Anxiety behind the rising popularity of the SUV

I am consistently mystified with the huge rise in popularity of these huge SUV vehicles. Many of them are electric vehicles but not all of them. The common denominator is their abnormally huge size. This must make them very hard to manoeuvre in tight places. I'd hate to drive one where I live. A nightmare.

On British roads they can become a handful. They will be nearly impossible to park in some parking facilities. They are simply unsuitable for many British urban road network environments. And yet the British consistently make them a very popular vehicle. 

I've been scratching my head as to why. I can only come to the conclusion that many British people are anxious about the deep-rooted problems that currently exist in British society with many public services broken or failing. Many people are anxious about world problems as well such as the possibility of a worldwide conflict.

Sitting in a big, powerful vehicle helps to assuage that anxiety giving the impression that they have control things. That they can dominate other road users. This I think is a psychological problem. There is no logical, practical reason why people should prefer large SUV vehicles. It has to be an emotional problem which these purchasers have yet to realise. Ironically the difficulty in driving these cars might make the driver anxious! 😢

Most car purchases are made on emotional issues. Many people don't buy a car because they are practical. They buy a car because they like the look of it but then of course when they have to drive it down a tight road in London or in the suburbs of London with cars parked either side and a bus coming in the other direction, they realise that they might have made the wrong choice.

There must be many instances of conflict between wives and husbands when deciding to purchase a new vehicle. Is it that the men want a super-large SUV and the wife wants a small more practical vehicle because they are more manoeuvrable? Without wishing to be in any way sexist, I suspect that many women find it very hard to drive these large vehicles. 

I was at a dealership the other day when I bumped into a middle-aged married couple. They came to the dealership in a large SUV and I got talking to the wife and she said that the family car was too wide for her. She wanted a smaller car but her husband had convinced her to buy it. She longingly looked at a small compact new car for sale in the showroom. I think this little encounter tells a story which is unfolding across the country.

And, you won't be able to park one of the huge SUV vehicles in a John Lewis car park with all that concrete. If you park in the Kingston upon Thames John Lewis car park you will notice a huge number of scratches on the concrete pillars and walls. Every one of those scratches represents thousands of pounds of body repair work! 

And I suspect that all of them are caused by drivers being unable to navigate their huge SUVs around a very tight space. These vehicles are impractical and it's time people put aside their emotional issues and became far more logical and sensible in their choices.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also, sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. And, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable. Finally, (!) I often express an OPINION on the news. Please share yours in a comment.