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."
I can't seem to remember where I found them, but I remember seeing a "trike" with two wheels in front and one behind. It was basically a motorcycle with a personal cabin that was AC cooled. Not bad looking.
I wouldn't mind driving one of those for my daily commute.
Life is not for the lazy.
The end of the SUV...being used as a soccer-mom's vehicle of choice, yes. And about time too. Of course, they won't go away anytime soon - lots of people actually do need a rigid-frame, 4WD vehicle (e.g. several hundred thousand Australian and NZ farmers). The right tool for the right job, as always!
http://www.teslamotors.com/
Over the last ten years cars have gotten so big, normal people can't ride their bikes on the same roads. A $5/gallon diet seems to be curing the problem.
The SUV is the end result of American car maker plans from the late 1960s. In order to keep their growth they had to sell larger, ever more expensive cars. The gas crisis of the mid 70s and air polution studies only partly derailed those plans. Regulation helped a lot. 20 years of cheap gas followed by corrupt government and import restrictions gave us the SUV craze. Further corruption gave us really expensive gas, which is going to solve the problem.
Further regulation is needed to avoid the inevitable resurgence of these monsters. We all deserve better road safety and air quality.
I am a name troll of Westlake. Visit my homepage to learn why.
Ford's not the only one, Dodge was doing it too. It's a cost cutting measure: Why make two models of trucks when the market really only supports one. If you have to make a choice, you keep the bigger one that meets the requirements of the commercial market. I suppose you could argue that they should keep the smaller one and kill the F-150. Then commercial users could be steered to the F250 and F350. However, sales numbers on the F-150 were MUCH stronger than those of the Ranger. Same argument applies to the Dodge Ram 1500 and the Dodge Dakota. GM's volume is higher on the Chevy S-10; and, it's made in a joint GM / Isuzu plant anyway; so, it impacts GM less.
Yeah, I said the same thing down below. What is really sad about this, is that American companies COULD take the lead, but they will not. This idea will be realized by either tesla or one of the japanese companies. My guess is that Nissan will do it. The reason is that they will realize that these trucks NEED to continue. Sadly, this is a great opportunity for a start-up business. Build the frame, use some of the standard motors on each drive shafts, a standard engine/generator, a small amount of li-ion batts and then a cabin. The back end could be a delivery truck, a standard flat bed, a regular truck bed, a camper, a bus, etc. This is actually a golden time for small start-ups. Heck, if smart, they would hook up with musk as he has the bulk of it; just focus on frame and cabin.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
Even at $10 a gallon, I'll still enjoy driving my 6K
At $10/gallon, you're SUV is going to be worth more as scap than a car. Do you enjoy burning $1000 bills? 'cause with your SUV purchase, you've burned about 10 of them.
Oh - and what do you think's going to happen to real estate prices on your (public transport isolated) street once gas prices hit just $5/gallon? Your house will never be worth what you paid for it - and you won't be able to afford to drive between their & your work place.
Makes the $10k you lost on your SUV look like chump change, but again - you can't say no one warned you.
Big Wet Sloppy Kisses.
There are shills on slashdot. Apparently, I'm one of them.
Where does the environment fit in? All that burned gas produces a lot of CO2. CO2 is bad, but not immediately so. Your free market won't save you or your kids from cancer.
In a perfect world, the free market is a pretty good idea. In a world where most of the inhabitants are irresponsible, arrogant and self-centered assholes, it just doesn't work that well.
No regulation is needed. The market responded. They very well could come back as oil companies develop the Bakken Valley. Even with increased demand, we have new technology to get to oil that we couldn't get to before.
Besides, who are you to say who drives what? I really hate someone telling me what to do with my money on completely legal activities.
No kids, right? I take my 2.5 kids up the mountain 4x4ing and fishing all year round in my Liberty. My kids will not only learn a love of nature, but they'll keep those memories forever. Who am I to whine about the few $$ more per tank. Thats why I work, to buy and do the things I want. Don't see many civics up there... Beautiful mountains, waterfalls, lakes, wildlife... Wait, I got it.... I'll take a picture of it for you, then you could see what I'm covering up...
That sinking feeling deep in your gut when you KNOW you screwed up bad summed up with: {head desk} {head desk}
Well, I live in Highlands ranch, CO but need to transport at times 7 ppl, or 4 ppl and 3 dogs. In addition, need to be able to drive nicely in the snow and up in mountains. And I do need to haul large loads around as well as doing a bit of trailering. And we do not want to have several cars as it will mean more in costs than 1 car and rental is out of the question. Exactly what do you recommend?
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
Some consumers did see this. I drive an 02 Prius. Many laughed when I bought it because I would need to replace the battery for 5 grand in 5 years, I spent an extra 5 grand to buy the car etc.
I bought it for my commute. I bought it for the reliability. I bought it for low maitenance costs.
In 100,000 miles, my average gas cost is about $2.00/gallon. My old car got 22 MPG. My new car gets 46 MPG.
The fuel cost savings can be figured out by the cost per mile for the 100,000 miles driven.
At 22 MPG 100,000 miles used 4,545 gallons.
At 46 MPG 100,000 miles used 2,222 gallons.
It saved 2,323 gallons or $4646 in fuel cost.
My next 100,000 miles will be more dramatic.
The battery unlike a cell phone or laptop battery is rarely fully charged and never run flat. Battery life is not an issue. Repairs have been nil. High failure items for the most part are eliminated. The power steering is electric, not hydraulic. The mechanical portion of the transmission has a total of 7 moving parts. None of them shift, slide, or are hydraulic. Regenerative braking showed up as a benifit when I changed tires at 80,000 miles. I had 80% of the brakes remaining, unlike my wife's car which is on it's second set of brakes.
Oh, if I need a new battery, the 36 7.2 volt modules can be changed as needed instead of buying an entire new pack. If I need a pack, it's no longer 5 grand. It's much less.
At current gas prices, I plan on keeping the car till the wheels fall off.
The truth shall set you free!
I was recently talking to my father about exactly this and since he was telling me how much he pays to keep his the pickup truck on the road.
Since he drives an hour and a half to get to most job sites he spends a fortune on gas. I calculated it out and discovered that if he were to scrap the blasted thing he would save enough on gas to lease a smaller car, rent a truck for the two days a month he actually needs one and still save money.
That was several months ago so the numbers have only gotten more in favor of scrapping the pickup since then.
It's an interesting observation of human behavior that back the Bush Administration was first starting to do these big government / cronyism / erosion of civil rights / foreign occupation things⦠which are truly not in our best interest, these small government conservatives were virtually silent. Now that the administration is unpopular and it's looking like there will be a historic republican failure in the 2008 elections theyâ(TM)ve come out of the woodworks with their complaints.
Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.
> If you want to cut down on corruption, simplify the laws and reduce the role of government.
...) than the USA, that still score lower on corruption? (hint: scandinavia, central europe, ...)
Huh? Have a look at this map linked from this page. See the many countries with a "larger government" (= real social welfare, good public schools,
What truly turned me off the Prius however was the way it feels as a car. It's really about as much fun as driving a dishwasher. I really wanted to like the Prius, but I can't.
Some of the way it feels as a car is why I like it. The traction control is very good. Even though it isn't 4WD, it goes quite well in bad weather. With the electric motors in the transmission, the traction control works like anti-lock brakes in reverse. If you are into doing power doughnuts, a Prius won't do it. I know, I tried just to test it on wet grass. Cranking the wheel over and flooring it on wet grass is pretty boring. On ice, it keeps traction and pulls ahead instead of just spinning wheels. I was impressed.
If I want fun, I'll fire up the quad.
The truth shall set you free!
So...
* tax oil appropriately for the pollution it causes.
* tax the car for the pollution its creation causes
* pretax the car for the pollution its destruction/demanufacture will create
* tax the cars usage of the roads (both by space it takes and damage/stress it deals to the road)
(gawd, I should get a job at the government... the moneyz... Teh moneyz!!)
I think you just made my mind up for me. Cheers!
Good luck getting one. There is a run on them now. I'm glad that they are very hard to steal. There is no 12 volt starter. The transmission is processor controlled. Unless you have the chip in the key, or fob if you have the option, nobody is going to break the ignition switch and drive it away.
About the only thefts of these are by chop shops.
The truth shall set you free!
There is more to it for a handful of us. I commute in a 1996 2WD Ford F150 inline-6 300. It is a nice compromise for me as a daily driver because the inline-six gets pretty good mileage yet retains MASSIVE torque for towing and hauling. As a helpful person, I almost always stop for stranded people for problems ranging from flat tires to mud or snow entrapment. I keep rope, straps and chains as well as a jack and a set of tools in my truck. My in-laws laugh at me because I have a rotating orange strobe light mounted on it, but I would rather be laughed at then ironed out on the highway. Also, people automatically assume that you are important and/or belong when you have a flashing light on your truck. Cops wave you through and people pull over to let you by.
Friends and family that own gas-sipping little munchkin cars are constantly enlisting my services as a man who owns a functional truck. Whether they are moving, cleaning out a basement or hauling a load of firewood, they all know who to call... the man with the truck.
I also own a 1979 Ford Bronco with a 351m bored over 20 with a 850CFM Holley Truck Avenger carburetor, snorkel and smokestack sitting on DANA-60's, 36" SuperSwampers and air-auto-lockers, lifted etc., rigged for both plow and tow. It gets about six miles to the gallon. The floorboards are above the average knee, and if I am careful, I can drive it pretty much anywhere (got to watch out for little efficient cars). It is mainly a toy, A MONSTER TRUCK!1!11!!, but once again, it has special abilities that are needed:
We have had A LOT of HORRIBLE FLOODING here in Indiana, surpassing our record from 1913. DHS, National Guard, Marines, Coast Guard and every available resource have been chucked into the disaster maelstrom that is flooded Indiana. The nearest competition for my Bronco is a fire truck or a Caterpillar when it comes to submerged mobility. That big fat bastard gleefully contributed to global warming all the way down to Franklin, to Martinsville, and to rural points south as we teamed up to get people out of the water. Nobody can see your carbon footprint under five feet of water, septic runoff and synthetic flotsam. None of the people in the little bed of the bronco seemed to mind the CO2 streaming from my exhaust stack.
Everybody hates a truck owner, until:
(a) it snows a lot
(b) it floods
(c) they are moving
(d) they drive into a ditch
(e) they need a truck but only have a little munchkin car
My father also uses his powers and torques for good in his 2004 Chevrolet Tahoe. He was down there with me, in the muck, but his new-fangled electronics cannot withstand submergence. His next purchase will he the Tahoe Hybrid, which outperforms its predecessor in torque and horsepower. These new trucks cannot replace their predecessors, though, because they are too complex and fragile.
That said, any 4WD owner that does not use his extraordinary capability as part of the solution--is part of the problem. Soccer moms must die.
Some of the rudest drivers I have ever encountered were in munchkin hybrids. The rest of them were women driving SUVs.
FairTax baby!
If the car was used to capacity, i.e. always carrying 4 people, then the Passenger Miles Per Gallon for a small car would be better than a motorbike but in the UK average car occupancy remains at about 1.2 people.
These comments are my personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the other voices in my head.
Top Gear tried it a while back, pretty much wrecked the things: Youtube link (SUV is called a people carrier in the UK)
People get really stupid. Several times there were obnoxious assholes who suddenly hollered at me as they flew 6in by me. If I was startled in the wrong way that could've led to an accident.
Once, a guy in a jeep decided to play chicken with me. I wasn't aware till the last minute.
This is just a general lack of respect for bicyclists. Respect goes both ways, you know. It's a much bigger problem over here in the US where everyone guzzles fossil fuels, instead of riding bikes more often.
Do not downmod posts "overrated" simply because you disagree with them.
it's the same with most people who say they need a truck. When you work out that you don't actually buy a fridge that often, you might as well hire the truck (and a guy to drive it) on the odd occasion where a normal car isn't big enough.
I don't know what his line of work is but would a trailer fit his needs?
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Well, because the economy here is currently shaky. If it were solid, then some people here probably would drive SUVs with $9 gas, but when the future is shaky you think more about how you'll never see the money you're pouring into your tank again.
I think it is also true, though, that Americans aren't as selfish and stupid as we're depicted as being. Much is made of America's rugged individualism, but there is also a streak of communitarianism in the American character. The people who think SUVs are cool vs. the people who think that hybrids are cool. It is the pendulum swinging between these extremes that gives American society its dynamism. Americans on whole sit these two poles, moving towards one of them until it feels like they've gone to far, then going the other way.
2005 was a watershed year. Americans looked at Katrina, and said to themselves, "this isn't working." It isn't just the possible connection of climate change in the intensity of the storm, it was disgust at the inefficiency of the response that made people decide things had gone far enough. It was Katrina that killed the SUV. High prices and economic uncertainty finished it off.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
A fair enough point. That way, in addition to the additional fuel people are required to pay for in running their car, they have to pay tax for enviromental damage. Fair enough. ...Except most of the replies to this article seem to be lacking that much insight. All I see is posts, like the one I quoted, which seem to be nothing more than pointless flames with all slashdotters unanimously acting like anyone who chose to drive an SUV is some moron.
And as much as people say people who drive fancy cars do so to 'compensate for their small penis', I think it's not. Afterall, if they wanted to do that, why are they driving an SUV? Why aren't the hell aren't they driving that new sports car/grand tourer? I think those generally work better in terms of "Wow, check out my new car!" than a family SUV. My Dad's Toyota Kluger is hardly a head turner, but for the price he got it for, $55,000AUD he could've bought a FPV GT, or a HSV Clubsport, or a Subaru WRX STi. All practical somewhat 'large' cars that sure as hell beat the big fat boring SUV in terms of 'penis compensation'. Not everyone who drives an SUV is driving a Hummer.
And yeah, admittedly an exponential tax on cars' petrol usage would potentially get rid of a largish band of people who buy those cars, forcing them onto lower priced wagons.
But in that case do we tax older cars too? Older cars spit out a hellova lot more crap than newer ones. A 1980s 2.0L engine probably uses more fuel than modern 3.5L engines. Do we tax them too?
~Jarik
These are automotive hard times. Rising costs of fuel, not being able to drive the heavy but "save" tanks. Where will it end?
So I had to come up with a cunning plan for my next car. Nowadays it has to be light. Much lighter than SUVs. Say around 1'250 lbs.
And it must suit a geek well. And be fast when required by rising testosterone levels.
So I went for one of these. As a kit of course with 210 bhp and a mere 1'250 lbs.
Soon I will be much greener than most of you. Well much faster anyway.
Not shitting you guys I had the money to burn and the geek will to build.
I hadn't the slightest objection to his spending his time planning massacres for the bourgeoisie... (P.G. Wodehouse)
The problem with simply allowing the free market to decide the prices of things that are critical to the infrastructure of living (since gasoline/diesel is used in the transportation of ALL goods and services) is that those that "have", have the result of inflating ALL prices because they deplete supply through excess and inflate prices for everyone. There should have been some sort of additional tax on gas guzzlers beside just the incremental additional fuel costs. Those taxes could have been used to subsidize the cost of fuel used by more fuel efficient vehicles. THEN, the "free market" would have decided years ago that a 4 person family didn't need a gas guzzling SUV to haul the kids around town. Years of gas gluzzers has left the United States with an inventory of vehicles that will remain on the roads and will continue to make not just gas but all goods and services that much more expensive for the rest of us even though most SUV owners can afford $4 or $5/gallon gas. It's just that there's a lot of the other folks out there that can't afford the higher prices of that other "staple" called food.
Hes constructing home size septic treatment systems for when your not on city sewer and the soil won't take having raw sewage being dumped underground for long. When he has to deliver them it takes the full size of the truck and sometimes a trailer as well.
The rest of the month a smaller CUV would work perfectly.
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/g/georgecarl391403.html
----
I drive a 4-cyl. Subaru Legacy Outback station wagon and if I need to haul stuff, I have a 4X8 utility trailer. Living in Vermont, I need the All-Wheel-Drive for six or so months of the year. It takes about 2 minutes to hook up the trailer when I need it. I have no problem hauling a ton of coal across our hilly landscape.
Why not have a combination solution? The extra fees for license and insurance are negligible...
Ok, well shocker here but two weeks ago it cost me $50 to fill the tank of my Mini. The town I live in is not the most commuter friendly (Hartford, CT) but I found a bus that picks up 4 miles from my house and am taking that instead. So instead of 210+ commuter miles a week, I am doing 40 and I haven't filled my tank yet. What used to cost me $40 a month in fuel was going to start costing $200 a month. Now I pay $100 for a 31 day pass (plus I get a $50 monthly pre-tax work subsidy), so the cost is much less, and as an extra bonus I figure my portion of the diesel emissions from the bus is significantly less than what I would put out even in my reasonably economical Mini.
Two weeks in, and I love commuting by bus. It does take some preplanning and the occasional drive into the office (when meetings are expected to run until 5 pm or later). I guess I am fortunate that CT seems to have made quite an investment in commuter vans, express busses and this thing called "NuRide" <http://www.nuride.com/nuride/main/main.jsp> , which is an online carpool meeting place, for rides into the city. There are definitely ways, beyond buying new vehicles, for people to save themselves some cash. Ridership on the busses has doubled in the last six months. Next we will need bike paths and commuting options for those people who work and live in the suburbs.
This post brought to you by your friendly neighborhood MBA.
My kids have more disposable income than I do to pay for the gas :-(
Dropping 2nd hand value doesn't really bother me because I have no intention of selling it before it dies. I can't afford the $35K to replace my tow vehicle with something acceptable to you and its replacement won't get that much better mileage. We've done the math and it doesn't make any sense to replace it with a smaller more fuel efficient vehicle when you take into account the payments and extra insurance. Add to that the environmental cost of a new vehicle and you have almost no justification to replace. I'll keep my gas sucking pig thank you very much. Yeah, it is the last car to leave the driveway but everyone likes driving it and the thing is pretty handy.
The problem of course is that they are not getting what they deserve. Anyone with a brain could see this coming, but if you are in the executive's position, why would you give a shit? Like you said, for a few years you take huge profits that get almost completely distributed to the upper board members. When the shtf and the company is completely broke because they ignore R&D and their core product, and instead became a financial services company that also sells crappy trucks at huge profits, just fire the workers and default on promised pensions. Standard operating procedure for a US corp the last 30 years.
There are 2 type of people posting on this thread. One type is who are against people buying Fuel guzzlers when they don't need them. The other type are those who just have an agenda against any vehicle thats not a sedan/hatch/minivan. You belong to second category. for example CRV. It gives 23mpg as compared to honda accord which gives 24mpg. In all respects its a very good handling safe vehicle with crumple zones and ample safety. But still you label the owner as trying to prove something. By your logic anybody who buys a good looking/butch looking/non VW beetle looking vehicle is trying to compensate for something/trying to tackle midlife crisis guy. Thats not the case. The problem is that America still buys a lot of "I am a truck but I will call myself a SUV" vehicles. There are lot of monoque chasis construction all time AWD crossovers which are good looking, offer a higher seating position, handle well, and give good gas mileage(Atleast better than minivans)
My Aurora : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o91ZsGwJYyg
FB : https://www.facebook.com/TanveersPhotography
Okay, I have to jummp in at some point, so it may as well be here. I grew up in Minnesota (St. Cloud, but I spent a lot of time in Duluth as well). My vehicle of choice? A monster pickup? Nope. A killer-cool SUV? Nope. Wait for it ... A Geo Metro for everyday use and a 4WD Subaru station wagon when there was extra cargo. These vehicles were able to handle Minnesota winters; I never needed a truck.
(Pretty funny to drive past Chevy Suburbans in the ditch during blizzards---I guess they had four-wheel drive to power them even further into the ditch. Stopped a couple of times to give the passengers a ride to the next town since cell phones weren't around yet.)
Europe and the US rate the same models with much different maximum recommended tow ratings. Family sedans in Europe might be rated to tow 4000 pounds (just under 2000 kg) and the same model with the same engine and transmission might only be rated to tow 1000 pounds (under 500 kg) in the US. Check the Saab, BMW, Volvo, or Mercedes websites for examples.
The conspiracy theorist in me says the US tow ratings are artificially low to bolster truck and SUV sales unnecessarily.
I do commute on a motorcycle and know several other people who do, and there are a few holes in your example:
Consumption is far lower, I can get up to 60 mpg on my bike, combined with the fact that trips are substantially shorter and stress from traffic non existent, and the fact that initial purchasing cost, maintenance, and insurance are also far less.
I live in southern California so weather isn't much of an issue, but if you're wearing proper gear, than you'd be covered in waterproof material from your head to your toes and you just peel it of when you get in, snow is impossible though.
It is pretty damn safe, a lot safer than it is made out to be. The only accidents that will happen are driver error, or someone running a red light or other unpredictable random shit and even some of that can be avoided by riding on the shoulder. In the few cases where that happens than yes, you are in more danger, but I don't see people walking around in body armor for when that stray bullet hits them.
Unless your commuting to work with your 2 kids, a wife and a bag full of groceries, I don't see why this is a problem, most family people use their bike to get to their office 20+ miles away and have a family car for when it rains or to go shopping.
I have to say first off that I think there are more people watching out for you (esp now that gas is expensive) than there are assholes who think doing stuff like this is funny.
But if you want a monkey to completely lose it's mind, surrond in in a few thousand pounds of steel and wait for the crazy to start. I have never met a regular cyclist that doesn't have dozens of these stories.
I also have several....my favorite:
riding down a 4 lane road that on evenings/weekends changes to a 2 lane road with the outside lanes for parking. I ride this road frequently so I know that if I start at a particular light right when it turns green I won't catch another light if I maintain a certain pace. I can beat cars down this road easily.
I have to ride all the way to the right, between the traffic to my left and the parked cars to the right. Someone pulls up right next to me and starts yelling idiotic shit at me, I turn to tell them to go away....look back in front of me to see a guy halfway out of his Boxster directly in my path....couldn't swerve left without hitting the car...nowhere to go to the right, but it wouldn't have mattered anyway, I was already too close. Slam on the brakes...thankfull the guy jumps back in the car...my handlebars glanced off his side/hip....I, as an object in motion, continued in motion into his door. I bent that damn thing almost all the way around as I crashed thru it, thankfully I walked away with only road rash and needing to buy a new helmet (WEAR A HELMET!!!!!).
The guy called the cops on me...the cops that came said "he has every right to ride his bike there, you should have paid attention before you opened your door." If I had been on the sidewalk and did the exact same thing to the passenger side door...I'd probably have had to pay for it.
I think you're assuming that people aren't leveraged to the hilt. Continuing to pay for a big mortgage for a McMansion, the payments on a 40k$ SUV or super-truck, the payments on the wife's Volvo crossover, payments on a big screen plasma, a 200$ per month cable bill (gotta have NASCAR), 200$ per month of cellphone bills (gotta have my Razr), and the 5$ per gallon gas?
Even if you sell the SUV, still gotta have something to drive.
Chuckle. Bankruptcy and suicide rate will be up this year.
Although I agree that bikes are cheaper to buy than cars, and take less space to "operate" & park, they are far from an ideal solution IMHO.
As someone who rides a bike most days, let me tell you my opinion. Now, it's an opinion so take it with a requisite grain (cup?) of salt...
* consumption isn't all THAT low from what I hear from my 2-wheeled-colleagues
Well, I ride a big bike; a Kawasaki Concours 14. The thing's huge and has a 1.4L engine. It produces around 155hp at the higher end of the tach. I get around 45mpg in mixed riding just commuting back and forth to work. Worst gas mileage I've seen was around 32mpg (but I was also carving up some twisties in low gears).
:D
Is that bad? Not really. My cube-neighbor gives me crap because he says he can get that in his Prius... at least until I point out that he can't out-accelerate a Maserati in his Prius
I guess it's a perspective thing. I like getting 45mpg because I ENJOY the process of riding my bike instead of being trapped in a car. I love the freedom, I love the visceral pleasure I get from the bike and I enjoy the social aspects of being a biker. I've owned cars with great communities (my old Subaru SVX had a great community), but there's nothing that matches the community of bikers who don't care what you ride so long as you ride. The pretty damned decent gas-mileage is just a small benefit in my book that helped justify the initial cost of the bike... and the insane amounts of power (which are quite docile at low RPMS where I do much of my riding) are just the icing on the cake when I want it or need it.
* it might be nice in warm / dryish countries, I for one don't look forward to arriving all drenched at work
I've ridden in the rain, and never gotten more than my helmet wet. At least until I stopped and got off the bike to walk into the office. With a decently designed fairing the rain just goes around you.
:)
In a crunch, you can always get a rain suit. I keep one in my panniers all the time just in case the heavens open (I live in the Midwest... you never know around here!) If it starts to get really heavy then I can stop under a bridge and put on the rain suit.
Besides, biking is partly a different state of mind. When I ride, I'm never rushed. If the heavens open, there's nothing stopping me rolling into a coffee shop to wait it out (presuming it'll stop soon), or take a route that allows you to stop the minimum number of times so you keep the air flowing around you with the rain. Just a different way of thinking.
Besides, I actually like the sound of raindrops on my helmet
* I for one feel quite a bit more safe being surrounded by a steel cage & airbags-combination
Again, a difference in perspective. Engineering in a car is all about surviving an accident... engineering in a bike is all about avoiding it.
I've had some near-misses on my bike that would've been nasty wrecks in my car (my car's a BMW by the way in case you're wondering... quite a safe vehicle). I've had people lose traction or even have a wreck in front of me... leaning hard over can allow you to go around just about anything... and in a worst case scenario just head off into the grass by the road (done it and lived to tell the tale!) It just requires a lot more attention than driving... but then that's one reason it appeals to me in the first place. I thrive on the attention I have to give riding... I get a kick from focus.
In my life I've had an accident that totaled my car once, and one that totaled a bike once. When I totaled the bike, I stood up, called a friend and asked him to come help me pick up the bits of my bike. When I had a similar accident in a car many years ago, I spent 45 minutes upside down inside my car with a head injury until the fire department cut me out of it; it was also in the country so it took a bit before anyone noticed me. I considered myself lucky in both instan