Like its LA equivalent, The New York Times is making gloat while the price of gas hurts. That said, The Gray Lady's Op Editorialist begins with an [ironic?] back pat for the great American SUV buyer's eco-political awakening. I mean, former SUV buyer. "We have heartily applauded Americans’ collective decision to recognize the finite nature of the world’s supply of fossil fuels and to start driving sensible vehicles. But we must also acknowledge that this abrupt change of heart is creating a new national challenge: what to do with the suddenly redundant S.U.V.?" After a quick acknowledgment of the financial pain caused by SUV backwardedness and the trapping of buyers' bucks therein, the NYT offers a practical idea for ditching the tree-hugger's four-wheeled bogeyman: "We suggest exploring foreign countries. The Russian market for cars, for instance, is booming — thanks to a fast-growing economy and generous government subsidies that are keeping a lid on the price of gas. The best part is that Russians prefer secondhand imports over domestic Ladas and Volgas." Huh? How's that going to work? And I thought The Times was anti-SUV on global warming grounds. Alternatively… "Then there’s the scrap market." Or, finally, "The artist John Chamberlain made a name for himself making sculptures out of crushed automobile parts. Cadillac Ranch — an array of graffiti-covered Cadillacs protruding at an angle from a field near Amarillo, Tex. — has become one of the nation’s landmarks.With a few adaptations, a Lincoln Navigator might make a nice streetlamp." Who said the Times doesn't have a sense of humor?
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Send them the Escalade hybrid. I think that covers all concerns.
Russia might import your car whether or not you like it. My brother and his wife drove their BMW 7-series to a concert in Antwerp, Belgium. After the performance, all they found in the parking lot was bits of window glass. The police took a stolen car report, but said there was little hope of recovery because the car was probably already on a ship bound for Russia. That country is so lawless and corrupt, car theft is a major source of imported vehicles.
Just speed up the inevitable. I vote for the scrap market.
People still read the NYT?
An SUV actually makes some sense in Russia with their lack of paved roads and all the oil you could want.
I have a friend who used to work as as skip tracer for car repo men.
The fools at a bank allowed someone to drive off with 30+ 911s using a stolen ID. I’m sure they were driven straight from the dealership into a waiting overseas container.
Of course the dealership had to know something was up, but they got paid.
Maybe GM should send over Wagoner with a convoy of all the unsold GM SUVs… That should get him out of our hair for a few years.
50merc, similar to the German ad from the 90’s:
“Go to Poland for holiday… your car is already there”
We should sell new SUVs and trucks in Russia.
Russians who can afford it (still a small class) want X5, AMG benz, and G Wagons. A used SUV other than an Escalade won’t cut it.
The other russians are poor and still trying to keep the Lada going.
Leave it up to the NYT to promote something that’s already been a reality for nearly a decade now.
SUV’s have been going en masse to Russia, Eastern Europe, South Central Asia, and the Middle East. Many dealers these days already have contacts with exporters, and the ones that have limited relationships use the dealer auctions for the same purpose.
True story. Put my 2004 X5 4.4i up for sale on autotrader. got a call from “demetri”- swear to god that was his name. “you take cash?” was his major contribution to our conversation. “i be there in 4 hours”. he lived in LA and i was in sacramento. he and his “brother” arrived about 5 hours later in a Dinan Stage 3 M3 covered with more bugs than i’ve ever seen. “We drive fast” was their comment upon arrival. Demetri was missing his hand (i know because i shook his wrist stump) and had 3rd degree burns all over his neck and the part of his chest that was exposed. His brother wore sunglasses and never took them off and never spoke. Didn’t drive the car (it was showroom condition), paid in $100 bills, said they were sending it to russia and would make a lot of money. They drove off and i was praying that the tranny wouldn’t start slipping until they were far away. So far i’m still alive. Go figure.
His name was Dimitri, not Demitri. I know him.
If there is any company in the United States that is not qualified to give advice to GM, it is the new york times.
Case in point:
The New York Freakin Times.
No kidding, Times management is on par with GM, or even worse. Failing to invest in the core product, failing to see the future staring them in the face,lack of urgency in dealing with existential problems, trashing a great brand name with poor quality…the parallels are endless, as are the parallels in the price of the stocks.
Hasn’t Russia had enough problems with vehicles – they are still recovering from the Lada so why burden them even more
The poor resale value of SUVs will continue to get worse over the next few decades as gas gets more expensive. Those people who aren’t dumping them now are going to be even less likely to dump in 5 years. A better solution for a person that has some use for an SUV is to get an efficient vehicle for most of their driving and use the SUV only a few thousand miles per year. The paint, plastic, and metallurgy of a modern vehicle means it should last decades sitting outside with just basic care. With only a few thousand miles per year, the engine and other wear components should go for decades also.
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morbo: “People still read the NYT?”
Mr. Farago reads it for us and reports the interesting parts right here in TTAC.
SunnyvaleCA ,
Funny you say that as I recently bought a new Corolla (I know its the automotive equal to an appliance… i even got it in white to underscore that) and parked my 03 silverado in the garage. Planning to use it only to bring my 1974 Cigarette 28 to the boat ramp, and reluctantly to Home Depot if i need something large/dirty. I was never a truck fan and the little toyota feels like a sports car after logging 101K miles on that truck. It is in excellent shape (looks like a 45K mile truck inside and out) and I plan on keeping it the rest of my life for said purpose (and I am 29 years old) Sorry gm, no more trucks for me from you, better start making some decent cars soon (unless you are counting all NUMMI cars as your own too now).
A friend of mine went back to his native iraq a couple years ago, during the war. He said “all the used cars in america” are being shipped back there and had a picture of a semi loaded up with old Caprices and Crown Vics. Their method of transport were old Suburbans too. No surprise that trucks, now worthless, make nice exports
# Stephan Wilkinson :
August 9th, 2008 at 8:37 pm
His name was Dimitri, not Demitri. I know him.
Intriguing. Can you elaborate on the burns, hands and quiet brother?
Kidding. Just meant that Dimitri is spelled with three i’s.
Sorry NYT
12,000 miles a year
17 mpg
3.50/gal
$2470 for gas
I save more than that just on taxes here in flyover country
So it’s OK if Russians drive SUVs but not OK for Americans to drive them?
N85523 :
August 11th, 2008 at 10:33 am
So it’s OK if Russians drive SUVs but not OK for Americans to drive them?
No, it’s okay for either to drive them. It just may be a bit more intelligent of a choice for somebody who doesn’t spend all of their time on paved roads ferrying their 2.3 kids around (that would be the typical American).
SUV’s are popular in Russia mostly because they are a status symbol. That and the roads outside of the cities suck donkey schlongs.
In Soviet Russia, SUVs import you!
It just may be a bit more intelligent of a choice for somebody who doesn’t spend all of their time on paved roads ferrying their 2.3 kids around
True. I just got back from Alaska where paved roads (even roads, for that matter) are a bit of a luxury and there are a great deal of SUV’s around, despite the highest fuel prices in America.
I just find it funny that the NYT thinks that it is bad for the US to be driving SUV’s because of the excessive fuel usage and pollution but if we ship them to Russia, somehow all is well.
For a website that never turns down an opportunity to satirize, it’s amazing how few people seem to understand that the Times editorial was satire. SATIRE, gentlemen and ladies.
There will be a quiz tomorrow on Jonathan Swift.
With the liberal pinko commie greenwash that oozes from the pages of the NYT, I certainly would have believed some dimwit hippie would suggest shipping our vehicles to Russia. All that pollution will, like, stay all over there, right? Yo, quit hogging the bong Todd..
Hey, suddenly it’s 1952! You left out “faggot.”