Ridiculous size car = over inflated ego

I didn't need a study to tell you that

@Burning pakalolo not even noticing the weather: let's also throw in people that drive Land/Range Rovers as well

That's because nobody buys Jags except the elderly...my math professor keeps mentioning she is buying one soon, and I just cringe. (not because I can't afford it, but because they are JUNL)

@mbz32190: whoops, should read JUNK

Does this have to do with the visibility of the vehicle attracting cops, or that the vehicle attracts assholes to buy them?
Not to stereotype, but people who buy Hummer's (with the exception of the .05 percent of them who actually take them off-road) don't give a s**t about the environment. This also reflects their general outlook on life. A disregard for rules and consideration for other people. So it isn't surprising that they would get the most tickets.

@Burning pakalolo not even noticing the weather: Except that doesn't seem to hold true for other ridiculous-sized cars. There's something about this specific brand.

@mbz32190: It'd also be interesting to have a ticket-per-mile figure, not just a ticket-per-owner; my understanding is that yer basic Jaguar doesn't spend a whole lot of time on the road.

@suburbancowboy: I'm pretty sure it's the size and ubiquitous nature of the Hummer itself that attracts cops. Tahoes and Suburbans can look similar from a distance, but there are no other vehicles that look similar to Hummers, so it's easier to spot them from a distance.

I do think certain personality types (and rich kids with parents who will buy them a Hummer) prevail.

Also, I wanted to apologize for the grocer's apostrophe in my previous post.

I'm sure you know every Hummer owner to make that statement. Maybe it's because police tend to sterotype people. PO: "Hmmm Hummer owner.. they are such jerks with ther big fancy cars. I bet they have lots of money. I'll pull them over and make my quota. They have enough money to just pay the fine and are too busy with work to go to court. "

I really have to laugh at the theory that it is the driving position that causes them to get more tickets. Sure...not the fact they have so much money they can blow 50-70k on a car for no other reason than "I feel more important in this vehicle". If you wanted an off-road car, there are far better vehicles...if you wanted a large cargo holder, there are more suitable choices, if you wanted a powerful vehicle...etc. This thing is simply there to make a statement: "Everyone! Look at me in envy! I really hope to piss off a lot of people!"

Three Scions in the top seven? Ouch. I hope the insurance companies are at least considering both primary driver age AND vehicle model for calculating premiums. My wife and I both drive Scions, but we also have perfect driving records.

*knocks on wood*

Credit where due, FTA: "The findings were standardized based on the number of violations per 100,000 miles driven for different models."

I was ready to blast the authors of the study or the news article if that was not considered, so good on 'em for doing it right.

@yagisencho: I think it's because the Scions are targeted at the Fast & Furious crowd that refuses to get off my lawn after I yell at them (and then proceed to do donuts on it).

@suburbancowboy: I know many guys who drive them that are the most upstanding, polite, gentlemenly men you have ever met. of course, their version is armor plated, Diesel, and has a mounted .50 caliber machine gun on top.. Pretty much 99.5% of the rest are the opposite of a porcupine... (pricks are not on the outside...)

@floraposte: Actually, according to the article, they do take mileage into account

The findings were standardized based on the number of violations per 100,000 miles driven for different models.

Why are the Tahoe and Suburban labeled as "similarly bloated"?

That's what these pretentious fucks get for driving a gas guzzling POS! Narcissism at it's best!

@Josh: Oh, thanks, I totally missed that. That does enhance its validity.

Good.

@Burning pakalolo not even noticing the weather: No, let's not.

Land Rovers (the Range Rover is model of the Land Rover brand. Confusing, I know.) can actually be taken off road and will kick ass.

The Hummer is just big.

@kaptainkk: +10

@enine: IIRC, the H3 sits on a Tahoe chasis.

And the Suburban is bigger than the Tahoe.

It might have to do with this situation i ran into the other day...
relatively full parking lot, i spot 4 spaces in the row next to me (think about it like a + )
i pull around to park, and some jackoff in a large yellow hummer decides that he needs to park in all 4 spaces.
(i yelled at him, and he ignored me... i guess a 22 year old kid in a camry isn't going to phase you when you have the ego of a hummer-driver)

I disagree with the "driving position" argument too. We have a Ford pickup and a Lexus SC. I find that in the pickup I'm able to look further ahead and plan better. Knowing that the truck can't stop as fast and that it doesn't handle as well on wet pavement I feel safer being able to see more of what's going on.

I definitely feel at a disadvantage in the Lexus. Sure I see (and can miss) potholes that I don't always see in the pickup, but I also really have to closely watch taillights directly in front of me.

@dohtem: the people I see driving Land/Range rovers in NYC where there is NO OFF-ROADING OR ROUGH TERRAIN are some of the biggest douche bags you want to meet. I have no problems with owning a car for functionality but how functional can it be when everything is smooth paved roads? And the people I have encountered and witnessed driving these are asses.

@Burning pakalolo not even noticing the weather: But if you had to have only one car, don't you want one that can do all the things you do, not just one of the things you do (go to work)? We only have one car, and it's a crossover SUV. Because it's the only car we have, it should be able to do everything we would do, like be good on rough roads and in icy conditions, hold all of our stuff when we travel (lots of stuff, pet).

I'm just saying, if you only have one car, it's important to get one that balances all the things you do with your time.

@gStein: Now I'm not saying you should have done anything, but.... that yellow paint means he wants to be looked at. It also comes off with a key/lighter/any rock.

@PDQ2: Because you need a truck to see ahead, so does the guy behind you. And the guy behind him.

You see where I'm going with this...

@suburbancowboy: And attitudes like this probably make some people want to get one. To give a big middle finger to people telling us what to care about and how to live.

@Burning pakalolo not even noticing the weather:

@pecan 3.14159265: I have no problem with getting a car that is functional throughout all seasons and terrain. However, when you live in a luxury high rise building and you drive your car on asphalt 99.9% of the time what's the point of having a 70k SUV that was designed more for driving off road? It's status and pretentiousness at its best. That's what I am pointing out.

@hi: That is quite possible. I remember one time after a large winter storm (for Washington DC anyway) getting pulled over by a police officer because I was traveling at 30MPH on I-95 in my SUV and I passed him. He pulled me over and yelled at me (no ticket) saying I was not driving safely for the road conditions and mumbled something about stupid SUV 4 wheel drive drivers thinking they are invincible in the ice and snow.

I am sure that he was responding to accidents left and right from people who were not driving in a safe manner for the road conditions. I am sure that I was pulled over because I fit a stereotype.

That said, as someone who was born and raised in upstate NY, 3" of snow did not constitute a storm and was something that I had been driving in for over 15 years. I was driving at a speed well below what I felt comfortable with, in 2-wheel drive. I would have driven the same way in my SUV or the sports car that I had at the time. My driving was based on my driving experience, not based on the superpowers that I felt my vehicle gave me.

@pecan 3.14159265: Cross-overs are different, tho. Aren't they?

@hi: ...Except that most are leased, or underwater if they paid (and probably took the six-year plan).

@dohtem:
H3 is on the Colorado chassis, H2 on the Tahoe/Yukon one.

@pecan 3.14159265: Most of the Hummers in NYC that I have seen have been modified with the chrome wheels and the wide low profile tires and a body lowering kit. Those people will NEVER be going off road, and the way they have configured the vehicle makes it terrible for rough roads and for driving in any type of mud or snow.

If you are someone who enjoys off roading, you equip your vehicle with large high profile mud and snow tires on plain steel rims. If you are someone who wants a versitile vehicle suitable for many driving conditions and ample hauling, you will likely upgrade from the factory to some nice looking features (aluminum rims, body trim kits etc.) but you will keep the stock wheels and tires as they are designed for multiple driving conditions.

@dohtem: +10, you nailed it.
Backing out of a space sandwiched between two SUVs/Trucks/vans/crossovers is da pitz, and I look forward to the day it becomes rare... Again.

@Rachacha: I wasn't even talking about the Hummer, only the Range Rover and @Burning pakalolo not even noticing the weather's suggestion that Range Rover owners only buy them because of status and @dohtem's defense that they can be taken off road with ease.

@Trai_Dep: They're different only in that one can choose a crossover for different reasons, just like one can choose a Range Rover for different reasons. Whether it's to take a road trip or go off roading, it doesn't matter. The point is, people are free to buy vehicles regardless of what they use them for - I was merely saying that if you only have one vehicle, and one of your hobbies would require a vehicle capable of handling rough terrain, a certain type of vehicle (in this case, a Range Rover) is a legitimate choice.

hey asshole, hummers are for dicks !!

@dohtem:

H3 is on the colorado/canyon/trailblazer frame, H2 on the tahoe/suburban. The only difference between the tahoe and suburban is the length, but that doesn't explain why they are as "bloated" as the H2

@pecan 3.14159265: sweetheart, I don't get why you can't accept that the majority of Range/Land Rover owners buy the vehicle because of status. I'm not talking about the guy that lives in Montana or in a rual area that actually uses the vehicle (which more often than not would be a Land Rover Discovery) to hunt, go into the back woods or just for off roading. I am talking about the people that wouldn't even know how to get out of a snow ditch in an 86 maxima let alone a Range Rover. They buy it for status. I don't see Thule racks mounted to the top of the cars for ski'ng or snowboarding, or flood lights on the grill. I see snobby affluent people (celebrities included) that act like jerks when they get behind the wheel because they think they are better than everyone else due to the vehicle they are driving.

@gStein: I saw a similarly parked vehicle (not a Hummer) repeatedly at the local commuter lot, and mumbled what a jerk the guy was for parking like that as I walked by (as did others). When I came back home one evening, the car was still there, and someone had printed out about 50 signs on 8.5 x 11" paper saying things like "Look at me, I am special, I need to take up 3 spaces for my precious car" and "Yes, I am a moron" and "I can't park" and placed them under the windshield wipers, in the door gaskets etc. the entire car was plastered with the signs...I have not seen the car since.

@Burning pakalolo not even noticing the weather: "However, when you live in a luxury high rise building and you drive your car on asphalt 99.9% of the time what's the point of having a 70k SUV that was designed more for driving off road?"

Oh, I don't know, maybe that's just what the person WANTS? What difference does the motive make as long as the buyer is legally purchasing the goods, and how is it anyone else's business anyway? Even if someone wants to buy something primarily as a "status symbol", what's wrong with that? It may be a "waste" from another's perspective, but hey, "different strokes for different folks".

Actually I have a strong feeling that a lot of the loathing and anger directed at goods (and the people who buy them) such as luxury cars, high-end consumer electronics, high-end jewelry/clothing, and other "unnecessary" and "indulgent" products actually represents a form of reaction-formation driven by feelings of envy. If I can't get it, I'll just convince myself (and everyone else who will listen) that I don't want it anyway.

Why can't we just live and let live?

@Dawnrazor: I am a firm beliver in that, I personally don't care how you spend your money, but don't act like a dick because you have it. I don't loathe people that have more than me, I loathe people that act like I am supposed to bend over backwards because they have a bigger bank account, or act like shit heads because they drive a certain car or have an Black amex.

I compare it to my hatred of the Yankees. As a born and bred NY'r and METS fan I can never root for the yankees. Not because of jealousy but because of the obnoxious, dickhead fans that think they can abuse people, be nasty and don't want to hear anything negative about their team. I fully accept that the Yankee's are a great team with a great history but its the fans that kill any type of rooting I may do for the team.

Same applies to Range Rover/Land Rover drivers. Living in NYC I see more than my fair share of snotty, pretentious people that drive these cars that act like they are above everyone else.

@Burning pakalolo not even noticing the weather: and I am certainly not jealous, I don't envy anyone in this world. I am a person that is quite happy with my life and the things I want I have or am working hard to achieve and obtain. I just make honest observations of things I see.

@gStein: I have an uncle who does this. In his defense, though, he does this in remote areas of the parking lot. He's really really paranoid about his car getting dinged by carts/doors/etc

@trrwilson:
I think it's okay if you're parking way out on a sparsely populated lot. However, taking up two or three spaces in a lot that doesn't have a lot of free spaces to begin with is douchey.

@Rachacha:

Love it.