5th Gear On Monday...

[dazzab69]

... was the usual anti-4x4 rubbish. The little car in question was ten years old and thus had no safety features.

Besides which, if you go down the route of banning 4x4s (basically because the plebs and New Labour don't like being reminded that some people have done well in life and choose to drive a big car) because they aren't nice to little cars where do you draw the line ? Do you also ban buses, lorries, vans, Rolls Royce Phantoms, in fact anything bigger than a 2CV ? Why not ban all cars because they aren't nice to bikes, pedestrians, and rabbits.

Rant over.

[mudzs]

... was the usual anti-4x4 rubbish. The little car in question was ten years old and thus had no safety features.

Besides which, if you go down the route of banning 4x4s (basically because the plebs and New Labour don't like being reminded that some people have done well in life and choose to drive a big car) because they aren't nice to little cars where do you draw the line ? Do you also ban buses, lorries, vans, Rolls Royce Phantoms, in fact anything bigger than a 2CV ? Why not ban all cars because they aren't nice to bikes, pedestrians, and rabbits.

Rant over.

←

I think they were just making people aware of the danger of being hit by one ,and also the shogun that was used was also ten years old .i found the results a bit disturbing and has made me consider a 4x4 even more for the safty of my children .i presume they used a 4x4 and not a bus lorry etc as these cars are more common and more likley to be involved in that type of accident .the biggest shock for me was the fact the door on the car ended up touching the door on the opposite side and the shoguns chassis was untouched

[terdancam]

To be honest, i took a different view from that feature.

Firstly how shocking a crash actually is.

I agree that the 10 yr old car didn`t make for a good example, but then there are 10 yr old cars out there, and as the presenter and sfaety guy said air bags and a reinforced frame would not have made a whole lot of difference!

Sensationalist tv? Possibly.....But then it does happen, 4x4s do rollover, little cars do get absolutely crushed by bigger vehicles.

Will new legislation help? Yes.

As for the issue of 4x4s that is a whole separate debate, especially given that at least all the other cars mentioned are designed for road use!

Everybody knows suvs are a p*nis thing, they use far too much fuel, have similar interior space to a peeps carrier or estate, and will possibly never see a muddy track.

In the states with its VAST open spaces you could possibly say they are ok, but in the cobbled streets of old london town? I don`t think the phantom raspberry blower had those in mind!!!

I certainly will now be far more aware of side-approaches of any vehicle, as well as how violent a crash actually is---that sort of thing needs to be in the driving lessons!

[fergy]

They might have chosen older cars as much cheaper to crash than new ones... ?

[fergy]

Everybody knows suvs are a p*nis thing, they use far too much fuel, have similar interior space to a peeps carrier or estate, and will possibly never see a muddy track.

In the states with its VAST open spaces you could possibly say they are ok, but in the cobbled streets of old london town? I don`t think the phantom raspberry blower had those in mind!!!

←

Funnily enough my RX will probably not see much more than a field... did not buy it as an off roader as it really is not designed as such (no locking diffs, low ration gear box and road biased tyres).

Who cares if they dont do as many mpg, I dont do many miles in a year so probably dont pollute the atmosphere any more than a lot of IS200 drivers...

Space, yip holds more than my wifes Laguna Estate...

I bought it as I liked it... I could make up other reasons to justify but that liking it as much as was necessary to get one... (plus wifes permission)

[GlynnB]

You really are on my hobby horse now.

The phrase used is man induced global warming.

My 4000 miles per year contribute virtually nothing to that.

If a pandemic wiped out half the world population in the next 3 months would global warming be an issue next year?

So why is my government paying people to breed?

Why are all greens seen carrying multiple tots?

No fish in the sea. nowhere to bury people, farm animals now called meat products because of the way we treat them, need at least three new towns in the South East just to house the immigrant workers the government says we need, carbon tax on industry, carbon tax on home energy etc etc.

And it's all the fault of my RX.

[terdancam]

You really are on my hobby horse now.

The phrase used is man induced global warming.

My 4000 miles per year contribute virtually nothing to that.

If a pandemic wiped out half the world population in the next 3 months would global warming be an issue next year?

So why is my government paying people to breed?

Why are all greens seen carrying multiple tots?

No fish in the sea. nowhere to bury people, farm animals now called meat products because of the way we treat them, need at least three new towns in the South East just to house the immigrant workers the government says we need, carbon tax on industry, carbon tax on home energy etc etc.

And it's all the fault of my RX.

←

ah the usual its not me or my car arguments!

power to weight ratio of large cars causing excessive consumption?

global warming will always be an issue.....where exactly do people think all that burnt fossil fuel exhaust is going? Fairy lal la land?

developed world "breeding" is actually falling, we`re just not dying like we used too!

Fish is not "farmed" other livestock is, but this like all the rest is not related to the suv.

What is of importance, as to most things, is appropriateness. As i mentioned earlier SUVs on the uk roads are inappropriate. They are appropriate to farmers or resuce workers. If all the SUVs in the states were just "normal" car types, the resultant oil usage due to the decrease in weight/power has been calculated in the million barrel range!!

And regardless or whether i or anybody is more or less to blame because of the size/efficiency of the vehicles they drive is a moot point. In the cold light of day an SUV is more dangerous and less efficient than a car. Full stop. It does not then neccessarily follow that all the worlds evils are the fault of SUV drivers, as we`re all culpable.

Nonetheless in todays society where status and image, branding and celebrity are the be all and end all of existence seemingly cars of this nature are a status symbol.

I could go on and on and end up at the meaning of life, but the oil is going to run out in 15years anyway so none of this will matter!!!

[fergy]

You really are on my hobby horse now.

The phrase used is man induced global warming.

My 4000 miles per year contribute virtually nothing to that.

If a pandemic wiped out half the world population in the next 3 months would global warming be an issue next year?

So why is my government paying people to breed?

Why are all greens seen carrying multiple tots?

No fish in the sea. nowhere to bury people, farm animals now called meat products because of the way we treat them, need at least three new towns in the South East just to house the immigrant workers the government says we need, carbon tax on industry, carbon tax on home energy etc etc.

And it's all the fault of my RX.

←

ah the usual its not me or my car arguments!

power to weight ratio of large cars causing excessive consumption?

global warming will always be an issue.....where exactly do people think all that burnt fossil fuel exhaust is going? Fairy lal la land?

developed world "breeding" is actually falling, we`re just not dying like we used too!

Fish is not "farmed" other livestock is, but this like all the rest is not related to the suv.

What is of importance, as to most things, is appropriateness. As i mentioned earlier SUVs on the uk roads are inappropriate. They are appropriate to farmers or resuce workers. If all the SUVs in the states were just "normal" car types, the resultant oil usage due to the decrease in weight/power has been calculated in the million barrel range!!

And regardless or whether i or anybody is more or less to blame because of the size/efficiency of the vehicles they drive is a moot point. In the cold light of day an SUV is more dangerous and less efficient than a car. Full stop. It does not then neccessarily follow that all the worlds evils are the fault of SUV drivers, as we`re all culpable.

Nonetheless in todays society where status and image, branding and celebrity are the be all and end all of existence seemingly cars of this nature are a status symbol.

I could go on and on and end up at the meaning of life, but the oil is going to run out in 15years anyway so none of this will matter!!!

←

So why you driving a 2 litre car ?? Surely you are also damaging the environment ??? Why are you not trading in yours for a sub-1 litre .... say a smart car ? How often do you actually need a 4 door executive saloon ???

In fact why you driving instead of cycling ??

[johnc201]

[.............but the oil is going to run out in 15years ................]

Didn't somebody say that in about 1960?

[Monster-Mat]

i have a Shogun..... and its 10 years old

iu tow a trailer. and lug crap around in it.

i dont give a toss about what it does to the enviroment, because Gov'ts and industry need to pull there weight aswell

in my day Job i drive a 21 litre 70 ton tank....that, has a serious enviromental problem.....but again i dont care.

and that will really ruin your day if it crashes into you

[Matthew_McNally]

If all the SUVs in the states were just "normal" car types, the resultant oil usage due to the decrease in weight/power has been calculated in the million barrel range!!

←

and if the US government would do things like sign up for the Kyoto Agreement - the differences would make the SUV figures pale into insignificance.

[Scorpion]

And you cant ban lorries either as we wouldn't exist without them,we need the haulage industry to deliver everything you need to be here food/clothing and the cars we drive to go in the showroom.

[MacRS200]

Nuke....no carbon emissions, never runs out, we love it when it comes out......the sun works that way, nature is best

See how it is takes a while but worth the wait :D

[Bartierx300]

... was the usual anti-4x4 rubbish. The little car in question was ten years old and thus had no safety features.

Besides which, if you go down the route of banning 4x4s (basically because the plebs and New Labour don't like being reminded that some people have done well in life and choose to drive a big car) because they aren't nice to little cars where do you draw the line ? Do you also ban buses, lorries, vans, Rolls Royce Phantoms, in fact anything bigger than a 2CV ? Why not ban all cars because they aren't nice to bikes, pedestrians, and rabbits.

Rant over.

←

I agree with dazzab69, still if you vote Labour, expect to have to pay for being able to afford a 4x4.

[terdancam]

See, just as I predicted, the usual "if they did this" etc.

If people actually read posts and not glance at them, they would have understood that 1)I know i`m also culpabable driving a 2litre car. 2)it`s about appropriateness.

There will soon be 3 Nuke reactors left in Britain. Renewable energy will acount for <10% of energy requirements in the UK in 15years.

It is now accepted by the Government, and business, let alone environmentalists that NS oil runs out in 15years, and we will be importing 90-95% oil and gas from OPEC, as well as a new monopoly formed by the gas producing countries of iran,russia, SArabia--this new body will also set prices as opec does.

So all we need is another irritated Arab with an issue and we`re b**gered.

I think that Electricity advert is the best yet; individuals saying it doesn`t matter, but collectively :o .

What gets me more than anything is the "head in the sand, somebody else needs to sort it, so i don`t care attitude".

And before you start shooting the messenger, yes i am doing something about it, our car isn`t used that much, we walk most places, we recycle, the house is fully insulated, and we`re also going to be going off at the deep end by going self-sufficient soon!!!!!!! :o :o :shutit:

Now go back and read the threads properly, and open your eyes to what the government isn`t telling you!!!

[GlynnB]

You are the one who isn't listening.

It is about people not cars.

[adz]

as well as a new monopoly formed by the gas producing countries of iran,russia, SArabia--this new body will also set prices as opec does.

So all we need is another irritated Arab with an issue and we`re b**gered.

I just come back from Saudi since 2000 working for their military. Believe me, if the LOC got tooled up we could beat their entire "forces" and take what we want, end of story. ;) Why do you think we're in Iraq? it ain't "about people" over there.

Any tree huggers on this site have come to the wrong place surely. Every enviromentalist, with emphasis on the mentalist,that i've seen has been driving a knackered camper van or 2CV with smoke :tsktsk: ing out the back. I take it no-one goes on Jet aeroplanes on holiday then?, check the pollution figures out for them bad-boys. Or go and crush some cans if it makes you feel better.

[Parthiban]

I think this has moved off what it initially started to be about. After seeing that 5th Gear, I was a little surprised, especially when that mondeo that was slightly higher than the other mondeo hit each other and one destroyed the other. I think it is important for cars to have safety systems that work over larger area, and the NCAP tests aren't helping that because they just drive them into a solid block. So cars are being geared towards getting 5 stars in the test instead of reacting to real world situations

I also think that its a shame that only Volvo has bothered to make a 4x4 that has safety systems at the right height when hitting a car, because surely its not difficult to do and could easily be implemented by the other manufacturers (including Lexus) before it becomes necessary through legislation

I couldn't care less about fuel and the environment, otherwise I'd have a Prius or something. The only thing that does tick me off is that the Americans make these huge cars, with enormous 6 ltr engines, that do like 6 mpg, and produce the same power as a European or Japanese 3 ltr engine WTF is that about? Why are they not penalised for making such useless pieces of engineering? If they stopped the Americans making cars, I'm sure the world's oil usage would drop dramatically

[terdancam]

You really are on my hobby horse now.

The phrase used is man induced global warming.

My 4000 miles per year contribute virtually nothing to that.

If a pandemic wiped out half the world population in the next 3 months would global warming be an issue next year?

So why is my government paying people to breed?

Why are all greens seen carrying multiple tots?

No fish in the sea. nowhere to bury people, farm animals now called meat products because of the way we treat them, need at least three new towns in the South East just to house the immigrant workers the government says we need, carbon tax on industry, carbon tax on home energy etc etc.

And it's all the fault of my RX.

←

I`m not the one listening?

I briefly mentioned that they use too much fuel weight for weight, which is true. Yet the entire rest of my diatribe was focussed on the appropriateness of their size on british roads. Lorries and buses are necessary for transport.imagine if we all got one. I know in crouchend it would completely jam up!

I didn`t claim to be an environmentalist; i don`t have long hair, hug trees or eat seaweed. I`m a realist. But people who raise these issues are always shot down by the people who shout louder and more aggressivley.

By 2007 Britain will be a net importer of energy.Fact.

Has that got anything to do with 4x4s as raised by the initial thread?

Indirectly, yes. Its an attitude thats prevalent in this country of ignoring what you don`t want to hear, because it either doesn`t affect you or you think somebody else will sort it. Think impending pensions crisis, think societal discipline, think energy usage etc.

Do i claim to be a saint and all 4x4 owners sinners, when i drive an Is200? Of Course Not.

Do I wish people would wake up an smell the coffee? Of Course.