Eliezer, the problem is your SUV is not safe. I can understand why you think it is, but it is demonstrably less safe than a normal sedan. It isn’t safer for you, and it certainly isn’t safer for everyone else.
Why? SUVs are more likely to get into an accident in the first place. They are less manoeuvrable and less stable. Crucially, they can’t stop nearly as quickly as lighter vehicle. Their centre of gravity is higher making roll-overs more likely. As for your point about negating the roll-over risk—I never heard of anyone who expected to get into an accident and you don’t have to be driving aggressively for one to happen to you. Also, safety standards are lower for SUVs than sedans because they are classed as ‘trucks’ (and don’t have crumple zones).
On top of that, SUVs are very inefficient. They guzzle gas because they have to have a bigger engine to drag around all the extra weight and overcome the extra wind resistance. Oil is a limited resource, and we are running out. Just because it is cheap to buy doesn’t mean it isn’t a valuable resource to be used wisely. Burning all that extra gas also contributes to pollution and global warming more.
People dislike SUV owners because they are perceived as selfish. As a group they contribute to the high cost of gas by increasing demand more than necessary. They pollute more. They block everyone else’s view of the road so they can ‘see over the top’ and they (erroneously) attempt to look after their own safety by driving a vehicle that is more of a danger to everyone else. I don’t think you need psychological hangups to dislike that kind of anti-social behaviour.
Eliezer—I believe I understood the article, but I admit I misattributed your name as the author of the comment who couldn’t understand why people dislike his SUV (thanks J Thomas for pointing that out—I did mean Buzzcut :-)
I was attempting to explain to Buzzcut why SUVs are so despised as (s)he genuinely seemed perplexed. As the advertising for those types of vehicles frequently reflects, SUVs are like a 2 tonne ‘fuck you’ to other road users and the rest of society generally. There is no doubt their owners are responsible for all the harm they cause… as are the manufacturers, marketers, etc. That isn’t going to be much consolation to someone killed or maimed by one though… or to the whole planet as the consequences of global warming start to bite.