SUV (with a little Alfa content)

["Brad Harris" <brad.harris@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I know this post has gone on forever but I would like to input my opinions
from someone who has both an SUV and an Alfa Romeo (some but very little
Alfa content).

I drive my Alfa the way it was intended. I love to take in on long country
drives taking full advantage of the quick throttle response and great
handling. I love the way that car drives and no SUV can come close on these
drives.

I also drive my SUV the way it was intended. I use mine for camping and very
difficult off road challenges that my Alfa (and 99% of all other SUV's)
couldn't go. With my SUV I can get further back into the wilderness so that
I can hike and camp in places that without my SUV it would take a week to
get to. I can explore places in a weekend that I would never get to see with
my tight schedule.

I know my SUV does not handle as well as any car. I know my SUV does not
have the best crumple zones during an accident. I know my SUV can roll over
when a car would not. I know my SUV has a higher center of gravity. I know
my mud terrain tires do not grip as well in the rain and hard packed snow. I
understand its limitations and change my driving style to best accommodate.

I have no complaints about SUV's meeting the exact same emissions levels as
all other cars. I have no problem with SUV's being required to pass the same
crash test as cars. I do however have problems with car owners trying to get
regulations passed to change SUV's engineering to better accommodate a
possible collision between the two unsimilar vehicles. By lowering the
bumpers you lower the approach and departure angles of the SUV. This limits
the type of terrain that a vehicle can traverse without dragging the rear
end while clearing an obstacle or by not letting an SUV go through an
obstacle because its front bumper won't clear. I understand that 95% of all
SUV's will never leave the pavement and those people could have purchased
station wagons to fulfill their needs in a vehicle. I just don't want those
95% of the SUV population giving a bad name and trashing all future SUV's
for people that actually use them for what they were designed.

On the lack of advanced design improvements used on SUV's: I both agree and
disagree. I do not like the use of leaf springs on an SUV because that
limits the amount of axle articulation. Without axle articulation you can
loose traction due to a wheel coming off the ground and it is hard to tread
lightly when you are spinning your tires trying to get unstuck. I drive a
1990 Range Rover (the old style). Yes it has leather seats and I love them
because they are so much more durable then cloth and mud wipes off of them.
No I don't have a cellular phone (the previous owner did though). The Range
Rover has had coil springs at all four corners since its introduction in
1970! My vehicle does not have a unibody construction because over time with
severe corrugated roads the unibody frames of 4wd's have shown signs of
stress cracks. A unibody would lower the weight and center of gravity but
would make the vehicle less durable.

Thank you for reading this long post. I hope you understand that if the
future SUV's were all designed with the soccer moms in mind (which I am
afraid is already happening) then the people who actually use their SUV's
for what they were originally intended will be forced to only purchasing
used vehicles that are no longer in production. This frustration should be
easy to understand by the US Alfa owners. I love my Alfa and my Rover can
never replace that car or do what it does. When you complain about SUV's
please try to understand that the people who use their SUV's the way they
were intended hate the popularity of the SUV's with the soccer mom cell
phone using crowd more than you could ever hate them. I hate these people
because they are making people in cars want to change the regulations on
SUV's so that they will no longer be of any use.

Have a great day,

Brad H.
1986 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce
1990 Land Rover Range Rover
1997 Volvo 850 (yes I can even comment on the Volvo thread)
1971 Triumph TR6

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