Hand Those SUV Keys Over to Your Teen

Ready to trade in your full-size, gas-thirsty SUV for a micro-sized or hybrid car that sips fuel?

Sorry, but no one wants a big SUV these days, new or used. Trade-in values on a used SUV have dropped to the point where you'd almost be giving the vehicle away. So rather than give it away to a dealer, why not give it to your teen who’s crying for wheels?

"With their size and weight, SUVs are still the safest vehicles for the novice teen driver,” said Art Spinella, general manager of CNW Marketing Research. “Why not give it to your teen rather than have him cram into a Toyota Corolla?"

Comments

Stupid. Utter stupidity in those suggestions.

(1) Teens sure will drive "conservatively" in SUV.
(2) Who ultimately pay for the GAS?
(3) Good education for teens that the next car they buy, it should be a gas guzzler and not help protecting our env (because teens sure will care for #1 & 2). What they drive now will properly be what they want to get in the future 'coz they are accustomed to SUV driving.
(4) With their superb young driving skills, we can ignore all the SUV crashes like flipping over or running out of control due to the SUV size and weight. Nice to give them a true sense of safety by having them think "now I'm driving an SUV - nothing CAN happen to me!"
(5) What 'bou the rest of the drivers? Sure, nothing CAN happen to these teens, but are we telling our kids that it's better for someone else to die because the others aren't driving SUV? With the careful manuvering of SUVs by teens, I'm sure that they definitely know what to do - or even how to avoid a crash in those monster machines. Or should we have them think, "I'm driving Big Foot - let's crush that puny little Corolla like we saw on TV!"

agree with above! just because the SUV has a larger mass and might not bounce off another car like an Aveo would, doesn't mean that the risk of dying from rolling over (and they tip rather easily like the fat cows that they mostly are, esp the supid Jeeps) can be discounted

"With their size and weight, SUVs are still the safest vehicles for the novice teen driver,”

For many years (and maybe even still, I'm not sure) SUVs were not required to meet the same crash test safety standards as even the smallest of small cars, and many popular truck-based SUVs received horrible crash ratings (the Chevy Blazer comes to mind, as I used to sell them). Combined with their relative propensity for rollover compared to vehicles with lower centers of gravity, they are not likely the "safest vehicles for the novice teen driver".

This doesn't take into account the increased damage incurred by the public as these "novice teen driver(s)" create accidents of greater severity now that they are driving larger and heavier SUVs. This idea is amongst the dumbest I've heard in some time.

As can be seen with his laughable "dust-to-dust" report, Art Spinella can be counted on to state ridiculous claims in the hopes of getting his name and company's name into print. Unfortunately, he is too often successful in these attempts. Please consider removing him from your source list in the future.

This is one of the most ridiculous recommendation/blog entry I've ever seen on cars.com (Well, other than the S2000 one).

SUV are safe for teen drivers? NEVER! The more it weighs, the harder it is to control. Which in return leads to more crashes. Even it may be safer when crashed. But isn't that a little backward thinking already? You would want to avoid crashing before thinking about how safe it is when crashed!

We've written many times that in a standard crash SUVs have been proven to stand up better to the crash than anything lighter/smaller. Obviously rollovers are a different story but also a fraction of most accidents.

We would hope parents would still instruct teens to drive safely no matter the vehicle. I don't think there has been any study that says teens are more likely to get in accidents in one type of vehicle vs another although insurance companies probably will point to sports cars more than suvs as higher risk.

just use the big SUV to get everybody to Church or the airport and back and get a sedan to go around town in.

lets say you've got an '07 Yukon Denali. it has a 402 hp 6.2L V8.

you are going to give a car with a 402 hp engine to a teenager? that doesnt even consider the fact that the vehicle will seat 7 or 8. so not only does it drink gas, but it will definitley be going fast and be stuffed full or people.

get them a Jetta, Vibe, or a Civic and they'll be plenty happy

Another issue that I've seen with this post (the suggestions made by those idiots) is that - and a very typical thinking among Americans - lack of responsibility! This has nothing to do with the gas/safety/etc., but look at this this way:

I got a gas guzzler - and now gas prices soar. Thus I made a mistake by purchasing a gas guzzler. Instead of doing the responsible thing of trading it in or donating it in exchange for a fuel efficient vehicle or benefits those who do need a large size vehicle (this is the responsible thing to do - admit your mistake, make responsible corrections, and learn from it). What do we (or those people suggest) do? Give it to our teens. Then it's NOT our problem anymore. As long as those gas guzzlers are no longer the parents' responsibility to feed/use/maintain, the parents suddenly become saint (by saying, oh, I let my kids use the SUV because it's safer), and guilt free (gas consumption? What gas consumption? I ain't driving that thing. It's my kids! I'll teach them a lesson later with their allowance money.)

Tsk tsk tsk...

"With their size and weight, SUVs are still the safest vehicles for the novice teen driver...”

Um, yeah--safest for the "teen," but least safe for everyone else on the road.

Let them drive Corrolas. No one likes teenagers anyway.

Yeah, I'm not so keen to have an inexperienced driver behind the wheel of a gigantic vehicle with poor handling and braking.

The point was to avoid getting less value for your trade in and teaching your teens the lessen of a buck. Sorry so many folks can't see beyond the pretty straight forward idea. Geeze, I drove an Explorer all the time as a teenager (as well as pickups for work) and I don't think I drove them any differently than my own coupe. And if I did I drove them a lot slower because they weren't as fun to drive.

i'm big proponent of survival of the fittest, as a society we dont prepare our children well enough for adult life as a whole. our drivers ed is serverly lacking, and highschool doesnt serve as a means to get kids to figure out what they want to do in college. hence a liberal arts major. highschool teaches kids that as soon as they are out of college, they will instantly get a six figure salary. we coddle our children too much and don't let them figure out the hard stuff in life for themselves. give them a small car, and tell them its the only one that you'll buy them. if they wreck it, they can get a job and buy one themselves.

D.T., I don't agree with you this time (and some other times)

1. ONE OF THE DISCUSSION is 'bou trade-in value, but the article does mention SAFETY at least a couple of times, so the article isn't straightly 'bou $$$, u c, hence the comments from us (which so far, pretty much same viewpoint);

2. Times changed; when u were kid/teen, rules were straight. Spanking was allowed. Not so in today's society. We've big problem with teenagers nowadays than, say, 15-20 years ago.

3. This is in related to AV's comment. Yesteryears SUVs/Trucks have, what < 160 hp in most cases! Your Explorer had ~ 150 hp right? That to power the heavy weight of SUV = not necessary a speeding bullet. Today we have like, 250 hp almost as a standard for V6, or 160+ for small size CUV. The one that this article mentions are most likely the V6 or even V8 - 300+ hp standard! In fact, many reviewers post 0-60 mph time now for big SUV nowadays, as they are just as powerful, if not more, than say a Mustang, Eclipse, 350Z, etc.

On the other hand, may I point out that at $4 a gallon, kids won't be able to go very far. Maybe they'll just sit in the driveway and listen to the radio.

I think you'll be better off financially selling the SUV at *some* reasonable price (of course, use your judgment here), and buying a very-used compact (or large sedan). All in all, I would imagine insurance, maintenance, gas, and asking price would be more affordable than teaching a teenager the wonders of an SUV...

Let's give them an SUV so they can pile in seven of their closest friends, go buy some beer, get drunk, crash the beast, and kill everyone aboard.

It's not just rollovers that are a major issue. These large SUVs may not sustain as much body damage as a smaller car in a collision, but the bodies inside the vehicle sustain more damage because of the body on frame design. It lacks the ability to crumple and absorb some of the impact.

Might as well sell or trade that large SUV now because the price of fuel isn't going down. Somebody that needs to haul a large family or tow stuff can use it on a regular basis. Housewives don't need a 6,000 pound SUV to go rent a video or get their nails done. Although, many people continue to drive these vehicles and keep their mouths shut because they can afford it still, even if it is much more expensive to operate. Luxury is all about excess ... excess in consumption.

Trade in value, heh?

Money worths more than killing/injuring your teen and/or injuring/killing the others.

Great idea.

J - what? So you are saying driving SUV=killing teens and or others? You're a nut. You take this story way too far. If the family has an SUV in the first place the kid is going to drive it.

And more weight does not equal harder to control. There are plenty of cars on the road that are more stable at highway speeds thanks to that additional weight. I know you want to save the world by killing the SUV, which in many ways I agree with, but you make it out like the author of the story is advocating some outright unacceptable practice by society.

LOL!!!

Let the kids get "peer pressure" correction for driving the SUV ... BRILLIANT!

Meanwhile, the SUV continues the free fall devaluation so the ones already choking up the sales lots. So the parents wont be free until: (1) kids move away, (2) dog dies, and (3) SUV hauled off to the scrap metal yard.

Hummmm, maybe they could park the SUV in a bad part of town with a window rolled down and the keys on the seat ...

Bob Wilson

I don't think any of you anti-SUVers would trade in your Civic at a loss. There is still a place for SUVs in many families, regardless of the price of gas. And, not everyone has a budget that is sensitive to the price of gas. The article is simply stating that if you don't want to take a financial hit by trading in your large SUV, have your teenager drive it (not that I agree).

As a teenager who may be driving within four years, the last thing I would want to get stuck driving is an SUV of any kind. Consider SUV's are generally more dangerous than smaller cars in single-vehicle accidents. And yes, SUV's are, in fact, more energy-intensive than smaller cars, which, considering the fact that human beings causing the global temperature to rise another 1.5 degrees F would throw the global climate into absolute chaos, the last thing parents should be doing is encouraging their children to drive SUV's.

Personally, I was looking at the 2008 Honda Civic Hybrid, which received 4 and 5 star crash ratings, gets 40 mpg city and 45 mpg highway, or perhaps a Prius.

the spawn of Al Gore?

It's this spawn that'll be taking care of you when you're old and useless, so do something about it if you're concerned...

Bloke,

You know why I just won't spend any more time on you?

You just want to argue with me without even providing any valid points.

Explain briefly why sports car are trying to be as light weighted as possible? For handling purposes.
Don't you think that they drive in much faster speed than highway speed? Wouldn't it be "unsafe" to be light-weighted?

Maybe I'm just an old man, but the kid in that picture looks like he's 12.

J, so what if sports cars are made to be lighter? If you ask me to explain, at least give me a chance to answer. Sports cars are for handling and speed, that is why they are lighter. You said: "The more it weighs, the harder it is to control". That is simply not true. Ask anyone who has driven a Honda Insight in strong winds on an open highway, compared to say, an Accord. Not to mention the additional weight gives it a smoother ride overall. There are many more dynamics than just weight.

You also ask: "Don't you think that they drive in much faster speed than highway speed? Wouldn't it be "unsafe" to be light-weighted?" I am not sure I even understand that question but, if they are driving faster than highway speeds then yes it is probably unsafe. If the car isn't designed to handle the stresses of high speed than yeah it would be even more unsafe.

In the context of this story, are you advocating if you had the choice between a sports car and an SUV, you would give the kid a sports car? That really goes against a post you were "making a point on" before.

Sorry Cars.com this is a disgraceful promotion and idea. SUVs are not safe vehicles - why do you think they put warning labels in the them warning of the risk of rollovers. The safest cars are mid- and large-sedans. I read an article once that rated a car such as the Avalon as being the safest combination of mass and maneuverability.

Plus, what do you want to teach your kid? How to work mindless jobs to fill a gas tank? That's not what you should be teaching your kid. Terrible, just terrible. Why don't you teach your kids of walk or ride a bike to school.

Disgraceful.

LM,
It's just one solution to a problem we're reading about quite a bit these days. There is absolutely no reason a teenager should not be able to safely drive an SUV. You act as if they are death traps. The do have a higher risk of rollover than sedans, yes. But in multiple car accidents large SUVs have been proven to be safer than anything else. Sorry if that's the fact and it doesn't sound right, but it is.

Rollover accidents are deadlier when it's a single car crash. Usually this does involve reckless driving and many many times, drunk driving. If SUVs tipped over during routine driving they wouldn't be allowed on the road.

What we don't advocate is reckless driving of any kind! In an SUV or otherwise.

You might have been a conscientious teenager, but many should not just be handed to keys to a 4,000 pound plus weapon. You also fail to consider the ability to avoid an crash in the first place, something a smaller, nimbler vehicle is more capable of doing. If I had a teenager, I'd rather see them avoid a crash altogether than obliterate someone else on the road in a 2-3 ton beast.

A net search of safest cars also revealed that while some SUVs are mentioned, willy-nilly saying they are better than cars is woefully misleading. The Taurus/Sable (large sedans) seem to be widely accepted as one of the safest cars you can put your kids in.

Here's what I found:
http://www.forbesautos.com/advice/toptens/safest/vehicles.html

Acura RL
Volvo S80
Honda Odyssey
Acura TL
Chrysler 300C/Dodge Charger
Lincoln Town Car
Buick Lucerne
Lexus ES 330
Lincoln LS
Honda Pilot

http://www.autotropolis.com/wiki/index.php?title=Top_10_Safest_Cars_for_2008
Ford Taurus, followed by Commander, Grand Cherokee, Town Car, FX, Pilot, Sable, Grand Marquis, Town & Country, Highlander

http://www.safestcars.net/2008.html
Taurus
Sable
A6
9-3
Legacy

LM,
First off we (Cars.com) didn't say they were the safest vehicles. Read the quote. I'll have to look up the national crash statistics from IIHS but we've reported on them before that like I said in multiple car crashes large suvs are safest. I don't think you can say one car brand or another is safer in a crash besides using crash tests like those from the IIHS. But those crash tests don't mention real world results/deaths. Which is why they also collect those statistics as well.

We're not saying SUVs are better than cars for teens, we're saying IF you have a big SUV that one way to make use out of it is to not trade it in and lose money, but share it with the teen. Again, a well instructed teen driver should be in no greater risk for driving an SUV over a sedan outside of differing crash results.

Check out the IIHS top safety picks list. MANY more SUVs and crossovers are on it than cars.
http://www.iihs.org/ratings/default.aspx

Mainly because new SUVs all have stability control standard and many have 4WD or AWD.

My favorite line is:
"A couple years ago when asked what vehicle they'd like to own, teens were passionate about the Cadillac Escalade. Now the SUV they want is a compact Jeep Wrangler because it's smaller and gets better mileage."

Regardless of the fact that any Jeep has been a popular choice for teenagers for a while...it's worded as though the Wrangler is amazingly better. The Wrangler is not bought for efficiency, and while it's rated for better EPA city MPG than an Escalade, it doesn't make it a sign of anything except the idea that smaller is supposed to mean better gas mileage.

I still say using "safety" as a reason to give your teen a 4000+ pound piece of metal is big mistake. And try and educate as much as you can, teens still make stupid, irrational decisions and lack the years of driving experience to maneuver larger, heavier vehicles.

Would you want your kid in a Tahoe or a Taurus barreling down the freeway at 75 mph? Keep in mind they are probably on a cell phone too, texting (shudder).

LM,
The question isn't driving down the highway it's all the other factors you mention. Speed texting etc.

In Chicago they wouldn't be able to get up to 75 on the hwy due to traffic anyway ;)

Again and for the last time we never said a Tahoe was safer than a Taurus. The Taurus is one of the safest cars out there and is quite large. You refuse to actually grasp the concept of the post and as you've written in other posts you don't think SUVs should exist period. Agree to disagree and move on. You're simply wrong on safety statistics with large SUVs but yes we get your point about irresponsible teens.

people i see in my trauma bay are irresponsible, often nonproductive, members of society who, guess what, do irresponsible things like drink and drive. it's like how "guns don't kill people ..." this is why my parents who drive like snails never get into accidents after so many years. a "safe" Volvo won't help you if you drink and speed etc; a little bitty econobox that my parents tend to like to drive are perfectly "safe" when they're at the wheel.

why don't people make driving lessons for teens more stringent, make it longer, give them a longer "learner's permit" period, etc ...

although i do have to say, i see significantly more people seriously injured out of an SUV, because of a rollover. i hope the fad with SUV's will finally be OVER

I'm not failing to grasp the concept, Dave. I am stating that SUVs are not safer than large sedans. On top of that, giving them over to teens because, you, the parent, doesn't want to get caught in one, is irresponsible and teaches your teen a poor message. Here, work your ass off to feed the gas hog. I guess this could backfire, and they will learn to hate them. If they survive a rollover or not kill someone in a small car because they can't handle the 5,000 beast.

This has been studied in the past, and to promote the idea on here is just irresponsible. Especially to parents eager to improve their own image as they've bought more efficient cars.

"Most safety experts caution against SUVs for teens. Young drivers tend to overcorrect when steering out of trouble, which makes them more prone to roll their vehicles. The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute has reported that among drivers younger than 25 in single-vehicle crashes, 37% of those in SUVs rolled over, compared with 30% of older drivers in similar circumstances. The higher centers of gravity in SUVs heighten the risk of rollover."
http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2005-03-02-teens-cars-what-drive-usat_x.htm

"As for SUVs, she says, teens tend to like them, but crash statistics indicate that SUVs and teens are a bad mix."
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06164/697884-51.stm

"Bigger, Not Necessarily Better
We would also be remiss if we did not explain the lack of SUVs in the slide show, given that some parents favor those vehicles for their commanding views of roads. In fact, when we set out to write this piece we intended to include SUVs. But we found that in addition to a dearth of cheap SUVs on the market, only two SUVs came close to comparing favorably with the passenger cars on our list. Concerns with fuel efficiency and safety tended to keep SUVs off the list.

While we understand some parents' bias toward the tall trucks, SUVs do not measure up quantitatively under the criteria we feel are most important in selecting cars for teenagers.

After all, while beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, there is safety in numbers. "
http://www.forbes.com/2007/02/23/cars-teen-safe-forbeslife-cx_dl_0226teen.html

" That's why many parents choose an SUV for their teens. But many experts feel that's a mistake because SUVs are more prone to roll over, and teens are more prone to one-car accidents that lead to rollover.

Drivers of ages 16 to 20 are more than twice as likely to be involved in a rollover in SUVs than an older driver, says Krawczyk.

In addition, Ferguson adds, "They can be a little more difficult to handle, particularly for young drivers, who are inexperienced and immature." "
http://www.thirdage.com/news/articles/ALT04/05/03/08/ALT04050308-02.html

That's 5 minutes on google. How can your assessment without any statistics beat something that has been discussed at length by many sources?

I'm sorry, but you should amend your story to reflect what the "experts" say and include some statistics in likelihood of teens being killed is in SUVs.

Otherwise, your being very irresponsible and defensive.

And I apologize for my typos and grammar. Your You're - I know the difference.

And as for my bias against big SUVs - it's totally appropriate here. Again, why teach your teen to be irresponsible with the planet instead of setting an example and helping them learn to be kind to planet by driving less, carpooling, walking, biking and using public transportation. Parents are their kids best role models, and handing over the keys to a 15mpg animal is not very "parental".

It's not good for anyone, soccer-moms, people who don't need them. SO yes, I will continue to rant on here against them but the fact remains that they are ALSO not safer for teens. Parents who made the mistake of buying them and now regret it should not put that burden on their kids; it's a lesson they need to learn.

LM, I think you're going too far. An SUV is not an automatic death trap. The sources you cite are not authorities on automobiles, they are primarily "lifestyle" websites. I doubt if they have half the expertise that the writers on this website have. The quotes you pick out are also quite selective, for example:

"Small cars have about twice the fatality rate as larger cars for everyone," says Ferguson. "Generally speaking the larger the car, the better." This is from that thirdage article. The forbes list does not include any vehicle over 20K. So you leave out a lot of SUVs that have stability control and measures that help to avoid rollovers. Teens crash more than adults, and I believe that accounts for rollovers as well. I do not see statitics that include how many teens survive accidents or are uninjured because they are driving a vehicle that has a larger mass and a higher bumper height (Yes I know this does more damage too, but the quoted statistics only look at the issue from one side too).

Now, a word of caution - I do not advocate SUVs. I think they are a matter of over-indulgence by a huge portion of society. I couldn't be happier to see them go. But what I really don't like is the idea of thousands of families losing 6-10K on something they spent a lot of money on. That is bad for the economy, and bad for the family. I think you need to have a kid who is a responsible driver in the first place, and yes they exist. If you have a kid who is a bad driver or is careless, I would not want them to have a car period.

I think by giving the kid this vehicle, safety considerations aside, you teach them you have to work hard to have something, not to just feed the gas hog. It teaches them responsibility just like giving them any other car. An added benefit may be that it limits the range of their travels to where they won't get into so much trouble.

people are so schizophrenic. on the one hand people (or the media manipulation of the image thereof) are going nuts trying to save on gas, etc.

on the other hand, some nutty journalists are throwing out the whack idea that somehow giving an otherwise unwanted SUV to a teen is a good idea? some people are willing to spend extra hundreds to thousands for a hybrid; why won't people see selling a fat gas hog at a loss as a similar investment for the future and saving gas and the enviornment?

funny how i don't hear so many people claiming they "need" a large SUV anymore.

I had written out a big long argument for LM but lost it. Regardless, I think you're just picking stats for your argument which is fine but don't paint a real picture.

We try and use our own expertise here with common sense. Teens are 3x more likely to die in car crashes than older drivers. So your 2x in rollovers sounds like better odds, even if still unfortunate and sad.

Again, please actually read what we wrote before saying we're wrong. We NEVER said big SUVs were safer than large sedans. People aren't parking large sedans to collect dust because of gas prices though. The large SUV is a big part of family life in this country despite how some people feel about them. We can't ignore a segment of people because others don't agree with their buying choices.

DL: We're hearing of a lot of people giving up large SUVs yes, but almost all of them say they wish they could keep them because of how useful they are in certain situations. And there are many people holding on to them to tow and carry a large family. Remember a Honda Odyssey doesn't get that much better fuel economy than a large V-6 SUV.

All I did was a search for "teens" and "SUVs" and picked the top 10 or so hits...I didn't pick and choose what I re-posted here. And those articles simply cited "experts" themselves. Even though this is a car-enthusiast board, I do not believe they are foremost experts on safety. I leave that up to experts, not journalists. It is up to the journalists, however, to present facts to back up an argument, which this post fails to do. In addition, it promotes an easy way for parents to feel good about themselves without considering the consequences...more likely to rollover, irresponsible action on the environment and dogging them with big gas bills. These are not qualities of a good parent, yet they profess that they are.

That is what is shameful.

i am a 12 year olad boy i thik BIG suvs are dangerous i would rather get a 2006 toyota prius with all the safty feachers

For my sake, don't put your teen drivers in an SUV. If they hit me in my sedan, my chances of dying are greater.

For your sake, don't put your teen drivers in an SUV. In the last six months, several teens in our county have rolled SUVs resulting in multiple fatalities. My former employer lost his very responsible teen daughter in an SUV rollover accident. She was not speeding and not drunk. Just an inexperienced driver in a vehicle she couldn't control.

My teen driver will use my Taurus when he turns sixteen.

well i feel that teens need to know the limitations when driving an suv. many parents buy their teens suvs and teens know wht to do and wht not to do. the thing we need to realize is tht not only do we as teens drive crazy but as well as the older crowd as well. responsibility and a watchful eye is the key. i hope my parents give me an suv because i like the fact of being higher up from the ground.