Re: [MLUG - DISCUSSION] Gas prices.. was a weird forward..

[Jonathan King <EMAIL:PROTECTED>]

On Thu, 3 May 2001, Neil Bradshaw wrote:

> You know, I don't mean to troll or anything, but I think a lot of the
> problem with gas consumption is SUVs. Everyone has to have their own big,
> dangerous, off-road gas guzzler so they can go get groceries and fit in. I
> read in a report that gas consumption is again at the same level as it was
> in the 1970s because everyone has to have a monster SUV.

I'd heard 1980, but it could have gotten worse...  More seriously, I think
you would really be interested in an article by Paul Roberts in the April
issue of Harper's.  Pretty far-ranging, andis first person report of
test-driving a Ford Excursion is a hoot.  (At one point, when going up
a hill, he noticed that the instantaneous gas mileage gauge was
reading 3.7 mpg; the dealer told him not to worry, that this baby got
at least 8 mpg on the highway...)

> And it is scary. SUVs tip because of a high center of gravity. They also
> tend to give their drivers a feeling of invincibility. If I get hit by an
> SUV--and I almost did when some stupid jackass was flying down 63 at 80
> mph in a downpour and slid onto my side of the highway--I'm dead. Does
> this mean I too have to buy an oversized SUV just to protect myself from
> all the wannabe outdoor-types?

Well, at one point I designed (but did not, alas, build) a contraption
that would look like a grenade or small rocket launcher to mount on the
roof of our tiny Subaru Impreza wagon.  You know, a big, hulking drab
olive gray thing with the "A-SUV" stenciled in 6" high letters on both
sides, maybe with a line of four or five painted on/stenciled icons that
look vaguely like the profile of a "Ford Explorer" on the "barrel"...just
something to get people thinking a little bit.

jking


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