SUV question

"Bluto" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I don't understand what motivates pampered-looking suburban women to pilot behemoths, though. They
seem to outnumber the men, especially for the 7000 lb. class of vehicle. I assume it's a
combination of cowardice, paranoia, ignorance of the risks, sublimated aggression, and callous
indifference to others that motivates their antisocial choice of vehicles.

You left out penis envy.

Zippy the Pinhead said:

Krygowski in his all-knowing wisdom did a quick AutoByTel lookup and pointed out to me that
there's some kind of a sushi-wagon that has 0.375" more headroom than my Explorer supposedly does.
I've tried on all the cars I could think of, and what the Nips give you in headroom they take away
in a place to put your knees.

Hmmm. You can't refrain from racist slurs, and you can't keep your attributions straight. (It wasn't
me who gave the data on interior room.)

I certainly see why you post anonymously!

--
Frank Krygowski [email hidden]

Stephen Harding said:

It is my guess that some some people who claim their little Honda does as well off road as an
SUV are really only talking a smooth dirt road, perhaps as solid as pavement, or snow a couple
inches deep.

Probably so. IOW, those people are talking about using their little Hondas in ways beyond what the
majority of SUVs ever see.

The point is, you don't need a cannon to swat a fly, and you don't need a Ford Excretion to haul
four people, even if there's snow out there.

Another true story: Decades ago, a friend and I drove his VW Bus around the country. In the
Rockies, cresting some pass, we saw a sign pointing left toward a dirt/gravel track, saying "Black
Mountain Lookout."

So we immediately decided to see the lookout. We hauled it left and started bumping along the
rough track, slower and slower, over rougher and rougher ground. Eventually, we decided our
vehicle had reached its limit - and in fact, we decided nobody could have driven further. We got
out and began walking.

A considerable distance further, we were astonished to see the car driven by the person doing
lookout duty. It was a 1957 Chevy. She was a college student who spent the summer in the fire
station, with only her dog.

As Jon said, it is mostly about knowing what one is doing.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

(BTW, anybody know anything about Black Mountain Lookout? To this day, I don't remember what road we
took over the Rockies.)

--
Frank Krygowski [email hidden]

Bluto said:

I don't understand what motivates pampered-looking suburban women to pilot behemoths, though. They
seem to outnumber the men, especially for the 7000 lb. class of vehicle. I assume it's a
combination of cowardice, paranoia, ignorance of the risks, sublimated aggression, and callous
indifference to others that motivates their antisocial choice of vehicles.

I think you've about nailed it. But I think conspicuous consumption is part of it, too. Gotta show
you can afford the payments, you know.

--
Frank Krygowski [email hidden]

Mark Jones said:

"Frank Krygowski" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I prefer real life.

I prefer my life over your bitter attempt to control others.

"Bitter" would imply I'm not having fun, Mark. Clearly, that's wrong! You've been a hoot!

;-)

--
Frank Krygowski [email hidden]

Frank Krygowski said:

So we immediately decided to see the lookout. We hauled it left and started bumping along the
rough track, slower and slower, over rougher and rougher ground. Eventually, we decided our
vehicle had reached its limit - and in fact, we decided nobody could have driven further. We got
out and began walking.

A considerable distance further, we were astonished to see the car driven by the person doing
lookout duty. It was a 1957 Chevy. She was a college student who spent the summer in the fire
station, with only her dog.

Did she know another way in that you didn't?

Quoted message said:

As Jon said, it is mostly about knowing what one is doing.

It's certainly true that knowing what one is doing can compensate for a lot of technology.

I've seen people stuck in snow/mud in their cars or trucks/SUV spinning madly attempting to get
unstuck, only to have someone "in the know" hop in the vehicle, and with the engine barely turning
over, emergency brake moderately applied, calmly drive the vehicle out of the stuck position just as
smooth as on flat pavement!

I used to drive my VW Scirocco all over the place. I remember driving down a dirt road to an
abandoned town in Big Bend NP in Texas (the one that Pancho Villa attacked in 1916). Almost
made it the entire way in, but was stopped by ruts I could not get across without very real
danger of rollover.

On the way out though, I met some people in 4WD vehicles that were astonished to see me coming in
the VW. They had given up on the road and turned back before I had!

Knowing what you are doing is worth more than 4WD, 500 hp, and 800 lb-ft of torque on many
occasions!

SMH

"Frank Krygowski" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Mark Jones said:

"Frank Krygowski" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I prefer real life.

I prefer my life over your bitter attempt to control others.

"Bitter" would imply I'm not having fun, Mark. Clearly, that's wrong! You've been a hoot!

You had better go do some more studying. Your education seems to be lacking in many vital areas.

"Zoot Katz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Tue, 28 Jan 2003 20:33:34 -0600, <[email hidden]>, "Zippy the Pinhead"

Quoted message said:

what the Nips give you in headroom they take away in a place to put your knees. >

You bigotted piece of racist [censored]. Go suck your beloved exhaust pipe.

SCUM

God, this is fun. I so love to punch your buttons. I can picture you with all your little veins
stuck out all over your self-righteous little hemorrhoidal head.

Here's Zoot, who just a couple of weeks ago was spouting his usual drivel, hating and wishing death
on an SUV driver who was an Asian female -- who dared to park her vehicle in his sacred path.
Remember that? And now I'm a racist and I should breathe carbon monoxide because I ripped on the
most racist subrace of people in the world (ever visited Japan?) for building cars that fit the
smallest 9% of the population. And *I'm* swine? "Zoot", to whom anyone who disagrees with him is an
inferior form of life, calling *anyone* else a "bigot"? Priceless.

You egg-sucking dog. There. Just like pro wrestling interviews. It's your turn.

"Stephen Harding" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On the way out though, I met some people in 4WD vehicles that were

astonished to see me coming in the VW. They had given up on the road and turned back before I had!

I so miss my '72 Super beetle. I once drove it through from Winnemucca past Tahoe into Truckee
during a snowstorm, following a set of tire tracks that turned out to belong to another VW driver
who, like me, was too ignorant to know that it couldn't be done. I passed overturned semis in the
median whose professional drivers had just had their safety record rudely interrupted.

Once near home I had a car pull out in front of me against the light and had to put 'er in the
ditch. The whole front end was buried in snow past the wheel wells. I got out, grabbed the rear
bumper, pulled it out, dusted it off and drove on.

Too bad those things couldn't meet emission standards. I'd still be driving one.

Thu, 30 Jan 2003 09:33:01 -0600, <[email hidden]>, "Zippy the Pinhead"

Quoted message said:

Here's Zoot, who just a couple of weeks ago was spouting his usual drivel, hating and wishing death
on an SUV driver who was an Asian female -- who dared to park her vehicle in his sacred path.
Remember that?

No. Cite a Message ID or shove this accusation up your pale pimply ass.
--
zk

"Zoot Katz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

No. Cite a Message ID or shove this accusation up your pale pimply ass.

Spoken like a guy who's had a long, loving look at my ass.

And lots of others, eh, Zit?

Thu, 30 Jan 2003 18:34:44 -0600, <[email hidden]>, "Hijo de la Changa"

Quoted message said:

Spoken like a guy who's had a long, loving look at my ass.

No, I have been ignoring your sorry ass.
--
zk

### On Thu, 30 Jan 2003 13:15:24 GMT, Stephen Harding <[email hidden]> [SH] casually decided
### to expound upon rec.bicycles.misc the following thoughts about Re: SUV question:

SH> I've seen people stuck in snow/mud in their cars or trucks/SUV spinning madly attempting to get
SH> unstuck, only to have someone "in the know" hop in the vehicle, and with the engine barely
SH> turning over, emergency brake moderately applied, calmly drive the vehicle out of the stuck
SH> position just as smooth as on flat pavement!

Very good point. There's a general misconception that 4WD means all four tyres will get power. In
reality, given a traction-challenged situation, most SUVs and 4WD vehicles proudly displaying that
"4x4" emblem are really 2WD. Likewise, a 2WD vehicle in the same situation becomes 1WD. It takes
someone who understands how 4WD systems and drivetrains work to properly apply the techniques to
compensate. It's not rocket-science but does require some forknowledge. The light-brake method
applied against open differentials is one such technique. This is afterall a crude version of how
vehicles with ABS-based AWD systems work.

--
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Quoted message said:

Very good point. There's a general misconception that 4WD means all four tyres will get power. In
reality, given a traction-challenged situation, most SUVs and 4WD vehicles proudly displaying that
"4x4" emblem are really 2WD.

In the old days (50's and 60's) 4 wheel drive vehicles had simple straight through tranfers cases,
no third differential, either in or out.

Our family had a 51 4x4 Willys Pickup with a Tbird V-8 and it had come with an overdrive. This was
typical overdrive of that era, fit on the back of the transmission and would freewheel.

In this instance the overdrive was affected the rear axle.

If one happened to be in 4 wheel drive and going fast enough to slip into over drive, the result was
a screeching stop and the wheels were locked up.

Great design, same guy probably designed the Explorer while listening to Chuck Berry play Roll Over
Beethoven...

jon isaacs

My "favorite" commuter these days (actual, daily observation): I usually ride my bike to a bus stop
for the ride to work. This is near a dentist's office. Each morning, a HUGE, 4$4, jacked-up,
long-bed, quad-cab w/big-ass tires pulls up. The dentist's assistant jumbs out (female, approx. 120
lbs., quite alone) and goes into work. JEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZUS! I'll admit, it's a kind of cool
looking truck, but totally assinine for its obvious usual use. Sigh...

We're all doomed.

Scott

(Scott) from url='http://groups.google.com/'http://groups.google.com//url said:

We're all doomed.

Pedal harder, I think we're gaining on them.

--
home.sport.rr.comcuthuluOpen ↗ human rights = peace INSIDE, I have the same personality disorder
as LUCY RICARDO!!
9:26:19 AM 4 February 2003