Some of the appeal of an SUV is the form and impression. I suspect that
some people buy an SUV strictly because of that, but probably a good
minority.
I've thought about this a number of times, since the topic is brought up
on various forums under various pretexts. And the conclusion always
seems to lean towards the impression that people don't really need an
SUV.
Let's look at what has changed over the years. 30, maybe 50, years ago,
people bought sedans or station wagons. The latter would haul around a
large family and some gear, which was more common in those days.
Minivans and hatchbacks didn't exist yet. If you needed to haul stuff,
why you simply got a pickup and, perhaps, a canopy. Aside from a
relatively few urban areas, it wasn't too hard to find parking for a 3rd
vehicle, even if that meant street parking.
Now, today, people have less room to park and don't want the cost or
responsibility of owning extra vehicles. They also don't want to be
dependent on a friend or neighbor (which I think was more acceptable 50
years ago). The SUV has become ever popular because it can haul more
stuff and still hold a number of people. The minivan became popular,
too, for the same reason but it's too big and doesn't have the curb
appeal of the SUV. The SUV does the trick. If you're going to have one
car, it had better be able to do "all" the things you may want to do. If
you don't buy the SUV, you may have to rent something a few times a
month, and that can be a lot of overhead.
One person I know summarized this best. "If your going to buy a new car,
you buy and SUV because it can do everything. That's an easy decision."
He didn't even consider that other people could think differently.
So, long term, we'll need a solution that makes borrowing a special
purpose vehicle easer. Autonomous driving will make that easier. Also,
will the industry try to make SUVs more efficient - lighter, less drag ?
So far, even Tesla has failed on the "lighter" aspect.
Peri
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------ Original Message ------
From: "(-Phil-) via EV" <[email protected]>
To: "Electric Vehicle Discussion List" <[email protected]>
Cc: "(-Phil-)" <[email protected]>
Sent: 21-Apr-21 1:09:20 PM
Subject: Re: [EVDL] Solar Panels On EV
Well, I have to say, when you are in traffic surrounded by poor drivers,
increasingly equipped with SUV death machines, you don't want to be in a
lightweight tiny car. Just check the crash ratings. Building a safe car
that's affordable means it has to have some mass.
Most of the big automakers can't even sell normal sedans anymore, let alone
a super-lightweight "city" car. Just not going to happen.
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