SUV”S- Super Unnecessary Vehicles

If Abrocrombie and Fintch was selling neutered puppy heads
as earmuffs, half of you would be wearing them today August
27th.
There seems to be a trend in the upper-class suburbs and
it’s the need to drive a tank into work five days a week.
Very few people carpool and the HOV lanes remain empty or
full of violators with mannequins. No one seems to be
thinking about the future. Every time I make a trip in my
Geo I am reminded of “advanced” societies lack of concern
for others and the environment. Motor vehicles are
responsible for an estimated 20-25% of the world's carbon
dioxide emissions from fossil fuel use, and are therefore
principal contributors to global warming. So the bigger
and less fuel efficient your car is the more you are
contributing to global warming and polluting our breathing
air, not to mention being an annoyance on the road.
While the environment worsens car companies from Lexus to
Nissan continue to produce “bigger and better” vehicles
that use more and more gasoline. Just recently Ford
released the largest SUV ever at almost four tons and 19
feet in length. It is sure to raise the quality of life in
Saudi Arabia, but it is certainly pissing me off here. At
10 – 15 miles to the gallon, it has been referred to as so
powerful it can pass anything but a gas station.
Between 1988 and 1990 the fuel efficiency of new US cars
declined by 4%, Asian models (Japan and Korea) declined by
6 % over the same period, the new-car fleet (domestic and
imports) showed a 6% weight gain and a 10% increase in
horsepower. According to the US Environmental Protection
Agency "... if this backslide continues, problems with
nationwide fuel consumption will increase and global
warming trends will worsen at a pace faster than is
generally being assumed by analysts."
These huge vehicles are hazardous on the road and should
require commercial driver’s licenses. They block all
visibility for normal sized vehicles and blind you at night
coming up behind you with their 747 beams. People purchase
these vehicles to “feel safe,” yet SUV’s are three times
more likely to flip over and go out of control than other
vehicles.
There are other safety issues involved also such as the
anti-lock braking systems in these vehicles. The officially
recorded number of accidents blamed by consumers on the
alleged brake defects is over 3,550. However, more than
15,000 consumers have complained; a record for the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
According to Consumer Reports, more people have been killed
in crashes between a car and a light truck, such as an SUV,
than in crashes between two cars. So while you may “feel”
safer, the rest of us in normal size vehicles are joining
you in being less safe.
Notice how manufactures advertisements emphasize power,
speed, and luxury, and rarely mention fuel efficiency or
safety. SUV ads often include the truck out in the
wilderness sometimes on a mountain overlooking streams and
forests. Ironically, these are the streams and forests
being destroyed by the SUV that never leaves the pavement.
The roads have been paved since Eisenhower, so it is not
necessary for larger than life 4x4’s and SUV’s to get
people from 12th street to 18th for a loaf of cinnamon
raisin bread
I can’t wait till there is a gas crisis in this country
because I’ll be laughing my tail pipe off from the bank to
the gas station waving up to you in my Geo Prism. I
probably shouldn’t be so harsh, you could easily take my
life at that moment. Instead of personal accountability,
we should just blame the manufactures producing and pushing
this product on the public. I think I’ll just give them
some suggestions for next years models instead:
The Izzuzu Double Hitch Sand Truck
The Ford King Crane
The Oldsmobile Oil Tanker
Feel safe in the Volvo Semi
Toyota T-Liner series
Mercedes Monster Truck
The VW 18 wheeler Tractor Trailer Truck
Emissions and polluting the environment probably don’t
matter to you anyway; you can always just pay 1.50 for a 12
ounces of purified bottled water. Keep it up and look for
boxed air for $3.50, on sale soon