Why do people drive big cars and trucks?

This is the question I asked my self when I was driving home the other day. There was alot of snow and ice on the road. The roads required four wheel drive or chains and the CHP was stopping cars to check for either of these. I was in Jeep that has four wheel drive but the big hummer in front of me didn't have chains or four wheel drive and he felt his truck was big enough to get through. The CHP disagreed and made him turn around. The driver of the hummer made a scene and finally turned around.

People think that if there car or truck is bigger that they can get through any thing and that is not true. If you ever drive up a mountain after a snow you will always find at least one hummer and at least one truck thats been raised on the side of the road stuck. While all the cars passing them will be small cars with chains.

So all this made me think why do people buy these kinds of vehicles. Is it to show class? Or to show where your from? It is hard to believe they were bought for the gas mileage. They are cool looking but when it comes down to it is it worth it?

I think James kunstler had some valid points in his lecture at the TED conference on the Tradgedy of Suburbia. I do not however agree with all of them. He is right this country has changed over the years and decades but some things have stayed the same. Not every community has changed with the rest of the world. There are still some communities that live in an easy world were everything has a point. Even the funniest looking things serve a purpose to the community even if it is just to have a laugh.
Some towns are proud of there odd shaped buildings and visual displays. To many these odd things are trademarks of the towns. Some have historical importance and some are just funny. The similarity between all of these monuments is they all have a story. Whether or not you understand the story or not, its signifacant to the people of the towns.
Mr. Kunstler had many valid points but I think the happy face on the water tower is funny and as much of an eye sore as it is that town has kept it up for some reason. If they didn't like it they would have painted over it.

My Suburbia
My town is that opposite of what Mr. Kuntsler described. I live in a small town with a very simple design. There are no big buildings or anything very distracting in this town. The most distracting thing in town is the out of place digital sign on the road into town. Even that isn’t that bad.
There is one main street in town that is about an eighth of a mile long. There are about eight or nine town shops. There is one grocery store and one coffee shop. We have two Mexican restaurants and two small town diners. One small post office that loses about one in five packages.
The town is small and about fifty percent of them homes are weekend homes. Most are log cabins and even the new homes have a rustic look. This town is for people who are trying to get away from the city. There are two kinds of people in town; the ones who know everything that is going on, and the ones that are in this town for its privacy. A lot of the town leave there Christmas lights up all year long others take them done while Christmas dinner dishes are being done. There are themed houses and cluttered houses.
The town was built around nature. When driving down the streets you have to watch out for the pine trees that divide them. Everything is considered a historical land mark here. The forest is protected and well taken care of. We take care of our town. When you walk done the street this is one of the only towns in America you will not find a single piece of trash, and you probably won’t find a piece of gum on the ground either. The homes are all built close together but that’s how people like them to be. The streets are in pretty straight lines except for some that have the trees in the middle of them.
Wrightwood is a different kind of suburbia. It’s a quiet place with a population under four thousand and all different kinds of people. There isn’t much in town but there is always something going on. It’s a pretty safe town and well respected by all residents. Wrightwood is a suburbia just not a traditional suburbia.