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Topic Starter	Topic: The crossovers won?
Lieutenant Dan Mew Legs! Joined: 23 Jul 2006 Posts: 1112	Posted: 04-25-2018 06:41 PM                  https://techcrunch.com/2018/04/25/ford-to-stop-selling-every-car-in-north-america-but-the-mustang-and-focus-active/ Definitely surprising, Ford is killing off all new cars except for the Mustang and a new Focus. Not being much of a fan of crossovers, I hope other manufacturers don't follow suit.
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Κracus Lead Pipe Mafia Joined: 15 Oct 2007 Posts: 5947	Posted: 04-26-2018 03:29 AM                    Not a huge surprise. I drove by a parking lot a few days ago and the workers there are all blue collar workers. Some kind of shipping yard, I'm not sure exactly and the parking lot was full of trucks. There must have been about a hundred vehicles and 98% of them were trucks or SUV's. It was comical how few cars were there. Even I've ditched the car recently in preference for a 4x4. It isn't that I mind cars but I need a vehicle capable of getting me deep in the woods/trails whilst being able to tow my dirtbike for some weekend fun. It's also nice come winter time when the roads become impassable to cars.
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Whiskey 7 Just another Earthling Joined: 20 Jul 2001 Posts: 12926	Posted: 04-26-2018 02:42 PM                  I'll say it. Seems you need a bigger vehicle these days just to survive Part of the reason I updated to a larder drive. I like the last line of this article... "After that, it is up to the driver to buckle up, stay sober and alert, and maintain a safe speed. That's the best way to maximize your odds of survival, no matter what size car you drive." You can Google for yourself but another comment... In car vs. SUV head-on crashes, the study found that the odds of death were 7.6 times higher for the car driver than the SUV driver. In crashes where the car had a better front crash-test rating than the SUV did, the car's driver fared a bit better but was still four and a half times more likely to die than the SUV driver. _________________ Physicist of Q3W
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Eraser Cool #9 Joined: 01 Dec 2000 Posts: 44136	Posted: 04-26-2018 10:51 PM                    Statistics schmatistics. What does "7 times more likely" mean in absolute terms? You could say that people who regularly swim in the sea are 1000 times more likely to get bitten by a shark than people who don't, but yet, even for people who swim in a sea daily, chances of getting bitten are pretty much insignificant. I'm getting kind of riled up by this sort of reasoning because it's basically all I ever hear from non-riders when I say I ride a motorcycle. It's always about how dangerous it is. Lots of people insinuate that it's madness to go out in traffic on a motorcycle. And sure, you're more vulnerable than a car driver, but common sense, defensive riding and proper safety gear will diminish a significant portion of that added risk. Anyway, the point is that I ended up hating talking to non-riders about bikes because you simply can't break away from the safety talk. And all that, of course, right before the other person mentions going on a 3 week winter sports holiday this year.
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Κracus Lead Pipe Mafia Joined: 15 Oct 2007 Posts: 5947	Posted: 04-27-2018 03:47 AM                    God... that has to be my biggest pet peeve about owning a motorbike. I have a friend who used to play in wheelchair basketball, he himself isn't wheelchair bound but apparently all of his teamates are and apparently all of them are in wheelchairs because of a motorcycle accident that wasn't their fault. All of them. It annoys the fuck out of me.
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Whiskey 7 Just another Earthling Joined: 20 Jul 2001 Posts: 12926	Posted: 04-27-2018 04:53 PM                  Where did motor bikes come from? I was a bike rider myself albeit years ago so I understand the issue. Common sense, perhaps rare these days and defensive driving skill/knowledge can help and yes, you can argue statistics all day but you'd have to admit the large mass vehicle comes off better in 'general collisions'. I see an increasing numbers of 4WD/SUVs on the roads these days so I'd agree, the crossovers won. There was a traffic accident hereabouts the other day that sticks in my mind somewhat: A recently married couple and under 30 I guess, were t-boned by an unlicensed driver in a stolen car (no insurance) while he was high on drugs. The couple died instantly because of the high speed impact and he survived with minor injury. I don't know the types of vehicles involved and what I am trying to say is no matter how good you are or what you drive you are no doubt aware (or should be) that you could be taken out in milliseconds. Just one of those small statistics I suppose. Obviously I see it coming over the horizon, so don't bring up "I'd rather be driving a truck." _________________ Physicist of Q3W
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Eraser Cool #9 Joined: 01 Dec 2000 Posts: 44136	Posted: 04-27-2018 09:09 PM                    Motorbikes came in because you suggested a bigger vehicle was the more sensible option due to increased safety, which immediately triggered these sentiments with me as a biker because it's the same argument I hear against riding a bike.
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Whiskey 7 Just another Earthling Joined: 20 Jul 2001 Posts: 12926	Posted: 04-27-2018 09:39 PM                  I see. No problem. I didn't join the dots because we were talking cars vs SUV/crossovers. Perhaps why I added the truck comment; Freudian maybe. _________________ Physicist of Q3W
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Eraser Cool #9 Joined: 01 Dec 2000 Posts: 44136	Posted: 04-28-2018 01:12 AM                    There is no problem here. Up to a point you are right in that a bigger vehicle is safer for the occupant. I just knee-jerk reacted there by extrapolating that to the cars vs motorcycles argunent. Which isn't a wrong discussion to have either, it's just that I'm sick of people overreacting to the supposed dangerousness of motorcycles.
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YourGrandpa Blockheaded Blubberboy Joined: 16 Apr 2000 Posts: 20816	Posted: 04-28-2018 05:16 AM                  It seems every time I mention riding to non-riders I get a cringe and words of discouragement. I'm certain a lot of that has to do with the fact Florida is a retirement community and there are a lot of older drivers here. But I love it. Especially on days where the temperature is just right, they sky is blue and the sun is shining. There is nothing like that wide open feeling, the breeze in your face and rumble of the exhaust.... I'm going riding.
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