On Wed, 13 Oct 2004 01:55:17 GMT, "Doug Kanter"
wrote:

~~ snippage ~~

No. No wiggle room. I was about to say "think back 35 years", but you can't
do that, so I'll help. Used to be you only saw SUVs owned by people who
actually needed them:

1) People who used them for a sport which took them off-road constantly,
like hunters or surf fishermen.
2) People who lived where there was snow. Not pussy snow like along the
entire coast from Massachusetts down to Washington DC, but SNOW.
3) People who towed often and needed a truck's gear ratio, but not a huge
pickup like a bricklayer wants when hauling 2 tons of cement.

Now, it's different. My previous number was a guess, but I'll bet it wasn't
far off: 90% of the people who buy an SUV have absolutely no MECHANICAL NEED
for it. Therefore, the manufacturers should be TOLD that they will sell 90%
of those things with a gear ratio set up like a passenger car, and that they
will train their sales staff to qualify customers correctly. The soccer mom
who wants an SUV because the bumper's higher up and she thinks that makes it
a safer car - she can have one, but she doesn't get the truck gear ratio
that a hunter gets. Even if 20% of the customers lie, it's better than what
we have now: Millions of vehicles getting 17 mpg, driven by fools who think
they're cool.

I am absolutely 100% four square in your corner on this one. Average
Soccer Mom/Dad doesn't need a truck based SUV with geared to tow a
house down the street.

Regular street gearing w/all wheel drive is sufficient for my area of
the country. I dare say regular street gearing w/o all wheel drive is
sufficient for my area because they drive like idiots in ice/snow/rain
anyway. I have a F-250 4x4 diesel and I don't drive it unless I'm
towing my boat or have to haul a load of wood out of my woods. You
would be surprised at how many folks I see running similar trucks,
with nothing in them, to the grocery store. I have a little Ford
Focus that I run around town, for errands and such.

Take care.

Tom

"The beatings will stop when morale improves."
E. Teach, 1717