In reply to:


A solution would then be for EVERYONE to drive ONLY supersubcompacts which get 40+ mpg and have extremely efficient (clean) gas utilizing engines. Not great performers but then at least we will ALL be doing our part to protect our environment. Focusing solely on SUVs is not the solution. The fact remains that in addition to SUVs, many (I would hazard to guess most) people are driving cars that are not considered to be the most efficient available. The desire for design, comfort, performance make this unlikely. Until the auto manufacturers offer alternatives, a significant reduction in pollution emmisions will not occur. They must lead the charge and offer choices people will gravitate towards.



A large part of the problem with American cars lies in the lack of proper pollution and fuel efficiency laws - and those laws that do exist are watered down due to Detroits friends in Congress. [laws like SUVs being exempt from the laws that govern cars efficiency as they are classified as light trucks].

Focussing soley on SUVs is not, as you said, all the solution, but its a very good start - for every SUV you get off the road permanently you save a awful lot lot of pollution.

Most European [and Japanese] car makers routinely make and have made for years, non-Hybrid engined cars which get 40+MPG right now, using the same petrol and Diesel that you put in your tank now, and these are not poorly performing engines in super cramped cars (supersubcompacts in your parlance) that can't even do the same basic job that most SUVs are calledon to do now.

Read the post from some BBS members here, they have cars which have the same or more room and cargo carrying capacity inside than the average SUV, drive better, handle better, get much better mileage and cost a lot less than the average SUV and have modern safety features for Africa so that in a crash they don't roll over and they are designed so that when they crash, they deform the chassis, not the people inside.

We are talking about highly efficient engines which have 25%+ more power than the same model of car sold in the US - Due to the lack of proper laws the European models with all their efficiency can't be sold in the US "as is" and have to be detuned for the US market.

When the Hybrids come onstream, you will see a big improvement in MPG figures, for the same or better performance (most Hybrids have powerful electric drives which offer much better torque and acceleration than most petrol cars have) and as all the weight is generally lower down they rollover a lot less than the average SUV.

Detroit won't offer better models of vehicles than the SUVs they offer now unless they are compelled to by law - they make far too much money on SUVs to give them up and offer better models which cost them more to make, or you to buy.
[50% of Detroits profits come from SUVs and they only make up 25% of their sales currently].

If you think that Detroit will offer meaningful alternatives to SUVs that you can buy, think again - but then you could if you wanted buy a European or Japanese car and do yourself, and in the long term your country, a big favour - and thats probably the best and easiest way to send a message to Detroit - don't buy an American SUV, buy a European or Japanese one - and these SUVs are more like SUVs should be.

To me the whole SUV thing has gone full circle back to the days when Nader was taking on the car makers in Detroit and winning - a lot of those hard won victories and lessons learned have been forgotten and buried over time, and the catch cry of "Unsafe at any speed" is probably as true today about SUVs as it ever was about the cars around in Naders day.