Am I socially unacceptable?

[Grey Ghost]

Heres another old chestnut they've decided to drag out...
I hear the argument for banning bullbars has come up again in Vic.
I just can't wait to see the arguments to get rid of em this time.
Grantedly there are too many Toorak tractors out there with em, last time they saw mud (or antything resembling trees and wild life) was when they were out on the front lawn washing them with the dog chasing the hose. And certainly these people who whack a shiny new $5000 alloy ARB whinch bar on the front coz it makes them look tough etc should be discouraged from giving us a bad name ( sorry I meant living, sorry I meant wasting their money etc), but what ever happened to driver education and for that matter educating the idiots how to walk across roads, which seems to be the main concern of the bleeding ass (whoops, I meant heart) brigade?



OK now I've had my whinge I can go back to drinking....

 

[grit]

I think this whole issue needs a whole different approach.....

refer to this post for an alternative that just may be effective

 

[Kiwi 4x4 owner]

It's the same over here, lots of people don't like the 4wd's on the road and there is a lot of 4wd's. I kinda understand it because even me, when I'm driving around and I see these blonde young things probably just been in the salon, driving some big hulking 4wd & I think what the...? What is all this for? I know they never leave the tar seal.

Funny thing, my ex wife, when we were married, hated 4wd's and I always suspected it was a jealousy thing, she would start ranting when she saw one and even cut them off if she could. Then the marriage breaks up, she relieves me of the money for 1/2 the house I spent many years working for, and promptly buys, you guessed it, a big 4wd!

 

[Cavsarge]

Noticed that a lot of people down south used to comment on my vehicle choice, recently posted back up to Darwin and no one bats an eye lid on vehicle choice.

 

[Ziggy]

Interesting that the piece linked to in the OP is no longer on the AAMI website.
I'd like to know how people class vehicles. And my hunch is that there's selective perception going on (which we all do).

 

[Paddler Ed]

There are some interesting things that sometimes get forgotten about when we're looking at the impact of full size/proper 4x4's; I've been studying Economics for the last 2years (again, 3 years previous to that in the late 90's/early 2000's) with a particular interest in environmental economics and therefore end up meeting some proper greenies at events. One of them I was talking to about vehicles and I said I drive a 24 year old petrol 4x4... he drove a Honda Civic Hybrid... we reached the conclusion that there was a high likelihood that the 4Runner had a lower environmental footprint over it's 280,000km than the hybrid had in it's 100,000km life so far - the batteries were on their way out, which resulted in an ever increasing fuel economy (up to about 9l/100km at it's worst) compared to the 13l/100km I've averaged over 35,000km in the 4Runner.

Now, add in the costs of mining the resources for those batteries, the travelling they do around the world to make it into the Civic, and all those factors add up to a lot more impact in the whole cycle of the vehicle's production.

Lastly, parts for my 4Runner are either new (multiplier effect on the economy, a good thing) or used (re-used, good for the environment) so that makes a difference in the lifetime impact of the vehicle. Add in the longer lifespan of this type of vehicle (400,000km is not unheard of for a separate chassis 4x4) and the impact gets less and less over the whole lifetime... therefore the 4x4 is actually in sime cases more environmentally sound, as they last longer than the "normal" car (well, perhaps with the exception of a Dunnydore or Foulcan) perhaps with a bit of Grandad's axe, but that Grandad's axe is a benefit as outlined above.

The other interesting one is that in the UK (where I'm from) they are viewed as the devil vehicle by the greenies; over here I've seen more anti-CSG and the like stickers on 4x4's than I have on "normal" cars... both my 4x4's have had stickers on them; my Land Cruiser came to me a with a No Coal Seam Gas sticker on it (much to the amusement of those who saw it - but that was on the NSW Central Coast) and my 4Runner has a Can't eat coal, can't drink gas sticker on it - not surprising given I'm up in Northern NSW on the edge of some of the CSG and farming conflict areas. I think that supports the earlier comment by one of the others that different areas have different perceptions of the vehicle.

 

[MikedOut]

I think a lot (some) of it is also being driven by the media. I don't know how many times I've e-mailed SMH to point out the fact that the vehicle that they are reporting on (e.g. 4 wheel drives runs over toddler.......4 wheel drive careens into mother and cat) is not actually a 4x4. More often than not it ends up being an all wheel drive Dualis or Kia Sorrento or something. They see big vehicle and go...4x4. Inevitably they reply with a sorry and change the story but the damage is done evryone only sees the 4 wheel drive bit.

 

[Ziggy]

Some of my kids looked at me askance when I bought my first heavy 4wd a year ago. I told them cp the Forester I was stepping up from it consumed less fuel and produced no more Co2 despite being about 50% heavier. Plus there's a 90% chance acc to the marker that the engine will last 500,000 kms which would beat the Forester by a good margin.

There are some 'loud' 4wds around, both in noise and appearance, that just confirm the stereotypes that some folk have. But I think the stereotypes are changing, as they have with motorbikes. The looks I got as a rider in the 70s, and the number of times drivers actually tried to run me off the road ... all that's gone. Now they're unintentionally homicidal!

 

[Albynsw]

I think a lot (some) of it is also being driven by the media. I don't know how many times I've e-mailed SMH to point out the fact that the vehicle that they are reporting on (e.g. 4 wheel drives runs over toddler.......4 wheel drive careens into mother and cat) is not actually a 4x4. More often than not it ends up being an all wheel drive Dualis or Kia Sorrento or something. They see big vehicle and go...4x4. Inevitably they reply with a sorry and change the story but the damage is done evryone only sees the 4 wheel drive bit.

The reality is that there is going to be more instances of 4WD's in accidents because there are more of them on the road. The Hilux was the biggest selling vehicle outright for a number of years in a row and Dual cab 4x4's are a massive part of the new car sales figures.
The 4WD wagon has taken over from the traditional Commodore /Falcon family station wagon.
I laugh at people who have a dig at me driving a gas guzzling 4WD when I point out to them I get better fuel economy than their Commodore

 

[billolga]

When you get to my age you don't give a rats what anyone thinks. As a matter of fact get a kick out of sturring them up.