Great News
Jun. 4th, 2008 07:41 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wraithfodderTurned on the news and it looks like the Hummer, that gawdawful multi-ton vanity vehicle, will probably go extinct. Yes, I despise the vehicles. I've been tailgated by them, tanks driven by yuppie housewives yakking on cellphones. Of course, the sad thing is that because General Motors couldn't see the writing on the wall, and far too many people wanted this kind of crap, they're now going to lay off lord knows how many people. But we really need to get Hummers, and other big SUVs, off the road. The vast majority have one office worker driving them. Waste of gas, destroys the roads, and I've seen what happens when a Hummer or big SUV hits another car. Not a pretty sight. ...
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Date: 2008-06-06 12:54 am (UTC)A while back I read how Ford was shutting down the Taurus line (years after they all but abandoned it) because sales were down. The Taurus was a good sedan and why did they shut it down - because they were too busy pushing the SUVs & trucks.
More and more studies done show just how unsafe the SUVs really are when it comes to collision safety and steering. They are top heavy and have a greater likelihood of rolling over in an accident. They have very poor safety ratings for side and rear collisions. (And, most collisions are rear and/or side!) One study even tested the handling of a minivan vs. an SUV on an obstacle course & said that the minivan handling was much better, since it had been designed from the ground up for safety & as the grocery getter vs. the SUV which was just a luxury body on top of a truck frame. The SUV's handling was much worse and not as responsive as the minivan.
The funny thing is - Ford insiders have even admitted that the Lincoln Navigator is the same thing as the Ford Expedition and the only difference is the stereo, the dash board and the front grill. But, the price difference is closer to $10k or more!
There was an article in the STL Post today that went on to talk about how the Asian cars sold more in the last month than the big 3 have - i.e. the Honda Accord, Honda Civic, Toyota Carolla, Camry & Prius. Why? Because they get better gas mileage and aren't priced ridiculously high, unlike the American cars.... :-p
I find it very humorous now that my parents are both driving Toyotas - my father whom I thought would never give up a Cadillac. What I tried almost 10 years ago to tell them, they finally came to realize in the past year now. *laugh*