BadComrade wrote:The drummer I play with has a small Subaru station wagon, and he's never had a need for an SUV...

That's basically a mid-size SUV with not-as-good ground clearance.

The mpg of the subaru wagons is not remarkably better than SUV's from toyota, nissan, honda... The parking space footprint of a Subaru wagon is not remarkably better than that of SUV's from toyota, nissan, honda...

I considered the Subaru Forester when I was buying the vehicle I have now. I narrowed it down to the Toyota 4Runner, the Honda Pilot, and the Nissan Murano. I was looking for cargo space, and though the 4runner is not as good as the others, it has a remarkable service history, retains value very well, and is widely regarded as "very good" and has been for many years. When my then-girlfriend's mom offered to sell me her 4runner, this made the decision all the easier.

The Subaru Outback wagon and Forester are both fine vehicles. Basically SUV's that are not tall. AWD is great. Subarus seem to be fine vehicles. They take up more space than an accord. Tell your drummer to watch out for stickers!

BadComrade wrote:

scott wrote:The case for my bass won't even fit in your accords and sentras, guys

I hope you're not talking about an electric bass. If you are, then you're a total moron.


Chris Hall
badcomrade AT gmail DOT com
"Fitting two 1 x 15"s / two basses / two amps in my 1985 Audi Coupe GT since 1994"

Do us a favor. Measure the side-to-side clearance in your back seat. The trunk is pretty much always smaller. So measure the side-to-side clearance from the armrest on the left rear door to the armrest on the right rear door. And Friday, I'll measure the width of the case for my electric bass. And then we'll see.

I know it won't fit in a Sentra. My old Kramer's case didn't fit in my drummer's old Sentra. This case is no smaller.

Thanks for calling me a moron without knowing what size my electric bass case is.

Fitting zero of my 2x15" cab and 4x10" cab in your car since ever.

I drive an SUV (a Ford Explorer Sport) for these reasons:

A) I got into a little "scuffle" with a guard rail on Highway 62 in Edina, MN in 2002. The guard rail held up much better than my car did. I needed a car fast (not a fast car), and found a really good deal on this one.

2) I liked the fact that it had space for hauling shit around (like drums and, well haybales and motorcycle engines if the need presented itself). I didn't want a conversion van to be my only vehicle and I couldn't afford a van and a car, so the SUV became my makeshift tour bus.

C) It snows a lot in Minnesota, and telling people who regularily drive their compact cars around the city in the winter (and do just fine), "well, I don't have to worry you see, I have 4-wheel drive," is kind of funny because I fucking hate people who think you really need 4WD in the city.

I still think SUV's are kind of stupid though. I'm just sayin'.

Bradley R. Weissenberger wrote:

stewie wrote:Nowadays, [SUVs] are getting bought because they are big and flashy.

Prove it!

Nah, it's much easier for me to just say it.

scott wrote:The mpg of the subaru wagons is not remarkably better than SUV's from toyota, nissan, honda... The parking space footprint of a Subaru wagon is not remarkably better than that of SUV's from toyota, nissan, honda...
[...]
The Subaru Outback wagon and Forester are both fine vehicles. Basically SUV's that are not tall. AWD is great. Subarus seem to be fine vehicles. They take up more space than an accord. Tell your drummer to watch out for stickers!

this is all true

i own a forester. it's a few inches less tall than most small SUVs. that's about the only difference between it and a RAV4 or CRV. and it's built on the impreza wheelbase.

i think the XL monstrosities are ridiculous, but i kind of understand the appeal. i never wanted a land rover, and then i saw the dudes on american chopper drive one through the land rover test course. holy shit! i still don't want one, but i kind of want one!

BadComrade wrote:The longest of them is my Travis Bean wedge.

Quite trying to hijack the thread!

Some other thoughts on SUVs!

BadComrade wrote:4' 3.5" is the legnth of the flight case for my "longest bass" (happy Peripatetic?) How long is YOUR bass case, and what kinda bass goes inside it?

It's about 2 and a half inches.

Oh, my bass?

It's a gig bag with a Danelectro Hodad in it. I have no idea how long it is. But it, um, fits inside my SUV just fine. Wait a minute...what were we talking about? Damn Bad Comrade, hijacking threads...

BadComrade wrote:His 1990 Subaru Legacy is not even close to being a "mid sized SUV". It gets 20 MPG city 26 MPG highway, as opposed to say, the 13 city / 18 highway a 2005 Lincoln Navigator gets. Nice try.

What about a Nissan Xterra at 16/21?
What about a Toyota 4Runner at 17/21?
What about a Honda Pilot at 17/22?
What about a Nissan Murano at 19/24?

Nice try?

Seems like you picked a shit-poor example of the kind of mid-sized SUV you should be comparing it against. How many horsepower does his Legacy have? When you load it full of heavy amp cabs and heads, and people, how well does it do going up a hill with the AC on in the middle of July?


This all gets at what I think is the heart of the problem... people are like "SUV's SUCK!!!", making this sweeping generalization that I find retarded and cheap. Because of a shithead in a Lincoln Navagator, somehow ALL SUV's suck, and ALL SUV DRIVERS are assholes, etc? This is lame. There is no logic as the foundation for this sweeping, thoughtless disdain. It's like hating all Christians because there are a bunch of them that you don't like for whatever reason... you're forced to ignore a vast number of examples that defy your reasoning, and focus on the Lincoln or the Hummer, in order for your point to seem valid. Be clear that you're like "I hate the Hummer, the H2, I guess not the H3 really, the Lincoln Navigator, the Ford Excursion but not the Ford Escape Hybrid SUV that gets 33 city/29 hwy which is probably better than your Audi..."

Focus in and make a point that isn't a sweeping generalization that falls apart the minute you apply thought to it.

Where's the link to "name the logical fallacy" when I need it!!

I just thought Anal Navigator, Anal Excursion, Anal Explorer were funny, Maybe I should have just posted this in the Immature thread, cause that's what is happening to this thread. I am not rich. I drive a $400.00 car only when it is necessary. I intentionally work close to where I live. The money most folks put into a vehicle I put into a console and studio. I was trying to make light of the stupid situation of excessive lack of utility and how the frequency is my annoyance. If you are using your vehicle, brain, resources, to its maximum utility, hats off. I don't expect your justification. I was making up a humorous scenario. I'm saving my annoyance for the Geo thread.