[quote=“Michael J Botti”]
A new “loophole” in the system does exist somewhat for pickup trucks.[/quote]
Just don’t go out and buy an ugly lump like this 
Not really my style…
Off topic:
But, in it’s defense (And to the moronic statements made in the link) that the Hummer H2, despite being an ugly, overweight gas hog, is a stellar performer off-road. It comes factory with diff lockers, 16 inches of ground clearance, built in air compressors, comprehensive underbody protection, fantastic crawl gear ratios and lots of goodies that would make an off-road enthusiast drool. People that make Anti-SUV websites such as these seem to have a serious lack of knowledge across the board not only about the vehicles they are knocking, but about cars in general.
If you really want to get 4 ton SUV’s off the streets, there are existing laws that apply. Drive into any residential area of the U.S. and you’ll most likely see the following sign: Vehicles exceeding 6,000 pounds gross not permitted. It’s been law in the States for over 30 years…Frankly I’m amazed no one has picked up on this. This law was introduced to cut down on road repair in low traffic volume areas and remains in place to this day…Sales would certainly slow if the giant SUV owners realized they couldn’t take the monster home no?
The funniest part of this link was the photo section…Best of all was the one of the kid giving the finger to the Hummer…From inside a Ford Expedition! :loco:
I posted the wrong link, should have been this one, which is at least funny.
I think you can get that sort of off-road capability for a lot less money, and most people’s issues with these things is that 99% never go off-road.
On the subject of the loophole though, I seem to recall that individuals aren’t permitted to register commercial vehicles in Taiwan, only companies. Or, maybe you can own and register a commercial vehicle, but not as a 商用車 so you don’t get the tax break. One of the two.
Seeing as kids in Taiwan don’t play soccer (or anything more physically challenging than X-Box), what do we call those women who in the West we’d characterize as ‘soccer moms’? :s
I don’t know about Yangmei but down here there’s an explosion in the number of Escapes, X-Trails and CRVs the brainless young housewife set is using to run errands and window-shop 
I guess they are cheaper than Volvos though.
[quote=“Michael J Botti”]Not really my style…
The funniest part of this link was the photo section…Best of all was the one of the kid giving the finger to the Hummer…From inside a Ford Expedition! :loco:[/quote]
Hummer haters (and maybe lovers too) ought to read this article:
divisiontwo.com/articles/parttimemom1.htm
ROFL,
Robert
I split this as I’m interested in the Pro/Anti SUV opinions from other forumosans…
I drive an SUV, and love it. It’s a 4500 pound gas hog from hell. It doesn’t really fit into the soccer mom mold, as I’ve done my best to try and kill it in every sense of the word. Water, mud, sand and rocks. It’s also saved me from serious injury in two different accidents…One a T-bone by a Honda civic and another time rear ended by a ford festiva. It camps and get’s me to my favorite swimming holes/beach haunts/fire access roads. The bed is long enough to sleep in the back, or haul a decent size sofa. During the last water outage, it hauled up to 100 gallons of water at a shot. For me at least, it’s used in the manner for which it was intended. We are also somewhat insulated against the multitude of idiotic drivers here…Am I still the target of anti-SUV propaganda?
I left the U.S. long before the SUV revolution and am therefore somewhat ignorant pertaining to the SUV culture. Here, it seems that the mini-SUV’s are on every corner, namely Ford Escapes, Honda CRV’s and Nissan X-trails. None of which are really off road capable. I also see a trend in the States toward making SUV’s more carlike. My mother’s 2005 durango is so low that it couldn’t handle a washboard, let alone attack any decent off road trail.
Comments? Would you drive an SUV here? Any justification for driving a 4-ton SUV on the street of Taiwan. Is there any sort of Anti-SUV movement here?
Robort Storey…The link is funny as hell. :bravo:
I’d think just the parking situation in Taipei would be enough of a turn-off, but out in the country they might come in handy. Even in town, however, I know of film production guys who swear by their CRVs and other small SUVs for getting equipment around, though a little blue truck would serve just as well.
It’s the pristine ones I see driven around by very small, very well-dressed women in the Warner Village area that seem the most unnecessary.
I think there’s a really big (and obvious) difference between a 10 year-old 4X4 that you actually use to drive roads that a regular car couldn’t get up and a shiny new RX330 that’s never seen mud on it’s tires. I don’t believe for one moment that anyone spends several million NT$ on an X5 and then tries wheeling with it. That’s the ‘sport’ idea dismantled.
As to ‘utility’, anything that will fit into the back of one would also fit into a small van, so where’s the need for an expensive SUV? For the price of some of these monstrosities you could buy both a decent sedan and a either a small van or jeep, and actually get all the use out of them.
I can only see one reason for buying an ML320 over a Freeca and that’s vanity.
I used to play squash at a club in Wolverhampton. They had playing fields attached and Wolverhampton Wanderers FC trained there. Premiership football players with blacked out X5 sporting stupid number plates. You couldn’t help but think ‘tossers’. SUVs for the city, load of arse. That said, I did drive a Toyota Landcruiser in Ethiopia and that was great fun (if a little hair-raising at times). You need a good bit of ground clearance if you don’t want to take major detours to avoid the pot-holes in Addis Ababa, and onece you leave the city…
I have another reason for not liking the surge in Taiwanese popularity fo SUVs and vans. It’s the visibilty issue. They’re harder to see round/past/over. This is even worse with tinted windows. That would probably not be such an issue in a country where the traffic wasn’t so nasty, but here it’s awful.
I don’t know much about the argument, but I like the shape fo SUVs. So I have a question. Is size the on;y thing that makes SUVs worse for the environment? What about something liek those little 3-door Suzuki Escudos? They’re not much bigger than Honda Civics. Do they chew much more gas?
Brian
Any of you gearheads seen this:
I think that it’s easy to get self-righteous on this issue. The fact is, we all use more than our share of the world’s resources, we make more money than most, we throw away more trash than most. Someone who drives a Honda CRV might feel smug when looking at a driver of a Hummer, but that same person should not be able to look a Seattle driver of a hybrid car in the eyes, who in turn wouldn’t be able to compare to a scooter communter in Taipei, who in turn would not be able to justify his extravagance to a Calcutta rickshaw driver. We’re all accountable for our actions, and nobody leads a blameless life.
I’m overweight and other people in the world are starving to death. Driving an SUV is along the same lines, I think.
People who really need extra traction buy a Land Rover Defender or a Toyota Landcruiser (or dare I say it, a Subaru Station Wagon). Diesel, manual, four-wheel drive. Unbreakable, easy to fix, and comparatively economical. People with money to burn will buy all sorts of things, them buying huge 4WD vehicles is no surprise. Hence a 4WD Porsche van.
My old man’s driving a Subaru Forester these days. Great car – he takes it everywhere, off-road as well, transporting his poults to the release pens deep in the woods, getting down to the riverbank, etc.
I saw one here for the first time a couple of weeks ago, so I’m having one just as soon as I have enough cash.
And I saw a Mitsubishi Challenger yesterday – that’s a pretty beefy looking ride.
[quote=“Maoman”]I think that it’s easy to get self-righteous on this issue. The fact is, we all use more than our share of the world’s resources, we make more money than most, we throw away more trash than most. Someone who drives a Honda CRV might feel smug when looking at a driver of a Hummer, but that same person should not be able to look a Seattle driver of a hybrid car in the eyes, who in turn wouldn’t be able to compare to a scooter communter in Taipei, who in turn would not be able to justify his extravagance to a Calcutta rickshaw driver. We’re all accountable for our actions, and nobody leads a blameless life.
I’m overweight and other people in the world are starving to death. Driving an SUV is along the same lines, I think.[/quote]
While 
to maoman for such a on-point remark about SUV’s. I personally can’t stand them because of how they are percieved in the US. It seems like in the last decade, the US attitude has been the bigger the better. So the bigger the toy the better your life will be, even if it’s gonna send you straight into the poor house. 
As for taiwan, i haven’t encountered to many here to have an opinion but given how they drive here and how I have seen American’s drive with them, I think they should be banned.
Maybe we need to get back to the simpler things in life, when did getting somewhere require so much anyway?
Well, I used to drive a ford escape. nice drive, but not really an offroader. It was a company perk btw.
I am a mountainlover, and I for one can see the benefit of driving a big offroader up there. Lots of power, no need to be afraid of getting out on bad roads, lots of lugging capacity for hauling camping stuff, and also big and safe in case you pass a blind corner and an einstein is overtaking in the other direction.
Honestly, though I would most likely end up with a 2 car setup. A small saloon, somewhat beat up for driving to the city, and then a big monster for the mountains and holidays.
Second hand cars here are cheap.
My old man’s driving a Subaru Forester these days. Great car – he takes it everywhere, off-road as well, transporting his poults to the release pens deep in the woods, getting down to the riverbank, etc.
I saw one here for the first time a couple of weeks ago, so I’m having one just as soon as I have enough cash.[/quote]The Forester is based off the Impreza platform so it’s handling is a bit snappier than that of the Outback wagon 
In the US market they have 2.5l turbo version (XT) which is a beast. Here they offer either a N/A 2.5XS or a 2.0XT turbo, but sadly they are both auto only. The XT makes better peak power, but the XS is more tractable at low revs. I hate small turbo motors with auto transmissions.
You might also look at the WRX sport wagon.
The Subaru wagon is a great solution if you have needs for a little more cargo space while retaining passenger car comfort and handling. They don’t call it the ‘Farmer’s Ferrari’ for nothing 
Personally I think SUVs are great for TPE. I had a jeep with bull bars and Stainless Steel running boards. A great help for those tough, “merging” situations you often get and great for avoiding those strange dings from incompetent parkers. Also, make parallel parking much easier - just back and bump - no need for those fancy detectors.
Personally I think SUVs are great for TPE. I had a jeep with bull bars and Stainless Steel running boards. A great help for those tough, “merging” situations you often get and great for avoiding those strange dings from incompetent parkers. Also, make parallel parking much easier - just back and bump - no need for those fancy detectors.
Actually the weight of a Honda CRV and the Accord are almost identical. They have the same size engines and the CRV isn’t necessarily more spacious especially boot size. The point being with these smaller SUV’s it’s more a style choice than anything else. What could be wrong with that?