Finally dead, thank your chosen diety
 

https://www.iaai.com/Vehicles/Vehicl...7&RowNumber=11

Just imagine over 438,000 miles at 14 MPG! What's that $100,000 in gas in 11years (today's prices)! And yes I know it used to be cheaper. Glad to see it go :D.

regards
Mech

Must have been from my hometown- Subdivisions never get a chance to cool down here. Imagine how many hours of run time it takes to accrue those miles... then double it, to account for all the idling, warming up, cooling down, middle of the street gossip sessions, etc.

RIP

31,285 gallons of gas. :eek:

It's a '99 Suburban, so that's 14 years old. They averaged 31,000 miles per year, which probably means a LOT of highway driving.

My Silverado has very little info in the driver information display on the dash; it shows only three things: odometer, trip odometer, and hours. At 130k, I've got about 3000 hours. Figuring far more highway miles, I'd guess around 8000 hours.

That's a lot of seat time!

You know, not everybody that drives one of those tanks is a soccer mom with one kid who wouldn't know how to put a hitch into the reciever to save their life. For some (though admittedly not most) those vehicles serve a purpose that no 4cyl car or hybrid can accomplish. Some people have large families. Some people tow regularly. Some people have to carry a LOT of crap for work travel. There are a number of valid reasons for driving a Suburban. Also, 400k+ on one vehicle (even a suburban) is still better environmental-wise than buying a new hybrid or eco-minded car every 3-5years. It takes a LOT of resources to build a car.

Maybe you could climb down off your high eco-horse and broaden your perspective a little; stop judging before you know any of the circumstances. :thumbup:

Eh, I'd be willing to bet that someone will put that truck back on the road. As long as the frame is not mangled the sheet metal damage is not that severe and if they can get it for a good price it would probably take $400~$500 in parts to get it back together. Shoot I even know someone looking for a Suburban so I might have to point them in the general direction of this one.

I believe Old Mech's perspective is quite broad enough, as is mine when I say we are not only aware of situations where it is the best match for the job, we are even more acutely aware that- as you alluded to- most of the time they are nothing more than ginormous solo (or maybe even DUO!!! :rolleyes: ) commuter cars.

As far as this exact Subdivision goes, I cannot say if it was well-utilized or not. Is there a pic of the rear bumper showing a well used hitch? Does the back seat look new or not?

I'll agree with you that a Suburban meets the needs of some very well, I'm skeptical on the environmental part.

I would bet that most of the costs of building a vehicle are pretty well represented in the price to purchase that vehicle. If a Prius costs $25,000 and gets ~3x the gas mileage in the hands of the average driver, you're reducing your fuel costs from $110,000 (calculated at ~$3.50/gal where I live) to $37,000. You could buy a new Prius off the lot at MSRP every 5 years and junk the old one at the 150k mile mark and you'd about break even on money spent.

It works out a lot better if you live in an area where gas costs more.

When you are on a bike trying to get 90 miles out of a gallon of gas, if you want to stay alive you become fairly observant. In the town where I go to lunch about 90% of the Subdividions (@ Frank) are single crew. Notice the front end damage, I notice how those in tanks tend to be more agressive than others. I guess it's the size thing, or lack thereof. Whats the matter, no sympathy for the poor slob who just happened to be in the wrong place when the Subdivision went Titanic?

Yep there are many in this coastal town that need to haul their twin 300 HP outboards on a 32 foot console fisherman, which is fine unless you actually want to figure the cost of each pund of fish you actually eat. I don't know many petite blondes who are either on a cell phone or finishing up their beautification treatments while driving on the road, but I have seen the startled look on their faces when they realize they are now about halfway into MY lane coming at me at about 70-90 MPH closing speed. They might even see the one fingered salute to their extraordinary IQ as they pass me. I have seen them overreact and loose it, ending up on their side or the roof, once held a gals hand who put her Jeep on it's side and was trying to climb out of the broken passengers window on the side that was lying on the road, becasue whe was scared the thing was going to catch on fire. I held her hand while the fire department came the 2 miles from the station to get her out safely without further injury.

My brother has a big old Chevy truck fro hauling his boat and his 10k cap trailer when he does a roof and only has to pay for a single trip to the dump for up to 20 squares. It would probably take him 100 years to put 400k on his. He uses his Tacoma for daily contractor work and rarely drives the big truck. He uses his Prius for most trips other than work when he needs his tools.

Bottom line is when you think of the fuel cost alone on this single Subdivision, you could buy another car and pay all the overall costs, and leave the Subdivision sitting just like my brother and still be way ahead.

To those who have no other choice due to their occupational demands, I can understand this, but you should also understand that their are better solutions.

Anyone who tries to convince me the difference in building a Prius versus a Subdivision is more than 25,000 gallons of gas, is wasting their time. I won't let them waste mine.

regards
Mech

don't forget to factor in the cost of all of the replacement parts in 436k miles, i mean it is a fine american made machine