[bejoy]

An insightful documentary on the SUV craze in US and how the manufacturers shifted the market for making money, at the same time circumventing the regulations.

https://youtu.be/jN7mSXMruEo

[THE-U-]

Originally Posted by bejoy

An insightful documentary on the SUV craze in US and how the manufacturers shifted the market for making money, at the same time circumventing the regulations.

Wow. What a waste of time. Lost 30 minutes of my life watching this video. No one is circumventing regulations. The manufacturers are making use of the regulations as they are and lobbying politicians to keep the regulations as they are. It is not as serious as the people who made this video make it out to be. Otherwise the regulations would have been changed long ago.

These guys are peddling many shocking falsehoods. SUVs are becoming popular because they are more comfortable. That is the number one reason that many people I know buy these bigger cars. I would buy a Cadillac Escalade in a heartbeat because it is an extremely comfortable highway cruiser when one wants to drive long stretches with minimal breaks (~1000 miles in a day). I know a minivan is not very comfortable for doing that - at a constant (legal) 75 or 80 mph cruise the engine just gets spun up and starts to whine.

When people get older, it is easier to get in and out if one has a crossover or an SUV. All around visibility is better too when one's eyes start failing. Other people tow big boats and the ramps need a 4x4 when they put these boats into water. My neighbor in the US had a Chevy Suburban and he used to go out boating every weekend when the weather was good towing his big boat. He eventually was able to afford a waterfront home so he moved there finally.

The Canadian narrator and whoever wrote the script even justify people deflating tires of SUV owners. What a hypocrisy for people who cry about pedestrian safety - imagine the SUV owner has an emergency in the middle of the night only to come out and find his car not useable because some dumb fool deflated his tires? They are hedging on the criminality of doing that. They couldn't even come out and tell folks not to do that.

Most everyone who owns a pick up truck has jobs they do. It is not just some vain people. While it may not look like they are carrying their trade equipment (because these days the trucks are nicely covered), they have cylinders/ cans containing fluids/ gasoline or compressed gases etc. that should not be in the cabin. Many people have their tools including lawn equipment that they carry around from one jobsite to the other. Increasingly, people use these trucks for transporting their families and also for work instead of buying two vehicles - and that is the reason the cabs with seating for four have become popular. Of course, all the manufacturers want to make more money. But, without specific advantages, no amount of advertising is going to sell things. The people who made this video don't seem to understand that basic fact.

The distances even in suburbia in the US are a lot more than in any of the cities in Europe. All these Eurocentric folks miss this important fact. Do people generally drive a 1000 miles in day in Europe to see family? One would find a lot of families doing that in the US during Summer time - clearly minivans, cross overs and SUVs are far more comfortable than station wagons which explains why SUVs became popular. Sure beats towing a big trailer with a subcompact on Interstate 77 in West Virginia and Virginia. We always paid more money to register heavier cars and I don't know what these people are talking about.

The bicycle riders in cities like Amsterdam and The Hague are a menace. if you snooze and wander into their lane when walking, you will be run over by most people - no mercy at that time.

Perhaps all these complainers can move to cities that are friendly to them and leave the rest of the world alone? Please, I really don't want to go back to stone age as much as these people want me to.

[DicKy]

Originally Posted by THE-U-

Wow. What a waste of time. Lost 30 minutes of my life watching this video.....
Perhaps all these complainers can move to cities that are friendly to them and leave the rest of the world alone? Please, I really don't want to go back to stone age as much as these people want me to.

The guy has some serious issues with any place that is not swarming with bicycles.

He started with how one can use less of cars and advocates for parking cars in the city limits and using 2 wheelers/buses to travel within the city. Then he would go on how buses are bad for all, and how trams should come back. Then he would say how parking structures are an eyesore and that they should be demolished. Then he would demonise motorcycles as they are too fast. Just because he grew up in an extreme version of USA suburbia and ended up in a bicyclists' utopia doesn't mean the rest of the world should follow so. In an episode he even chides Japan for not being too cycle friendly.

In his ideal world, he would like to take a train to another city with his bicycle on tow. Then cycle to the nearest IKEA.

[SKC-auto]

Agree 100% with the video, anyone saying against these large SUVs are shunned by saying it is "American way of Life". Large SUVs like the Escalade are unnecessary, ineffecient and stupid.

PS: Tyre extinguishers are against all types of cars, last week they also removed air from someone's 10year old Nissan leaf(a small EV), such extreme measures are unnecessary and only backfires.

[avira_tk]

Originally Posted by THE-U-

Wow. What a waste of time. Lost 30 minutes of my life watching this video. No one is circumventing regulations. :

Thanks for the heads up, this came in my YouTube feed and it seems its exactly like the sanctimonious garbage from some channel that calls itself not just bikes. Reminds me of Lance "it's not about the bike" Armstrong.

This is what I call WhatsApp university Professional.

[Samfromindia]

Originally Posted by bejoy

An insightful documentary on the SUV craze in US and how the manufacturers shifted the market for making money, at the same time circumventing the regulations.

https://Youtu.be/jN7mSXMruEo

This video made a very nice watch. Thanks for sharing !

[amitoj]

Originally Posted by bejoy

An insightful documentary on the SUV craze in US and how the manufacturers shifted the market for making money, at the same time circumventing the regulations.

Totally agree with everything in the video.

Common public in US has been duped by the marketing ads of the automobile manufacturers who see easy profit in selling pick ups and SUVs that people don't really need.

When I moved to US, I wanted to buy a crew cab pickup truck but better sense prevailed and I dodged that bullet. Phew!

Originally Posted by THE-U-

Wow. What a waste of time. Lost 30 minutes of my life watching this video.

<snip>

I know a minivan is not very comfortable for doing that - at a constant (legal) 75 or 80 mph cruise the engine just gets spun up and starts to whine.

<snip>

One would find a lot of families doing that in the US during Summer time - clearly minivans, cross overs and SUVs are far more comfortable than station wagons which explains why SUVs became popular.

LOL. Looks like you took it personally. So, are minivans comfortable or not?

[AKTransAM]

Originally Posted by amitoj

Totally agree with everything in the video.

Common public in US has been duped by the marketing ads of the automobile manufacturers who see easy profit in selling pick ups and SUVs that people don't really need.

When I moved to US, I wanted to buy a crew cab pickup truck but better sense prevailed and I dodged that bullet. Phew!

Well I'd say it's not about duping the common public, but more the public buying what they feel meets their needs. I have numerous friends who have sold their larger vehicles once their families got smaller (kids moved out or were old enough to drive their own vehicles), but wouldn't have even been able to consider anything other than an SUV prior. And sometimes it's just needs/wants. I'm a single guy, but I own a 4 door truck because I like to go offroading.

[landcruiser123]

Originally Posted by bejoy

An insightful documentary....

Calling it a documentary is stretching it... I'd say this is his hobby.

Originally Posted by THE-U-

Wow. What a waste of time. Lost 30 minutes of my life watching this video. No one is circumventing regulations. The manufacturers are making use of the regulations as they are and lobbying politicians to keep the regulations as they are.....

Like the case with most things, Americans have been sold much much more than they need.

I agree with most of your post, barring this part. I'm a believer that the CAFE regulations should apply to cars and trucks (which require a regular license) the same way. This would make the big body on frame trucks and SUVs more expensive, but there should also be tax exemption for serious business - people working in construction, landscaping, maintenance etc. Those salaried people buying SUVs for regular city use / pleasure should pay higher prices compared to owners of cars.

Some EU countries have taxation based on weight of cars which should be introduced in USA.

[AKTransAM]

Originally Posted by landcruiser123

Calling it a documentary is stretching it... I'd say this is his hobby.



Like the case with most things, Americans have been sold much much more than they need.

I agree with most of your post, barring this part. I'm a believer that the CAFE regulations should apply to cars and trucks (which require a regular license) the same way. This would make the big body on frame trucks and SUVs more expensive, but there should also be tax exemption for serious business - people working in construction, landscaping, maintenance etc. Those salaried people buying SUVs for regular city use / pleasure should pay higher prices compared to owners of cars.

Some EU countries have taxation based on weight of cars which should be introduced in USA.

That's a very slippery slope. Everyone pays road taxes, registration costs etc. And gasoline is also paid for equally. If someone can afford the insanely high costs of purchasing and owning a larger car/suv/truck, and they want to, so be it (as long as they don't literally get a subsidy from the rest of society).

[Tucker48]

Haven't seen this video but I have seen some videos of this channel which are informative.

One major thing that I would like to happen all around the world is to tax vehicles on their volume (not sales). Vehicles should be taxed on how much cubic cms/inches of space they occupy along with a few weight slabs.

What people buy is their freedom of choice if it's legal and paid for.

[Cresterk]

They managed to successfully advertise massive pick-up trucks and SUVs as being safer so even people who don't really need it like soccer moms etc started buying it and driving it carelessly.

Now everyone else is also under pressure to buy these huge trucks because these things have very poor visibility from inside and if it crashes into your normal car, you will be seriously injured or dead.

[digitalnirvana]

Originally Posted by THE-U-

All around visibility is better too when one's eyes start failing.
....
Increasingly, people use these trucks for transporting their families and also for work instead of buying two vehicles - and that is the reason the cabs with seating for four have become popular.

I'm going to leave just a few things here because as they say, worth a thousand words etcetera.

Re: Visibility:

Full-sized pickup trucks—which are the most popular models on the market—can have a blind zone 11 feet longer than a car, and 7 feet longer than an SUV, Consumer Reports has found. Because of that, drivers may be more likely to hit pedestrians, cyclists, and smaller vehicles they cannot see.

Source

Re: Utility:

[ynike99]

For people who use their cars for getting stuff around and for other errands, these pickups make perfect sense. I have seen the practicality of such cars in the States. No wonder they are so popular out there! They can work here as well, but with a different approach. Since all manufacturers have a crossover SUV now (Creta, Seltos, Grand Vitara, et al.), someone in the design team could come up with a pickup style SUV. The point is, don't make them too expensive. If priced sanely, the idea might work out here.

[Jeroen]

When we lived in Kansas City, my 1998 Jeep Cherokee was officially a “truck” as per the registration papers.

Very cool, used to tell my wife when ordered to the shopping, I will take the truck. Doesn’t get much more butch than doing the shopping in your truck!

Jeroen