The Anti SUV Portal
(or why I think SUVs suck)

FEEDBACK FROM READERS

 

 

The feedback page! Probably the most interesting part of this site.The hundreds of responses I've received to this site have been overwhelmingly positive, but that is probably due to the fact that people who already agree with my views are the ones who usually respond. I do appreciate hearing from the "other side" as it seems to always strengthen my point...be forewarned, though, if you write to me I may use your email on the site (see "disclaimer").

However, one argument that may be valid, and one which perhaps I haven't fully appreciated, is that SUVs may indeed be useful in some parts of the country (and if you make it that far, you'll see an "important note" towards the bottom of the main page acknowledging that some may require SUVs for work). Regarding safety and other issues, look up the statistics for yourself and you'll learn what the "truth" is. Here's a sampling of the responses beginning with Negatives first:

click here to return to main page | click here to submit your feedback | SUVs in the News - check out what others are saying

DISCLAIMER

 

NEGATIVE "You guys are idiots! So, are you among the ones who go in and vandalize dealerships and burn down ski resorts? Because if so, you're terrorists yourselves and you add to the polution of the planet by setting fires! Grow up and get a real cause. Do you really know how stupid you all are????????????"

Signed, An SUV owner and proud of it, LauraRussW@aol.com

 
     
NEGATIVE "To all SUV haters;

I would just like to start by saying to after reading all of your websites I decided to trade in my Land Rover Discovery and purchase a Lincoln Navigator. Do I care that I only get 9 mpg, not really! In fact I’m going to remove the catalytic converters and supercharge it just to make it a little worse (they don’t do emissions checks where I live). I truly enjoy having the biggest truck and the road, and I don’t really care what anyone thinks! I don’t plan on having children, I have a very good job, and I truly don’t care about the planet after I’m gone. So what if that’s selfish, I enjoy all the fruits that my lifestyle offers. I’m a DINK (dual income no kids) by choice, and love it. Yes I drive this vehicle with just two of us in the house; I’m self centered and truly enjoy it. Also if I ever see someone
“tagging” and SUV I will hold until the police arrive. Believe me I can, you may also have an accident before they get there, it will be hard to tag with broken hands. I was yelled at by some kid in a car with anti SUV stickers on it; the funny thing was that he was burning more oil (bad rings) then anything else on the road. Hey moron your car is worse than my SUV! You people really need to get a life, do you know that most third world countries and a lot of European counties are the worst polluters of all. If your life is so unfulfilling that you need a cause to justify your existence than start at the top of the
list. SUV’s are not the worst thing on the planet, and I don’t see your groups changing peoples buying habits. By the way I just turned 30, so I’ll be driving my Navigator or other big
SUV for a long time!
Sincerely"

Sam Matheny, Navigatorracing@hotmail.com

 
     
NEGATIVE

"Once again the liberal hysteria has run amuck. Do you realize that everything from medicine to plastic is made from hydrocarbons? What is going to happen to everyday items when the demand for oil shrinks. If you were the person on the Today show, your just another foreign import that has screwed up your own country with your views and now are trying to screw up ours.. Capitalism, or the free market sets what people want and choose to drive. I choose to drive several SUV's for safety. Our Jeep Cherokee save my wife and my life when a truck crashed into us. How would you have faired with your Toyota. Do you really care about your kids? There are sections in this country where SUV's are needed with snow and rural roads. You are just like the cars you support - another foreign import that sucks. Please just shut-up, you are ignorant and stupid. "

- Don Metz, don.metz2@gte.net

 
     
NEGATIVE

"Everyone knows the fastest way to defeat an enemy is to spread hatred and division among them, you are the terrorists nations best friend. happy tagging!"

- William Moore, Williammoore86@aol.com

 
     
NEGATIVE "I would just like to tell your organization that...I LOVE MY BRAND NEW, COMPLETELY REDESIGNED, BIGGER, MORE POWERFUL 2004 TOYOTA 4RUNNER! It has to be the best car I ever had. I enjoy doing a lot with my SUV. From off roading to carrying large loads of cargo to taking supplies for in the great outdoors! It came with a 240 horsepower V6 engine with automatic transmission. It get 18 - 21 MPG on regular gas! Isn't that great? I SUGGEST YOU GET ONE! Wait, some members of your so-called "organization" probably own an SUV! Maybe you should take a look! SORRY TO TELL YOU, but we live in America and I can buy whatever I want, do whatever I want, and drive whatever I want, whether you like it or not! By the way - I'M VOTING FOR PRESIDENT BUSH IN 2004!"

- Mike, abercrombie_guy_38@yahoo.com

 
NEGATIVE

"Me, Me, Me, ever think about that semi driver who has been at it since 6:00 PM, when you finally let him out of the dock, cause your boss wont allow overtime, and you just cant find anything more to waste our time on. Ok its now 4:00 AM and your salad makins are almost to the reciver, Two lane road, someone installed high power lights, with fog lights, Tired eyes, Bam Crunch Pow another head on fatality for the record keepers. Lets concetrate on important stuff for public saftey, Remove those high power after market lights from your vehicle. Install and use a fog light switch, IN FOG. start a campain to send Ralf Nader back to the car manufacturers to comply with light lumin emission from passenger cars. Talk to law enforcement personel. Why? Cause you still eat salad, and you could be next. Dim your lights for oncoming traffic!!!!! "

- J C Dillon, jcdillon29@hotmail.com

 
     
NEGATIVE

"The only valid reason you have to dislike sport utility vehicles that has merit is the wasting of oil. All others are just a smoke screen. How can you fault someone for driving a heavier vehicle because they feel it is safer in an accident. Road hogs come in every size and shape. If driving a certain vehicle, or here is a kicker WEARING a certain item of clothing can make someone feel good about themselves who are we to shame them. I'd bet money every time you go out into public you look into the mirror to see how you look. These people are doing just that. Who cares, ignore them! When golf, sports and health clubs, sporting events, and every,,,,, AND I MEAN EVERY!!!!!!!!! single--little--item that Americans do, other than what we absolutely need to stay alive is removed from out lives, this includes eating out, because we use gas to drive to the restaurants. Then and only then can a group of people point fingers at something like the SUV and say shame on you. Because I bet you waste energy every day. You and people like you are hypocrites. What size house are you going to allow us to have? I'd say a 1000 square feet would be more than enough. Any larger would be wasting energy to heat and cool. Now that I think about it we don't need air conditioning do we. So get right after it and lobby against everything not needed in our lives. Then I listen to you."

- Gary Russell, russell@cornhusker.net

 
     

NEGATIVE

But... not quite - see the positive below!

"The last time I checked, this is still America, and you can still drive what you deem is necessary for your family, your business, and yes, your ego. Some drive two seater sports cars, some drive 7-8 passenger SUVs, or if you are like my family, we drive a 15 passenger van (we have five children) and a our Suburban was getting too small! This is America, and the free market that we have will continue to supply to the consumer's demand/want, meaning that we will continue to have SUVs as long as the consumers continue to purchase them. In the '70's, big cars started to get obsolete because consumer's wanted more fuel effiecient vehicles, which enabled Honda and Toyota to obtain a "foothold" in the market, but even they have figured out that there is a huge market for SUVs in America, and guess what, they build them as fast as they can.

The point is simple, as long as it is not illegal to own the vehicle that you want, true Americans will drive what fits their percieved needs/desires, no matter what anyone else thinks or says. This goes for our homes, where we live, what we eat, and yes, what we drive."

- Carl Harter, carl@charter7.com
 
     

POSITIVE

from the same writer as above "negative"

Thanks Carl!

I suppose I can be a ranting lunatic, but only sometimes ;)

"Annette,

Thanks for getting back to me, it shows that you are indeed a caring and concerned citizen, not a ranting lunatic with nothing else better to do. Feel free to post my response if you would like, I would be honored.

Thanks for the opportunity to respond - truly a great forum for debate.

Sincerely, Carl"

- Carl Harter, carl@charter7.com

 
     
POSITIVE "SUVs actually DO suck! Keep up the good work.

One comment about the site and I’m sure this is information that you do not want to include because it is a bit too ethereal. Everything you have on the site I agree with. However, I am confused about political references to GWB. Of course he must be a target but, does anybody really believe that the situation would be different if the Democrats were in office with Gore at the helm. I don’t. I don’t believe that anyone can get that far in politics and stay clean.

At any rate, one of the things that scares me the most about SUVs, beyond safety, beyond politics, and beyond the environment is that the SUV has become a symbol of unmitigated selfishness. We, as a country, are becoming more selfish than anyone can possibly image. And, this means we are losing are values as Americans. The SUV owners say they have the right to choose, and they do. They are Americans. Somewhere in the past, though, didn’t we as Americans choose to make decisions that were good for our country? For the world? Didn’t we look out for the “little guy”? For the helpless? Now it’s all about ME and you can stuff it if you don’t like it.

The SUV owners do have rights. Our constitution give them the unalienable right to be ignorant, selfish, jingoistic fools. I’m afraid for what our country becoming."

Stephen, sgc37020@earthlink.net

 
     
POSITIVE

"Auckland (New Zealand) is plauged wth middle-aged women who use thier SUVs to drive thier kids (a couple of mere kilometres) to school each day or to pick up milk for the day, they generally suffer from a sort of mega paranoia about safety. The other group are males, generally sad pricks trying to prove something who will never take the things outside suburbia. They are wasteful, bad for the environement and dangerous for cyclists."

- Daniel Willcocks, red_wiine@hotmail.com

 
     
POSITIVE I think the site is great! I do disagree with the section about small suv's though. I prefer my small suv (which is cleaner and more efficient than a mini-van) to other vehicles out there. There are some needs that a small suv does serve. I switched from a 12 MPG tank to a 24-27 MPG cute-ute. I really wanted the prius, but needed a little more vehicle, so I had to compromise. Maybe this is the first step in my recovery, I don't know, but the big ones need to go! If they had a hybrid on the market at the time I made the purchase, I would have definitely grabbed it.

Being a reformed driver, I must say that more than 95% of all uses for these tanks is wasteful. This type of vehicle serves the
purpose of fulfilling the empty hearts of greedy and bloodthirsty individuals who buy them to justify their inhumane treatment of others. They are for selfish, self-serving individuals of which I want no part in the group.

- Greg Britten, gbritten@utk.edu

 
     
POSITIVE "The subject line sums it up for me - I am tired of trying to see around these gigantic porkers as they plug suburban shopping centers and roads. I own a Dodge Dakota Quad Cab... it is parked in my garage - I refuse to drive it, we use my fiancée's Nissan Sentra almost exclusively. I bought the truck because of the job I was doing at the time, but now I can't sell the god damned thing - and it's depreciated $10,000 in two years. Apparently you can purchase the Lincoln Navigator with an "extra cost" pearl white paint job - and it only costs $865 more!!! How ridiculous is this??? A perfect color for the most ridiculous vehicle ever built... does Ford really think the pseudo off-roaders who buy this monstrosity will ever take it off-road - what?... and get that "extra cost" pearly white paint
tarnished - I think not!

Come on people! Get some common sense... stop mortgaging your future by spending huge sums of money on these crates. A more fuel efficient vehicle will facilitate most families, and it can cost less than a third of what you'd pay for some suvs. Put the money you save in a College fund for your kids - now that is money well spent!"

- Derek Winters, MET (Aeronautics) Irelandsown37@hotmail.com

 
     
POSITIVE "We love your Site... Have you seen our little SUV themed film-site: http://www.suvfilm.com/ ?
Please check it out, we'd love your endorsement!"

- Jonathan, info@suvfilm.com

 
     
POSITIVE

"I've despised SUVs ever since they started taking over the roads, and I think your website is fantastic. Good luck, and keep fighting the good fight. Here's something I think you'll find amusing: When Bush finally starts tossing nukes at Bhagdad, and the price of gasoline subsequently soars to $3.00 per gallon or more, sport utility vehicles should become obsolete. With that in mind, here are five suggestions on what do to with your SUV: Sell your house and live in your SUV. Depending on daily price fluctuations at the pump, the money you save on house payments will buy two, maybe three, extra tankfuls a month. Donate your SUV to charity and take a tax deduction for its fair market value. Unfortunately, since no one will want SUVs anymore, its fair market value will be zero. Consult your tax adviser first. Bury your SUV in the back yard. If enough people do this, it will make for a nice little joke on future archaeologists as they puzzle over the meaning of an entire geological layer of compressed SUVs dating to the early 21st century. Offer your SUV to the Pentagon for use in anti-missile testing. Some of the larger models might present a target of sufficient size for the missiles to actually hit. Do your part to compensate for the environmental degradation you've caused as an SUV owner and help restore the nation's wildlife habitat. Artificial reefs for fish can be created by submerging man-made structures in bodies of water. Be sure to remove cellphones and drain fluids before rolling your SUV into the lake."

- CHUCK ANZIULEWICZ http://hometown.aol.com/PolishBear, chuckanziulewicz@wvdhhr.org

 
     
POSITIVE

"Love your website and agree completely. It's infuriating how short-sighted and selfish we Americans are. The same people who own the SUV's will be the ones complaining the loudest and shrillest when we wake up some day (soon) and there is no oil left or clean air to breath. Keep up the good work. "

- Stephen Geissler, steveg@branddirect.com

 
     
POSITIVE

"I love your site and want to do what I can to assist in the elimination of these mindless hogs of the road. Two days ago while I was stopped at a red light in my little fuel efficient car, I watched with horror a GMC Yukon moving at a speed of 8-10 miles an hour make a turn and run over a petite female jogger crossing a pedestrian walkway. The driver was so high off the ground in their SUV so apparently did not see the lady. Day after day I run into incidents where I can't see around these wasteful, senseless vehicles, but after witnessing what happened to this lady and realizing that I could have easily seen her running across the street in my vehicle, I 've decided something needs to be done. Sure, one can argue Americans are part of a capitalist society and are free to choose what they want to drive. However, when their choice of vehicle endangers the lives of other drivers and the environment which we all live in, then some limitations on that freedom of choice are necessary. Thank you Annette, and good luck to you in the future."

- Andrew Builder, abui238820earthlink.net

 
     
POSITIVE

"I like your website. And I hate SUVs. I thought you might get a kick out of a page I just put up at my site. It's sarcastic, so don't think I'm all for SUVs... http://www.daveheinzel.com (click on the SUV)"

- Dave Heinzel, dave@daveheinzel.com

 
     
POSITIVE "Thanks for the courage to speak up!! My friends and I have a monthly salon in which we discuss the impending Iraq war,
economics, etc. The issue of SUVs comes up quite frequently so we decided to make a fact sheet against SUVS and
start sending them to peolpe, putting them on cars, etc. Can we use info from your website??? "

Ericka, tpn@pacbell.net

 
     
POSITIVE

"A friend forwarded a link to your SUV page, and I had fun reading through it. I've been on the verge of making up my own page under the title Murderwagons (that should give you an idea of my opinion of these things). I work in Dublin, Ohio, a wealthy suburb of Columbus, and the roads are crammed with huge shiny Mobile Blind Spots that will never intentionally go off road. They carry a single occupant to the office or the store, and create a constant menace and insult to all other vehicles, large and small. If you're looking for a rant-a-thon, I'd love to participate. I can describe at length the dangers these things present in situations such as an SUV at the top of a line for a left turn at a light. I have a digital camera; I could photograph the wonderful effect of having a blind spot parked next to you, keeping you from seeing down a parking aisle. Let me know if you'd like some material. "

- Alex Silbajoris, asilbajo@hotmail.com

 
     
POSITIVE

"I read the whole thing. I'd send the link to everyone I know, but it does need to be trimmed. My suggestion is to state facts/stats as bullets (1 comprehensive list) then a short persuasion paragraph, leaving the reader to question their own conscience and intelligence. I love your writing. You are good. And the comics are entertaining. What's amazing to me is the parallel of history repeating itself, thinking back to the 70's, Cadillacs and Lincolns ruling the roads as status symbols and volatile Middle East tensions (Iran is currently on the brink of another revolution), with the contrast of then inflationary economics and today's deflationary market based woes."

- Shar, sm@digitalmarkstudios.com

 
 

 

 
POSITIVE

"I like your site. Too bad the deaf, dumb and blindness of most Americans produces such selfish ignorance. How about a bumper sticker that says: SADDAM DRIVES AN SUV "

- Tim, tiphm@earthlink.net

 
     
POSITIVE

"Just wanted to say I love your site; I've been tempted to create one myself. I live in beautiful Mill Valley, CA where all the well-to-do soccer Moms and Dads drive through the gorgeous redwoods an average of 11 trips a day in their monster SUVs. The Toyota Landcruiser seems to be the the SUV of choice because it's big and conspicuously expensive. The ultimate irony is how they ferry their precious cildren around in the behemoths with no thought to the future they're helping to create for said children. The majority of these people are well-educated and affluent and they know better. They simply choose to live in denial. Amazing! I could rant for days. Anyhow, thanks again for taking the time to put it out there. Regards, Nancy Perata "

- Nancy, nperata@novani.com

 
     
POSITIVE

" I'm glad you spread the word on such a good cause. Good luck reaching more people; your voice more than ever needs to be heard."

- Rachel, Science Interchange reporter

 
     
POSITIVE

"Do you know who the head yuppie is ? I'm convinced this person is out there. If only someone could convince this imbecile that syt"s (suburban yuppie trucks) were no longer the vehicle to impress your shallow self-absorbed moronic neighbor, maybe people would stop buying these gas guzzling roadhog abominations. Sincerely Charles Allgood"

- Charles Allgood, callgood53@earthlink.net

 
     
POSITIVE

"Thoroughly enjoy your anti-SUV website, and I agree completely. In my own campaign against these "eco-bombs", I have had a bumpersticker printed. I am interested in selling these, and if you or anyone you know would be interested in a quantity, please let me know. They are beautifully done, on vinyl stock with heat-impressed ink so they are totally weather-resistant. Singly they are $1.50 each + $ .50 shipping=$2.00. Quantity prices would be less, of course. Or perhaps you would like to feature it on your web site? Attached is a copy. Keep spreading the word!"

-Peter Simmons Petaluma, CA

 
     
POSITIVE

"I agree with you that it is sad indeed that the closest most SUV owners get to offroad is the nature channel. Occasionally 4 wheel or all wheel drive is nice but if you live in Chicago or California or New York City, it is not really necessary. As for fuel consumption, a car or minivan in the vast majority of cases would be a better choice. The 1st question I have is how to get people who don't need the suv to purchase the car or minivan instead and at the same time, still allowing those who do need the Suv the ability to purchase it. The 2nd question is does your argument extend to light trucks as well? Sincerely David"

- David, d_j_schmidt@hotmail.com

 

 

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DISCLAIMER