Slashdot Mirror
The SUV Is Dethroned
Wired's Autopia blog documents what we all knew was coming: rising gas prices have killed off the SUV. Auto industry watchers had predicted that the gas guzzlers in the "light truck" category would lose the ascendancy by 2010; no one expected their reign to end in a month, in the spring of 2008. Toyota, GM, Ford, and now Nissan have announced they will scale back truck and SUV production and ramp up that of smaller passenger cars. Of course there will always be a market for this class of vehicle, but its days on the top of the sales charts are done. "'All of our previous assumptions on the full-size pickup truck segment are off the table,' Bob Carter, Toyota division sales chief said last week during a conference call with reporters. Translation — we have no idea how low they'll go."
So, You've borrowed money to pay for a second car, without considering the future costs of running the car?
You're damn lucky you haven't bought a house - you're the type who borrows without consideration of whether you can repay.
But I'm glad you find other peoples financial distresses fun.
You're not in financial distress - all you have to do is sell your two cars and catch the bus to work.
There are shills on slashdot. Apparently, I'm one of them.
Yup, it is illegal, and so is jaywalking. Sometimes it's okay to be pedantic on slashdot, but in this case it reeks of pusillanimity. I don't don a loudly-colored NASCAR-approved racing suit everytime I get into my car.
Why does this call for an SUV? SUV's are ill-suited for long-distance highway drives.
btw, this is a very defining moment in human civilization. Our energy consumption is finally being reined in by natural consequences of resource shortage and previous extravagance. I don't remember we've ever had to do this before.
Do you really think I or any other SUV/Truck owner drives over people on a daily basis or something?
No, but we do think that you care less about your fellow man, by driving these dangerous beasts around, and using up extra resources in the process. It is partly your fault that we have higher fuel prices. We do notice that you tend to care less about obeying the road rules, and drive more dangerously since you will more than likely come of ok in any transaction. We do know that you seem to have worse driving skills on average, when you should have better.
(Not you personally of course, but just in general.)
'He who has to break a thing to find out what it is, has left the path of wisdom.' -- Gandalf to Saruman
If you have right of way and the other guy doesn't stop, then by definition it's his fault. Neddledick.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
I would have modded you up if I had mod points... Nothing is more annoying on a two-lane country road than an obnoxious biker during commute hours.
I do not believe in karma. "Funny"=-6. Do good and forbid evil. Yours, Oft-Offtopic Flamebaiting Troll.
Our local gov'ts across 3 counties have spent and continue to spend tens of millions of dollars building a network of well maintained and designed bike trails.
The militant cyclists in the area ignore them and ride on 45 MPH roads, even when the bike trail is 10 feet away. Then they run red lights so they don't have to stop and "break their pace".
So pushing for more bike paths doesn't work.
Hell here in FL it's not illegal to ride on sidewalks, you just have to pick a set of rules and obey it. If you're on the sidewalk, you're a pedestrian. If you're on the road, you're a vehicle. Most of the cyclists around here (the ones in the Lance Armstrong wannabe getups anyhow) prefer to ignore both sets of rules.
"Oh my God. This is terrible. This is the end of my Presidency. I'm fucked."; ~ Donald J. Trump
Bullcrap.
My 2008 Liberty has Select-Trac on the fly switchable 4 wheel drive, with a 3.21 gear ratio. No station wagon has that. Will I be climbing the Rubicon trail or doing any rock-crawling? Of course not. But I live in BUFFALO. Where the hell am I gonna get to USE something that can rock-crawl around here? (hint: this is a somewhat flat area. No mountains to climb.)
I need something that can handle Buffalo winters. That means good but not crazy-high ground clearance, and good but not the best off-road ability. I also don't want a full-sized SUV so I can save on gas. The Liberty fits that bill PERFECTLY. Not to mention that the lease terms are great on the Jeeps right now. (Got a 36 month lease on a loaded Liberty Sport for less than $250 a month. A great deal in NY State.) Oh, and the plastic interior and rockers make for easy care and rust resistance, which is important in Buffalo, where we still put SALT on our roads in the winter. (salt+snow+metal = rust. salt+snow+plastic = minor cleaning)
Now, how does ANY of that make my Liberty a "Station Wagon"? Of course, if you're one of those "off road purists" (read: snob) then I don't know what to tell you. Some of us buy a vehicle for practical reasons, and not just as a phallic enhancement.
Official Heretic from the "Church of Global Warming". Proven right thanks to whistle blowers. AGW = Flat Earth Theory
Problem are not solved by creating problems for others.
Do you understand what I am talking about? I am talking about idiots who slow heavy traffic during commute hours. How's that helping?
As for "goods" of biking, prove it to the legislators. And for now stay out of my lane during commute hours.
I do not believe in karma. "Funny"=-6. Do good and forbid evil. Yours, Oft-Offtopic Flamebaiting Troll.
Show me your vehicle registration. Show me your insurance, show me the license plates you need to renew every year. Show me how much you pay towards the highway tax from the fuel you consume. When you are required to do these things that go towards maintaining the highways and roads, then you will have equal rights on the pavement. Otherwise stay out of the way.
I read Slashdot for the headlines, because the headlines, unlike the articles, are usually original and never duplicated
To mods: you are just slimiest scumbags, and I am going to submit those comment every time you abuse you moderation rules.
I do not believe in karma. "Funny"=-6. Do good and forbid evil. Yours, Oft-Offtopic Flamebaiting Troll.