Electric or Not, Big SUVs Are Inherently Selfish
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In this article I totally agree, that a Hummer, or type of vehicle that simply fulfills one's ego is a little silly and inherently selfish.
However trying to say that all big SUV's are inherently selfish without looking at the reasons someone who has a family may purchase one is quite disingenuous.
That said, I don't think people's purchasing and lifestyle decisions should be driven strictly by need. That's basically what poverty is.
Nothing about snow or children mandate vehicle height.
I do agree that the situation where you need this type of vehicle is quite niche and for the majority of people it's about status and not functionality.
If the roads are too dangerous for a car, stay home.
The author is attacking a straw-man. The SUV craze seems to have mostly run its course. The boring practical cars that normal people buy in huge numbers seem to have morphed into SUV dimensions but I think that's a result of modern safety requiring you to get a much bigger vehicle in order to have a similar seating position in the vehicle as cars of old, not some selfish desire to drive a land yacht.
Agreed. Nobody [1] goes into a car dealership looking for transportation that explicitly puts other people at risk and burns a lot of fuel. A lot more of it is about trying to exert control and project status. An SUV can feel stronger, more solid, and more capable and look more outwardly prosperous. Those are feelings that, at least in my experience, tend to be sought out, and this is particularly true in an economic and political climate where it's very easy to feel very much at risk.
1] There are exceptions... the whole 'Roll Coal' thing comes immediately to mind, as do some of the decorations often found on large trucks and the like. A lowered F-450 with spikes on the lugnuts and modified to blow black smoke at a Prius... that's intended to convey threat. (Which, now that I think about it is another way to misguidedly try to seek a degree of control.)
It does nothing to explain the rising SUV/Truck trend of anywhere where it snows once every 5 years.
That is a great idea, in cities there shouldn't be a need to have these types of vehicles.
I remember when I visited Germany back in 2005, it was strange not seeing a single truck anywhere! If you went to the country you would see trucks on farms and for people to personally use on their property.
In the 21 days I was there we drove around from city to city in a rental car, and I think other than freight vehicles, I saw probably 4 truck type vehicles.
Probably also due to the fact that Gasoline was the same price per liter as it was per gallon in the USA.
For the typical slush you get when a few inched of snow meets road salt then AWD wins every damn time. Traction is not dominated by the coefficient of friction but by your tires ability to shed the "thick water" they're driving through. A snow tire is not going to be better enough at this than an all season tire (alright, maybe a little since the tread is a tiny bit more aggressive leaving more room for slush) to make up for the fact that the front tires have to do all the going and all the steering. You will be breaking traction left and right every time you touch the gas. Two tires simply do not have the traction to keep you moving at traffic speed and keep you pointed where you want when they are saturated with slush.
I would almost go so far as to say that snow tires and FWD is more dangerous in "slushmageddon and rolling traffic jamb behind the plow" type commuting conditions (e.g. Boston this morning) than AWD and all seasons simple because you will likely need to drive closer to the limit of traction on your front tires in order to maintain the same forward speed.
I have no doubt that snow tires stop and turn great on a sheet of ice but that is not what real world snow driving conditions are like. Obviously AWD and snow tires would be the best combo but forced to choose one I'll choose AWD every time.
Tread depth is also an important factor, which is basically a freebie with snow tires, as they usually have more tread depth to start with than an all-season tire.
Regardless of drive system, if you feel you are at the limit of your traction keeping up with traffic, you are going too fast.
It literally doubles the contact patch over which you can apply forward forces. This is important when doing something like ascending a hill that has any sort of curve on it.
Not to say that more traction per wheel isn't more better but to just pass off AWD as being of negligible improvement is pure lunacy.
"Who has been buying SUVs since automakers turned them into family vehicles? They tend to be people who are insecure and vain. They are frequently nervous about their marriages and uncomfortable about parenthood. They often lack confidence in their driving skills. Above all, they are apt to be self-centered and self-absorbed, with little interest in their neighbors or communities."
As said by whom? Metropolitan coastal journalists?
Spends half the article critiquing SUV culture and people.
Try having a large family where you consistently get meters of snow every winter and your municipality never got the benefits of modern urban planning.
It bothers me that it appears despite making progress in a decades old climate narrative, nothing is ever enough so long as it doesn't fit one's own narrative of one's own world.
The news is actually positive! Critiquing is fine but don't attack a culture you don't fully understand or have empathy for.
I've lived in nothing but metropolitan dense cities and am pro-environment but also have empathy because I have friends and family who don't live like me and sacrifice without the niceties I'm able to afford with my lifestyle.
Kudos on the progress to Hummer TBH.
My bet is that if you are indeed off-roading or hauling your 4+ children around this author is going to give you a pass.
But there are a lot of people solo driving SUVs to work.
Now I live in Rural Southeast Missouri on a dirt road. I have a Suburban. I'd love to have a Prius or something instead, but it wouldn't last and I couldn't move the things I need to move in a reasonable trip count.
[0] https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/a3xyjj/cheap-flights-envi...