Just another day in the Boston suburbs with the family SUV… (story).
This SUV story from Qatar shows that ours is a global culture.
Finally there is Malcolm Gladwell’s recent New Yorker article with stats showing that drivers are vastly safer inside a minivan than inside an SUV (not to mention the fact that people outside the vehicle are much more likely to be harmed by an SUV).
What on earth is the pertinence of the fact that the assassinated Chechen happened to be in an SUV?
Basically, when you buy an SUV, you’re just buying air. A big plastic and steel box full of nothing but your own fantasies and ego.
But then that’s what marketing is all about. The new factors to me in the SUV purchasing context were fear and learned helplessness.
Do people realize that the effectiveness of an anti-depressant is measured by creating a state of clinical learned helplessness in lab animals? The effectiveness is then determined by evaluating which drug best lets the animal overcome the helplessness syndrome, and perform tasks the animal was previously randomly punished for.
So maybe Prozac and SUVs go together. Both products can alleviate the feelings of helplessness and panic induced by North American consumer culture.
A nice link. Definitely food for thought.
The EFF seems to have good finacial prospects with all the dot.com millionaires who have taken an interest in aviation.
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EFF inherits: The Electronic Frontier Foundation said it has received a bequest of $1.2 million from the estate of Leonard Zubkoff.
The organization plans to use $1 million of the bequest to establish the EFF Endowment Fund for Digital Civil Liberties, according to an EFF press release.
Zubkoff was a software developer and entrepreneur who worked for such companies as Oracle and VA Linux. He died in a plane crash in August 2002.
SUVs have nothing to do with it – it’s time we did something to ban these heterosexual marriages.
I’m with Sam on the first two links .. just don’t see the relevance.
The New Yorker article on the other hand makes some good points.
In Australia there is a backlash against large 4WD’s in much the same way as there seems to be against SUVs in the U.S. In the print media and talk radio it verges on the hysterical.
I agree that there are many people driving about in inappropriate vehicles, chosen for ego or whatever. Certainly there are issues of safety for both those in the large vehicles and other road users (on foot or wheel) but I believe the answer is in education rather than legislation or a media led witch hunt.
I have a large ugly 4WD which is a pig in the city but ideal on rough country terrain and hauling a big trailer. I have the luxury of a small vehicle for city use but some folk have to compromise, contributing to the size inequity between vehicles on the roads.
Proper education of every person whether licensed to drive or not, would result in better vehicle choices and more appropriate behaviour on the roads.
I drive my rollover-waiting-to-happen at lower than rollover speed which seems to annoy the hell out of some drivers who think that just because THEIR sports car corners on rails, my truck should be able to do the same.
just for the fun of it:
the new dodge!
oops, here is the correct link:
the new dodge!
You probably want to do something with the “hillary” thread also.
I guess this is an unfortunate side effect of providing an unmoderated service.
An *ultimatum*, Ashley? Not the friendliest way to discuss something.
as the only guy in the big city it’s sounds grate