Not to be anti-Bush, but facts are facts, because of the last tax cut, the father of a friend of mine was able to buy a Porche SUV, and make money because of the tax savings. Interesting, no? Satyagraha
Posted by Frisco (Member # 3765) on :
You know, I sorta expected this sort of thing from Celia. But you, B?
Posted by Nick (Member # 4311) on :
I'm with that site all the way. I can't stand SUVs, especially since I live in a suburb where more than half the population drives SUVs. Posted by littlemissattitude (Member # 4514) on :
Explain to me again why anyone would have ever wanted a Hummer in the first place. Forget the bad gas mileage and all the rest - they're ugly.
Posted by Nick (Member # 4311) on :
Because it makes them "safer". And in the process, it makes everybody else who can't afford such a car not as safe.
But that's capitalism for you.
Posted by fallow (Member # 6268) on :
LMA,
do you REALLY think they are ugly? they look lik e toys. cute toys. what's wrong with cute?
fallow
Posted by littlemissattitude (Member # 4514) on :
Yeah, fallow, I do think they're ugly. Even uglier than the new-style VW Bugs. Sorry.
Posted by Garick (Member # 6619) on :
the Hummer is like the ultimate wet-dream fantasy of a survivalist!
Posted by fallow (Member # 6268) on :
LMA,
don't be sorry, just expand (for curiosity's sake). what makes 'em ugly?
fallow
Posted by fiazko (Member # 5812) on :
That site deals with the vehicles called Hummer, right? Just curious cuz it comes up as porn.
Posted by littlemissattitude (Member # 4514) on :
They're big. They're boxy. They're built to look intimidating. I expect that they'll just run over me if I don't get out of their way fast enough. I always expect them to have tracks like a tank rather than tires. When I see one, I expect to hear someone yelling "Incoming...", and I prepare to duck and cover. They look like the forerunners of an invading army.
Posted by fallow (Member # 6268) on :
and ^that's^ ugly?
Posted by littlemissattitude (Member # 4514) on :
I could be wrong, but I think it has something to do with having two X chromosomes instead of an X and a Y. Something along the lines of liking versus not liking The Three Stooges. Posted by fallow (Member # 6268) on :
but the Stooges never drove a hummer...?
what makes for a 'cute' (double-X) car?
edit: (V-'dubs' not allowed, not even top-down models)
[ June 15, 2004, 02:10 AM: Message edited by: fallow ]
Posted by littlemissattitude (Member # 4514) on :
Honestly, I'm not really that much into cars (again the XX thing, I guess). However, I like the new T-birds (just out, that look like a vintage T-bird). Even better, would be a real vintage T-bird. Or a vintage Corvette. And, please, don't ask me years - I'm not that knowledgable about cars. I just know the ones that qualify when I see them.
Posted by fallow (Member # 6268) on :
*sidles up next to the nearest sticker*
"so little miss... um, er.. can I call you 'Tude?"
"whaddya look for in an automobile? exterior, or interior?"
Posted by littlemissattitude (Member # 4514) on :
Hey, fallow. No fair making me laugh. I'm just getting over a cold, and every time I start laughing, I start coughing.
Posted by fallow (Member # 6268) on :
hey wheezy,
no phlair phlocking up plegmatic phlatitudes in phlace of unphlaggingly phlogical phlarguments.... phloo phlartful phwlart!!!
*gags on hairball*
*cough*
phlallow
PS. begs for a tissue.
Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :
Screw the SUV's-- this is what I want for my birthday.
V-16 engine? Purr, purr. Rrrrowrrr.
[ June 15, 2004, 07:06 AM: Message edited by: Scott R ]
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
You do know that business owners can deduct most vehicles, right? Even if it's depreciated over 5 years instead of outright deducted, equipment used for business purposes is tax deductible.
Further, business owners can directly deduct somewhere in the neighborhood of $25,000 of otherwise depreciable expenses can be deducted each year.
Dagonee
Posted by The Rabbit (Member # 671) on :
Screw the cars all together. This is what I want for my Anniversary.
A Rohloff 14, Grrr!!!
Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :
I commute to work, Rabbit. I need either a car, or good public transit.
Since we live in America, that means a car.
Posted by The Rabbit (Member # 671) on :
I commute to work too Scott. On a bicycle.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
Hummers are cool. Why? Because they are purely functional. Not an ounce of effort was made to make it asthetically pleasing. There's something beautiful about something that doesn't try to be beautiful. But *boy* is it functional. Hummers can do amazing stuff.
H2 on the other hand is way stupid. It is *purposely* ugly, which removes all coolness. And on top of that, it isn't functional like the Hummer. It's the worst of all world. Dumb, dumb, dumb.
Posted by Bokonon (Member # 480) on :
I'll take a new Prius and wave at Scott as I drive by him filling up for the second time this week
-Bok
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
How can Hummers (or H2) be "survivalist" when they use so much gas? You could pack extra gas tanks on the top and still run out halfway into the wilderness, so how you gonna get back?
Rabbit which model of those bikes do you want?
AJ
Posted by The Rabbit (Member # 671) on :
I want the Delite Gray, of course.
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
Are those prices in Euros or Pounds?
AJ
Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :
Rabbit-- My commute is 60 miles one way.
Don't get me started. . .
Posted by The Rabbit (Member # 671) on :
Prices in Euros.
Scott, Why do you live 60 miles from where you work. Even under ideal conditions, that 2 hours every day completely lost.
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
I saw a Prius the other day. I want one! Once I get my mini-van paid off I think that is where my money will be going. Though by that time they might have something even better out as well.
Rabbit how long is your commute normally?
It only takes me approximately 1.5 hours to bike the 13.5 miles to work. I expect the time to drop as I get in better shape. But going home it takes me 1.75 hours simply because a strong westerly wind appears to kick up at exactly the time I'm biking home and it is blowing at me the entire time.
AJ
Posted by Ela (Member # 1365) on :
::agrees with Nick and AJ::
quote:That site deals with the vehicles called Hummer, right? Just curious cuz it comes up as porn.
Probably cause it has the f-word in the page title...
Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :
Long story short, Rabbit-- price of living in the Washington Metro area is too high to live any closer.
(For example, a two bedroom apartment in Landmark, VA-- $315,000)
The two hour commute isn't a waste if you use it right. I listen to audio books, plot stories-- a lot of my 'reading' I do via my ears. Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
Maybe I should get a "What Would Jesus Drive" bumper sticker and stick it on the side of my bike's saddlebags.
Realizing you aren't Christian, Ela, would you laugh?
Posted by ArCHeR (Member # 6616) on :
The popularity of the hummer has practically nothing to do with what it looks like. It's the fact that we used them to kick ass in desert storm.
Posted by Kayla (Member # 2403) on :
quote: Because it makes them "safer". And in the process, it makes everybody else who can't afford such a car not as safe.
Actually, that's not entirely true. SUVs are pretty dangerous for those driving/riding in them.
quote:In 1998, there were 130 million passenger cars registered in the U.S., and 16 million SUVs. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were 119,000 car rollovers and 36,000 SUV rollovers that year. That means that for every 100,000 vehicles, 91 cars rolled over, and 225 SUVs - a figure two and one half times as high. When it comes to deaths, the disparity is even greater; for every 100,000 vehicles there are 3.4 deaths in car rollovers, but 10.1 in SUV rollovers (a figure over three times as high). For comparison, the homicide rate in 1998 was 6.3 per 100,000 people.
"But rollovers are a rare form of accident" is a reasonable response, "Aren't SUVs safer in general?" That is a valid question, so once again we must look at NHTSA figures. For the 130 million cars, there were 29,000 fatal accidents in 1998 - a death rate of 22 per 100,000 vehicles. For the 16 million SUVs, there were 4,500 fatalities, which means a death rate of 28 per 100,000. Given the size of the sample, the difference of over 25 percent must be statistically significant. There's no two ways about it. SUVs are more dangerous than cars -- for everybody.
More information can be found here. Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
I would love to bike to work, and now that I found a route on back roads, I could. Except...besides the Texas weather, which sucks and you don't want to be outside for that long, I have to dress up in business semi-casual, and I can't do that, bike 1 1/2 hours to work, and arrive in anything approaching in time and looking decent. Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
An off-topic joke for AJ:
A teenage boy decided it was really time for his dad to buy him a car. He was sick of bumming rides from his friends and having to be chauffered around by his parents.
"Dad," he said one day, "I think it's your responsibility as a parent to buy me a car."
"Oh really?" replied the father. "And what have you done to deserve it? Your grades are awful, you don't have a job, and you look like a Survivor contestant in those crazy outfits of yours."
A little offended the son retorted, "I don't see what that has to do with anything."
"Tell you what," said the father, "if you put in a little effort on your part, I can see what can be done about a car. You've got to show me that your grades are improving, find at least a part-time job to pay for gas and insurance, and cut your hair."
The son agreed, and over the next few months made a concerted effort to improve. His grades were stabilizing, and he got an after-school job bussing tables. He decided to approach his father again.
"So Dad," he said, "I think you'll notice that I'm being much more responsible. I've got a job, and I'm doing better in school. I think I can handle having a car."
"That's true," said his father, "but you know Son, you haven't gotten a haircut like we had discussed. That was part of the deal."
"Well, you know Dad," the Son said, "I thought a lot about that and I realized... well, you know that Jesus had long hair. And a beard! Surely you can't object to me looking like Christ!"
"That's very true, Son," said the father, "but you'll also notice that he walked everywhere he went."
Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :
Kat: When I was a kid, we used to bike around everywhere in Marquez, Texas during the summer.
It's not too bad. If you're ten. And wearing only swimming trunks and a t-shirt.
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
I biked everywhere in West Texas when I was a kid, too. I biked everywhere in college.
I'll try the swimsuit to work thing tomorrow. Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :
The swimsuit itself is not the solution-- it's what you plan to do while wearing the swimsuit that matters.
I didn't realize the BSA had a on-campus crick.
Posted by Nick (Member # 4311) on :
Annie.
I don't get the SUV "storage space" either. I drive a Subaru wagon that can pack just as much stuff as a lot of the SUVs out there.
And it handles nice on curvy highways when you speed. jk
[ June 15, 2004, 02:18 PM: Message edited by: Nick ]
Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
Yeah, I have a four door hatchback that has tons of storage space. Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
I just heard a funny quote to the show "Judging Amy":
quote: It takes a special kind of hubris to put a "Go Vegetarian" bumper sticker on your SUV.
Posted by Shepherdess (Member # 6115) on :
I'm the unwilling driver of an SUV right now. A drunk (who consequently got a free ride to jail) lost control of his car and hit me on Sunday, and the only rental available was a Grand Cherokee Laredo. It's just so big! I'm about 5 feet tall on a good day, and I really miss my little car. I went and said goodbye to it in the tow yard today after they declared it a total loss. Thank God for airbags--I would be in the hospital, or worse, if those things hadn't deployed.
I must admit, I do kind of like that feeling of power you get from looking down on all the other drivers, especially since I'm in a paranoid state of mind right now. Maybe that's part of the attraction. However, I can safely say that my next car will not be a Grand Cherokee! A hybrid is actually looking pretty good right now.
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
"Go Vegetarian" might refer to what to eat, rather than how to eat
What does look good these days? I really hate the new breed of mid size (Element, Matrix etc.). My husband bought an Aerostar and I guess I'm repressing my car aesthetics part of my brain to keep from blowing it up.
I used to really like BMWs. But my fashion sense is hopelessly trapped in the 80's. Scott's batman car did look pretty fine.
Oh, one more thing. I heard "hummer" used in a humorous song about Monica Lewinsky once. Is there an explanation for this?
Posted by ak (Member # 90) on :
This is my dream car. It's a V-12. 0-60 in 3.7 seconds. They don't quote gas mileage. I guess if you have to ask...
[ June 15, 2004, 09:56 PM: Message edited by: ak ]
Posted by dabbler (Member # 6443) on :
pooka, you remember what Monica Lewinsky did with Clinton? One of the slang terms for it is a hummer.
Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
Top speed on the best roads in the US: 70 mph
A 17 horse-power diesel engine can power a small car to 65 mph and get 128 mpg while doing it. If you bump that engine size up a little, I'm sure you could get 70 mph and still get over 100 mpg.
Unless you need to tow stuff, or you are driving around a bunch of people all the time, all that extra stuff is just making you burn energy pushing air around. Or making louder noises come out the mufflers.
It's dumb.
Now granted, some cars are rolling works of art. I could appreciate them aesthetically and I grew up in a car culture like no other (Southern California during the 1960's and 70's). But enough already.
We need to rethink our way of life. A 60 mile commute is insane. We should be able to live where we work, and vice versa. We should stop building sprawling suburbs and return to the urbanized areas.
And take public transit!
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
I thought that, but I've never heard it anywhere else. But everytime I see one of those trucks that says "Hummer" on the side, I wondered. My husband (who I never asked about the Monica song... I was on a road trip with my DAD when I heard that one and I pretended to be still asleep even though he was laughing really hard) says that it is just a marketing ploy and unlikely that those trucks are really transporting H2s or related accessories.
Posted by Rappin' Ronnie Reagan (Member # 5626) on :
Prius.... ::drool::
Posted by The Rabbit (Member # 671) on :
My usual route to work is 7.5 miles. It takes me 35-40 minutes to bike in (depending of lights) and 30-35 to bike home (it is slightly down hill riding home).
Posted by John Van Pelt (Member # 5767) on :
Garick wrote:
quote: the Hummer is like the ultimate wet-dream fantasy of a survivalist!
Ironic, considering that when it comes time to "survive," there ain't gonna be no GAS.
Or maybe that's the point -- you could live in one, up to the hubcaps in dandelions.
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
* Envisions a post-apocolyptic world with "Hummer Parks" instead of "trailer parks"*
Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :
Bob-- I couldn't agree with you more.
One of the things that I detest about Northern Virginia is the bedfellowing between developers and city councils/county supervisors. Despite the public outcry against it, the council members are consistently not held responsible for their contribution to sprawl at election time.
I'd be thrilled to be able to ride my bike to work. At the present time, the only way that that's feasible is if I want to work for the county (and believe me, any time I see an IT type job open up, I apply for it), or if I take a job at the 7-11.
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