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speedsix wrote:...ARMED with an SUV...state jail felony in the big KA, isn't it?!!!

It's fixin' to become a federal offense....

austinrealtor wrote:TAM, if you weren't already, I'm certain now that you are officially no longer welcome back in Kalifornia. Touting SUVs in the age of the electric car? pfft ... redneck!

Takes one to know one ...

Kinder words were never spoken.

Well I admit that with an SUV with shift on the fly 4WD, I have a distinct advantage over a low slung sedan or sports car in that type of scenario. I have pretty decent ground clearance and a (admittedly cheap) bash plate under the front of the motor, not to mention a big brush guard mounted in front of the grill. It would take a pretty significant barrier to stop my car—certainly not some impromptu affair cobbled together in a couple minutes from bricks stolen out of somebody's planter.

I've paid a bit of a premium in gas for driving one all these years, but I've also taken a small amount of comfort knowing that my car will handle most things thrown at it by bad weather, earthquakes, and people with bad intentions. It's not a H1 or a Bradley Fighting Vehicle. It's just a 2002 Nissan Pathfinder SE; but it has been a fairly capable off-road explorer and comfortable highway cruiser. And being mid-sized, it is still nimble enough to maneuver a bit. I love my car, and although it has about 130,000 miles on it and looks a bit dated, it is still in very good condition and still runs like a champ, and I'm going to drive it until the doors fall off.

My wife drives a 2000 Toyota Camry that still only has about 45,000 miles on it and looks great, but she has been making noises lately about what she would like to drive A.T (after Toyota), and more and more she is talking about a vehicle with 4WD or AWD and more ground clearance. It seems to coincide with her decision to start belt carrying instead of purse carrying, and her acquisition of a new AR15 carbine—all of which is hilarious if you've met my wife and know now reserved and ladylike she is.

But on a more serious note, the need to have even a modicum of preparation for goblins and the disintegration of infrastructure becomes more and more self-evident. We all carry guns for exactly these kinds of reasons. Maybe, just maybe, the day is not too far off when the well prepared person also drives a vehicle that will carry him or her away from trouble as quickly as it brought them there. I realize that we all can't rush out and buy new cars—which is why The Annoyed Woman is going to be driving that Camry for a while—but maybe the next time you all look at buying new transportation, give the mid-sized SUVs a look.

Just a thought...

The man with the shotgun took a step back, and that's when Rego made a move.

"I just hit the gas pedal and hit the bricks and went as fast as I could down the road," she said.

So.... why didn't she do that as soon as she saw the assailants? The answer: she, like most people, was living in Condition White. She hasn't learned yet how to back it down to Condition Yellow, where she can be alert and obvservant, but still relaxed; so she is currently struggling with a touch of PTSD.

More importantly, if she was able to drive forward over the the bricks, wouldn't that be the faster way to extricate yourself than coming to a stop and trying to back out of there? Most cars will go faster with better control in a forward gear than in reverse. I drive an SUV with 4WD. If I see an unexplained "obstruction" like that, without any "roadwork ahead" signage or accompanying traffic cones, etc., I'm going to drive right over it and keep on going to get out of dodge.