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SUV Realities

–Rochester, NY—

The left is a group of fighters, with an agenda… and a group in search of an excuse to impose that agenda, as a solution to whatever problem happens to be to hand at the moment. Even if they created the problem in the first place.

Back in the early 90’s when the SUV started becoming the vehicle of choice for millions of Americans, the left was had problems justifying their arguments against such vehicles. Having higher priorities at that time, (such as defending Bill Clinton from his misdeeds), the attentions of the left were turned away from this.

Nowadays, the left has no such distractions, and there has been some serious concentration on an all-out campaign against the SUV. But let’s examine in critical fashion, the arguments the left puts up against the SUV, shall we?

First, let’s take the most recent one, being pushed the loudest by the ‘Detroit Project”:

SUV’s support terrorists

While this would be true if we were actually getting a significant portion of our oil from the Middle East, we’re not. Iraq, for example, only accounts for around 9% of our consumption, under the normal conditions we’ve not had for some 10 years now.

Also, let’s consider that the head of ‘People for the American Way’, Norman Lear who is the creator of these ads has a garage with 21 cars that includes 2 Limousines Private Jet.  Forgive me, Norman, but somehow, I doubt your sincerity on this issue. In fact, Lear is not alone. According to actual survey, over half of the people involved in this political hit movement drive SUV’s.

Let’s also consider the idea that all automobiles burn fuel, and often at as high a rate as SUV’s, the whining not withstanding. Looking even closer, let’s say that the SUV uses 20 gal per week, on average. Meanwhile the driver of the average car gets a little better, burning perhaps 8 gallons per week less. Are the folks at the Detroit project telling us that it’s just the money for that eight gallons that funds terrorism, and the rest are OK?

So, by those lights, shouldn’t that be ANYTHING that burns gas or uses oil contributes? Why just SUV’s?  Should we be shutting down NASCAR and NHRA competitions because they’re anti-American? Do we all become Amish to satisfy these people? The question becomes, of course, at what point does this Liber-Lieâ„¢ get to absurd levels?

SUV’s Pollute

Again, comes the question about ALL autos. The fact is, the polution from such vehicles are no worse than the vast majority on the road today, Including the mini-coffins the left would have us driving.

There’s no real need for the SUV

I’m forced to agree with Charles Galbach, who speaks to these points better than I:

“In the first place, the purchase of SUV’s by businesses was the result of your close buddies, the tax lawyers and their cohorts in the not that long ago Democratically controlled congress which permitted or encouraged a windfall tax deduction for SUV’s, posing as “trucks”. Since the Republicans have a history of trying to bottle up lawyers, including tax lawyers, where they belong and also have a history of opposing business taxes rather than the Democrat method of manufacturing loopholes, it had to be the Democrats who conjured up this ruse. It obviously backfired with unintended consequences.

Secondly, it was the Democrats who forced the auto industry into creating vehicles that couldn’t hold even 2 adults and 2 children without them being squashed inside a thimble sized vehicle. These same vehicles are underpowered and therefore unsafe on any highway at any speed. They qualify for no more than zipping around an area no bigger than your typical gated community – a role better served by the usual
golf cart.

Everyone, except the rabid few enviro-whackos can see this. As a result, we see mom driving around in an oversized vehicle which is the only one that can hold her kids and a couple friends on a trip to soccer practice – or grandma driving around in an oversized vehicle which is about the only thing safe enough for her to drive on her
daily errands.”

To this excellent commentary, I would add one more point: Like millions of Americans, I tow frequently enough to make a truck an economical choice.  Now, I happen to do this with a conversion van.  But I could easily do this with an SUV, as well, and many do.

Cars have been so downsized that towing with anything less is simply unsafe if not impossible. As an example, I will never forget the sight a few years ago while in Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick, the sight of an obviously honeymooning couple using a Dodge Neon to tow a fairly small sized popup camper. We were at a parking spot along the ocean, near a popular eating spot.  There’s a sizeable hill out front. When he
pulled in, I could smell his brakes burning, from trying to get down the hill without smacking something or someone.  They ate, and left. Well, they tried to…. They got stuck going back up that same hill… the car had all it could do to hold the trailer against the hill… and the trailer only weighed a couple thousand lbs.!

You do NOT want people and equipment like this next to you on the highway. But just think of all the gas he’s saving, right up to the part where they both die horribly because he can’t control the thing.

If milage is the desired goal, fine, go after it. Meantime, leave me something that actually works. Create something that can tow 6000lbs, without getting into trouble, is safe in an accident sitaution, and yet gets 45mpg, and is at a reasonable initial cost, and is as dependable as our current modes of transport, and I’ll buy it.

Meantime, leave me the beep alone.

Which leads me, finally, to a personal comment, to those of you who think small cars are “safe”.

I hesitate to say this.
Twice now, I’ve been at the scene of an accident… once where I knew the victims personally, and once where I happened upon an accident before the police arrived. Both fatal accdents, both one car accdients, and both situations where the person would have lived had they had something better than a Ford Fiesta in one case, or a Prius, in the other.  In both cases, they valued a gallon of gas over their own lives, and paid the price…. And I’m left with the horrible memory of those two incidents.

I will *never* drive such a vehicle, and I don’t give a hot crap WHAT kind of gas numbers it turns in.

SUV’s Aren’t safe in accdients, having higher accident death rates.

NHTSA figures report that 64% of SUV deaths are blamed on lack of seatbelts, not of vehicle design. And of those, a sizeable number are related to tire failures, which in turn are caused by lack of tire maintainance… simply keeping the tires up to pressure, and THAT in fairly isolated cases. When those incidents are factored out, the death rates in SUV’s are actually LOWER than for the kind of tincans the left would have us in.

Now, of course comes the story from several difference sources (NewsMax, The NY POST, etc) that the people behind this are the rich Hollywood left, led by Norman Lear, who himself owns a 21 car garage. Excuse me, but I question the sincerity of this arguments’ proponants.

Sorry, but from any angle… ANY angle…this anti-SUV argument doesn’t hold up.  Since all these arguments are so easily defeated, it strikes me taht what we’re seeing is more a poliytical ploy, than anything else. An excuse for a bigger attack. An infamous socialist (is there any other kind) Adolf Hitler, had the Jews as an excuse for his attacks. The socialists of today have the SUV as their excuse. I
refuse to be a victim as they were, for the purpose of someone’s political ploy for power.

You should refuse to, as well.