----- Original Message ----- From: "John Steck" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, September 27, 2006 11:17 PM Subject: RE: [Vo]: SUVs
> Just a question to all the pontificators... how is a family of 5 or more to > travel about in this age of seat belts and car seats? Guess what... > minivans and SUVs for many of us are a legislated requirement not a luxury. > Minivans are ok in my book, our old Plymouth Voyager was excellent. I also never minded the old conversion vans, which when moving a large family were pretty efficient. I guess my main point was having to go through the ordeal of each morning having single 16-35 year old (primarily female) drivers commanding a monstrous SUV for no other reason than to have it as status symbol, attempt to occupy the same space as my (comparably) little Buick Regal. Usually while speaking on the cellular telephone. For large families, large vehicles make sense. Mostly what I (from a mechanics standpoint) am opposed to with SUVs is 1. They are mostly bought for no reason other than to show the status of the owner. 2. They are poorly designed in most cases, being awfully top heavy. 3. They are not as structurally sound as one would expect from something of that size. I am NOT opposed to large passenger cars. Or minivans or conversion vans or trucks. Even an SUV with an engine that gets decent efficiency and is built CORRECTLY would be ok. (read, it don't roll over) Driving the subcompact cars of today is suicide; for instance, the Smart Car. (stupid car?) Statistics show it to be ultra safe and hold up very well in an accident. Reality is far different. They are becoming very numerous in Canada, at least around Toronto, and the drivers just whip around in these things. I've seen one totalled, it was a fatality. Very nasty. My fiancee's father in law watched one hit an old Chrysler (ironic, no?). The Chrysler was moderately damaged, but not totalled, could drive away under its own power. No serious injuries. The driver and passenger of the Smart Car both died, one from being crushed between the door panel and fire wall, the driver from having his neck broken by an "unspecified component of the SRS." Probably the airbag. Yes, I've seen the videos of the Smart Car ramming a 20 ton concrete block. I also know very well what I have to work on that gets dragged (not always in one piece) to the shop, and I know that you can do all sorts of nifty things to make a video showing that some car is safe ramming a main battle tank. On the road, things are different. Nor do I like shock aborbers that have internal computers, which cost $1200 apiece....just wait till 2012 guys. 2008's a bitch too, with the new ECU architecture. Life's fun. --Kyle
