RE: SUV (with a little Alfa content)

["Brian Shorey" <bshorey@xxxxxxxxx>]

> 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.

nice post.  i agree with everything except the bumper height comments.  as
far as i'm concerned, if you're going to take a vehicle on public roads,
then you have some level of responsibility to not present any unnecessary
danger to those around you.  there is a bumper height law for cars, why not
for *all* vehicles that travel on the same roads.  i find it curious that if
i'm driving a car i'm not allowed to raise the height of my bumpers to the
same level as an suv, because in doing so i present a danger to other cars
on the road...

bs

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