Steve Fey's Live From Las Vegas!

First, if you're a veteran, thanks. You've done more than I have.


Now, Crossover Utility Vehicles. I just read a review on AOL of Chevy's latest. The author loved it, which is good. I hope Chevy does really well from now on. My comment isn't on Chevy, but on the Crossover phenomenon.

You know, that CUV looks sort of familiar. You could almost give it a name like, maybe Estate Car. No, that would be too English. Let's see, something we could steal from Australia, maybe? Sure, Station Wagon is just the name for such a thing!

Honestly, I wish people weren't so ignorant of the past, not to say flat-out gullible, to need to have a name like "Crossover Utility Vehicle" slapped on before they buy a wagon, but they are. I'm just happy that they're buying the smaller version of SUVs now. I never have liked sharing the road with those dinosaurs in the first place because they're slow as heck (as in "not quick," I guess they can keep up on a freeway) and mostly ugly. Also there's no way to see around them. Then there are the scaredy cats who drive them because they feel safer. You're not, in fact, unless you use the available safety equipment, and even then it's arguable because SUV's are in a disproportionate amount of accidents. But what I'm getting at is that those drivers have a large vehicle and no skill whatsoever in driving because they're too timid to learn. Not a safe situation for the rest of us, no matter how the driver may feel about it.

But, really, how convenient is it to drive one of those things around a city? You can't park easily, you can't keep up with the lights on city streets, you can't see out back very well. Those people pay higher insurance premiums for a reason. I like that, for entirely selfish reasons of course. I say this because there are an awful lot of people in Vegas who, for one reason or another, drive large, high-profile vehicles when they really don't need to.

But now, thanks to the miracle of modern marketing, people are switching back to what are, in reality, automobiles without trunks, with five doors, and with seating for eight or more. That's cool. One feature of the new Chevy is that it gets 32 miles per gallon. That's better than I do in my Hyundai, so you go, Chevy.

And you guys in the SUVs? At least keep to the right, will ya?

Steve

Labels: Crossover Utility Vehicles, Social Commentary