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Comment by notacoward | Hacker News Reader

> Last week we had to ford a 20' wide, 3' deep creek.

Then you're in a tiny minority of SUV owners, most of whom drive SUVs that can't handle that scenario and most of those never see anything but paved roads.

> I also haul 10,000lbs of livestock on a regular basis.

An even rarer need. If you feel you need an SUV, fine. Some people need other kinds of assistive devices too. But the point here is that there are millions of SUVs out there that are actually less practical for their owners' usage patterns than other kinds of vehicles, with harmful effects on both pedestrian safety and the environment. Focusing on the exceptions is distraction at best.

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I believe you got defensive when the above comment was just proclaiming that they have specific uses for the larger vehicles, whereas the average suburbian person does not. So he's already doing what you advise, not attempting to "focus on the exceptions".

How can I be "defensive" when there's no attack? And why even bring up an obvious exception except to shift focus? Please stop tossing out conversation-stoppers regardless of applicability, and try to engage constructively.

Someone asked why people want SUVs and someone gave their personal experience and rationale. hardly seems like an conspiracy to the shift focus.

While I agree there are unnecessary SUVs, the practical use of SUV is not as rare as a city dweller realizes. What annoys me:

1) jacked up trucks with not a speck of dirt

2) people with a narrow view of society and the contexts of other people's lives, assuming everyone should live how they live.

Too many people have utopian views based on their narrow experiences. Not everything is or can be within walking distance. People have various abilities, but most all need to be mobile. Owning multiple, specialized cars for various occasions isn't necessarily the most economic or practical option. There aren't enough mom and pops and doctors to serve all needs within a reasonable distance.

I own three or four trucks (depends on how you count a "truck", one is a bit larger than pickup truck size). Not one is lifted beyond factory. I drive on forestry roads and dirt county roads daily. A fair number of our roads ford rivers and creeks instead of bridging them. I have yet to find a practical use for a lifted truck.

Designer truck culture boggles my mind.

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