Ok, this rant is to all of you out their in cars. The people who care more about gas mileage than the size of the tank. You people who just need something to hold a couple friends and maybe some groceries in the back. Those of you who can't afford something the size of a sailboat and who have the sense not to take out a second mortgage just to get something like that. Those of you out there who are forced to make due with a car jammed to the gills with camping gear and are running the risk of puncturing you oil pan or part of the exhaust system because you can't afford a large vehicle like a small truck or even a small or mid-sized SUV.
I am one of you. I go camping, rock climbing, caving, fishing, mountain biking, and hiking but drive a ten year old Toyota Corolla wagon that has seen those oil pan punctures, exhaust tears, rocks and holes that can take out an alignment in half a second. In all honesty I really do NEED something like a Toyota Tacoma or Nissan Frontier, but just something in a four-cylinder.
But I digress, for this rant is actually towards you jackasses who think SUVs are for soccer moms and people who are just shit scared of other cars. You are the people who are causing accidents, running up the price of gas, increasing air pollution, and making it a bitch for those of us who don't have that utter blindness to others. A suggestion for the former group of people I named: Get a damn mini-van. It gets literally twice the gas mileage, is easier to get in and out of, carries the same amount of people as most large SUVs, and has a much easier ride on streets and even mildly graded roads. They also happen to handle a lot easier than trucks and SUVs, have plenty of power to get you around town and country, and you pay less property taxes on a Ford Windstar than a Ford Explorer.
Ok, does this make sense so far? Buying a car for what you actually need? Do you need a 4x4 vehicle if you never plan on going camping or hiking? Do you need something with a 300 bhp V8 engine which gets 12 miles per gallon if you only plan on driving your kids to their baseball game and then out for ice cream? Do you really need to be spending a fucking $50 on a tank of gas when a mini-van which costs half as much and can carry the same amount of people in greater comfort around the city can fill up for less than $30?
The answer in my mind is a resounding "NO" which should be able to be heard all the way to Detroit and back again.
Here's what I'm proposing: You need a truck or SUV for camping, hauling lumber, or pulling a heavy trailer then you must get approval from either country or state government for that. I know this sounds a bit like "Big Brother" getting into our private lives, and it is exactly that. But in this case He needs to get in there and stop us from blowing out our checkbooks on things we really don't need that harm other people. Frankly, people have brought this upon themselves through blatant lack of self-control and regard for others.
You bastards you.