topicalhuman.com

I have a confession to make.

I hate how many people buy 4WD/SUV vehicles these days.

I hate how many people buy them and then proceed to use it for nothing more than commuting around the suburbs.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not one of those militant hippies who think the vehicles are evil. I personally often go camping and hiking in the great outdoors, and a 4WD is often required for these little adventures. In fact, I spent considerable time in a Jeep Cherokee while recently on holiday with my friend Chris, and my brother Ben and his Mitsubishi Pajero.

Also, people in certain industries, such as agriculture, have a genuine need for these kinds of vehicles. So they have their place, I’m sure you’ll agree.

No, I don’t hate the vehicles. But I do hate the morons who sell them to other morons who don’t need them.

There, I’ve said it. I feel better now. But I guess now I’ve dropped that one on you, I had better articulate why I feel this way. I’ll try and do this in a more logical manner. So here goes:

1. There can be no doubt that 4WD/SUV’s create more pollution. Vehicles of this kind use significantly more fuel than most other cars, such as sedans, hatchbacks etc. In a world that seems to be increasingly dependent on a decreasing supply of fossil fuel, this is insane behaviour. Additionally, many of the manufacturers do not (have to) hold these 4WD/SUV vehicles to the same (stricter) standards for emissions such as carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and nitrogen oxides
2. I’ve known more than a few people that buy a 4WD/SUV because they feel their family will be safer in the case of an accident. This is not the case. In fact, these large, heavy vehicles can wreak tremendous damage on a “regular” car and it’s occupants. I have also read studies that show that a pedestrian struck by a 4WD/SUV has a much reduced chance of survival compared to a pedestrian struck by a sedan. With so many 4WD/SUV roaming the suburbs, this is a grave concern.
3. Okay, this is purely anecdotal, from my own observations, but I’ve noticed that most of the worst drivers I know have bought 4WD/SUV’s. Deep down, they know they are lousy drivers, and they want to protect themselves. But having poor drivers zipping about recklessly in 3 tonne vehicles is plain scary. (Please note that I’m not calling 4WD/SUV owners reckless drivers, instead that the lousy drivers seem to gravitate towards owning these vehicles. Important difference.)
4. Traffic is becoming a really major problem in just about every city around the globe. Don’t even get me started on the price of parking, or even the difficulty of finding a park. If a car is going to be used for a daily commute, with only the driver in the car it makes no sense for these large vehicles to be taking up so much space on the road or in the car parks.
5. Car manufacturer across the board make huge profits on 4WD/SUV’s. Now, I don’t begrudge them to opportunity to make money - I too am a businessman. But when they are making 30-40% profits, I expect them to be delivering a vehicle that is safe, both for the environment, for the occupants and for others on the road. If I’m buying a car, I don’t want to be paying a premium that is used to prop up other product lines that don’t compete in the marketplace (I’m looking at you Ford). I want to get value for money at all times. I don’t think you get that from buying a 4WD/SUV, unless (gasp) you need it for off-road use! The marketers will tell you that buying this kind of vehicle is worth it because of the positive lifestyle choices that present themselves by owning a 4WD/SUV, such as getting out into nature. This leads me to my last point…
6. Dishonest marketing. I reserve my most vehement vitriol for the manufacturers themselves, particularly their marketing departments. In the mid 1980’s sales of these vehicles accounted for about 2% of total sales. By the early 2000’s they accounted for over 20%, and growing. Why the increase? While the US car makers were getting thumped in the marketplace by the Japanese car makers with better, cheaper cars someone realised they still made good margin on 4WD/SUV’s. So they started putting a strong emphasis on selling these to stop themselves from going broke. Fair enough, but lifting their game in other areas would have also been a good idea. So in order to sell more 4WD/SUV’s they started to perpetrate the myth that owning such a vehicle would turn you into an outdoors type. Fast forward a few years, and they realised they had an easy market by selling to mothers by suggesting their family was safer in a much larger car. Meanwhile, these cars evolved from basic work utility vehicles to luxury suburban cars that were heavier and therefore more fuel-hungry. The really annoying part is that neither myth is even close to being correct. Less than 5% of 4WD/SUV’s ever get taken off-road (and most of these are taken off-road rarely). Being in a 4WD/SUV, and having more of them on the road is not safer.

I haven’t gone to all the trouble of finding and listing sources for the points I present above as facts, but I know I could if I had too. Just doing a Google Search brings up some really interesting points.

So, if you’re looking at buying a new car sometime soon, have a really good think about if you actually need a 4WD/SUV. If you do, fine - go and get one with my blessing. But if you are just buying one because of a false, marketing generated myth, please do yourself and everyone else a favour and buy something else.