow to go and steady and that's it. And I can see all around me and I know that if a car runs a red light and nails me/us that they're going to be on the losing end.

You are laughable. Utterly laughable.

People in SUVs think they are invincible on the road, and that when they haul a** down the highway (over the speed limit, mind you) that everyone will "magically" move out of their way, because they think they always have the right of way.

Just because you drive a giant metal monstrosity doesn't mean you're god on the road. Get over yourself and your sad power trip and think about the safety and well-being of your family first.

You love the fact that your SUV is "heavy"? So you can squish things or something...? What's your point? You're more likely to rollover in that "heavy" suburban of yours moreso than I am in my Corolla. Heavy doesn't mean safe. You know that, right?

Let's just say I'm not surprised that you drive a Suburban.

[ShortcutToMoncton]

Originally Posted by Dr Reducto

Of course that ignores the public knowledge of where our oil comes from

Canada should be thanking us

As the official MacNN Alberta representative, I would like to say: thank you.

And Cody: there are many areas of Canada where smoking is almost as illegal as you can make it, without actually pulling cigarettes out of people's mouths. (In Toronto - or Ontario, can't remember which - there's no smoking on any company property including company cars, in restaurants, in bars, in hotels, public buildings, etc. etc. etc. You probably heard about Sean Penn's little incident at the Toronto Film Festival this week.) I'm not sure how that's going in the States, but I'd imagine there's some movement towards the same goal.

greg

[Velocity211]

Gas might be going back down to $1.15 a gallon

Not even in your dreams.

[Mister Elf]

$1.99 here in Cincinnati when I filled up yesterday... yes, you read that correctly

[KeriVit]

Originally Posted by Mister Elf

$1.99 here in Cincinnati when I filled up yesterday... yes, you read that correctly

What was it last month?

[Gossamer]

Down to $2.01 here in Ames. The lowest in Iowa is at a casino gas station, at $1.96. Employees get another $.05 off per gallon, making it $1.89. Not bad.

[Mister Elf]

It was around $2.79 here last month (I'm quoting 87 octane for all of my prices)

Oh, by the way, it's now down to $1.93...