The first thing that comes to my mind when I see American consumerism at its worst is on the roadways and transit systems.

One of the most abundant vehicles on the highways is the SUV. For anybody who doesn't know what 'SUV' stands for, it means "Stupid-looking and Ultraheavy Vehicle." The American suburbanite on average has 2 kids per family. So why is it required for an American to buy vehicle that is 3 feet higher than most vehicles and long enough to be a bus? The extra 3 feet doesn't make it very easy for children to pile into the space of the vehicle. So the "well we need to get a big vehicle for the family" argument doesn't work.

I agree there. There really isn't that much more seating space in an SUV. If you have a family vehicle, why not a mini-van? There are 7 seats in there.

The part that erks me the most about SUV's is the type of person who drives them. It is either a soccer/grocery mom or an office yuppy with his cell phone in hand. The worst of these two is the soccer mom. When house moms get behind the wheel of a vehicle that is two times to large for them, disaster is looming on the horizon.


Exactly. I believe they are supposed to be work/hauling vehicles, right? Although I can see it being more useful to the soccer mom than the office yuppy myself, I still think she could do better with a minivan.

So, that leads me to believe that Americans pretty much get off on the size of the vehicle. They somehow get a thrill from driving a vehicle that is two times too large for any need they could have. Their otherwise meaningless life leaves them with hole large enough that they shove an entire SUV into to fill.

OK, not all americans are like that, ya know...I just wonder about the ones who really do want an Expidition...or a Hummer...

The highways in America are branched from urban cities out to smaller cities. This means that people need to travel quite a ways from their home cities into the inner city for the malls and the fine food restaurants. But to do this, they put two people in a 6-8 person vehicle and expend 10-13 miles per gallon driving to this place.

Yeah, they're quite the gas-guzzlers...

Now, if they had a vehicle that is more oriented to the 2 kid family of suburban america, they would only need a vehicle that is 4-5 seats. The Honda Civic Hybrid fortunately is just that vehicle. People say, "Yeah but those new hybrid cars are so funny lookin." The new Civic Hybrid has 56mi/gallon and it has the looks of any other sedan class vehicle already in production. Nobody would be able to tell the difference between a Civic and another American made car like a Cavalier. So why don't Americans buy hybrids?

Sounds like a good Idea...but I'm sure they're not any bigger than the Civic. Believe me...when you have two kids to worry about, you'll understand why more room is necessary. I'm now looking into getting a mini-van, since my 2nd baby is due any day now. There's a lot more than just kids that go into the car. Don't forget that the babies and smaller kids have to use a car seat. Those take up a lot more space than the kid by him/her self...not to mention all the extra stuff you have to haul in that car...there are the diaper bags, the toys, extra blankets and clothes in case of emergency...

plus, what do you do when you have more than 1 passenger besides the kids? Don't tell me there are three seats in the back. There are only two when you have two car seats...really when there is one car seat, unless you want those passengers to be extra intimate (and unsafe in case of an accident).

Well I think it is just tradition that Americans like having wasteful products that pollute the environment yet satisfy their power needs. Bigger is definately not better and SUV's are about as bad as American consumerism gets.

I agree on that. It's like going back to the 70's before why had the gas crisis, with all those muscle cars...it's really the same thing.

I drive a Dodge Intrepid right now and it gets apprx. 21mi/gallon and I need to gas up once a week. If I were driving a Civic Hybrid, I could gas up once every three weeks instead and conserve Earth's natural resources all that much longer. The Civic Hybrid isn't a "plug in" car either. It stores energy from stopping and starting and uses that to move the engine forward.

Now, that would be cool.

The Ford Excursion or Chevy Suburban on the other hand is much more common and so are idiots in our nation.

Well, the hybrid is also much newer and a lot of people haven't heard much about it.

Tell me what you think about the idiots in the states.

Aren't you from the states? I'd go for the hybrid myself if it weren't $21,000 without any options and didn't need something larger for my family. Hey, maybe my parents would like it, though...I have to go for used on my budget, though.


LaSombra

"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." Benjamin Franklin

<3 Joe
*lurves her rock*
* Aes sedai to Great Lord of Chaos *