Yes I have noticed that I can drive the fit safely at higher speeds than previous vehicles in the snow. When I lose traction I find it very easy to recover it without panicing. I don't hate the SUVs I pass. I just lol to myself and think "what a tool, has no money sense at all" I don't really care if it's true or not. It's just fun to think. Urban drivers are retarded anyway. They spend tons of cash on nice cars to sit around in traffic all day or they buy fast cars so they can race to the next stop light. It's comical. I will never live in a big city.

 

Guys, do you think I would drive that fast if it wasn't safe? First of all there was ZERO accumulation on the freeways. Yes, it was snowing hard but it was not accumulating on the freeways, only on the side streets. There were a couple of places where it was packed down real well, but no big accumulations at that point. I left for work early in the morning and left to go home early in the day, about 1:00 pm, which is before it really started getting bad. But even two inches of snow for Dallas is pretty hairy.

I've been driving for over twenty years, I've driven in any kind of inclement condition known, whether it be torrential rainfalls in Miami Florida to huge snowstorms in Vermont, New York City, Washington DC. Quoting a line from Rain Man, "I'm a very good driver." There was absolutely no danger in the speed I was driving at. I'm still here typing this, right? For the conditions outside my speed was more than safe, but judging by the 6,000 lb SUV's putting along at 30 mph you would have thought we were in the middle of an Alaskan blizzard.

The irony of the situation seemed to be lost on most of you.

 

Well you get it, one of the few in this thread who does. And I think "hate" is too strong a word, I don't hate them either, I just think of them the same way you do.

Urban drivers really can be pretty retarded. They buy SUV's and pickup trucks with no desire to ever off road them or carry anything heavier than that new 60" flat screen they added to their mounting credit card debt. Plus the ones in nicer sport cars do exactly what you said, race from traffic light to traffic light. It's like "yay! you beat me two seconds to the red light, are you proud of yourself?" or "Wow, look at you drive 100 mph on the freeway racing by everyone trying to show them how fast your new Bimmer is, enjoy your speeding ticket and try not to get anyone killed in the process idiot!"

I was born and raised in a big city and I've lived in them ever since, but I have grown very tired of them myself and have plans to move in the next two years to San Antonio, a nice house outside of the city. I live right in Dallas proper, and it's old already, the sirens, the screeching tires, the loud thumping sound systems, the constant traffic congestion, the police helicopters at 2:00 am etc. I'm just tired of all of it.

 

The reasons you cited for SUV ownership as an urban dweller do prove my point. For most SUV owners it's all about them, rather than about the good of their fellow man and the environment. There is nothing you do in your SUV or need your SUV for you could not do in a passenger car, or a crossover like a Honda CR-V. What, you "haul stuff?" Guess what, I "haul stuff" too, and I get 37 mpg while doing so. What do you get when "hauling stuff," oh, that's right, you don't care about gas mileage because it's all about you, forget about using up an unfair portion of a non-renewable resource as long as you're happy!

Also, you are another brainwashed SUV owner who actually thinks their 6,000 lb luxury SUV is safer than a car, why, because it's huge? Howabout the fact it handles like crap, is prone to rolling/tipping, and has proven to be less safe for children than children in passenger cars. But go on, keep thinking your mini gas guzzling tank is so safe, live the lie.

I cited the bit above though because of how delusional you are. I bet anything my Fit is built as well if not better than your gas guzzling tank, and I bet it's more dependable. I think you equate mass and weight with build quality, not the right way to think about it. The Fit is an impeccably engineered car, and will run forever problem free with regular maintenance. I would absolutely bet any sum of money the little 1.5 liter in the Fit will run as long or longer, and be trouble free in the process than whatever gas sucking V8 you have in your SUV. Honda builds the most reliable, best engineered four cylinders in the world, bar none. Do not mistake light weight and low horsepower for a lack of engineering excellence. But I understand, most Americans tend to think of big as good, and small as bad. You're no different. Guess what, small is good too! Small is better than big in my opinion.

Sure, you have more luxury doo-dads than I do, but I don't need luxury doo-dads, I need a car that's kind to the environment (because yeah, I'm one of those environmental weirdo's who does care about the health of the planet for future generations. I also recycle too!), will run problem free with minimal maintenance, is comfortable, fun to drive, and can "haul lots of stuff" while maintaining a small footprint. I got all of that in spades with my Fit.

Why you're planning on buying a Fit I don't quite get, you really don't seem like the proper demographic for this car. Most Fit owners are pretty anit-suv and that's the whole reason they bought a car like the Fit. However you seem to relish in owning a gas guzzling SUV and still want a Fit? All I can hope for with your Fit ownership is you come around and realize what a waste your SUV is and ditch it. I personally can't see going from an agile, nimble, extremely fun to drive car like the Fit to a big, lumbering, poor handling SUV. Ditch it, one less SUV on the road is fine by me.

 

While driving in snow is a dangerous necessity sometimes(getting to work lets say if ur a first responder) I myself opt for staying put. But not all of us have that option. If he wants to drive, he's gonna drive.

 

lol i'm in new york city and we had 18inches lol and my baby fit got thur like a champ...and its 1 week old and i'm on skunk 2 drop springs lol

 

While I will believe that you are the master of your own destiny, keep in mind that visibility, along with safe distance between vehicles, can help prevent accidents. I can only speak for myself, with about 30 yrs driving experience, I would not feel safe driving at those speeds in those conditions, but thats just me. For others to state their opinions is just a way of letting you know how they feel. And while I agree with some of your points about SUV, and the people who drive them, I believe a great part is the driver, not the vehicle. I know plenty of individuals who drive SUV for various reasons:Company Vehicle, Research etc, and have concluded its the driver, not the vehicle. I can only imagine how many SUV drivers actually took their road test in an SUV, but its up to the operator of the vehicle to drive within their ability..
Just my opinion...

 

Erred everyones sence of adventure don't u know ur supost to speed up in the snow ur not going a safe speed untill u have hit at least 80 mph duhhh lol

 

Agreed. Just like the asshats in small cars doing the same.


I think we can all agree there are asshats in every type of auto.

 

Now that's a snowstorm! What we had in Dallas was nothing compared to that. But for us in Dallas 5 inches (total accumulation by the end of the day on the 11th) is a huge deal since it's rare we see snow at all during our winter months.

I will say the stock Dunlops were perfect to handle our little "snowstorm" but I would have dedicated winter tires if I had to drive in an area of the states that gets a real winter.

 

I'm a life-long Wisconsin driver, and my first impression of your post was that you sounded dangerously over-confident. However, as someone with vast experience driving in the white stuff, I reserved judgment on what the exact conditions were. I think WAY too many people posting responses here got a picture out you darting in an out of freeway traffic lanes with snow up to your mirrors.

Let me start by saying I’m a dedicated believer in snow tires and have installed them on ever car we’ve owned for the past 15 years now, which as been a series of AWD cars (Eclipse GSX, Subaru Legacy's & Outback’s, Audi S4) and then last year, our Fit Sport. The Fit is OK in the snow with skinny Blizzaks mounted, but we do use our 2006 Outback on most "snow days". Last week on a day which saw total accumulation of 10-12" in our area, I was doing 55-60 in the Outback on the 4 lane divided highway that comprises most of our daily drive. There was snow on the road, it was coming down moderately heavy, but traffic was light, there was a fair amount of clear pavement & our commute along this highway is nearly all straight-line driving. As long as you have good skills, a "feel" for the car and a good idea of the limits of both, you absolutely can drive rather quickly in conditions that others can't (or shouldn't be.) I also start each winter driving season by going out in each vehicle in the first real snowfall just to drive several miles & get the feel back to make sure my senses are tuned and I can still drive about 10% as good as Peter Solberg.

I forget who made the comment about "asshats" in SUV's and cars - but those of us in northern climates who pay attention do, in fact, see FAR more SUV's & trucks in ditches on snowy days. It’s not just a simple case of “asshats” driving both cars and SUV’s. The idiot drivers are mostly comprised of over confident SUV drivers, and to a lesser extent, the white-knuckling car drivers. This leads me to the comments made by the fair gentleman know as annunC8...

First of all, his belief that his SUV (he didn’t mention a make/model) is the best vehicle for snow-day driving is a red flag of ignorance. Trucks & SUV's are great primarily for one thing: getting through very deep crap, be it dirt, mud, or snow. This is due to their weight and until recently, the 4WD systems (vs. AWD) most have. But when heading out in heavy, but non-apocalyptic levels of snow on public roads, your best weapon will be an AWD car, especially with skinnier snow tires, with it’s lower center of gravity & superior balance of traction/handling/braking. Our Outback, and before it my S4 or GSX, would run circles around 99% of the SUV’s out there with their fat all-season tires. Now if I needed to drive myself and three hunting buddies several miles along unplowed service roads to get to a remote cabin, I may opt for a good AWD SUV - with snow tires - to get there.

As for his lengthy condemnation of anyone who give a s**t about the environment we all share & depend upon, annunC8 appears to be a typical modern conservative, in that he didn’t shape his worldview by observing the world around him and considering his role in it, but rather by indulging his ego and then creating a conforming world view in which he has zero accountability or responsibility. People like this have basically developed a psychosis, in that having no individual accountability leads to a victim mentality & paranoid feelings of persecution by people jealous of their success and the nice things they own, like their fine luxury SUV’s they so enjoy telling us all about.

 

Good post! The last part kind of threw me off, but it must be your personal socio-political views coming out. I'm all for it.

I disagree with your point that there is an environmental problem that needs mankinds intervention. There is no environmental crisis and our actions will not (short of nuclear destruction of the planet) ever snuff out life. (99.9% of all species that have ever existed are now extinct and billions more will go extinct with or without mankind and the climate has been changing on its own for a long, long time. Whenever there is a major climate event many animals die out i.e. the ice age. The mechanism of evolution takes over and fills the new environment with all sorts of wonderous new creatures and so it shall be in current and future time. Life will live on for much much longer than mankind)

However, there was a financial crisis caused by people with poor money sense and the easiest people to blame are those damn SUV Driving, McMansion buying, Goes-to-Home-depot-once-a-year fullsize Pick Up Truck buying, Yuppies (although I am well aware it wasn't really their fault, it is an excellent opportuity to criticize their way of life while the general public is still receptive to it)

Everything else was really spot-on though.

 

Lol, yes I will agree with that. I think it's the percentages we would argue .

Here's some copypasta from a propaganda website againsy SUVs - just for laughs:

-------


The Bottom Line As if poor driving performance and terrible fuel economy weren't reason enough to avoid buying an SUV, they just might also endanger your kids.

Good intentions. We all know where they lead.

One of the "good intentions" that can so easily lead a car buyer astray is the issue of "safety".

Over the past decade, countless Americans have made the wrong car buying decision because they wanted a "safe car for their family".

What was that "wrong decision"?

They bought an SUV because they thought "bigger means safer." Once in a while it does....in a typical collision between two vehicles, the bigger vehicle does fare better. But a little more than once in a while, it most certainly does not. And in many collision types, it is the SUV or pickup driver who is at greatest risk for death or injury.

There's anecdotal evidence that cuts both ways, but when you evaluate the statistical data (or better yet, just read the summaries of studies by smart guys who get paid to do the grunt work), you just might come to realize that SUVs are more dangerous, overall, than a much smaller car. It will then dawn on you just how badly Americans have been misled by automakers. All those people who were "protecting" their kids by buying the biggest SUV they could afford were, in fact, actually put them into danger's way. And unfortunately for the SUV fan, the evidence is increasingly mounting that the net effect works against the SUV. Before you buy your next car, PLEASE (for your kids' sake), take enough time to read a few studies and then make your decision based on what you discover. Don't rely on idle watercooler chit-chat, nor on a car maker's or a salesman's pitch!

In this review, I intend to point out a few of the factors that make SUVs "unsafe at any speed" (to misquote the perennial pariah, Ralph Nader), and I'll provide you with some pointers where you can begin your own investigation (and of course, a Google search is always a great way to find out what people might not be telling you --- me included).


Major Dangers in SUVs and Pickups...
"Major Dangers" sounds like a great name for a military commander, but its a terrible thing to have lurking in your driveway. Are these SUV risk factors waiting to kill your kids??

* Vehicle Structural Integrity
* Rollover Risk
* Rear-End Whiplash
* Driveway Risks to Children
* Dangers to Pedestrians and Other Drivers


Vehicle Structural Integrity
This is a biggee, so don't gloss on by.

Most of the full-size quad-cab pickups that people are buying for "family cars" and many of the biggest SUVs do not hold together well in a major crash. This alone pretty much offsets all of the supposed advantage of the "big vehicle". Some studies have found that the smaller, cross-over SUVs do better than large SUVs because they borrow the uni-body construction scheme that passenger cars typically use. If you simply must have an SUV, at least try to look for the models that use a unibody construction rather than those that bolt body pieces together like a tinkertoy. Pickups are generally not built from a one-piece body, so when they crash, the pieces fall apart leaving occupants with little protection.

Another major point regarding structural integrity is that the roofs of SUVs and pickups tend to cave in far more easily than do cars. Considering that SUVs and pickups tend to roll over anywhere from about 20% to 100% more often than do cars (depending on models), this is a major problem --- they not only roll, but their roof is their achilles heel. Not a good combination.


Rollover Risk
The biggest danger point for many SUV drivers is going to be the increased risk of rolling over. I saw a Simpson's episode (always a great source for accurate and unbiased information) in which Bart was driving a runaway RV and Homer was trying to catch up but couldn't get past a crowd of SUVs --- until they went around a curve and all of them went flying over the cliff into a fiery crash. That's basically how the rollover risk endangers SUV occupants, except that it's not just "going too fast around a curve" that does it, so you can't count on your own driving prowess being able to save you. More often, the rollover occurs because you suddenly try to avoid an unexpected obstacle --- like a pedestrian stepping off a curb in front of you --- or because you're hit in a collision situation and the collision sends you veering off balance, as surely as if you were a billiards ball being struck a glancing blow.

In studies published just last year, hospitals reported that the vast majority of child vehicle injuries were the result of kids being passengers in SUVs, and most injuries weren't caused by collisions themselves, but by being rolled. That's a scary thought if you're a parent who wants a "safe" vehicle.

How significant is the rollover risk? Well, it depends to a great extent on the specific vehicle you're considering. Some of the newer "performance SUVs" incorporate engineering features, such as electronic stability controls, to try to compensate for some of the risk of driver error. Some take steps to lower their mass as far as they can without offending buyers who want SUVs to look "truck like". As a result, you find certain models --- such as the Volvo XC90 --- that have rollover ratings that are only somewhat higher than larger station wagons, though you also find vehicles that have so much mass sitting so high that a stiff breeze might send them on their roof. In the classic Consumer Reports study of the 2001 Mitsubishi Montero, they found that in a typical collision avoidance maneuver, the vehicle rolled over 8 out of 9 times. While that was the worst performance of the models that CU tested in that batch, it also wasn't an exhaustive test of all models, and geometry and physics being what they are, there are quite a few other SUV models that I'd suspect might perform equally poorly. And just to put everything in perspective, most sedans will tip about 1 out of 10 times on either the CU collision avoidance maneuver or on the NHTSA rollover test (actual stats are on www.safercars.gov) --- so there's some rollover risk no matter which way your car buying decision rolls.


Rear-End Whiplash
Last week, I saw a study released by the IIHS that showed SUV and light truck occupants faced a dramatically sharper risk of spinal and neck injuries sustained as a result of rear-end collisions (which are the most common type of multi-vehicle crash). The study was focused on seat design, and they mentioned that no pickups had seats that would prevent these kinds of "whiplash" injuries, and just 6 out of over 40 tested SUVs had seats that would protect occupants (as with body integrity, the "passing" vehicles tended to be the crossover SUVs, and not the biggest, most truck-like SUVs).

You probably have your kids in safety seats, so whiplash injuries aren't going to affect them so much, so they'll have plenty of opportunities to destroy the house when Mom and Dad are in traction and they're not. Score one for the short team!


Driveway Risks to Children
Every time I read about a Mom or Dad backing out of the driveway and running over an unseen child, it just breaks my heart. Statistically, this happens about 7 times a day in the U.S. Also statistically, it's much more likely to be an SUV backing over the kid than a sedan or any other kind of passenger car (see reference 6). SUVs have more blind spots than sedans. They also have back windows that sit up high off the ground, exacerbating the limited rear visibility problem. Some SUV makers have started putting backup cameras on their vehicles, but they're not common, and they tend to be options on high-end vehicles.


Dangers to Pedestrians and Other Drivers
I saw one interesting study (ref. 5) that showed that SUV drivers weren't just endangering themselves and their passengers, they were also causing injuries to other drivers. People who collided with vehicles like the GMC Yukon were almost twice as likely to be killed or injured than people who collided with passenger cars. That's a big difference!

Another study showed that pedestrians who were hit by SUVs were far more likely to die as a result than were those who were hit by passenger cars. Yep, these SUVs are truly a "menace to society", aren't they?


Bottom Line...
SUVs attract a lot of buyers with their rugged outdoor lifestyle ads. Nobody actually uses SUVs for that though. Instead, they use it as a family car --- a job for which sedans, hatchbacks, and station wagons are far superior at handling. Passenger cars look sleeker, they handle better, they're more comfortable, they get far better gas mileage, they pollute the air less, and most important to the family man: passenger cars are safer than SUVs.

SUV makers try to pretend that their vehicles are safe. "Bigger is better," they imply. But they aren't. SUVs don't hold together as well as a car does in a typical crash, they rollover a heck of a lot more often, they have seats that endanger occupants in the event of rear-end collisions, and the net result is that SUV occupants are more likely to die in a crash than are people in passenger cars (see reference 7 --- "SUV passengers are 11% more likely to die"). On top of that, kids in SUVs are far more likely to end up in the hospital than are kids in passenger cars (ref. 3) and SUVs endanger the public safety by causing injuries and deaths that could have been easily avoided if only people drove common sense cars....and I do mean CARS --- not SUVs, and not pickups.

SUVs are a menace to society and they're a menace to your own family's safety. You might not like that point of view, but at least read a few studies for yourself before you go buying an SUV that just might endanger your kids. Do it for the short people.



-----------

I love propaganda. Although, to the articles credit, maybe those uncomfortable head restraints will save one of us some day from a serious neck injury.

 

Anyway, now that I'm done inflating my post count I think we all need to get back to the heart of the matter. The FIT is the best damn car on the road. Why? Because I drive one, and whatever car I drive, is the best car in existence.

If you bought a faster car you are an irresponsible driver with an undersized reporductive organ or you just never use the speed so you wasted your money.
If you bought a larger car you wasted money on something you will never need more than twice a year when you could have just borrowed your friend's pick-up truck.
If you bought a cheaper car you bought a POS that will fall apart in 5 years. Even the yaris has worse predicted reliability than the fit.
If you bought a luxury car... you probably got it on a lease cause you couldn't really afford one, Ain't that right Yuppie scum?
If you bought a mini-van you need to stop reproducing already, seriously.
If you bought a hybrid you probably didn't factor in the cost of replacing those $3000 batteries, did you? Nor did you consider that you will never make up the higher intial cost in the next 25 years. Wasted money.


The sooner everyone else accepts that: The better.

 

Nightroad, while ur lenghty post made for entertaining reading, I must point out the OP's original thought process...
I think he equates ones vehicle size to their driving ability, or lack of, and uses that as a way to justify his speed in less than ideal situations. As many of us have stated, some drivers, weather in SUV's(SUVidiots) or in small compacts(Darters), do not know how to drive. Being sunny and clear or snowy and slick, it is up to each vehicle operator to decide what speed is prudent. I myself feel very confident in traveling in snow, but choose not to. There was a time when I HAD to be somewhere and I simply took it slow and easy watching as many different sized vehicles passed. Where those drivers driving within their ability level? I have no idea..but I arrived alive. Which is the most important thing. Weather I was in an SUV, Minivan, Box Truck, Escort, Cavalier, Corrola, Camry, Wrangler or Fit...I like my Fit...But I love my life.

 

When I bought my Fit in 2007 we never had much snow at all but then this winter has made up big time. We have had a lot of snow and the Fit has done wonderful for me. I do lower my speed and keep space between me and the person in front but the Fit has a better feel on the wintery roads than my Ford Ranger did with 250 lbs of salt in the bed.

Cat :x

 

I don't know where you got that article from, but you just cited the reasons I really, really despise urban dwelling SUV owners (and repeat the things I said in my own post above yours), especially the part I bolded. The bottom line is, urban dwelling SUV owners don't give a rat's ass about anyone or anything other than their own comfort and perceived safety. That is why I have used the word "hate" when describing their owners, because in my experience I find them to be pretty despicable people. Not all of them for sure, but many of the city dwelling SUV owners I have met (especially the big luxury SUV owner types) fit the description of someone who doesn't care about anyone but their own ass.

Getting back to the reason for my post, I guess passing all of those huge SUV's and pickup trucks because of a little damn snow on the ground in my tiny little Fit was humorous and pathetic at the same time. Especially since they are the same SUV's who drive 90 miles an hour around here when the weather is nice. I have never seen so many SUV's and pickup trucks driving as slow as I did last Thursday in the 10 years I've lived in Dallas.

 

I appreciate your response.

As far as my views coming out & throwing anyone, just go back and read what the guy posted. Instead of a thoughtful response, like "I can't speak for every SUV driver out there, but I happen to be one of the few who does actually need mine & utilize it's capabilities" he chose to see himself as being victimized by way of the guy's comments and go on an anti-lefty screed. As a member of the rightwing, he clearly didn't get the memo that it's us lefties who are supposed to always be crying "victim", not him..but that's where my amateur psychological analysis comes in, to explain why such people react that way.

Further, I respectfully disagree with the idea that mankind has had no role in altering the environment and has no means of nudging things back in line. While the climate will change with or without us, that's no reason to look at the radical course change it's taken in the past 100 years, declare oneself unaccountable and do nothing. Heck, virtually everything that lefties/greenies promote or suggest doing as a means of slowing global warming are, if nothng else, simple common sense.

One of the more formative moments in the shaping of my political views dates to a hot summer day in 1995 when I was listening to the popular local AM rightwing radio show host pissing and moaning about a local "Ozone Action Day" being declared and decrying all the freedom-snuffing that came with it, like the suggestion that one delay mowing the lawn to another day, or at least do it after 6:00 PM. Such hardship! He explained that Wisconsinites should never have to tolerate Ozone Action Days because while he wasn't disputing that our air quality was poor, he simply felt we should do nothing because most of the smog in our air on those days wafted up from Gary, Indiana & Chicago, IL. So because part of the problem was due to the actions of people 100 miles away, we should do nothing locally to make our situation any better. Meanwhile, one can only guess that his rightwing colleague on an AM station in Gary, IN was probably arguing that the EPA should lessen restrictions on industrial emissions, and in the process promoting an ugly cycle...

Lastly, I'd like to point out something that it seems EVERYONE misses in their analysis of SUV safety: everytime someone buys an SUV with the intent of securing their own safety, they're doing so as part of an arms race in which they (arguably) become a little safer while me and my family are put in just a bit more danger. I recall many years ago (1999?) when Click and Clack (NPR, the Car Talk guys) took a call from a woman buying a first car for their 16 year old, and they were looking at a Volvo sedan or a used Range Rover, and those horrible NPR liberal blowhards recommended the Range Rover, explaining that it's nearly a foregone conclusion that the kid will get in a collision at some point, and humorously telling her that her kid will "win" when this day comes. I couldn't believe that they were encouraging the arms race, especially with a woman ready to drop serious coin on an extremely safe car which would protect her son so well. To me, there's few things more scary than a 16 year old in a big SUV. I think they've come around since then, but it shows how as of 1999, most people simply hadn't considered these things. But by then it was nearly too late, as millions of SUV's were on the road and this ego-driven fad that began with the Toyota Forerunner in the 80's and exploded with the Ford Explorer around 1992 had become a way of life.

 

Its funny you mention SUVs and AWD cars driving to slow. Here in MN when ever a storm hits and there are a lot of accidents and spin outs 9 times out of 10 its eather a SUV or AWD car. The think just because they have AWD that makes them think they can drive as fast as they want.

One of the best things I ever saw was a Audi weaving threw traffic. when he made a quick lane change he lost control, spun and hit the gard rail, luckly no one else, it made me lol.