Quote Originally Posted by Geneticfreak
and the added benefit of them handling well in snowy conditions.
SUVs can handle snow well, but they cannot handle well in snow.

They can't handle well when the roads are dry for the most part, because of their large size, and therefore momentum, which fights against handling, braking and acceleration.

Quote Originally Posted by Geneticfreak
if ou are in the market for an suv, chances are you are not too worried about gas milage.
So, if you were offered a choice of SUV; one with a petrol V8 that gets 12mpg, or one with a diesel V8 that gets 40% better milage figures, and therefore costs you 40% less in fuel bills...

It might not be a "worry", but why, literally, burn money?

Quote Originally Posted by Geneticfreak
With the srt8 you get a luxury suv, that performs like a sports car,
No, it doesn't.

It might be able to accelerate as fast, or slightly faster than a "sportscar" with less power, but again, the fact that it weighs nearly double that of a sports car it cannot possibly accelerate as responsively, corner as well, or brake as sharply as a sports car.

It isn't a sports car, everyone knows it isn't, so there is no use trying to pretend it is - it is a fast SUV.

Quote Originally Posted by Geneticfreak
We care about performance, getting looks, having something that not many people have, we are unique individuals, and we want a car that equally expresses who we are.
That's funny.

I don't want to tow things.

I care about performance, looks and a car that goes someway to expressing my tastes; that's why I wouldn't want an SUV as a "performance car" - I'd buy a TVR.

Quote Originally Posted by Geneticfreak
On a final note, I would just like to say that I think this srt8 model is the only responcible american suv built. all these other big trucks, and suv's do not have near enough braking power they need. The srt8 has enough, and then some. Hats off to these guys for creating a heavy suv that is capable of stopping the way a small car does.
I don't think that braking power satisfies "responsibility".

What about building them to the lightest weight possible so that in a crash, the huge mass and momentum of your SUV doesn't do more damage than it has to?

As a result you'd get improved performance and gas milage - where do you lose out?

You've already said that money isn't an issue, so a few $$$ more for aluminium rather than steel, and a proper monocoque chassis rather than a backbone won't hurt anyone.

How about offering the option of modern diesel engines that offer the choice for potential customers to use 15mpg rather than 40mpg for similar performance?

How about addressing the fact that in a pedestrian impact, the bonnet level of an SUV is usually at head height, purely for stylistic reasons?

Quote Originally Posted by Geneticfreak
the question was also asked why buy the cherokee when you can get a magnum, or a charger etc. the answer to that question is simple, ITS AN SUV!!! its an suv that performs like a sports car, you are setting high up and can see whats going on around you, it has all of the benefits of an suv, with the performance of a sports car.
It doesn't perform as well as a sports car!

Stick it on a track, or a road which isn't a short drag between traffic lights, and you will soon be lagging behind any decent sports car, and the driver of the sports car will probably be having much more fun doing it.

SUVs have a few advantages over cars, but for most of the people, most of the time, they will never make use of those benefits.

All an SUV does is show that a person has money to burn, and they don't care that their SUV is costing them much more to run than a similar car would.

For some that is fine, but I'd rather be saving that money so I could be spending it on other things; like a proper sports car