SUVs, as of recently, have become the most common car in America, car manufacturers are shutting down production of cars that are not SUVs because it’s less profitable. Even though SUVs are one of the most dangerous vehicles to drive.
What’s an SUV? An SUV is classified by the EPA and the DMV as a light truck or a passenger vehicle even though they are the worst at both.
The automotive industry simply combined a minivan and a pickup truck together and made the worst of both worlds. It has room for passengers, but not enough for large trips; it has storage, but not enough to fit everything you would need for a large shopping trip.
The only thing that these cars are good for is the rural residents who need either room for passengers or storage. But on that point why not just get a pickup truck with an extended bed or a larger cabin like most rural residents already do?
The issue of SUVs is only a city and suburban problem, there is next to zero issue with rural people buying these light trucks, the issue comes when suburbanites start to buy these massive vehicles when 50%+ of all trips are less than 5 miles in 2021,
One of the defining features that people will buy an SUV for is the safety features. However, according to crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov, “Among the passenger vehicle occupants killed in 2021 in motor vehicle traffic crashes, 51 percent were passenger car occupants and 49 percent were light-truck occupants.” The perceived safety of the vehicle really only extends to the driver of the SUV. The passengers of the SUV and everyone else in the other car are in more danger.
This safety is really only minor according to https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov “In 2021 there were 61,322 vehicles involved in fatal traffic crashes in 2021, of which 76 percent (46,822) were passenger vehicles.”
If the safety of the passengers is not the reason to purchase, then maybe it’s the safety of pedestrians. Except, that doesn’t exist either.
As the years go on more manufacturers are making larger and larger vehicles adding more and more weight onto the car as they do
And thanks to the height of the vehicles, in the event of an accident, pedestrians no longer roll over the vehicle but go under the vehicle after being smashed in the torso and head by the front end of the overweight vehicle.
“Deadly SUV crashes are increasing at a far higher rate than crashes with any other type of vehicle. Fatal SUV-pedestrian collisions increased by 81 percent between 2009 and 2016, compared to 46 percent for all vehicles.” said Daniel C. Vock in his article on www.governing.com “Pedestrian Deaths Are Rising. One Big Reason? SUVs”
These SUVs are also very inefficient. They guzzle gas much like a ruck does, and have the mileage of the truck in the body of a glorified minivan. They are massive and the gas tanks show. With current prices in March of 2024, a full tank of gas could cost from $50-$100. These beasts are one of the major polluters on the road and not just in CO2 emissions, they are also loud as all hell.
The current engines in SUVs are V8s and V6s so they produce a stupid amount of noise when they are moving. It’s not just the engine as well. Due to the tires and the weight the sound that these vehicles make on roads is absurd. These massive trucks disturb sleep if driven through suburban neighborhoods but are also primarily in suburban neighborhoods.
The one and only good thing about the SUV is the reliability, but even that is questionable. Depending on the vehicle you get it could be 300,000 miles before something breaks or 20 miles. Most mechanics and people who work on cars understand that some brands have terrible car designs. Not just in safety features but in the way the things are built. Making most SUVs very prone to breaking,
Trucks are also now under attack by the suburban SUV driver. More and more people in suburban and inner-city homes are buying trucks because of all the reasons listed with SUVs but now it’s more dangerous and takes up more space on the road. Most manufacturers have begun to shorten the length of the truck bed in favor of more room in the cabin of the truck. Most companies are either searching for older model trucks or vans because both have more room for supplies and people than modern trucks and SUVs.
Now this mass purchase of SUVs and trucks is thanks to the marketing by large companies. These companies have very simple marketing “make people think they are more adventurous than they actually are”, this marketing is meant to pander to the suburbian audience who have fairly boring areas filled with concrete and cut-to-length grass, so by saying that “buying this vehicle makes you adventurous” it makes people believe they live in a less boring area. SUVs have become the antithesis of profit over safety and human well-being.
