5 ms·

Vehicles these days are on average more expensive simply because SUVs outpace smaller car options in terms of overall volume sales, and SUVs are on average more

by auiya 7y ago

Vehicles these days are on average more expensive simply because SUVs outpace smaller car options in terms of overall volume sales, and SUVs are on average more expensive. Somehow auto manufacturers have convinced the middle class of this ridiculous notion that they can't transport their children safely in anything other than an SUV. So the middle class tend to buy more expensive vehicles they can't afford as easily because of marketing propaganda. The irony is, as more of these nuisance-sized SUVs flood the roads, the less safe everyone in smaller cars become, and road wear increases exponentially, leading to higher fuel taxes, etc... lather, rinse, repeat.

dsfyu404ed 7y ago
People (mostly) aren't buying Chevy Suburbans. They are (mostly) buying crossovers. Crossovers are basically the station wagons of the 21st century. If you want two rows, a hatchback and usable trunk space your options are crossover (technically an SUV, even if it's just a lifted wagon) or spending tons of money for a proper wagon made by either the Germans or Swedes. The reason the OEMs won't build wagons en-mass seems to be emissions classifications.
- auiya 7y ago
  To haul their crumb-snatchers, yes. But this also doesn't explain why people are choosing to misappropriate farm vehicles (pickup trucks) as single passenger daily commuters.
  - unlinked_dll 7y ago
    People buy trucks because they like them. It's the same as any luxury item. I like guitars for example, don't need them, don't need any more, but I bought one recently. Because I liked it. The question isn't why do people choose to buy luxury items but why debt is so easily accessible for the purchase. That's much more troubling.
    - throwaway100773 7y ago
      The question is why isn’t illegal to externalize on my and my kids life by burning gas as if it had no consequence beside being an asinine financial move.
      - gen3 7y ago
        In reality, cars are safer now then they have ever been. Allowing people to buy pickup trucks isn’t some dastardly move made out of excess and negligence. Anyone who needs a pickup truck has there own reasons, and as long as the vehicle has passed the legally required safety measures, why not just let people have the freedom to do what they want?
        lunias 7y ago
        IMO vehicles of a certain size should have to follow specific rules (in densely populated areas). I live where is snows; and when it does, there are lots of 2-way streets that are large enough for 2 reasonably sized vehicles, but not if one of them is a huge truck / suburban. Last night I had to back out of a road because some lady in an Escalade was driving down the center and refused to squeeze right to allow traffic to flow as intended. It also bothers me that you cannot see over these automobiles on the highway. Many times I've been traveling in the left lane on the highway with a big truck in front of me (that's going slow, but I assume it's because of the person in front of them). I move left even more to try and peek around them to discover that there is no one in front of them, they're just oblivious / refusing to yield. If you want to drive something huge, that's okay with me, but keep it in the right lane and off of small streets like all the shipping trucks.
      - perl4ever 7y ago
        Gasoline is taxed in most places. How do you know gas taxes don't internalize the costs?
        throwaway100773 7y ago
        Because most places don’t have a carbon tax on gasoline emissions.
  - lunias 7y ago
    It's seriously like using a spoon as a knife. Do people not care about handling any more? Weight distribution? Cornering? Braking? Acceleration? Top speed? Gas mileage? Trucks are for towing / hauling loads. If you're not towing or hauling a load then you're doing it wrong. Rent a truck for 30$ the two days a year that you need it. You can put your sweatshirt and your backpack in the trunk of a correctly purposed vehicle for the other 363 days. I think you'll enjoy having an automobile that performs well.
- coredog64 7y ago
  > The reason the OEMs won't build wagons en-mass seems to be emissions classifications. This. I can respect the intent of CAFE, but at this point it’s providing a ceiling, not a floor. We should accept that CAFE got us over the oil crisis hump and that it’s not the right law for us now.
  - toomuchtodo 7y ago
    Agree, but we're going to disagree on the solution. For example, I'm ready as a citizen voter activist to demand a combustion ban phase out schedule. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phase-out_of_fossil_fuel_vehicles#Jurisdictions_with_planned_fossil-fuel_vehicle_bans https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phase-out_of_fossil_fuel_vehic... (Jurisdictions with planned fossil-fuel vehicle bans)
    - dsfyu404ed 7y ago
      You could probably just let the states decide. CA and some east coast states will immediately do just what you're suggesting and/or as the technology becomes better and more mature more states will do the same or it will just organically happen because EVs are likely to reach a point where they're are the obvious choice for a larger and larger share of users and you won't need to ban anything.
      - toomuchtodo 7y ago
        This is true, and the most likely outcome considering federal gridlock. The boondocks will be the last to come along, and its going to be relatively straightforward to get enough states in a coalition to force automakers towards EVs. https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/05/01/states-representing-44-us-population-sue-trumps-epa-blocking-auto-emissions https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/05/01/states-represen... (States Representing 44% of US Population Sue Trump's EPA for Blocking Auto Emissions Standards)

by auiya 7y ago

dsfyu404ed 7y ago

People (mostly) aren't buying Chevy Suburbans. They are (mostly) buying crossovers. Crossovers are basically the station wagons of the 21st century. If you want two rows, a hatchback and usable trunk space your options are crossover (technically an SUV, even if it's just a lifted wagon) or spending tons of money for a proper wagon made by either the Germans or Swedes. The reason the OEMs won't build wagons en-mass seems to be emissions classifications.

auiya 7y ago
To haul their crumb-snatchers, yes. But this also doesn't explain why people are choosing to misappropriate farm vehicles (pickup trucks) as single passenger daily commuters.
- unlinked_dll 7y ago
  People buy trucks because they like them. It's the same as any luxury item. I like guitars for example, don't need them, don't need any more, but I bought one recently. Because I liked it. The question isn't why do people choose to buy luxury items but why debt is so easily accessible for the purchase. That's much more troubling.
  - throwaway100773 7y ago
    The question is why isn’t illegal to externalize on my and my kids life by burning gas as if it had no consequence beside being an asinine financial move.
    - gen3 7y ago
      In reality, cars are safer now then they have ever been. Allowing people to buy pickup trucks isn’t some dastardly move made out of excess and negligence. Anyone who needs a pickup truck has there own reasons, and as long as the vehicle has passed the legally required safety measures, why not just let people have the freedom to do what they want?
      - lunias 7y ago
        IMO vehicles of a certain size should have to follow specific rules (in densely populated areas). I live where is snows; and when it does, there are lots of 2-way streets that are large enough for 2 reasonably sized vehicles, but not if one of them is a huge truck / suburban. Last night I had to back out of a road because some lady in an Escalade was driving down the center and refused to squeeze right to allow traffic to flow as intended. It also bothers me that you cannot see over these automobiles on the highway. Many times I've been traveling in the left lane on the highway with a big truck in front of me (that's going slow, but I assume it's because of the person in front of them). I move left even more to try and peek around them to discover that there is no one in front of them, they're just oblivious / refusing to yield. If you want to drive something huge, that's okay with me, but keep it in the right lane and off of small streets like all the shipping trucks.
    - perl4ever 7y ago
      Gasoline is taxed in most places. How do you know gas taxes don't internalize the costs?
      - throwaway100773 7y ago
        Because most places don’t have a carbon tax on gasoline emissions.
- lunias 7y ago
  It's seriously like using a spoon as a knife. Do people not care about handling any more? Weight distribution? Cornering? Braking? Acceleration? Top speed? Gas mileage? Trucks are for towing / hauling loads. If you're not towing or hauling a load then you're doing it wrong. Rent a truck for 30$ the two days a year that you need it. You can put your sweatshirt and your backpack in the trunk of a correctly purposed vehicle for the other 363 days. I think you'll enjoy having an automobile that performs well.
coredog64 7y ago
> The reason the OEMs won't build wagons en-mass seems to be emissions classifications. This. I can respect the intent of CAFE, but at this point it’s providing a ceiling, not a floor. We should accept that CAFE got us over the oil crisis hump and that it’s not the right law for us now.
- toomuchtodo 7y ago
  Agree, but we're going to disagree on the solution. For example, I'm ready as a citizen voter activist to demand a combustion ban phase out schedule. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phase-out_of_fossil_fuel_vehicles#Jurisdictions_with_planned_fossil-fuel_vehicle_bans https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phase-out_of_fossil_fuel_vehic... (Jurisdictions with planned fossil-fuel vehicle bans)
  - dsfyu404ed 7y ago
    You could probably just let the states decide. CA and some east coast states will immediately do just what you're suggesting and/or as the technology becomes better and more mature more states will do the same or it will just organically happen because EVs are likely to reach a point where they're are the obvious choice for a larger and larger share of users and you won't need to ban anything.
    - toomuchtodo 7y ago
      This is true, and the most likely outcome considering federal gridlock. The boondocks will be the last to come along, and its going to be relatively straightforward to get enough states in a coalition to force automakers towards EVs. https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/05/01/states-representing-44-us-population-sue-trumps-epa-blocking-auto-emissions https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/05/01/states-represen... (States Representing 44% of US Population Sue Trump's EPA for Blocking Auto Emissions Standards)