[Greg in Oz]

gwhite - 1/30/2004 12:16 AM

It's indeed a relief to note that sales of the ridiculously large SUVs (Sport Utility Vehicles) are falling. We've had lots of terrible accidents, have wasted millions of gallons of petrol and other resources with these stupidly large vehicles. And - for those of you who don't live in the US - most SUV owners would never dream of taking their darling monsters off-road - my word; and get mud on them!!? I think not...

Glenn White
Cottage City, MD
[8D]

I wish I could say the same for the situation here in Australia. More and more drivers are opting for such vehicles here instead of regular wagons such as the TE. They are simply known as "four wheel drives" here (I can't imagine what could be sporty about a SUV).

Admittedly, we don't get too many of the size of Hummers, Chev Suburbans and Dodge Rams, but get plenty of Toyota Land Cruisers, Prados and Hiluxes, Nissan Patrols, Mitsubishi Pajeros, Land Rovers, Range Rovers, Jeeps and dare I say, Mercedes MLs. We also get plenty of what are described as "lifestyle" four wheel drives. These are smaller versions such as Toyota Rav4s and Honda CRVs but are still difficult to see past in traffic.

Most are used to drive to the shops or deliver kids to school. Many also carry a single driver on the commute to and from work. When asked, owners describe how they purchased it for the big outback trip they will do one day. Others like the perceived safety (which is the opposite to reality). Some claim they need the space (despite families being smaller than when everyone got by with sedans and wagons), yet even the large ones do not offer the space or space efficiency of our TE. Those with a third row of seats have them fold akwardly against the side windows in the load area, not flush with the floor like our TE.

Only higher fuel prices would make owners choose a more appropriate vehicle but that would be political suicide for any government. Notice how with high fuel prices in Europe people choose sensible vehicles. In Oz we pay half as much and many drive inappropriate vehicles. In the USA fuel prices are about half as much again and many choose to drive trucks.