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Hey! Wanna buy my SUV?

MARGARET WENTE

From Thursday's Globe and Mail

Latest comment posted at 5:42 PM EDT 11/05/08

Ouch! Gas prices are getting painful. ...Read the full article

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  1. Art Vandelai from Burlington, Canada writes: Great article...I especially liked the comparison of the SUV to those big out-dated 80's shoulder pads.

    Let's face it guys...we'll ditch the SUV's and sports cars as soon as we figure out that it turns off the ladies. The sport-ute will soon be going the way of the 70's moustache and the Miami Vice look.
  2. Lori R from KITCHENER, Canada writes: $2.00 gas will save the world...or at least shake us up enough to make some selfless car decisions.
  3. J Lee from North Vancouver, Canada writes: Good for you Margaret to recognize that an SUV is a nasty invention. I'm just sorry that it only took you 15 years to get to your current opinion.
  4. Wasabi Jones from Canada writes: I love my SUV: spacious, powerful, easy on my back when I put the kids in the care and a lot of fun to drive. I plan on buying another. Most of my friends and family members also drive them, and love them. Don't know what galaxy you live in, Margaret (let me guess: downtown TORONTO), but what you say certainly isn't playing out in my neck of the woods. To all you tree-huggers, enjoy driving your kids around in a Suzuki Swift (oh, wait, most of you are too young to have kids, or probably even to drive).
  5. Ben D from Ottawa, Canada writes: Wow I thought the day would never come. I actually agree with Margaret Wente.

    Good for you Margaret for realizing that the SUV is unpractical. I hope you're not the only one.

    Now if only we could get to $2 a litre gas and urban planning will get better too.
  6. B to the A to the R to the T from Canada writes: I'm trying to sell my SUV after buying a Prius. No takers. Other sellers are having same issues, the same ads week after week. Our prices are much lower than they were last year when I first started looking at punting it. Doesn't matter, the fuel savings on the Prius over the SUV pay for the SUV's insurance. I figure I'll wait till fall or winter, no biggie.

    If Wasabi Jones wants to keep getting 'jacked' by the oil companies that's fine too. His money. We have a term for that kind, what is it, oh yeah. "Sucker."
  7. Winter Mute from toronto, Canada writes: keep it as long as it runs - hold out til you can buy a turbo-diesel twinned with an electric motor, and brakes that are part of the dynamo mechanism - i think this will be in mainstream by 2011 or so

    air quality also improves as we abandon currently configured automobiles

    so it goes
  8. Gary Dare from Portland, Oregon, Canada, writes: From Margaret's description of their usage, even a Subaru Outback would have been fine as a 'cat taxi'.
  9. B to the A to the R to the T from Canada writes: Margaret, look into the Prius. It's a hatchback unlike the Civic. It gets better fuel economy and the fold-down flat rear seats give a lot of room.
  10. B to the A to the R to the T from Canada writes: Winter Mute, Diesel reduces air quality. It may improve CO2 emissions but as far as local air quality, toxic diesel emissions are very bad. But a diesel-electric hybrid that burns clean would be advantagious.
  11. Alister MacKinnon from Canada writes: Wasabi Jones, you are either an idiot or rich enough not to care how much you spend on gas. It's a good thing you enjoy your SUV so much... because since your stuck with it anyway.
  12. Baad Daddy from Northwest Ontario, Canada writes: Most of Canada is rural remember. We need to haul firewood and the bodies of the large hoofed animals we shoot for supper. You city folks can talk all you want about public transit is the way to go. Yes, of course, for you city folks. Driving to Best Buy for a dvd in an Escalade makes no sense. Sell it to me. I'd love to have one out here where we have to drive from small town to small town in blizzards to make a living. Transport meets Fit is not my idea of fun. My Avalanche saved my life last year. I'm willing to pay for that I guess.
  13. Christine Best from Toronto, Canada writes: Most of the geography of Canada is "rural". The vast majority of the population is not. And Baad Daddy would be better off with a decent pick up truck rather than an SUV.

    The SUVs were alway "poser" vehicles, it's just the poser drivers didn't get the joke.
  14. Robert Bott from Calgary, Canada writes: Also check out the Matrix or Vibe -- great economy and room for the kitties. Or really get serious: join a carsharing organization and take the streetcar to work.
    I've waited entirely too long to see this column from Ms. Wente. Columns on this topic a few years ago were annoyingly smug and wrongheaded.
  15. Mike L. from Canada writes: Sixty bucks? Where are you buying your gas? I drive a Passat (gasoline) station wagon. I put 66 liters in the other day (tank has 70 L capacity), and it cost me $92.75. NINETY-TWO bucks and seventy-five cents!!! That caught my attention. Haven't spent that much on a tank of fuel since my last trip to Europe. And this isn't an SUV. It is a station wagon though, which is equally practical. A couple of weeks ago, when I had an $88 fill-up, I started an experiment. Now, my car has a 200 hp turbocharged 2 liter engine. Pretty quick when you need it to be. But I decided to give most of those 200 horses a vacation.

    Instead of driving the usual 15-20 over, I decided to scrupulously follow highway speed limits. My average fuel consumption dropped from 7.7 to 7.1 L/100 km. Not bad, a nearly 8% improvement, and I can now stretch a tank of fuel (with a safe reserve) from around 800 to around 900 km.

    I have never owned an SUV, nor will I ever. They handle like crap, for the same utility they suck up about 20% more fuel than a station wagon, and their resale value is almost non-existent. I am a die-hard station wagon fan. Too bad so few car companies make them now. However soon the new Jetta wagon will be available with a diesel engine that is smog-rated for California emissions standards (and hence good for all 50 states and Canada), which will get about 5 L/100 km. That will likely be our next car when the lease runs out on the Passat!
  16. Kim Huynh from Montreal, Canada writes: Margaret,
    Downsize your version of an SUV, say Subaru Forester for instance.
    I am sure your SUV will cost more than 90 bucks a tank. Efficiency and good planning is ways to go to counter this oil prices madness. But old habits tend to die hard. And Canadians are second to the US folks as the worse energy consumers according to the latest survey.
  17. David Jenkins from Kelowna, Canada writes: Here in Kelowna - where we now pay $1.324/l - we are seeing a huge drop in truck, SUV, RV and boat sales. We are also seeing significant numbers of these vehicles parked on driveways and open lots with 'For Sale' signs on them. I passed an RV dealership yesterday advertising product at below book value. Kelowna has typically been a strong market for gas-guzzling toys but the fuel costs are starting to bite.

    Bring on our carbon tax and let the marketplace drive gas costs up to European levels. The quid pro quo is that the tax revenue must be ploughed back into transit and alternative energy with real urgency.
  18. David C from Canada writes: In 1990 my dad bought a Jetta Turbo diesel. I'm still driving it today (390,000 km) and getting 50 mpg. The diesel engine is built so much better than a gas - something to factor in when considering the bigger picture.

    Just out of curiosity though, lets say as technology improves, the average vehicle gets 60 or 70 mpg in the near future. Don't you think that the big oil companies will just raise the price of gas to compensate, and make their required profits? I mean, whose to say we still won't be paying $100 to fill up our hybrids?
  19. Normand LaBine from Winnipeg, MB, Canada writes: Margaret Wente

    I can't defend the really big Station wagons, but I love my lightweight Fairmont 6 cylinder wagon, all restored to showroom condition. It weighs less than the hybrids, and with a few custom changes, I easily beat the 2012 CAFE regulations, running at 40 MPG.

    As for your problem in selling your old SUV, you should have bought a stationwagon. You'd be able to buy 2 new hybrids and pay for the gas for a year!

    http://www.oldstationwagonsforsale.com/

    http://www.lidstonepub.pe.ca/
  20. Virginia Crook from United Kingdom writes: Saab still makes station wagons but they call it a sport wagon. Very practical, lovely to drive, good solid quality, perfect for winter driving as it has a winter setting for the gear shift, great in the summer and if you are sensible and look after it, it will last you for ten or more years. And, when you need the horses to get away from some of the maniacs on the road it has a light pressure turbo that kicks in. I drive the older version, the 9-5 but when the time comes I'll trade it in for the new sport wagon.
  21. w sykora from Canada writes: Besides the 4-cylinder version of the Subaru Forester, the Toyota RAV4, the Honda CR-V, and the Mazda5 (my car and loving it --zoom, zoom!) offer good reliability and plenty of room and utility -- with good mileage. If you can do with a smaller vehicle and/or want to save even more on gas, look at the Honda Fit and the Nissan Versa.

    You may want to check out the April 2008 Consumer Reports if you can find it -- they always have good info, and there's even a Canada Extrasection
  22. Unknown User! from Canada writes: i hate it how people cheer for higher prices. The economy is hurting just because of those inflated gas prices.

    But anyway, ya i wouldnt buy an SUV. Ever. Even if gas was $0.10/L. I live in Toronto, i dont need it. My 115hp 4-cylinder jetta does the job and more. I guess its beneficial for the environment by getting ppl to stop buying/selling off their SUVs, but sooner or later, prices are gonna ahve to drop to keep the economy stable. Cause right now, its in awful shape. Good luck selling off you SUV at a DECENT price if u still havent. You'll need it.
  23. gloria garvey from Canada writes: I think I'll be keeping my old, "inefficient" and paid-for vehicle. The payments on something with significantly better mileage would be more than I spend on gas, and that will be true until gas is up to around $3/litre. Insurance is cheaper on the old one too.
  24. Mike L. from Canada writes: David C from Canada writes: "Just out of curiosity though, lets say as technology improves, the average vehicle gets 60 or 70 mpg in the near future. Don't you think that the big oil companies will just raise the price of gas to compensate, and make their required profits? I mean, whose to say we still won't be paying $100 to fill up our hybrids?"

    No. Gasoline is a fungible commodity. If we truly change our behaviour, and the demand for gasoline drops well below production capacity, we would cause a price drop.

    However that is not likely to happen. Billions of happy new Indian and Chinese drivers will ensure that demand keeps increasing. If we pay more with our hybrids and diesels getting 70 mpg, it will have nothing to do with oil company greed and everything to do with market forces.

    That said, by adopting good fuel conservation methods we can at least slow the price rise somewhat, until we hit peak oil... then all bets are off!
  25. Brendan Brown from Port Hope, Canada writes: My gosh is Maggie parroting an argument David Suzuki made well over a decade ago. Well, better late than never, I guess.
  26. Jeff S from Canada writes: Yeah, the same David Suzuki who makes up for it on the other end by owning two houses.

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