SUVs

SUV have been the on the whipping post for quite a while from certain elements of society.

In the 70's Clean Air laws were passed. (I suspect they were backed by insurance to keep costs down on large powerful cars, but that is for another post.). Mileage standards were set up for cars, and truck were left alone and they were nearly exclusively work vehicles.

So Detroit is mandated to have high mileage cars. Prior to good fuel injection, they did what they had to and downsized. A 2500 pound car is much easier to go over Avon Mountain than a 4000 pound car.

Families don't want to cram themselves into Escort wagons. They need ore room. The execption for turck based vehicles, lets the car companies give the people what they want, room in their cars.

Without the laws, people would probably drive roomy cars, getting better mileage than the truck based SUVs.

Some folks bemoan the Suburbans and Explorers on the road. But is was Uncle Sam that put them there.

To point, the ugly crossovers nowadays are the same thing. The wedge shaped Toyotas and BMW are the market giving people room that the DC folks don't want us to have.

So for those who want to  "Save the Planet" maybe a good first step is to protest Washington.