Should 4x4's be taxed higher?

[Ixion]

Uh, well there is a certain KBer who was caught shagging his bike. Up the zorst I believe. But I doubt the episode was productive of progeny. Would it have little mini-motos? Still if you wish to try yourself, go for it.

[Motu]

If I only bought brand new bikes and traded then every 2nd year I could live with just a bike - but I like older bikes,and I pull them apart,and I collect parts I ''just might need one day',and I find other things that ''might just come in handy''.I'm a pack rat...I gotta have something to cart my ''new'' treasure home with.Done the carry the engine on the bike thing....then I discovered cars.

As a rider of dualpurpose bikes since the very beginning (1971) I'm surprised it took me so long to find a dualpurpose car....it's a bloody good find.

[Dave Lobster]

No car wears the road out. They're just not heavy enough. If the roads are being worn out by cars here, they're obviously being made shit to start with.

Is a 4x4 Fiat Panda a danger to other road users? What about a 4x4 Audi TT? What about an Airtrek? Are they worse at polluting than a 2 wheel drive 6 litre Holden?
Does anyone have a problem seeing round an Airtrek any more and a two wheel drive transit van?

FFS, if you tax 4x4 cars higher as some sort of jealousy tax, what's next?

[Swoop]

as I live in country its a suitable cage for me and having a St Bernard in a toymota just doesn't work

I believe you might find that a St Bernard is actually a form of transport... Just throw a saddle on the bugger!
Good for getting to and from the pub as well, since it has that nice beer barrel around the neck for those "longer walks"

[Big Dave]

If I only bought brand new bikes and traded then every 2nd year I could live with just a bike -

Thats the plan - the Buell is out of warranty in Nov - I'm just gunna trade it on another one the same, unless something startling in the class happens for 08 - Talked to the boys at AMPS about it last week.
Still got my old tbird too dontchaknow. Not planning on parting with that - it's worth far call anyway.

Mrs runs the car. Fortunately she prefers luxury limousines. I just sit back and crank the BOSE.

[Motu]

Give me a call if you find a Tbird motor out the back of Patamatoe or somewhere....I'll help you bring it home,don't want to put you in the dog box for messing up the Copilot's car.....

[Pixie]

I just love the justifications that some come up with for owning 4x4's....towing,dogs etc.
I remember when the only 4x4's you saw were the occassional landrover, landcruiser or Patrol when a farmer came to town.I guess back then no one towed anything or owned dogs.

[cynna]

this reminds me of the time they wanted to put bike reg up to $2500 or something to cover the higher cost of ACC that are incurred by bike riders....

[Jantar]

etc.I just love the justifications that some come up with for owning 4x4's....towing,dogs
I remember when the only 4x4's you saw were the occassional landrover, landcruiser or Patrol when a farmer came to town.I guess back then no one towed anything or owned dogs.

Back then vehicles were built with a real chasis suitable for towing, not like todays light weight tin cans. Farmers who didn't have a land rover would have something like a Vanguard ute which was a 2000 cc go-anywhere type vehicle and weighed more than many of todays SUVs.

[Motu]

I just love the justifications that some come up with for owning 4x4's....towing,dogs etc.
I remember when the only 4x4's you saw were the occassional landrover, landcruiser or Patrol when a farmer came to town.I guess back then no one towed anything or owned dogs.

In 1972 I had an International AS110 18cwt pickup,this was bigger than the Pajero I own now.It was used to haul our dirtbikes and any parts for our British bikes and cars as well.It was also my daily drive,for going to work and parties on the weekend.It could go as many places as the Pajero can....more because I was young and stupid,and at 4mpg it used a shit load more fuel! I used to get called out on sunday mornings for tow jobs....people who drove off the road on saturday night.Ten years later I had a 4x4 RL Bedford,fitted a short flatdeck and used it as a daily runner - I was running a workshop in Otahuhu in those days and used it as a shop hack to get parts.....4mpg again.

And as Jantar says,the cars and pickups were a lot tougher and suitable for hard work than the light weight front wheel drive cars we get now....a Morris Minor would be put to more tasks than a Mazda 323 does today,and could go a lot further off road too.

[Ixion]

Back then vehicles were built with a real chasis suitable for towing, not like todays light weight tin cans. Farmers who didn't have a land rover would have something like a Vanguard ute which was a 2000 cc go-anywhere type vehicle and weighed more than many of todays SUVs.

OMG Yes! The Phase II Vanguard ute. 600x16 wheels weighed about 1000 tons (my back still aches from pushing my old man's one down to the back of the section!). And go absolutely ANYWHERE. And tow anything. The ladder chassis would not have been out of place on a bus.

The point is correct. The 4x4s have filled the niche once occupied by cars like the Ford flathead V8, the Vanguard, the Bedford Commer and Thames vans . They were as big heavy and tough as any modern 4x4 (considerably more so than the small 4x4s) and not much short of the 4x4 in off road ability. And could tow enormous weights (no brakes,mind you, but back then noone expected vehicles to have brakes. If you needed to stop you found an uphill bit or rammed the thing into reverse). And cars back then had bodies strong enough to fit a proper roof rack that could carry real weight, and luggage grids on the boots that opened down. And running boards. I miss running boards, they were so useful.

I've oftened wondered though why the manufacturers don't bring out two wheel drive versions of the SUV body type. Most users , especially of the smaller ones, don't actually need, use, or want the 4x4 capability. I'm aware that there a few such models.

EDIT: The Hudson service car. You can keep your 4x4s . NOTHING stopped the Hudson.

[Flatcap]

They're trucks, not cars. People should have to get special licenses to drive them.

This is the solution - if an HT license is required that would get rid of all the Hairdressers and School Run Mummys

[kro]

If you tax 4x4's higher, tax Vans too, and 7+ seater people movers, and the list goes on and on.

I don't believe in this retrospective legislation when it comes to things like this. If the tax was to have existed, it should have been on day 1, and not after all the unsuspecting consumers bought their 4wd's, and got taxed with GST, and road users already, and then some random "dangerous vehicle" tax comes out, that further wallops them in the bank account.

The 4WD "issue" is typical of NZ as a whole, who do most things on knee jerk reaction, rather than pro-actively.

Like all vehicles, 4WD's require care and attention to be operated properly, end of story.

[Grahameeboy]

If you tax 4x4's higher, tax Vans too, and 7+ seater people movers, and the list goes on and on.

Yep, I have a 7 seater people carrier to carry my Daughter's wheelchair so why should people like me pay an extra tax and I am reluctant to get a Diesel Mobility vehicle because I could not afford the RUC..........I guess if these vehicles get taxed there needs to be exemption caes too.

[Dave Lobster]

Why will taxing them make a difference anyway?
People paying more tax to the government wont cut down accident rates. It wont make people pay more attention. It wont cut down the pollution they (allegedly) produce.

All it will make a difference to is the amount of money the government has in its coffers.

How does that help anyone?