Anyone miss the larger cars?

[Garandman]

I hope some has told Dr. Rapaille he is full of crap. He sounds like someone who is realizing that he is now irrelevant in a world that has passed him by and he is hoping that by saying outlandish things he will somehow regain relevancy.

We just got a Tahoe, not because of a single reason Dr. Irrelevant stated but because it is comfortable, will pull our 18' trailer with ease and generally fits our future farm life more than the Infinity would. We are in our 50's and have never actually seen a military assault SUV in person, and we both are from career military families. :laughing:.

Pwehaps you didn't buy one for those reasons but Chevrolet is listening.

2015 Grille

2000

Note the beltline is higher and the grille bigger. Bet you cannot find a large SUV or pickup on the market that is styled otherwise. Look at cargo vans that share the same mechanicals and the GM hasn't changed at all.

Don't worry, both pickups and SUVs still come with a deed to the left hand lane. :laughing:

 

[ultrarunner]

Part of it. Big SUV's have relatively high rollover risk, and the worst evasive capabilities, but their owners like the perception of safety. The automakers study buyer psychology and build their vehicles to inspire emotional attachment.

I wonder about this because local law enforcement is now buying SUV and they are reportedly pursuit rated...

 

[Garandman]

I wonder about this because local law enforcement is now buying SUV and they are reportedly pursuit rated...

Michigan tests police vehicles every year.
MSP - Police Vehicle Evaluation

Including Tahoe and Explorer. There are some cars on the road slower than they are. Ford Taurus Ecoboost was fastest 0-60 at 5.7 and 0-100mph at 13.72. Explorer EcoBoost was 6.28 and 15.5, which is as good as most V6 sedans.

Do I miss my 214" long 1970 Galaxie XL convertible? Not usually....

 

[aczlan]

Note the beltline is higher and the grille bigger. Bet you cannot find a large SUV or pickup on the market that is styled otherwise. Look at cargo vans that share the same mechanicals and the GM hasn't changed at all.

Thats because A, its a cargo van and they are bought for their specs, not their shape and B, cargo vans stay the same shape because otherwise upfitters (ie: the people who install manlifts, TV broadcast setups, etc would go to another brand). As an example, the back end of a Ford full size van was the same from 1992 to 2014.
Now compare the passenger variants and the nose has changed, here is a 2000 Chevy Express Passenger Van:

Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...rolet-Express.jpg/800px-Chevrolet-Express.jpg
And the 2015 version:

Source: http://cgi.chevrolet.com/mmgprod-us..._93G_QB5gmds6.jpg&v=deg01&std=true&country=US

Aaron Z

 

[Bird]

Had a good number of Police Crown Vics they are my go to cruisers now.

The Police vehicles, whether you're talking about sedans of 50 or more years ago or the current SUVs, generally have a number of differences from the cars you and I can buy from our local dealer. The differences can be anything from heavier duty cooling, transmissions, suspension, electrical systems, tires, etc., etc. There was a time when fleet management was part of my responsibilities.

I always liked the Ford Crown Vics, although the 1988 Chevy Caprice I was driving when I retired was a pretty nice car. But my favorite of all the police sedans I drove was the 1974 Plymouth Satellite with the 400, 4-bbl engine.

For a personal car, this year we traded our 2002 Crown Vic for a 2014 Escape SE. The Escape has a stiffer suspension, not as cushy a ride, but great performance and handling.

 

[Country Geek]

I hope some has told Dr. Rapaille he is full of crap.

Maybe not in your case but he's definitely onto something. I saw it up close. My wife had an SUV that she traded for a small car because her bad knees made the SUV hard to get in and out of and the small car has a nice, low, flat entry floor. She drove the small car for 2 years and spent the whole time complaining that no one gave her any respect on the road. Then she got her rear bumper tapped in a line at a stoplight and within a week she was driving another SUV. Never mind that small car was totally undamaged and is as good if not better than the SUV on crashworthiness and occupant protection ratings and she's back to struggling to get in and out of the SUV... being up high and perception of respect on the road that was all that mattered, exactly as Dr. Rapille said.

As another observation, I had to go back to the dealer she got the SUV from twice after the purchase to take care of titling paperwork. Each time, I watched the dealer complete another sale of an identical SUV to another woman who was trading in a small or mid-sized sedan. They have figured out the psychology.

 

[SirReal63]

No doubt people buy them for safety or the perceived safety. I am fairly certain no major automaker took Dr. R's advice and decided to build based on that. I may be at a disadvantage since only about 10 years out of my 30 year career was spent on marketing and bringing new products to market. SUV's have higher seating than a mini van because they are built on a truck platform and a mini van is built on a car platform. The evolution of the grills from above is leaving out the NNBS body from 2007 and up, which is when the redesign happened, and new styling cues typically appear in the best selling vehicles first before migrating to the rest of the lineup.

I would expect that rather than the big 3 building based on Dr. R, they did their own research on styling and added them and Dr. R is trying to extrapolate a reasoning, albeit a poor attempt. To claim the reason for the downward slant on a portion of the grill is because people want to be perceived as a predator or aggressive is crapola. Look at at 2015 grill again, it is more of a happy expression than an aggressive one.

Part of the reason we picked the Tahoe is safety, visibility but primarily comfort and actual utility abilities. The Tahoe has been marketed toward the female demographic for a long time, it isn't anything new.

 

[RalphVa]

Yes, you're safer inside a tank, but it that the best vehicle to drive to preserve the world's petroleium/fuels, etc.?

I always hated those big cars. Ride was good, but handling was abysmal. Almost any car, even the bigger ones and SUVs, handle MUCH better than those old beasts of any kind. So, for avoiding an accident through handling, the newer cars/vehicles are all better.

I miss just being able to see where the corners are on our car. Our 1983 Benz had seating and such that we could see all 4 corners of the car. Not so in today's aerodynamic whats-its. Can't even see the 2 front corners and can only see the rear corners out of the side mirrors. Need cameras to see the corners and behind cars nowadays to be as safe as we were back in the 1980s.

Could be one of the appeals of the ****, heavy, fuel inefficient SUVs. You can still see the corners.

Ralph

 

[Loadstar]

My daily driving around town truck when I turned 18 was my 78 international loadstar. When I started dating my wife I bought my 94 Freightliner FLD120 for my daily driver. I enjoy the comfort of large trucks. Seating and visibility is much better. My kids love it and a 60 series Detroit could rattle my boy right to sleep. never was a "need the ultimate suv" kind of thing it's just what I love. The f250 is fun to work on but not so fun to drive as a semi.

 

[mikehaugen]

My daily driving around town truck when I turned 18 was my 78 international loadstar. When I started dating my wife I bought my 94 Freightliner FLD120 for my daily driver. I enjoy the comfort of large trucks. Seating and visibility is much better. My kids love it and a 60 series Detroit could rattle my boy right to sleep. never was a "need the ultimate suv" kind of thing it's just what I love. The f250 is fun to work on but not so fun to drive as a semi.

Yeah, but does that have crumple zones? :laughing: