Alright guys. I take offense at 5'4" being considered short I guess I'll have to wear spiked high-heels to the meet so people can see me. And I hate being thought of as a soccer mom driving my mini-van, it's a work van damnit full of equipment and my mountain bike. I may take a cat to the vet occasionally in it but no kids ride in it

I do find the ride to be comfortable and enjoyable in it, especially now with my empeg and great sounding system and I am glad it's at least a V-6 and not a whimmpy V-4.

It's just funny to see a tiny woman commanding such a huge machine. The even funnier thing (not ha-ha funny) is the fact that it is usually commanding them rather than the other way around.

On the other hand, outside the context of the car, short is sexy.

On the other hand, outside the context of the car, short is sexy.

Ok, all is forgiven now

mmmmmm.... could beeeee....

Now the hummer is Wretched Excess, as I stated... But it's the only real SUV they're still selling -- the rest are all soccer mom cars.

...and which Sport or Utility would that be? It's a Military Utility Vehicle. Designed for getting over extreme terrain fast for the sport of killing people, or the utility of setting things up so that other people can kill people more easily. (basically). Ok, so maybe the civilian version could be aimed at paintballers. Yeah, maybe it's the ultimate off-roader, but the term SUV was coined specifically to market the 'soccer-mum cars', and not the Hummers.

Yeah, maybe it's the ultimate off-roader,

Feh. It's not even the ultimate off-roader. That'd be the unimog. It's even a Mercedes Benz.

Okay, sorry about that

Actually, I know an American/Asian family with four daughters who all have a rigorous schedule of after school activities, from swimming to (you guessed it) soccer to skeet shooting

The mother in this family is an Asian woman of no more than 5'2", and they've got a nice big Suburban. I can hardly see her head when I'm sitting in my van.

And hey, you drive a minivan, so you're cool in my book. Besides, my girlfriend isn't much taller than you (she drives a Camry)

I'm surprised to get this far down the thread and nobody has mentioned the Steyr-Puch Pinzgauer, as supplied to rhe British army, not only available as a 4x4, but also as a 6x6: Automatic, L or Rh drive, available also as a camper van (ideal for safaris), ambulance and fire engine - get the first one on your block.

Goes anywhere, except, hopefully the Middle East - and I hope the Hummer guys, don't have to either.

I think, actually, Steyr-Puch did a fair bit more than breath on the Unimog!

Talking of off road vehicles, anybody know of a kit or plans to build a model WW2 DUKW, I've been wanting to build a radio controlled one for years.

...the term SUV was coined specifically to market the 'soccer-mum cars', and not the Hummers.

I disagree. I saw this appellation many years before our national SUV crisis. I know that the local paper has used that term for at least fifteen years in the classified section. In fact, if I remember correctly, it's the term the NC DMV uses to classify such vehicles, and I think they include pickup trucks in it, too. Of course, all of those sources spell it out.

Oh no. I've been Bitt'ed.

Leaves one to imagine the effect of a drunk SUV driver...

I didn't think there was much left to imagine in this sad vein. A recent local case in point.

The hard-to-fathom popularity of SUVs? Well, folks who commute to work by car get sick of following them (with the attendant restricted visibility) and exercise the "couldn't beat them so I joined them" option. IMO, they'll remain popular until they are made more unattractive by higher direct or indirect (gasoline) taxes. Then only the very well-to-do will enjoy their loftier view of the highway.

Hey, I could be wrong....

nobody has mentioned the Steyr-Puch Pinzgauer

I was thinking of it, but couldn't remember the name. There's a guy up in Big Bear, California that sells them. I first saw one when I went to a race up there. If I hadn't just bought a Frontier, I'd have taken one on a test-drive and bought one. They had the 710M and 710K -- I'd have taken the 710M, since it's a convertible -- perfect for sunny California.

Parking would be a bit of a problem, though. If I ever get a commuter vehicle, like a motorcycle or some cheapo two seater, I'll consider getting one for camping/biking/etc...

Oh, and for what it's worth, Rolling Stone magazine says it's better than the new Hummer...

Parking wouldn't bother you, I live in little ol' England with its little roads and I've never had a problem parking a 23ft. motorhome in any town yet.

Mind you, I'm passing through Cambridge tuesday, where they are really tough on the motorist. The Empeg/Rio guys can sigh with relief if I haven't come by and asked for an electric hook-up and a tap for a brew by Wednesday morning!

Parking wouldn't bother you, I live in little ol' England with its little roads and I've never had a problem parking a 23ft. motorhome in any town yet.

On the contrary... parking would bother me. The parking space I get with my apartment is only a couple feet wider than my truck, and is just barely long enough for the truck to fit into. As it is, I have to let passengers out before I pull into my space. If I parked in the exact center of my space, we'd be stuck in the truck forever, unable to open the doors wide enough to get out. At work, half the spaces in the lot are for compact cars, which, given a liberal dose of vaseline and a good amount of forward/back/forward/back straightening, I can just barely squeeze into. The other half of our parking spaces are barely a foot wider.

If I lived out in a slightly less urban area than Los Angeles, then no, parking probably wouldn't bother me too much.

ooo... and bitt's been verbed. congratulations.

--dan.

Remember folks, verbing weirds language.

Nah, language is full of irregular verbs. Bitt fits in that category, no?

Today, I saw an yellow H2 on the highway in Houston (which has got to be the SUV capital of the US). It made me have a ritalin flashback. Did they intend this thing to look like a special ed school bus?

Did they intend this thing to look like a special ed school bus?

I have to admit, I much prefer the styling of the old Hummer... the boxiness made it stand out in the crowd of all the rest of the round cornered vehicles. Not that the size of the thing didn't make it do that anyway...

When I was a kid, my parents met a couple with a newish Bentley on holiday and assumed they were well off. They invited us round for the day and we drove round and round looking for a mansion, only to discover that they lived in the smallest of two bedroom houses.

The garage was so small, that when the guy got the Bentley in, he took a roll of stair carpet from the back seat, unrolled it from the sunroof, across the bonnet/hood to the bumper/fender and climbed out without scratching his precious car.

Where there's a will there's a way!

I didn't think there was much left to imagine in this sad vein. A recent local case in point.

The sad thing is that a Rodeo is quite small as most SUVs go. If that woman had been driving an Explorer, both those girls would be dead, almost certainly.

So much to risk to have a fad car. That's why you've got to get the safest normal car you can get. Hopefully my van, with a bunch of 5-star crash ratings, will protect me as much as possible from the other idiots on the road.

So, umm, you're saying the new model isn't boxy??

(Nothing wrong with boxy though, says former Land Rover FFR owner)

Rob

So, umm, you're saying the new model isn't boxy??

Overall it's still boxy, but they've rounded off nearly all the corners and edges that were very hard edges on the original. It feels and looks more... swoopy (if you will), which detracts from the original aesthetic, IMHO. I really dug the hard linearity of the previous design, as it was really unique.

I really dug the hard linearity of the previous design, as it was really unique.

Sorry -- pet peeve time:

Really? Was it more unique than other unique things?

I know, some people will claim that unique no longer means ``one-of-a-kind'', but, IMO, that's just apologetic.

Really? Was it more unique than other unique things?

Huh? That question doesn't make sense. I was using the word unique to mean "one-of-a-kind". Yeah, every car has a unique design, but look at what they all have in common. Next time you're out on the highway or just in the city, take a look around you. See any mass produced consumer vehicles that don't have every edge tapered and rounded? By not having every edge turned into some sleek contour, the old Hummer was unique.

Perhaps you'd be happier if I restated it as:

I really dug the hard linearity of the previous design, as it was really one-of-a-kind.

Sheesh.

No, I think Bitt's complaining (tongue-in-cheek) about the "Really" part of "Really unique". Either it's one-of-a-kind, or it's not. It can't be "really" one-of-a-kind, any more than it can be "nearly" one-of-a-kind.

Awww, can we not be 'nearly one of a kind' ?? I always reckoned I was almost unique - except for my evil twin, probably

No, I think Bitt's complaining (tongue-in-cheek) about the "Really" part of "Really unique". Either it's one-of-a-kind, or it's not. It can't be "really" one-of-a-kind, any more than it can be "nearly" one-of-a-kind.


But what if you had something that was one of a matching pair, and there was only 2 of them. Wouldn't that be "nearly" one-of-a-kind?

I'd argue that it could be nearly unique, as that implies proximity. But superlatives and comparatives applied to unique are just (IMNSHO) wrong.

Then again, maybe he meant ``really'' as an expression of non-exaggeration, as opposed to a comparative.

I sure do hate English's malleability.