Tire Extinguishers can fuck right off

[tireextinguishers]

Woke up to deflated tires because I drive an SUV.

Jealous, petty wankers.

Anyone got got this morning?

How did everyone manage in the 70s and 80s! Cars were tiny compared to now. However did they do their shopping! All these people who absolutely need a gigantic fuck off vehicle 🤣

We don't, but we do have cars that are taller in the bonnet than others, and those are SUVs.

Anyone who drives a Range Rover doesn't care about any taxes bestowed on them to do so. They care about the image.

The prejudice in this is outstanding. Well done.

I hope that maybe just one person has read this thread and changed their mind about buying an SUV.

I'd like them to become socially unacceptable and frowned upon

While this is allowed to happen, I don't care about people driving 'gas guzzlers'

Dubai will also have the world’s first air-conditioned and refrigerated beach when the Palazzo Versace hotel opens later this year.
The Versace philosophy is that it's well-heeled guests (or barefoot perhaps?) do not want to walk upon scorching sand. Unlike mere mortals, who hop, ooch and ouch balancing awkwardly on toes across the hot sand or those who are clever enough to invest in a pair of flip-flops, the Palazzo Versace guest will have the luxury of walking across cool sand and be able to lay on it in comfort.
This will be achieved by network of pipes below the beach containing coolant. The swimming pool will also be refrigerated and giant blowers are to be installed to waft a gentle breeze across the beach.
The founder and President of Palazzo Versace said, “We will suck the heat out of the sand to keep it cool enough to lie on. This is the kind of luxury that top people want.”

simplyairconditioninglondon.co.uk/air-conditioning-in-dubai-excess-and-engineering-excellence/

www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/airconditioned_beach

Even outside of cities. What I mean is, we could all work locally, and not need a car. Sure, there would be repercussions in that we may not be able to see family as much, or earn as much etc. Etc. But that is all a want rather than a need, isn't it?

But there isn't a massive difference between an SUV these days and other types of car. As has been pointed out an SUV is often lighter than an electric car these days. They all meet a certain level of crash testing, and the speed limits are the same for all cars regardless of type.

Many SUVs are more economical than some cars too, so I'm not sure why SUVs are being singled out? I guess the protestors are doing so because they are uninformed, but I thought mumsnet had a higher calibre of patron.

If you have 100k to spend on a Range Rover, you don't care about the taxes paid on the vehicle. You'll pay them. That's not prejudice. You spend 100k on a Range Rover because no other car will do.

It's the shape. Particularly the height and usually also the width, which is antisocial towards other road users and contributes to a race to the bottom. Previously perfectly normal size saloons and hatchbacks suddenly feel small and vulnerable.

On average they're also heavier and use more fuel, although that isn't the case for all.

There were a couple in the Guardian recently who suddenly had the insurance on their Range Rover Evoque jump up to 2,500 a year on the grounds that they were parking it on the street and it didn't have working locks. They only used it occasionally, mostly to drive the DC to see the grandparents - the DC were still using child care so presumably quite small, and it wasn't mentioned that the grandparents lived off-road. They wondered whether to sell their frankly bonkers choice of car, but no, they decided to suck it up.
https://amp.theguardian.com/money/2023/aug/28/how-can-our-car-insurance-renewal-go-up-by-a-shocking-180

@HappiestSleeping you're right.

In fairness everyone’s insurance has gone up this year.

I thought the original thread was about the tyres being slashed as a protest against climate change though? As I said, there is barely any difference in economy these days, and personal vehicles are a very low contributor to global CO2 emissions.

Maybe the chance of being killed by an SUV is marginally higher, but it is such a small chance anyway, it barely makes a difference.

Yes it was an eye catching story at the time, but six months later those sorts of price rises aren't nearly so surprising.

I was still struck by their eventual decision to piss money up the wall by sticking with the Evoque despite the fact that they said they were short of cash.

well this is irrelevant in this day and age- most new suvs have rear view cameras and impact sensors

Pretty much this.

I drive an 8 seater 23 plate Landrover Defender. It's a beast of a car, works perfectly for my family and I love it!

I have and continue to work my arse off, pay higher rate tax (no issue with that), and have no entitlement to any financial support (no issue with that either). I do more to help people in my day to day life than most (a lot of pro bono work with victims of domestic abuse), and I don't jet off twice a year on holidays (no air carbon footprint).

The bottom line is this, consumption is everywhere. Where I can, I consume less, where I don't want to compromise, I don't. I offset in other ways. I see it as a very personal choice and not one I can be bullied into making differently.

Please see added image of my very offensive vehicle from the day I picked it up and had the male salesman ask me if I needed him to reverse it out for me. Err, no.

If you can get over my gates, pass the CCTV and the beautifully friendly dogs, you're welcome to try and 'teach' me a lesson. I'll probably be the one you'll be calling from the police station for free legal rep.

Happy Thursday, people!

At least you got your middle mane right.

@PoisonMaple it's stunning. Thank you for your eloquent post. You've made some great points.

Oh yes, way back in 2007 Top Gear took a Merc 230E, LanciaBeta Coupe, Opel Kadett and a classic VW Beetle through salt pans, deserts and fords to prove that the people of Surrey really don't need a 4x4 SUV to drive up leafy country lanes. Proper farmers do indeed drive Hiluxes and Defenders (the proper ones, not the 2020 Frankendefender).

The people of Chelsea certainly don't need SUVs. In fact, they don't really need cars at all. The sooner London follows Paris and taxes the things out of the city the better.

Not that I condone vandalism, mind. But I do sympathise with their motives.

Had Ken Livingstone been re-elected as London Mayor in 2008, one possibility talked about at the time was to have SUVs pay a higher charge in the Congestion Charging zone, which included areas near to if not Chelsea.

Would have been a start.

@DdraigGoch so there was one Top Gear programme that was worth taking notice of, glad to read that.

I live on the edge of a large town. I drive a mega efficient SUV. I do a lot of work on farms, my family are all farmers. I got fed up with breaking the springs on my old car. Not broken any springs on farm tracks since I had a SUV.

Driving around the town you wouldn’t know it though. My SUV is way more fuel efficient than any of the smaller cars I’ve ever owned.

I seriously judge people that only drive around cities in them though.

No one is jealous of your SUV lol

George Monbiot nicely sums up my thoughts on stupidly big cars.

The inconvenience of having your tyres deflated seems minor compared with the relative harm caused by your choice of car.

Of course saying that an EV "saves" six tonnes is a bit like saying that you "saved" £60 at the sales - yeah, you still spent £180. BEVs weren't developed to save the planet, they were developed to save the car industry.

The problem with that kind of misinformed argument is that it undermines people making legitimate points.

They don't inflict climactic harm any more than any other route of vehicle, they don't really impact air quality as they have the same emissions standards as any other car. Pedestrians, in my experience, are a danger to themselves.