Why do people drive SUVs?

[DirkGently]

369. I've sold cars. Lots of people looking at image & status buy SUVs.

First, I don't see the poster pulling a "more green than thou" attitude with the OP as so many seem to be suggesting. It IS baffling to look around a highway full of suburban commuters headed downtown, and see what looks like a fleet of chrome-wheeled ice-cream trucks surrounding you. Watch them try to park in the lines in "compact" space, fail, but leave Gigantor there anyway.

The impression that it's kind of a head-scratcher choice for a commuter vehicle isn't off-base at all. The heart of the SUV weirdness isn't all the little Matrix-y crossovers and gas-sipping Rav-4s. It's the big Yukons and Expeditions -- remember the freaking Excursion -- rationalize that -- Jesus. But I digress. The silliest ones are the "luxury" models. Denalis, Escalades. A little chrome, some cheap leather and POW, suddenly it's $50, 60,000. And yeah, people bought them for style because it's been pounded into the American consumer consciousness somehow that minivans are for "soccer moms." Escalades are for rock stars. It got so bad I've seen soccer moms turn down more mileage, better passenger room, and lower prices to basically buy a set of giant wheels and tires they never plan on using, ever.

Vehicles are all compromises. Trucks haul stuff better and work better in rough conditions. People who don't need a truck, but buy one for the feel of it, get a vehicle that does less for them, at a higher cost. 's okay, but it is / was a pretty silly trend that thankfully is dying off a bit.

Cars are a personal choice, sure. It's not the basis to judge someone's character or feel superior. But it's a bad automotive compromise for a lot of the flatland, suburban commuters they market them to. They were a horrible evolution of the station wagon idea -- all of the drawbacks with fewer advantages.

Exotics are bad choices as commuter cars too, but I don't think they're used that way too often -- mostly because so few people can afford them. Okay, maybe in Miami. About one in five 60-yr-old men in that town has a drop-top Ferrari or a Maserati, and 23-yr-old girlfriend, near as I can tell.

So sure, SUVs aren't a crime against nature, but yeah, they're a bad compromise for a lot of people. For what it's worth, I think people are catching on and picking vehicles that actually work better. And slowly, car companies are responding. Be nice if ended up with more of the smart hatchbacks and shooting brakes they have all over Europe.