2006-04-04

Not What Chevy Had In Mind

Be careful what you ask for. Chevy, along with the popular reality TV show, the Apprentice, has given folks a chance to make their own commercial featuring the Chevy Tahoe. I'm sure Chevy execs pictured dozens of captivating and complimentary commercials being made by SUV fans everywhere. Instead, they are getting a lot of pushback from the SUV haters of the world.

Rocketboom has as a full set of links, but don't spend too much time there. The commercials play out quite slowly and most of them are filled with crafty (hardly) lines like "you won't drive here".

While it is an interesting outcome of today's "remix" culture, it still annoys me. It's true, most people won't drive their SUVs on anything but pavement, but I can not stand the attitude that people have taken against SUVs. Being an SUV owner myself, I object to being grouped with those on the road that can't judge the size of their vehicle. I object to being told I am the reason the world is warming. I object to being told that I don't need that vehicle. These people obviously don't know me. I commute to work, on a bike, when I can. My goal for this year is 100 days. Recently, when I'm not riding my bike, I'm riding the bus. It takes me longer to get to work on the bus than driving, yet I still do it.

I own a 2002 NIssan Xterra. I just recently cranked over 20,000 miles. How many miles are on your car? I don't care if I do burn more gas. Am I burning more than the guy driving 15,000 miles a year? I don't need the vehicle huh? How would you suggest I put 3 muddy bikes in the back of a car? If your answer is an external rack, I'm way ahead of you. If I'm taking my bikes long distance, we do put them on a rack on our car. As for driving off road, I have driven, responsibly, on approved back country roads, in the beautiful state of Colorado. We aren't all late for soccer practice, so stop lumping us together.

Maybe instead of blasting Chevy, we should be applauding them for their efforts to bring us E85 capable vehicles [e85].

If you aren't a part of the solution, you are a part of the problem.
Reduce your use - carpool - ride the bus - ride your bike!

2 comments:

Jason said...

I'm down with all of it, except the "responsible" driving on "approved" trails. Where is the fun in that? We need to go back to my high school days where it was "irresponsible, reckless, and inane" driving on "anything and everything".

Ben said...

Funny thing about these SUV hating crowds. What do they drive? I don't see the purpose of a 150mph BMW is the city of New York. How fast can you get to 65 mph in that versus my Jeep? 3 seconds isn't going to kill me. I'll still see you at the next light.

The best part is when it snows 15 inches out here, and people want to ski. I don't see people lining up to ride in my friend's Prius. When it comes down to it. With the amount of crap I can haul, I can carry what it would take two compacts to carry, and I still have comfort on my side. Oh, and I put out far less emissions that 2 engines. Now who is saving the environment?

As for staying on the pavement. We just got back from Moab this weekend. We took a Civic and a 4Runner. Guess what vehicle was used to get to the remote trailheads, and what vehicle held down camp? Nuff said..