http://www.popcultmag.com/passingfan...suvs/suv1.html

Apparently our trucks are neither sporty, nor utilitarian.

 

bull**** lol but its funny to laugh at.

and whats that about "you wont get to drive much" ? i've put 8,500k miles on mine in the 6 months i've owned it. yes its cost me alittle over $2k in gas but it was all worth it! lol

 

What a crock of crap. And I am willing to bet the writer of that probably drives a Honda Ridgeline. But I do get people to say "Thats one big-*** truck". And the public adulation is well worth it.

 

You know that article's from 2002, right?

Not that it wasn't just as stupid then as it is now.

 

Lets see the writer hook up my 9200lb TT to his Liberty or X-terra that he raves about and tow it around! large SUV`s have their place and my X has found it`s place in my driveway and in front of my trailer!

I hate stupid people! especially ones that start some goofy bashing website!!!

 

Or even a modest boat in the Hills with a load of kids in the Summer. Had a Grand Cherokee w/ a 318, was a good vehicle, but had to shut off the AC, floor it, and watch the engine temp climb. The 7.3 doesn't even shift down...

 

The author of that review also (ignorantly) misses a huge point when s/he criticizes the sheer weight of the vehicle - that is the critical element that keeps us safer than the rest!

One of the main reasons my wife & I wanted the Excursion was the safety factor (among other things) - we have 3 young children. Something the "car safety" people frequently miss or casually dismiss about large SUVs is that basic physics dictates that more mass = safer.

They try to counter it with the bogus "rollover" argument, which is nonsense. Instead they say a "large car" is safer. Put my Excursion up against any large car and tell me who walks away.

I did extensive safety studies on vehicles and nothing comes close to the safety of large pickups and large SUVs. Why? Their weight. So instead of criticizing the weight, the author should be celebrating it - if you care at all about the safety of your passengers.

 

I still don't get it. It's essentially a F250 / 350 with a cap and carpet. (Moreover, the F-250 F-350s came first! Therefore most of the Excursion's integral design is shaped by the needs of the F250-350 owners' needs - which are often very utilitarian.) I believe though that except for hauling gravel and the odd refrigerator that the Exs are even more utilitarian than pickups without cover or cap. (There's no "sport" there whatsoever though.)

So why there's generally little to no media attention or criticism paid to pickups - which have less daily utility than vehicles like the Excursion is beyond me.

As for weight - I don't believe more weight by itself adds to safety. In a head-on impact with lighter vehicles I believe the heavier vehicles usually do survive better but I'd bet that the weight is somewhat more reflective of the quantity and strength of the materials used than the weight itself.

Still, having a couple tons of weight behind me (or on top of me in a rollover) doesn't make me feel safer - now if it were in all front of me that would be a different matter.

Hood length and vehicle & seat height probably help as does the strength of the undercarriage in many collisions.

 

Its funny that he talks bout the sheer weight of the excursion. But then lists the mpg as 20. Like to see any SUV on that page get 20 mpgs while weighin "7700 pds". As you can all see, the only vehicle that owns the ex in mpgs on that page is the goofy lookin aztec. The excurs, according to this guys facts (psd) stays almost in the same mpgs as the other suvs, mayb not in the city, but on the hw. The way i see it is, its just another eco freindly editor who is jealous that he dont have a excuse to buy a excursion.

 

Excursion's are the exact same length as my 06' F-350, 4x4, S-cab short bed,,I measured both,,,18' 10" Bumper to Bumper,,,wheelbase is just a touch less with the Excursion,,,137" compared too,,,142" on the F-350,,,,So why rag on Excursion's,,?

 

Everyone's arguments are valid. I would not want my Excursion on top of me, upside down. But that is an extreme case and would take something catastrophic to make that happen (like a semi or train, or major driver error). But, like has been said, I put my 4 kids in my Ex and am not the least bid worried. I will take my 8K pound protective shell anyday on the streets and highway. I don't trust the rest of the people on the road - and that is worth the extra bit of fuel costs I incur by owning my fortress!!

 

Well said. Add a little public 'intimidation' to the plus list for me!! If ya don't have enough sense to get out of the way of an Excursion - ya prolly ought not be driving! (especially if ya drive a 30 mpg car)

Speaking of MPG - I have (8) seatbelts, so at 20 mpg hwy I actually get better mpg/passenger when loaded than almost ANYTHING on the road. (it takes (2) 30 mpg hondas to get same # of people to same place)

BTW, 7,700 lbs seems light - I think I'm closer to 9k???

 

It goes something like this:

Or empty, unloaded Ex's waste...

When used to it's potential the Ex is unbeatable

But the PC people don't think about that.

 

Sure, there are other factors involved in safety, like seat belts, air bags, and such. But weight is a big one.

Example - imagine two Honda accords hit each other head-on at 45 mph. Then imagine two Excursions hitting each other head-on at 45 mph. Who gets hurt worst, the occupants of the Hondas hitting each other, or the Excursions?

The Hondas of course. There is simply not as much mass in the vehicles to absorb the impact, like there is in the Excursions. Basic physics. Many people understand that big vehicle is more protective against a small vehicle, but don't get that big vehicle vs. big vehicle is also safer than small vs. small.

As for the rollovers, not only were the deaths attributable to rollovers a tiny percentage of fatal accidents, but were also virtually always a result of careless driving and not wearing a seat belt (occupants ejected and then rolled on top of).

So wearing a seat belt alone pretty much shrinks your chance of death by rollover to almost nothing; avoiding the reckless driving takes care of the last tiny fraction of a possiblity.

 

guess my family isn't "utilitarian or sporty" cause we are presently looking at parking a second Ex in the driveway
I'm sorry to all the eco friendly city dwellers out there but little SUV's just don't cut it for a family of seven plus pets who like to camp, fish, and quad all while living in the country where the grader may or may not plow the road this week due to the latest blizzard