It’s those who criticize without under standing the owner"s intent. I see nothing wrong with owning an suv with it’s added mass and high seating for safety reason alone and I feel uncomfortable makinG a "moral " judgement on some one elses buying habits.
Maybe the person running around in a near empty van much of the time thinks it’s worth it for the few times he has the kids as part of a devorce settlement and thinks it’s better not to own two cars.
I’m the hypocrite to judge with out knowing the contex, of ownership. That context, may be the ride or accsesvthe van or suv provides. Everyone has a right to buy what they want and not be judged by others.
Both SUV and Minivan offend me. Not only do they guzzle gas, they take up too much of our streets (lengthwise), often drift into other lanes (widthwise), cause more and deeper potholes (expense to the taxpayer), and I wish someone would do a sudy on the pollution that is caused by the coolant used to make that large a cabin area comfortable on a hot day!
Priceless!!!
Plus, I Do My Homework Before Selecting A Vehicle And Don’t Just Gamble On The Engine And Transmission, Accepting Whatever One Is In There. I’ve Purchased GM 3.8L Engines And Accepted The Vehicles That Were Attached.
I picked the engine / transmission combo in the Caravan that was most reliable and best for mpg.
CSA
Whitey, I Don’t Make Poor Economic Choices. I Own My Waterfront Home, Have No Mortgage, Considerable Savings And Investments, And Pay Cash For Everything. That’s Been Made Possible because Of Very Sound Economic Choices.
Did you know that those reusable grocery bags harbor and incubate germs/bacteria. You may be going overboard on things in your quest to save the planet. Unintended consequences are common with excessive tree-hugging measures.
Besides, I’d have to waste money to purchase plastic bags if I didn’t get them free when I shopped. We use them for many things, so I guess we recycle ours and save money, too.
CSA
With that info, my answer is yes it is hypocritical. (Short answer)
(longer answer) It depends on a lot of factors, many of which are not any business of anybody other than the vehicle owner. I will drive whatever I want for whatever reason I have. Nobody has the right to question why does “Dave” drive that SUV (or truck or minivan). I find it more hypocritical of tree-hugger and go-green types, (don’t get me wrong, we each should be environmentally responsible adults) many of whom are in Hollywood, to say no to the SUV and ride around in the jumbo stretch limo or fly all over the place in the much-larger-than-any-SUV jumbo-jet. This is the true hypocritical attitude: “do as I say, not as I do”.
Morally opposed to waste
Obviously some people need a 400 pound behemoth to haul their precious snowflakes to soccer practice and Zen nursery but generally people are buying vehicles for status, nit utility. Not everyone has to drive a (ugh!) Prius but the number of pickup trucks, especially macho dual wheel monsters is way out of proportion to their numbers. Thanks the wannabe urban-dweller cowboys who buy a shiny pickup to hide their mental and physical shortcomings.
Just sayin’
You might want to think about how moral car use is in general.
Whitey, I Don’t Make Poor Economic Choices.
Of course you don’t. I don’t think I was talking about you, specifically, making poor choices. I was speaking of the editorial “you” since you have the freedom to make those choices if you want to. You don’t even own an SUV, do you? I thought you only owned large sedan-type cars.
EDIT: CSA, I am touched by your concern, but I do have more sense than God gave a billy goat. With my background in hospital and restaurant kitchen management, know not to put raw chicken and meat in a cloth bag. But thank you for caring.
Not to mention all the poor girls of today who shall never know the joys of an EZ-Bake oven…
[sarcasm] What a sexist thing to say. Don’t you think there are effeminate boys who enjoy the EZ-Bake oven too? [/sarcasm] 
If I wanted a stinkin’ car I’d BUY a freeking car.
My car-based suv is a close as I’ll ever get.
"It is hypocritical to be morally opposed to SUVs but drive an even larger minivan."
Well, perhaps it is.
But, my opposition to SUVs is due to their high center of gravity, poor braking performance, poor handling, and the fact that it’s impossible to see around them in situations where it’s good to know what other vehicles are around you, not just that one vehicle. (For example, making a right turn, with an SUV to your left, it’s much harder to see if the intersection’s clear to make that right turn than if there was a car to the left.) A lot of this doesn’t really apply to the car-based SUVs, which are usually more a station wagon than what was traditionally considered an SUV. I view it as a waste that people get some SUV with a V6 or V8 to accelerate “adequately”, or some sport suspension to make it not dangerous, when they could spend less on a car with a similar V6 or V8 and improved suspension and have a real rocket of a car that is also a whip.
"Now I can rationalize 23 mpg highway, compared to a lot of other cars that are not much better, "
I don't think you'll find very many cars that are CLOSE to having that poor of mileage -- there's a few, but they tend to make it worth it by being sports cars. A 2011 *CAMARO* gets 32MPG, and very few cars get below the high 20s. I like the European system of liters per 100km better, it makes it much clearer how much you'll burn. For instance, a "5 MPG difference" is pretty meaningless -- going from 20MPG to 25MPG reduces gas use from 5 gallons to 4 gallons for 100 miles. Going from 45MPG to 50MPG only reduces usage from 2.22 gallons to 2 gallons per 100 miles. 23MPG is 4.35 gallons per 100 miles, while 32MPG is 3.13 gallons per 100 miles. That's over 1.2 gallons per 100 miles difference. That'd really add up over time!Political correctness run amuck
I think that nobody beholds hypocrisy more keenly than another hypocrite.
You might want to think about how moral car use is in general.
There is nothing immoral about car use.
TRUE, very good observation
oldwrench, you are correct
Definition of POLITICALLY CORRECT
: conforming to a belief that language and practices which could offend political sensibilities (as in matters of sex or race) should be eliminated
In this case, those that believe vehicles are the spawn of Satin tend to force thier beliefs on others and if others do not comply then they are politically incorrect.
On the other hand, those that know better tend to not strongarm or force thier beliefs upon others
When you can’t answer the points of the argument, accuse someone of “Political Correctness” or “hypocrisy”
If we all lived by CCC’s standards, we would all be living off the grid, wearing clothes made out of hemp. The only food we would eat would be organically grown with no pesticides, and we would never take a bath or flush a toilet.
I think that nobody beholds hypocrisy more keenly than another hypocrite.
Oh, how true that is, and here is a perfect example:
When you can’t answer the points of the argument, accuse someone of “Political Correctness” or “hypocrisy”