quote:
Originally posted by getfunky
quote:
By Wdric:
I bet you would luv to be the proud owner of a Toyota Prius or something like that
Yep I would like a Prius or similar as it suits my needs
Then have a read of this, you may change your mind and buy a jeep.
http://www.usedcarsalesman.com/usedcarsalesman/2006/12/index.htmlcnwmr.com/nss-folder/automotiveenergy/Yes I am a bit bias & I do drive a Pajero, when I can get the wife out of it.
It has leather seats to! And a fridge.
And yes my wife keeps it shinny and looking new all the time and washes it at least once a week. Which of coarse is when most people will see it on the road.
But unfortunately some people don't have the ability to think outside the square and think the majority of 4wd owners drive
"spotless posuer chariots".Checkout strongbow's pics, bet you would rather be there with the family and your kite gear than were you are now.
As you point out, things can be a mater of perspective.
"
Then you have the issue of prangs. If you try to do the rightly and drive a standard height car or hatchy and are hit by a 4wd (statistically more likely that the 4wd is at fault) you are ten shades of up sh1t creek!"What if you are trying even harder to do the rightly and walk the kids to the local public school and get hit by a P plater in a little hatchy who doesn't no what school zones are, I think you would be up the same creek.
I also know a guy drove into the back of a parked vehicle on the side of the road. His wife is dead and he is in a bad way for the rest of his life. He was driving a landcruiser and run into a truck! Is this also the same creek!
I also had a mate hit a dog while riding his bike to work when he was an apprentice, he was also in the same patch of water and had six weeks off work while his legs were in plaster.
" but how about the positioning of there nice shiny inflexible bumpers being at head height!" Are you a dwarf or a salesman? you will not buy a new 4wd as you describe, especially the ones you mention. That roo we hit out the back of Burke sure thought it was a flexible bumper, I had to take the inner guard off and knock it back out about 200mm, not that the roo felt any better about it the next day.
"Side on you will be lucky to become a new paint job on their bonnet." Would this be anything like having a commodore put your head through the windscreen as your legs are broken in half and taken out from under you.
In the last twelve months we have used our preferred mode of transport to:
*Take 6 kids to the pictures (saves using 2 cars)
*Take my 88 yr old grandma out for drives with the family in the same car, (she can't drive and we wouldn't all fit in a "standard car"). And the height of the vehicle seating is perfect for the elderly with bad backs and arthritis as they get in and out of the vehicle.
*Get to work to see the damage with the recent flooding (A little hatchy would have floated away).
*Travelled to the snowfields with the family (saved on the hire of snow chains & didn't have to fit them in the freezing cold).
*Legally tow a car float to help a mate pickup his broken down 4cyl sedan.
Then occasionally we put it into 4wd and:
*We have travelled through the Simpson Desert and camped on a huge salt lake under the stars with my two daughters and seen the night sky as you will never see in a city.
*Travelled to ground zero in remote South Australia
*Visited the tri state boarder intersections for WA/NT/SA & NT/SA/QLD & NSW/QLD/SA
*Travelled to remote communities (I did see falcons here)
*Travelled to the geographical centre of Australia.
*Seen huge creators formed by meteorites the size of a 44 gal drum.
*Travelled to Tom Grogan in the high country were the legend of the man from snowy river was made.
*Travelled to the resting place of Burke & Wills
*Visited a cave where Lasseter spent his last dying days (lasseter's reef fame)
*Visited Giles Meteorological station and learnt a bit more about the weather ( and tried to see if we will get more wind)
*Experienced with the kids a herd of about 100 camels in the wild.
*Travelled for 5 days & about 3000km and didn't see a traffic light (how good is that)
*Enjoyed a drive along Stockton beach and witnessed more damage to the beach done be one weekend of storms than any 4x4's have done in the last 10 years.
*Had the wife follow on a couple of downwinders
Next time you see a shinny 4wd don't assume the worst, you will never know what they were doing yesterday or what they will be doing tomorrow.
If you have a family you would may benefit by the diversity a vehicle with more capabilities can offer, I bet you would like one new kite that would do all the things two old ones will do, go and take a new diesel dual cab ute for a test drive, you might just be surprised by the level of driving comfort, the safety features, it will most likely handle better, stop better than your little hatchy, and may even use about the same amount of fuel. They are getting better with every new model, They are not what they used to be.
Yes I do agree with you that we need to look after the world we live in, and that a lot of 4wd's are used for shopping trolleys, but as you will never own one and venture of the main roads you will only ever see them on tare roads and in cities so you will naturally only ever see one side of the argument.
Could you image for a moment that this same argument probably took place in the early 1900's between the blacksmiths & horse riders Vs the rich people in town that could afford the luxury of a motorised carriage.
ric
You'd possibly get linched, by an angry machiato fuelled mob, if you tried a run down the Claremont cafe strip...
