G: "You know it, I just topped off and filled up my 5 gallon can for the lawnmower and paid over $50.00."
Waitress: "Earth hater." (said with a smile or sorts)
G: "What? Me?"
W: "Yes, you hate the earth for driving that fuel sucking pig of a vehicle."
G: "Does it matter that I don't drive it every day?"
W: "No."
G: "I'll have you know, I was carpooling with the wife and leaving the Suburban at home becore it became fashionable. And besides, what if I needed the space?"
W: "You could get by with less, you just have to try."
G: "So, should I have kept my Jeep Cherokee?"
W: "Well I'd give you a bit of grief because it's an SUV, but, yes, the Cherokee would be better than the Suburban."
G: "But the Cherokee was lucky to get 13 mpg, my Suburban, on the highway, gets almost 20 and I can fit everything for two people and two digs IN the Suburban where I'd have to tow a small trailer with the Cherokee thus further affecting fuel efficiency."
W: "Um..."
G: "So the Suburban is more efficient at getting the family to and from the Outer Banks. Taking into consideration of all factors my miles per gallon *PER PERSON* isn't that bad."
W: "You still hate the Earth."
G: "Should we take two little cars with one dog in each? Even if we both got 40 mpg if you divide that by two you end up back at 20 mpg and I can nearly do that in the Suburban not to mention with two vehicles I use more engine oil, transmission fluid, tire rubber, etc putting two cars in the road in place of one."
R: "I want a Suburban now. Where can I get one?"
W: "Oh.. just.. get a minivan or something." (leaves)
So when people ask why I'm still driving my Suburban I have a lot of reasons. First the value of the vehicle is dropping as more people who don't truly need the space are looking at smaller alternatives. Truth be told if I were in the market for a replacement I'd probably be doing the same. So the value of the vehicle is dropping. So why trade it in? Another reason to keep it is we really do utilize the "U" in "SUV". Just last weekend we moved about 2000 pounds of unneeded junk to Goodwill. How many trips would that have taken in, say, a Toyota Corolla (a vehicle I used to own)? I'd say a bunch, plus some of the stuff couldn't have been moved because it was too big and bulky. With the Suburban it was a matter of putting several dozen bags of clothing in the back (I can't believe we had that much stuff we'd never again wear) and the large stuff went into the open trailer.
Why am I typing all this? I don't know. I suppose I feel a little bit guilty about having that tanker in my garage. On the flip side we really do use the full capacity of the vehicle so I shouldn't feel any guilt about it and the Suburban is rarely on the road with a single occupant. Still, on those days when I do have to go to a doctor appointment or drive to Zebulon for the day it would be nice to have my old Corolla back.
3 comments:
Is that a ticket on the window? :-)
One of my dilemma's with my vehicle is that while I would like to get something more fuel efficient than my 1998 Subaru Legacy, I carry my big double bass around a lot and while I used to carry it in my 1993 Saturn SL2, it was a bit of a pain. I keep wishing Subaru will come out with a hybrid but it looks like they're committed to doing a diesel vehicle in the US first. (And with diesel at $4.50+/gallon! What idiots.)
Diesel's expensive, but if you're getting more than a 20% fuel economy bump, it's brilliant.
I knew folks a few years ago who bought Excursions with the diesel engines because they got about 20-21 mpg on the highway. The gas version got 10-12. And diesel (at the time) was only 20% more expensive. So they were getting a lot farther on less money.
I say, ride your bike to the doctor's. =]
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