Autocar Defends Suvs

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No comment ;)
 
That article is so flawed it is a disgrace to journalism. They keep comparing petrol "family " cars to diesel 4x4s.

I also still can't see a Citroen Brelingo actually being taller than a BMW X5. Maybe the body itself is taller but not the whole car.
I bet a Discovery is significantly taller than a Berlingo.
The last paragraph relating to the number of "privately owned 4x4s in London". Err that is just that most high class vehicles are company owned.

I am not pro or against 4x4s, but am against poor journalism.

I would however agree that most 4x4s are totally unneccessary and do consume more fuel as a result of their design.
This is a real shame given that most of them will never see more off road work than driving over a few leaves in Autumn.
 
Hi Dieselman,

Having a 'go' at (a) journalist(s) now? He's only trying to make a living! ;)...... but round my way there are some very big leaves in Autumn :).

Cheers,

PS Don't petrol driven cars 'pollute' and don't they comprise > 50% of vehicles on road. There were > 60 comments to that article and not (m)any complained of poor journalism
 
Either everyone deserves a Gold Star for self restraint or everyone has got bored with the "4x4: Good or Bad" issue.

Now IMO.......
 
I agree with Dieselman, the journalism in the article was poor. I'm all for freedom of choice, but the problem with that is that it will inevitably be abused at times - such as large SUVs doing the school run in Central London.

What really wound me up in Autocar was Steve Cropley's tacit support for road pricing. What planet was he on when he wrote that?
 
You'll probably think this is really pedantic, but incorrect use of words drives me mad!

In the last line of the article 'Most importantly of course, once 4x4s have been decimated, sports cars could be next in the firing line.'

Does he really mean 'once the number of 4x4s have been reduced by 10%....'
Or does he mean DEVASTATED

decimate

v kill one in every ten, as of mutineers in Roman armies.
 
Hi Richard,

Whilst you are absolutely correct decimate may also refer to varying (i.e. not just 10%) proportions of (the) population(s). Whether 'killing' an SUV is appropriate is another matter.

Usage Note: Decimate originally referred to the killing of every tenth person, a punishment used in the Roman army for mutinous legions. Today this meaning is commonly extended to include the killing of any large proportion of a group. Sixty-six percent of the Usage Panel accepts this extension in the sentence The Jewish population of Germany was decimated by the war, even though it is common knowledge that the number of Jews killed was much greater than a tenth of the original population. However, when the meaning is further extended to include large-scale destruction other than killing, as in The supply of fresh produce was decimated by the nuclear accident at Chernobyl, only 26 percent of the Panel accepts the usage.

Pedants rule.

Cheers,
 
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Pah - usage panel :crazy:

Cheers Dieter ;)
 
Dieselman said:
I am not pro or against 4x4s, but am against poor journalism.


:D It is possible that the only place you will find an 'honest' journalist or one that prints the truth is in the dole queue! We like to read what 'we' believe, and journalists, or perhaps editors might print what we want to believe. The truth usually has no part in either.

Like Dieselman I don't give two figs about what folks tend to drive.

Blooming magpie is back!! :D :D

Have a nice day everyone,
John
 
what happened to this country being a democracy?

If someone wants to drive a 4x4 , let them drive a 4x4. If someone doesnt like them , thats up to them. If your red ken , you just see them as a cash cow for your own devices.

How does the new lexus RX400 come into things then? Does that get to drive around london free because its a hybrid? ;)
 
Surely the lexus gets to go anywhere free because it's ugly, and ugly cars don't upset the environmental lobbies?
 
Hi,

Although (Lexus)400h is a hybrid it does not qualify for Congestion charge exemption. Under the new 'eco' colour system it gets a RED (as 192g/Km CO2 etc.). So ugly 'don't' come into it!

It is interesting to note that the current London Congestion charge has officially become a (London) Tax as the reasons for the increase are solely financial (as it has easily met it's initial remit to reduce congestion etc.).

Cheers,
 

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