

Big and bad - kradic
http://www.gladwell.com/2004/2004_01_12_a_suv.html

======
slapshot
Seems like this would be more appropriate a few years ago. Sales of the
Trailblazer are down 73% (last year this month to current year) and sales of
other SUV lines have dropped similarly.

Source:
[http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008%5C05%5C03...](http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008%5C05%5C03%5Cstory_3-5-2008_pg5_41)

The lesson for startups out of this are (1) don't chase fads, and (2)
consumers really do care about total cost of ownership.

~~~
tx
I don't understand that industry although I've been a C&D subscriber forever.
I picked up this month issue, and again: every single new car they previewed
gained inches and pounds. Every freaking time, every month, every new car. How
many more inches of wheelbase and cubic inches of trunk space do we need?

Sure, SUV sales are down, but overall the total mass that today's consumers
demand to be riding on, keeps increasing. Look at a freaking "mid-size" Camry
or Accord parked next to 10 year old Explorer or 4Runner - they're nearly
equal in size. 4-cylinder engines have all surpassed 2L displacement mark, and
anything less than 220hp is considered "inadequate".

The auto industry needs their own Steve Jobs, someone who's capable of telling
these fat idiots what to like, as opposed to blindly following their reptilian
instincts.

~~~
menloparkbum
According to the studies that keep track of such details, the size of car
owners also keeps increasing. Perhaps the auto manufacturers are simply trying
to ensure their vehicles can comfortably accommodate such trends.

------
noonespecial
_Jettas are safe because they make their drivers feel unsafe. S.U.V.s are
unsafe because they make their drivers feel safe. That feeling of safety isn't
the solution; it's the problem._

So much wisdom in so few words.

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wensing
I'm reminded of the fact that the Ferrari Enzo is one of the fastest but also
safest cars in existence:

 _"The Enzo is one of the safest cars to be in a crash because it’s designed
to come apart at high speeds, similar to a Formula 1 car."_
[http://www.motorauthority.com/cars/ferrari/another-enzo-
bite...](http://www.motorauthority.com/cars/ferrari/another-enzo-bites-the-
dust/)

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ChaitanyaSai
Clotaire Rapaille's (he is mentioned in the article) book "The Culture Code"
is a pretty insightful read. It is hard to come up with a gist of what is in
there, but if I were to attempt summarizing it, I would say that the thesis is
that cultural has a surprisingly sizable impact on most decisions, and
consumers are never accurate when supposedly describing their feelings.

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trekker7
Interesting how people want to feel safe, instead of actually being safe. If
people act irrationally, doesn't economics theory break down?

Also I think the article ignores the possibility that drivers of quick and
nimble cars could be (on average) more skilled than drivers of large SUVs.
This could have caused the difference in safety statistics.

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mynameishere
In the GE transportation systems twin diesel-electric locomotive vs. Boxster
crash tests, the locomotive came out ahead a remarkable 100 percent of the
time. Of course, it's MPG is somewhat less than the boxster, but the soccer
moms involved said that nothing was too good for their respective munchkins.

------
mattmaroon
<http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2005/03/15/sr4003.pdf>

Looks like SUVs are actually a little safer than typical 4 dr or 2 dr sedans.

~~~
neilc
Interesting. The evidence doesn't seem to support his claim that small and
agile is better than big and bulky:

    
    
      Important characteristics of vehicles that influence their
      driver death rates are type, body style, size, and weight.
      Within virtually every group of vehicles, the smaller and
      lighter models have the higher rates...
    
      Among cars, for example, the smallest twodoor models had
      the highest death rate at 190 per million vehicle years.
      This rate is more than twice as high as the average for
      all vehicles included in the study...
    
      The vehicle group with the lowest driver death rate was
      large luxury cars with 37 deaths per million vehicle years.
      The next lowest rate was in large minivans and station
      wagons with 42 deaths per million.

~~~
menloparkbum
Unfortunately I think the soccer moms are not so far off the mark. Small
contemporary 2 door economy vehicles get smushed and crumpled immediately upon
impact with a larger, sturdier vehicle. I used to drive a grotesque, gigantic
luxury vehicle from the 1980s and was rear ended twice. Both times the other
cars (GEO metro, some sort of Hyundai) were totaled (from a fender bender!)
and I merely ended up with additional dents on my bumper.

~~~
wensing
The argument is that you are less likely _to_ crash when piloting a smaller
vehicle, not that a smaller vehicle fares better in a crash of similar nature.

~~~
neilc
Sure, but the evidence I cited above does not seem to support that.

------
mattmaroon
He leaves out that 3 of the top 5 cars (all of which are absent from his
chart) in terms of fewest deaths per million are SUVs. The one I drive (Lexus
RX) has only about half of the fatalities that the Avalon does.

Also in terms of handling, it's grossly unfair to compare a Traiblazer (built
for shlepping kids and groceries around) to a Boxster. I'd be interested in
knowing how a Cayenne ran the course. Or how much better than a Traiblazer a
similarly priced GM sedan would.

~~~
aantix
I just can't resist...

I love how you happen to mention that you drive a Lexus.

"According to Bradsher, internal industry market research concluded that
S.U.V.s tend to be bought by people who are insecure, vain, self-centered, and
self-absorbed, who are frequently nervous about their marriages, and who lack
confidence in their driving skills."

~~~
mattmaroon
I'll grant you vain, self-centered, and self-absorbed, but not the rest.

