What method of deterring people from urban 4x4s to people endorse - fake parking tickets (stopurban4x4s.org.uk) or a brick through the window? I'm often undecided.
What about those who need 4x4? Most 4x4's are optional by that I mean you switch to it when you need it. I think only subaru make 4x4 standard on all vehicles. Why dont you napalm their factory because they are such a vile evil company.
When it comes to softening the impact we have on the environment this is the only area I believe the government should have a strong regulatory presence in. People should have to prove the necesity for four wheel drive and capacity of a vehicle. I live in the midwest of the USA and see FAR too many people driving around in V8 gas guzzling 7-10 passenger 4x4s by themselves, just for commuting. It is no suprise to me that America consumes so much oil. I am going to school for a business degree in the automotive field so I have some insight into all of this. I do drive a Jeep 4x4 with a 242 cubic inch inline 6 cylinder. However, due to work needs and the ability to go offroad in remote locations I dont think it would be fair to not be able to own such a vehicle. As a matter of personal choice, and concern for our environment I walk to school or ride my motorcycle which consumes much less oil and gas. People in the USA need to have someone tell them and maybe even force them to make smart choices when it comes to consumption of all non renewable resources.
Subaru doesn't make it standard and All-Wheel Drive is not Four Wheel Drive. All Wheel Drive is just shitty positraction. I drive a Chevrolet Silverado, in fact, my mom even drives a Silverado. All my friends drive trucks, and sometimes you have to go five miles offroad to get to houses, and if we didn't have four wheel drive, we would have been swept away by a washed out road during Hurricane Floyd. Alot of people use it to hunt and fish. I often go on beaches in North Carolina, and I'm a member of the North Carolina Beach Buggy Association. Of course, I live in Virginia and even when I go to Hatteras and OBX, I notice there are more trucks and SUVs up here.
I read the very amusing website, and thought the World Naked Bike Ride was the best idea. I would endorse several of the ideas on the website, including higher congestion taxes, social ridicule, the excellent parking tickets, and protesting at car shows. Your 4x4 terminology is a bit different, in America we call them SUVs, as it SUVs suck. Very few people use SUVs for their intended purpose and I have gone to far more remote locations on foot or bike. I frankly think SUV drivers are kind of weak, maybe they should be mainly reserved for disabled folk.
thanks for bridging the language divide, peaceful. I was thinking that the site referred to the "urban assualt vehicles." Some people need the off-road ability or 4WD, and living in Colorado, I know that work vehicles have their place. unfortunately, every Mary Kay mom thinks she needs them, too (or maybe it is to haul 30-leven kids. Stop breeding ) so they are at dangerous off road places like the grocery store (esp Whole Foods, wtf?) schol and the shopping "maul." basically, a Suburban is "better" in their eyes than another soccer mom van. it's status. the way to change what is a symbol of sucess, ir to start altering the over-culture's values. If small cars (Mini Coopers, anyone in the US?) became desired, or hybrids, or the Tesla car, then SUVs would go the way of the mini van and station wagon before. In Colorado, we have ahuge market for high end bikes. Maybe we can work on the bike towing the car for occasional use, rather than the bike rack on the car. Here's wishing.
I empathise with many peoples’ contempt for 4WD’s / SUV’s. I own a 1963 Land Rover that has minor dents all over and faded paintwork that I refuse to do anything about as a matter of inverted snobbery. In a way I consider it to be off less environmental impact in that has lasted much longer and as long as it does not get into a collision it can exist indefinitely. This is perhaps the conundrum of capitalism and manufacturing. By making a product that is sustainable; the company that makes it becomes unsustainable. Anyone see the film The Man In The White Suit?
Don't worry guys, i understand all your needs and reasons for 4x4s. What i was talking about is urban ones, only 5% of which are ever taken off road. And yes, sorry, i guess i meant SUVs. And i'm sorry to say that i can never bring myself to put a fake parking ticket on a really old battered land rover, there's a special one on my road that has immunity. Using an SUV for one year instead of a 'regular' car wastes as much power as leaving a fridge door open for 7 years.
I drive a Jeep Cherokee (the 6-cylinder version) ... I inherited it, and it's ten years old. I fill up about every 3 months, so are any of you going to tell me I'm wasting gasoline? If I were to take it to the landfill and buy a new hybrid, how much more of the earth's resources would I waste, not to mention my own limited income? The snowplow doesn't always make it this far back in the sticks, are you going to come and get me if my hybrid can't get out of the driveway? If you don't need one, don't buy one. If you already have one, use it with restraint.
I love having the option to use 4wheel drive when i need it, it's a safety layer, if you end up in a situation 2 wheel drive can't handle you have the option of switching to 4wheel drive.
