Die Die SUVs Please Die

[no_to_war_economy]

by Mark Morford


http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/gate/archive/2005/06/01/notes060105.DTL

[Oreo]

1. Heh heh

You hear that? That cheering and rejoicing and heavy exhausted sighing? Why, it's coming from the massively fatigued Prius-happy enviro-green set and it's all about the fact that sales of huge bloated oil-belchin' SUVs are in a major free-fall, down nearly 20 percent for the year and dropping faster than Jenna Bush can slam a bottle of Cuervo.

Can we all just wave our Greenpeace flags high and scream an I-told-you-so and go spank an Expedition driver and be glad for that? Can I get a "Hell yeah"?

[Rude Horner]

2. Hell, yeah.

I live in Wisconsin and the GM plant in Janesville is one of the oldest GM plants in the country. Every year or two it seems to be on the list of "possible plant closings" but so far it's escaped that. But a day or two ago they had a major announcement that they were doing some major mega-million dollar renovation to upgrade the plant for GM's new SUV line, and that was cause for a big "rah rah" throughout the southern half of the state.

But my first thought was - the future is not with SUV's. If this plant becomes GM's SUV plant, then that to me is just prolonging it's death and inviting it's inevitable demise.

[NV Whino]

3. Hell yeah!

[Dogmudgeon]

4. No need to trouble our spanking hands

Those Expedition drivers are going to get something even more painful than a spanking -- and it will be delivered by Big Oil.

SUVs will prove useful again in a few years when many of us will have to live in them. With curtains, a porta-potty, some battery-powered appliances and a hand-pump for water, as many as two adults and two children, or three adults, can live in an SUV.

--p!

[LSK]

5. do they make any 4x4 SUV that gets good mileage yet???

All I ask for is something roomy to throw in my bike and camping stuff and something that is a real 4x4 because I like to go offroading in Colorado. Oh and get at least 20mpg city. They dont seem to make this vehicle yet.

[lectrobyte]

9. RAV4, CRV or Forester might fit the bill. Or better yet: Escape Hybrid.

[LSK]

11. none are true 4x4s

I go on some pretty crazy jeep trails where you need low range.

[ptolle]

20. off-road, maybe off topic

I lived for quite a while over on the west slope of colorado(Steamboat Springs, glenwood Springs/Rifle area and most of the really serious off roaders I knew favored the older ford broncos, the early ones before they got the bloat or early 4 cylinder International harvester scouts or early toyota land cruisers. They spent a lot of time snickering- if not outright laughing up their sleeves) at the big sport boxes. The smaller vehicles were easier to maintain,cheaper to operate, more nimble in the rough going, more economical, and left a smaller footprint.Of course you've got to give up the luxuries like automatic transmissions, air conditioning, window-shaking sound systems, etc. I guess it's just a matter of where your priorities really lie.

[kliljedahl]

10. I've got a Ford Ranger with a topper

Rack on the topper for my kayak, it gets that kind of mileage. Unlike most (99%?)of SUV drivers I actually go off road & use the 4WD. Camping gear & everything (including the dog) fits inside nicely.

[LSK]

12. what kinda mileage does it get?

I currently use a 94 GMC Jimmy (S10 clone) that only gets 15mpg. I dont see the point in spending money on something equal to get only 16mpg.

[kliljedahl]

15. Mine's not that big

22 around town, 26 to 29 on the highway, depending on how it's loaded.

[no_to_war_economy]

13. SUV hybrids will just make poseurs feel better

when they drop off their kids at piano lessons and have to tackle the mean treacherous suburban roads!

[geomon666]

14. You could try looking these up

http://trucks.about.com/od/suvreviews/tp/best_gas_rating.htm

[LSK]

16. none of them are true 4x4s

They just dont make what I want. :shrug:

[geomon666]

21. May I suggest a Vespa

With a big ass basket.

[Junkdrawer]

6. OMG. Those poor "Road Warriors" will feel so...vulnerable....

:nopity:

[Bake]

7. Another reason not to gloat

When all those SUVs are sitting unsold on the lot, there are going to be a lot of autoWORKERS getting laid off. While the execs cash their bonus checks.

Bake

[ripple]

8. I disagree

If people quit buying SUV's, it just means that auto makers will be forced to manufacture more energy-efficient automobiles. They'll still need the workers to make them.

Pretty much every analysis I've seen about gas prices blames it on the increasing demand here in the states. That means that ALL of us are paying for the environmentally irresponsible people who insist on driving a Hummer as some misguided symbol of personal wealth or social status. :grr:

[Xithras]

23. Incorrect

The auto companies plan their long term production strategies 5-8 years at a time and it costs tens of millions of dollars to convert a production line to produce a new vehicle, so there will be a huge delay in reassigning those workers. If the automakers didn't see this coming or didn't prepare for it, this could easily lead to plant closures and mass layoffs.

And while it's true that gas prices are up because of increased demand, not all of that new demand is from American SUV's. The recent industrialization of China and asia thanks to outsourcing has dramatically increased their energy demands and is giving the west its first real competition for a finite resource. When you add several hundred million new energy consumers into a market that was already getting tight and approaching the end of its life, prices are bound to rise.

Eliminating SUV's won't bring down gas prices.

[no_to_war_economy]

24. yes it will, if the US would curb its wasteful consumption

it would do ALOT to bring down the price per barrel

top three consumers of oil in barrells PER DAY

1. United States 20.5 (what a disgrace!)
2. China 6.5
3. Japan 5.4


so YES ~ you mass exterminate all SUVs and the demand from the US will decrease dramatically and ease world oil concerns

[Xithras]

27. Again, nope.

About 40% of the US oil consumption goes into cars and light trucks. The rest is used for everything from running power plants, powering big rigs & trains, and heating homes, to manufacturing plastics and fertilizers.

Most of the surveys peg SUV numbers at about 20% of the total number of personal vehicles in the US so, assuming that they consume twice as much gas as an average sedan, they're responsible for about 16% of the US oil usage. Now, most people aren't going to trade them in for the bus, so we have to assume that they'll buy either minivans (a 25% reduction in fuel use per vehicle) or cars (a 50% reduction in fuel use per vehicle). Splitting the difference, we only see a 6% shift in the market as those vehicles drop from consuming 16% of the nations oil to 10% of the nations oil.

6% isn't a small number, but it won't exactly turn the world on its ear, slash prices at the pump, or save the planet from global warming. To do that you'd need to remove the vehicles from the road entirely, or try to reduce usage of the other 94% of America's yearly oil consumption.

[smbolisnch]

17. Great article :)

"So then, let us celebrate the death of these silly monster tanks with only mild, muffled cheers, aimed mostly at those cute pseudo-macho hellbeasts driven by myopic jingoist love bunnies who stick little 'Murkin flags on the back of these 8-mpg Ford Excursions and call it patriotism."
:rofl:

[catmandu57]

18. On this employee pricing scheme

There was a story a few nights ago on NBC about a woman who traded in her white suburban to take advantage of the program. I thought to myself she's been bitten by the pump and is getting something sensible,
No, she traded her white suburban for a brand spanking new black suburban, at least the color scheme is correct.
Or is that part of the deal, if you trade in a suv you can only apply the pricing to a similar vehicle?

[mccoyn]

19. To make an SUV owner bite their tongue:

"Gas is $2.80? I wouldn't know since I've been walking into work all month."

Someone passed me on the way into work and commented "I think we'll see more people on the sidewalks the way gas prices are."

I spend 40 minutes commuting everyday and get 40 minutes of exercise. My coworkers spend 60 minutes in traffic and can't find time to exercise.

Yeah, I enjoy their pain a bit, but I know it will all be forgotten in the winter when prices go back down and everyone will be wondering why I would hike into work in the cold dark mornings.

[undergroundpanther]

22. I love that Dust in the wind commercial

Where SUVS dget destroyed Sadly though it's an SUV commercial the perfect end whould be the suv driving past a high priced gas sign and the product placement blows away.

[durablend]

26. Shame that Tribeca doesn't also disintergrate

Who designed that ASSUGLY thing? :puke:

[catmandu57]

25. I don't think prices will drop too much

Not like in the past, gas will still be an expensive proposition this winter.


edit: dammit I need new glasses