Why do people drive SUVs?

[bluedigger]

195. I drive a Jeep.

For me, it's a combination of many factors that make it practical. I don't generally have a lengthy daily commute, so gas mileage is not one of my more important criteria. I do like the capability, durability, versatility, and value, though. It is one of the cheapest vehicles to insure, maintains it's resale value (mine is worth nearly what I paid for it two years and 25k miles ago), and operating costs (aside from gas) are reasonable; more so if I do the work myself.

Which also is another feature I enjoy - it is a hobby, in and of itself. I can modify it and customize it to perform better than stock, using almost exclusively American made parts (I think I threw some foreign spark plugs in it - whatever works best). So it serves as a form of recreation and as an economic multiplier several times over. I don't think the carbon footprint is all that much worse than an electric car full of expensive batteries with limited recyclability (especially when it is used to take one to the golf club and it's environmentally friendly fairways). My model also had a production run of about a dozen years with no major redesign. A lot of resources go into retooling a factory every three years.

That being said, I don't get why housewives in NJ drive Hummers, either. Here in the Four Corners there has been one for sale a couple blocks from me for months, but every other house (it seems like) has a Jeep parked out front. There's good reasons and bad to choose individual vehicles for everybody - sometimes people just make poor choices.

"Paved roads: another example of unnecessary government spending".



Oh yeah, and the dog likes to drive it, too.