I for one will not participate in the SUV arms race. You now have to buy a
SUV to increase your chances of survival against in a Vehicle vs. Vehicle
collision another SUV. Where does this madness end?
I have taken a personal pledge to not escalate the SUV war.
BTW. Working for Freightliner, I have to boast that Freightliner sells the
Ultimate SUV, the Unimog. Unfortunately you need a class D License to drive
it here in US. The average SUV pales in comparison to the Unimog.(
http://www.2bigbroncos.org/special/unimog2001/ ) I think the coolest
feature, besides its size, is its ability for the driver to change the side
the steering wheel is on. Perfect for those hairy roads, and you want to see
what the tires are doing on the other side of the truck and one wants to
still drive the vehicle. Each truck is custom built to order.
Here is another picture.
http://www.mercedes-benz.com/e/ecars/unimog/uni_color_rw.htm
They will be available later this year under the Freightliner name.
There is also a Children's pedal car of the Unimog for order. even your kids
can outclass any other SUV pedal car.
I would love to terrorize some smug SUV drivin' Baby-boomer with this baby!
Nerd From Hell
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ronn Blankenship
> [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
> Sent: Monday, March 05, 2001 10:30 PM
> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Subject: Re: Hybrid Car Info
>
>
> At 10:04 05-03-01 -0600, Julia wrote:
>
>
> >On Mon, 5 Mar 2001, Charlie Bell wrote:
> >
> > > >
> > > > A serious question to consider before buying one,
> though, is how well a
> > > > low-weight, low-emission vehicle will stand up in a
> collision with a
> > > > massive SUV. (I'm tempted to make an attempt at humor
> by asking if they
> > > > will be able to tell which parts were you and which
> parts were the dog
> > > > without DNA analysis . . . OK, I did. ;-) )
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > -- Ronn! :)
> > >
> > > Simple. Don't crash... ;o)
> >
> >Can't always be helped.
>
>
> How true. (Note that the "don't crash" suggestion was not mine.
> ;-) ) Remind me to tell you sometime about the time the boat hit
> me. (Yes, I was on dry land, on the road, minding my own business.)
>
>
> >The way some of these people drive SUVs around
> >here (and the women as a class seem to be ruder and less
> mindful of the
> >safety of others than men as a class),
>
>
> Is it that they are actually ruder when driving alone, or
> that as mothers,
> women are more likely to have the vehicle full of screaming,
> fighting kids
> who constantly distract them from the task of driving?
>
>
> > you have to drive *very*
> >defensively.
> >
> >Now, if I hit the right kind of SUV in the right spot at a
> high enough
> >speed, *I'm* the one who's going to walk away. But if I get
> rear-ended or
> >T-boned by an SUV, I'm going to be hurting pretty badly.
>
>
> See below.
>
>
> >And what do you do about the idiot who obliviously runs a
> red light at
> >night? Start invoking the death penalty for that sort of thing if a
> >fatality results?
>
>
> We already revoke their license for DUI. Doesn't stop them from
> driving. Hang them from the nearest light pole as a
> deterrent to others,
> perhaps?
>
>
> >(Hm. Maybe that would make some people drive a little
> >more friendly....)
>
>
> I can see the slogan now: "Drive friendly or we'll kill you."
>
>
> The new issue of _Discover_ (arrived today) has an article on
> the physics
> of SUV's. According to it, not only does the higher center
> of gravity make
> them more likely to roll over (and other parts of the design make a
> rollover more likely to be fatal to the occupants than it
> would be in a
> regular car), and the rigid frame acts like a battering ram
> when the SUV
> hits another car, but also the fact that the driver sits
> approximately 20
> inches (50 cm for the foreigners ;-) ) higher than in a
> regular car makes
> it appear to the driver that s/he is not going as fast as
> s/he actually is
> -- e.g., 60 mph in a SUV looks about like 40 mph in a regular
> car -- so
> they are more likely to take a curve too fast and turn over
> or to misjudge
> stopping distance.
>
> The final piece of good news from the article is that the
> percentage of
> light trucks and SUV's on the highways is increasing yearly,
> and in a few
> years it is expected to reach 50%. So soon, every other car
> you meet will
> be a SUV. I don't recall if that is just privately owned vehicles or
> includes commercial vehicles. Either way, you and your dogs
> in your little
> crackerbox are going to be sharing the road with SUV's and
> 18-wheelers. Enjoy.
>
>
> -- Ronn! :)
>
>
>
