SMH Drive :peeved:

[Wooders]

Anyone read todays SMH Drive section and their rant on Lifted 4x4's :?:
What a crock of hyped up shyte :evil: :-x

[CrazyNuts]

Write back to them and tell them exactly what you think.

[maddog]

Cant see anything on their website about it. What was the gist of it?

[Manuel]

yeah had a read of it and the guys at work were talking about it. Personally I couldn't believe it. Annoys me every friday when I pick up the drive section and they have an article bagging out 4wds.

[Wooders]

Write back to them and tell them exactly what you think.
Like this message which I just sent them?
I want to know why the heck you people are so bloody judgemental.
Every second week I pick up the drive in the SMH and you scum are picking away at your one sided anti-4x4 garbage.

Seriously what sort of drugs are you people on? if you'd really like to do a balance STORY not just beat up on one area of the automotive comunity, how about you actually contact say the 4wd clubs association just to name one possible source.
And I don't mean putting one paragraph from one bloke and 20 from some anti-car hippie. make it a fair and balanced story or just crawl back into your retirement village!
:?: :?:

[TakeTwo]

lol.. Wooders.. what do you really think ?

[maddog]

Yeah that will pretty much do it.,

What email address did you send it to? I might send them a nasty one too :P

[Tonto]

anyone care to show us interstaters a copy?

[Wooders]

It's a bit long to retype right now - but if no one else does it I'll try & scan it tonight (again if I get time :oops: )

I sent the email from the drive.com website.....

[H.G]

if they have an issue with lifted vehicles they should also rant about lowered ones.. the amount of super low cars bouncing thier diffs along the gateway isnt funny.. and when you bash something enough it will eventually break.
I wish I was educated in the mecanics of a vehicle well enough to voice an opinion that isnt an attack in defence of the hobby I enjoy .. but an informative reply that might just inspire these *hippies* to look past the spot thier spectacles sit.

[Wooders]

Ok I have scanned this morning - I've broken it down so that it might be easier to read - hopefully this works :?
http://210.10.49.162/albums/Random-Junk/SMH03.jpghttp://210.10.49.162/albums/Random-Junk/SMH04.jpg
http://210.10.49.162/albums/Random-Junk/SMH06.jpg
http://210.10.49.162/albums/Random-Junk/SMH05.jpghttp://210.10.49.162/albums/Random-Junk/SMH07.jpg
http://210.10.49.162/albums/Random-Junk/SMH08.jpg

[sir_camel]

What a joke. How would you feel if it was your rig snapped in the street for the article.

[billsta]

What a joke. How would you feel if it was your rig snapped in the street for the article.

sue them for copyright.. (maybe a bit hard, since they own the photo)
maybe sue them for publication of your property without your concent?

[Saxon]

What a joke. How would you feel if it was your rig snapped in the street for the article.

sue them for copyright.. (maybe a bit hard, since they own the photo)
maybe sue them for publication of your property without your concent?

That yellow rangie always seems to get bad media coverage, i would be somewhat pissed off by now :roll:

[H.G]

clever shot that.. big rangie behind little corolla type car.. rangie looks hooger

[Tonto]

That whole article pi$$es me off so much ! I think I'll take up knitting - seems owning dogs, riding motorbikes and now 4WDs just makes you a target for idiots who don't bother informing themselves properly.
This R.G. is an associate professor of Civil Engineering, (you'd expect to have some sense) yet makes sytatements like "vehicles raised in this way are unsafe on the road at any speed" and "true killing machines". That's just bloody irresponsible. "Handling ability during cornering most certainly would not have been checked by anyone". Then how come I'm having to submit my TJ to swerve testing just to get a 2" lift and 31s engineered.
Jeez, idiots like this shooting their mouths off in the media make me sick. I'm sure the article has been tweaked to take some comments reserved for over-the-top lifts out of context, but that's exactly why making comments such as RG has is plain dumb. Thank god the RTA spokesman seemed to have some common sense.
:evil: :evil: :evil: ........... :oops:

[H.G]

anyone listen to the cage of a morning on MMM seems byron*one of the show hosts* alwayas says negative things about 4x4s

[billsta]

This R.G. is an associate professor of Civil Engineering, (you'd expect to have some sense) yet makes sytatements like "vehicles raised in this way are unsafe on the road at any speed" and "true killing machines". That's just bloody irresponsible. "Handling ability during cornering most certainly would not have been checked by anyone".

Civil engineer, what do they know about mechanical engineering?
isnt the civil engineers responsible for all the camber on the road, which makes all vehicle have a tendency to pull the the left, making the road unsafe for any vehicle... (people who travel on the M4 would know)
hmmm all vehicles tend to pull to the left, hmm, dont footpaths are on the left hand side??
i think we found the devils...
and i think we should boycot newspaper as well, unless you have pet birds or something...

[zzzz]

I agree with the intention of that article and the fact that stupidly high lifted four wheel drives are at more risk or rollover and cause more serious injuries to others in an accident.
It was written in a way to incite though...

I worry about the impact my jeep would have if I had the misfortune of crashing into a small hatchback, as even my front bumper height is raised quite a bit.

Some of the vehicles (mostly toyotas and nissans) running around with massive spring lifts to run 33's or 35's scare the hell out of me.
I laugh at them when they come out for a drive and struggle on off camber situations, but I worry about them tipping over around roundabouts.

Why can't people lift their trucks sensibly and modify the guards to fit 35's with a smaller spring lift?

The real problem is that the guidlines are a farce and enforement is sporadic at best.
If there were national rules that were clear, sensible and fully enforced then everyone would know where they stand and could build trucks that were within the law and yet still capable offroad.

I would love to see some clear guidelines so we all knew where we stood.

[H.G]

guideline number one.... DONT BUY A 4x4
guideline number two..... DONT BUY A MOTORBIKE
guideline number three.. BUY HIGH POWERED SPORTS VEHICLES DESIGNED TO GO REALLY REALLY FAST
guideline number 4... nobody gets out of here alive so shove the previous guidelines up the governments perverbial :wink:

[xflow]

Well to be fair he has a point. Much as I love a lift for off-road it does make the car more unstable especially when cornering in the wet.

And it's pretty obvious a small car is going to come off worse in a crash.

I guess it's easy for us to just dismiss the article as complete crap because we love our lifted cars but I have seen some shocking driving by 4x4's on Melbournes roads including a fair few Jeeps , and can't say I like the idea of young P platers hooning around in a lifted TJ.

And they wouldn't be able to quote rolled 4x4 if there wern't any. The reality is there are a lot of roll over crashes, normally cause by someone speeding and not being able to stop on time.

Fact is muddies and a lift increases your stopping distance especially on a wet road.

If the car is in the hands on an inexperienced driver I agree it's an accident waiting to happen.

Been said loads of times before, advanced driving and specific 4x4 driver training should be made more readily available (and if possible but not likely , mandatory)

Can't say I like the way they just generalise and put the whole 4x4 community in one bad arse basket though, most of us are very serious about off-roading and are careful, curteous and responsible drivers.

There are some bad apples that flought not just the law but common sense when it comes to modding, and they are giving the rest of us a bad name.

Something we proberbly just have to get use to cos it's not going to go away in a hurry. Too many people on a mission.

[H.G]

If the car is in the hands on an inexperienced driver I agree it's an accident waiting to happen.
totally agree with this comment.. it covers everything really.

[GMEMUD]

So that says if I drive a Hyundai accent then every one should drive one so all bumpers are the same. What about the Mack trucks and the scania's etc Where is a pedestrian or a corrola going to end up in a prang.

[H.G]

hmm this topic is too touchy for a smart alec reply to that post GMEMUD hehe
but again your right.. plus its a shotload harder to try stop a loaded b double in an instant than any of our rigs.. with crappy brakes at that.

[monte]

The U.S. has laws in place for quite a while,they differ from state to state, but its all about lifted vehicles and regulating heights of bumper bars and headlights.

[zzzz]

So that says if I drive a Hyundai accent then every one should drive one so all bumpers are the same. What about the Mack trucks and the scania's etc Where is a pedestrian or a corrola going to end up in a prang.

I realise the point you are trying to make, but the difference is that trucks are at the centre of an industry and infrastructure that every single person relies on.

The fact they are on the roads every day is critical to keeping us supplied with goods at fair prices etc.

If you think about it lifted four wheel drives are purely a selfish personal choice.
I would rather run into a "normal" small or family type car.

Every time someone goes for a drive they are taking a risk with their own life as you have to trust every other driver on the road at the same time as you.

I definitely change my driving style when driving the jeep on the road.
Things like going slower around corners, and leaving a lot more distance to stop are basic and second nature to me and hopefully all of us.

The debate will continue forever...

[salesguy]

Wow, those huuuuuuuge tour buses must be owned by anarchists. These guys really worry me, they are very top-heavy and many drivers don't seem to have the same level of courtesy as heavy truck drivers. I can't say I've ever had a problem with a truckie.

I think the Pedestrian Council and other lobbyists should take a close look at the aggressive habits of this city's bus drivers and their rigs that are WAAAAAY too large for our streets.

I know of two people who have been run-over ( and survived ) by government buses in the CBD. In both cases, these pedestrians were crossing on the :mrgreen: man.

Hello ? Mr Screwbee? Hello?

[Tonto]

I don't think anyone here's arguing with the fact that raised 4WDs are less stable, and it's a good thing there are rules in place to try to limit their modification to safe standards, just as for performance car modifications.
My whole issue is the inflammatory manner in which the article, like so many about 4WDs lately, was assembled, with very clearly a divisive intent.
I hope a representative 4WD body in NSW makes a clear and pointed response - it's important to keep the playing field fair, make sure the average punter gets to see a reasonable opposing viewpoint, and stop the rot before everyone starts to think ALL 4WDs are "true killing machines".