Interesting viewpoint on the topic of large SUV's.
Just start slapping these cards onto the HUmmes of music/movie stars and it may actually make a difference. Sadly the commen man/woman will be hard pressed to afford a new car, especially if they recently bought a new SUV.
Just a thought...

Posted by: JLynas at April 6, 2006 12:22 PM

Yes, by all means tell others what they should drive - I guess giving advice is the gift that just doesn't know when to quit.

I drive a Honda Civic. I never owned a SUV. People with larger families need larger vehicles sometimes. Since my wife drives to work about 3 miles one way, I would seriously consider getting a SUV for her to drive so we would have a big vehicle to take the kids to and from college with all their things. Lucky for me, my youngest will be done before we buy another vehicle, so we can get something we want.

You can't possibly know the individual circumstances of every vehicle owner. Have a little faith in the economy - gas prices will cause all this to work out over time.

I like your column, and tend to agree with you much of the time. I think this one's a clinker and you sound like a scold here.

Posted by: MarkD at May 27, 2006 10:04 AM

Um, I don't put these on the old Cherokees, but on the big, brand new Navigators and Escalades. And Mark, you don't seem to understand not only the power of but the obligation of free speech in this country. What I did is start a meme against driving these things. A meme is to cultural evolution what a gene is to biological evolution: an idea that spreads rapidly across culture. I got this campaign on over 100 radio stations, and written about in newspapers around the world...including the New York Times and the London Independent and the Guardian. It cost me $35 at Staples to promote the idea that SUVs are uncool to drive. I dunno about you, but I can't look at dead soldiers faces in the papers these days and drive anything but my Honda Insight hybrid. Am I "a scold"? Well, I don't think that's how the campaign comes off -- but I sure hope so. And when you see somebody in a Hummer or some big shiny new SUV, I encourage you to give them the finger. If you drive one of these things, you should have a really bad day. And no, I have no problem with some contractor who needs a big vehicle to haul around timber. But, the average person parked at the grocery store? Just vulgar superconsumers who never gave a dead soldier a second thought. There's a Spanish proverb, "Take what you need, but pay for it." That's really all I ask. Oh, PS I spent $207 on gas. Last year. All last year. If I don't drive too fast on the highway, I get 66 or 67mpg.

Posted by: Amy Alkon at May 27, 2006 3:03 PM

YEAH.....What she said!!!

Posted by: KMR at July 1, 2006 2:00 PM

Here in God's Country, the overwhelming majority of SUV's are driven by Soccer Mommies with small weenies and small kids.

You really have to watch out for blondes herding black or red rigs. They typically have a cell phone fused to their left ear. As they enter the freeway at 70 they immediately zip to the fast lane and you'd best not be in the way because the only mirror that concerns them is the one in their purse.

Full Disclosure: I drive a moderate-size SUV that gets better mileage than almost any car did 25 years ago and Arrowsmith wasn't talking about me when they wrote Big Ten Inch.

Posted by: The Wine Commonsewer at July 6, 2006 4:17 PM

I concur: the brain-dead soccer mom pulling out of her grocery store parking space while talking nonsense to her gilrfriends on her cell is a particularly serious danger to the community!

As for guys in humvies: have you noticed that they're most inevtiabtly short and nondescript, and have to hop rather than walk out of their car? Pathetic. "Petit zizi, grosse voiture", as they say in Fench (small willy, big car).

Posted by: LA Frog at July 29, 2006 1:09 AM

Amy,

I'm highly amused that you can spend so much time and effort verbally scathing the SUV community. I just finished reading your article about finding your 1960 Rambler that was stolen. I'm not sure what type of gas mileage that thing gets, but I'm fairly certain that those that live in glass houses should not throw stones.

Posted by: Raised Eyebrow at August 28, 2006 9:24 PM

I'm not saying everybody must drive a hybrid. My Rambler was, adorable as it might have been, a cheap junker. I couldn't afford anything else. As soon as I could, I did the responsible thing, and bought the hybrid with the best mileage out there -- the Honda Insight. It's SULEV - Super Ultra Low Emissions, and if there isn't a lot of traffic on the freeway, and I drive at about 64 mph, I can get 60-something miles per gallon.

It's like the old "If smoke, please try Carlton" ads they used to have on NYC taxis. If you can afford a gigundo new SUV -- you can probably afford a Prius. If you're poor, drive what you drive. We understand.

Posted by: Amy Alkon at August 28, 2006 9:43 PM

hey "KMR" - it's Aerosmith, NOT Arrowsmith dude. If you really listened to them you'd know that simple little fact.....

Posted by: john at August 31, 2006 3:47 PM

Sorry you think what we're doing over here is only, or primarily about the oil. If it was, we'd have stabilized that part of the equation by now.

I drive a full-size 4WD pickup, and will continue to drive one, like so many of my fellow Soldiers who grew up in small towns and on farms. When you've grown up driving large vehicles, the lack of comfort level in a small car or death-mobile mini-SUV or truck is not worth the savings in gas. I grew up driving larger trucks than any Ford Excursion or Chevy Suburban. The size of my "manhood" is not an issue. It's about average. I'm not going to be "shamed" or cowed into driving a coffin on wheels. Full-size pickups don't often end up underneath semi-trailers.

Oh, and another thing: The resale value on your hybrid may be good now, but wait until the batteries have to be replaced. Someone's going to eat that cost somewhere. I'll stick to clean diesel technology. That vehicle will last a long time if built right, and have a high resale value. Just look at diesel vehicles on the market now. It will only get better with Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel/Biodiesel and 2007 emmissions requirements. VW Jetta TDIs already get 40-50 MPG, and they have a good resale value, as do 8 year old MB E300TDs.

Posted by: Tony in Baghdad at September 17, 2006 10:40 AM

Tony, nobody -- liberal or conservative -- has ever been able to give me a good explanation of what it's about. Perhaps you could. I appreciate that you're fighting on behalf of the rest of us -- I always appreciate people in the military, as well as firemen and cops -- but forgive me if I can't quite put together why, when Osama attacks the WTC, we go into Iraq instead of flattening Afghanistan and getting Osama. Remember when GWB said that was job one? I don't even think it's job six now. What we did is a bit like when somebody robs a bank, and you want to bring them to justice, but you just grab some dad off the street because somebody should pay.

Yes, Saddam was a bad guy who did horrible things. But, if that's the standard, shouldn't the first stop have been Darfur? And our president campaigned on "No nation building." Whatever happened to that? Iraq was a sovereign nation we attacked. Again, I had no problem going into Afghanistan and taking the terrorists out. But, that's not what we did.

PS I wrote this piece long before we were in Iraq.

And, check out what Donald Rumsfeld offered as a justification:

http://thinkprogress.org/2006/09/17/rumsfeld-gas-prices/

RUMSFELD'S QUOTE: "The fact of the matter is - if Saddam Hussein were still in power in Iraq, he would be rolling in petrol dollars. Think of the price of oil today. He would have so much money."

I walked through an airport in Ft. Worth yesterday, and mouthed "thank you" to the people in uniform I saw there. In the LA Times, I see faces of men and women who are 19 and 21, killed in Iraq. I can't see how anybody can look at those faces and drive a vehicle that's one iota bigger than they need.

Posted by: Amy Alkon at September 17, 2006 2:36 PM

Amy, I'm all for your meme. My first point is that people are in a "keep up with the Joneses" race and have to keep up appearances for their friends and neighbors with the latest, biggest most decadent SUV on the market. Second, is our highway battleground mentality. Folks feel like they need an army tank to do battle on our freeways when everyone just needs to slow down and be courteous. Third, is the notion that you are safer in a larger vehicle. Yes, you are, but only when someone hits you. These SUVs have a higher center of gravity and more weight which makes it harder to stop and impossible to maneuver around obstacles or avoid accidents like a car can. How many people have been killed in SUV rollovers that wouldn't have happened if they drove a car? Who knows, but there are plenty of these type accidents everyday in our country. Fourth, how much better would our economy be if people had half of their weekly gas budget to spend on other things? I'm no economist but I'd say any amount better is more desirable than putting our cash into some Arab oil guy's robe so he can buy more sui/homi/cide bombs. Fifth, the damned exhaust fumes are choking me and burning my eyes, you bastards!
It's a free country and you are free to be responsible and free to be an A-hole. Your choice.

Oh, yeh! While I'm on a rant, you rude SOBs who drive around with your bumper lights on should be banished from our public roadways. Y'all are a nuisance and safety hazard.

And Amy... you're hot!

Posted by: Jamie at January 20, 2007 7:15 AM

Again with the stupid and ill informed arguments about the “safety” of the ginormas SUVs, the “I'm accustomed to driving big because I grew up on a farm”, the “I need it to carry the four kids blah blah blah”. What a bunch of crap! How did people do it before the Hummers and Escalades? How does the rest of the world survive and build without them? Lets face it, unless you need to tow giant equipment, these vehicles are a fashion/image statement.

I work with so many of these dumbasses. One complains he's paying $700 a month in gas and he doesn't have money for the 5 kids. I told him get a used Honda or something, drive the truck only when he needs the space or towing power. Heck, at that rate he could buy a Porsche and still be ahead. But he was more concerned with “when people see me coming they get out of the way” and “can't let my kids see me driving those little cars”, better they have no shoes I guess. You see, as he said, “that's what I was raised driving”.

Posted by: CalypsoArt at January 20, 2007 2:45 PM

I'm at my laptop reading these comments and a commercial for the Subaru "L. L. Bean Edition" Outback SUV comes on the tube. Now THAT'S Comedy.......

Posted by: ETK at January 20, 2007 8:28 PM

I DON'T KNOW WHO MADE YOU GOD'S GIFT TO THE WHOLE WORLD BUT I DO KNOW THAT YOU ARE CERTAINLY NOT. SO I WOULD THINK TWICE BEFORE YOU OPEN UP YOUR MAN FACE BEFORE INFORMING SOMEONE OF THEIR RIGHTS AND WRONGS.

Posted by: TIFFANY at January 21, 2007 6:44 PM

Tiffany, there's no evidence there is a god, but your apparent certainty there is, along with your apparent personal visits from the guy so he can tell you that I'm not his gift to the world, well...I guess it's something to do while you're waiting at the gas station to fill the Hummer with the "Proud Supporter of OPEC!" sticker on the back.

Posted by: Amy Alkon at January 21, 2007 7:27 PM

Sorry I have to comment here. I have a fairly new Nissan Pathfinder and do so because I have to drive once and a while to get wood (for my capentry hobby), carry clients and take my little child to and from school. For over 20 years I have used my bicycle to commute to and from work 4 out of 5 days of the week (had to bring the stinky stuff back ... just kidding). In some cases I have more miles on my bicycle in one year than my vehicle, at trade in time they think that the truck was never driven. All I ask is do not put a mean and nasty letter on my Nissan.

Regards...

Posted by: cybeprunk at January 22, 2007 3:21 AM

when you run head-on into me and my HUGE suv, i will exit the vehicle and try to find the pieces of your deathtrap...drive what you want, i will survive...

Posted by: callmesir at January 22, 2007 9:14 PM

Big brave man, too much of a pussy to leave his name?

What kind of courageous guy lives in pride that he might kill somebody else?

Posted by: Amy Alkon at January 23, 2007 7:54 AM

I think your time is better spent busting people for their bad behavior. In that role, you are a crusader for social justice. The SUV thing does make you sound like a little old lady in tennis shoes and is a total waste of time.

Posted by: morganworks at February 10, 2007 1:45 AM

Well, this article is just silly, but I like the other things that you have written.

Some people just like big trucks and it has nothing to do with some psychology department attack on trucks that psychology professors do not like. No doubt one of them is driving your old Rambler when he is not on stage :)

There is as much "science" behind that man-made global warming as there is behind Chinese decorating tips. But, nothing stopping you from believing what you want.

Did you know that there is a concensus of UFOlogists who believe that we are being visited by exteraterrestrials? Just listen to the Art Bell radio show. He is their version of Albert Gore, Jr. and every bit as believable. No, I do not believe either of them.

For the record, I drive a 1996 Jeep Cherokee and I am restoring a 1972 Dodge Charger. Both use hydrogen of the C8H18 variety and that joke is documented a few places around the internet as my "hydrogen powered Jeep".

Actually, I drive very little, but I fail to see how I am being more "planet friendly" when I am the only person in a shuttle bus on my way to work than when rumble along with a 2 bbl. 318 V8.

Posted by: Guy Montag at February 19, 2007 2:46 PM

The idea that I'd stop doing something because I care about how people see me...well, that's obviously not going to happen. Don't you like breathing? Do you think people who pollute unnecessarily, ie, when they can afford not to, or have jobs that don't require them to drive a huge vehicle, are being fair?

Posted by: Amy Alkon at February 19, 2007 4:02 PM

For one thing, the vehicles I noticed that you ratgeted are gasoline powered with catolytic converters and all of that other performance killing stuff on them. You would be lucky to get a head ache if you stayed in it in a residential garage with the engine running.

At least putting silly little cards on them is better than the "I am changing the environment" stickers that were a bit of a fad a while back.

Anyway, all of the personal assumptions detracted from your story too. But it was still funny, in that knee-jerk humanities department way.

Also, your "Remember me?" button is not working when I use it.

Lastly, I have a really cool sound system in my Jeep. Wanna check it out? ;)

Posted by: Guy Montag at February 19, 2007 5:55 PM

"Remember me" button? Not quite sure what you mean by that.

These vehicles pollute a great deal. That's why they call my Insight a SULEV - Super Ultra Low Emmissions Vehicle. Why should anyone pollute the air of the rest of us unnecessarily? And unnecessarily endanger others on the road?

If you can't afford a low-polluting car, that's one thing. Furthermore, no kid should die in a rollover because his or her parent is a style whore. The mere perception of safety in an SUV and actual safety are two different things.

Posted by: Amy Alkon at February 19, 2007 6:19 PM

Under the Post a Comment section there is an option for our information to be remembered when we return to your page. It is not remembering anything and I am typing it all back in when I return.

So, it really is a big style issue for you? Fair enough. But that littering habit with the cards and all is bothersome.

So, wanna checkout the Alpine with Sony speakers? Can pick you up at Reagan National on your next flight here :)

Posted by: Guy Montag at February 19, 2007 6:27 PM

I'm not littering. I put the cards under people's windshield wipers. I frequently get advertisements under mine. I don't litter. I throw them away in a trash can.

You really don't have a good argument.

What I'm doing is exercising my right to free speech to make a difference in something I see is a problem. Shouldn't you be commending me for trying to motivate change instead of trying to legislate it?

As for the comments issue, it's a spam problem, and I have to manually publish all comments here and on my advice column questions, despite what the software says. It's unfortunate, but just as people pollute the air we all share without a concern for the breathing of the rest of us, spamming parasites try to use a site I pay for along with many others to up their Google ranking for free.

Posted by: Amy Alkon at February 19, 2007 7:18 PM

Um, Amy, putting paper on other people's property without their permission IS littering, but you are doing less of it than those pesky advertising flyer people are doing.

I am glad that you are trying to change people's minds without making yet another stupid law, but commending people for tossing paper about is not on my list. I am socially libral because I DON'T care and all that :)

Posted by: Guy Montag at February 19, 2007 7:41 PM

Look up the definition of littering:

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/littering

Carelessly discarded refuse, such as wastepaper: the litter in the streets after a parade.

This is anything but. It's the pointed placement of a message -- the exercise of freedom of speech in hopes of making a positive change.

Flyers on your car, likewise, are annoying, but they don't fit the definition of litter. If they did, people who advertise that way could be fined for littering. As far as I know, they aren't because it's not (littering).

And free speech that is not advertising is very protected speech. I thought all of this through before I created my campaign. Perhaps you should work to get the facts together before you post. I'm on deadline today, and I really don't have time to keep checking back to correct all these hastily posted misconceptions of yours.

Posted by: Amy Alkon at February 19, 2007 7:55 PM

Wow! Great looks AND a sense of humor! Nice combination.

I am kind of busy too, hunting for a new assignment at the Defense Contractor I work for.

You know where to contact me for that Jeep demonstration :)

Posted by: Guy Montag at February 19, 2007 8:45 PM

Montag - Shouldn't you be out starting fires, or something?

Posted by: MikeH at March 22, 2007 10:36 PM

Um, what the bleep does automobile choice have to do with the size of the owner's penis? If a woman, well, obviously nothing. If a man, still nothing. There must be as many reasons for buying a tank on wheels as there are buyers. Some reasons make sense, some don't. So instead of ranting against men and their imagined sexual hangups, deal with real issues. They use more gas so they pollute more, they damage the roads more, and they cause more damage in collisions. Those are real reasons to discuss. There are SO MANY ways our planet is being harmed. Why are you so vocal about that one? Spend your vocal energy convincing people there really is an issue.

Posted by: Jonathan at April 10, 2007 3:29 AM

Um, joke, Jonathan. And I discuss other issues on my blog. But, personally, I'm big on breathing and not having my safety compromised by some asshat in a Hummer.

FYI, in my columns, I help men all the time -- and there's even a column helping a man who's insecure about his small penis.

Perhaps your biggest problem is your missing sense of humor?

P.S. You can say "fuck." We're not in church!

Posted by: Amy Alkon at April 10, 2007 4:03 AM

What if I have a small penis and drive a mini van?

Posted by: James Tooley at April 11, 2007 6:25 PM

Regarding dead soldiers...

Back in the 80s I was telling Californians to vote for offshore drilling, for nuclear power stations, yada yads. "You're volunteering my son to fight in the oil wars of the early 0ties, you stupid, ignorant jerk!", I told them. Did they listen? Hah. Mostly they slugged me.

When it's about solving problems I love environmentalism. When it's about wallowing in a green goo of Gaianic self-righteousness, not.

Love your stuff, Amy.
--
Vorticity

Posted by: Vorticity Kappa at May 18, 2007 6:24 PM

Okay, Amy. Gas guzzlers are horrible, and I agree with you all the way on that. HOWEVER, there is no need to go blaming the entire freaking war on a soldier who is doing his job!

Also, SUVs are not AT ALL safer than cars. People can die just as easily in a Dodge Durango as in a Lincoln Town Car.

Posted by: Kenneth at May 25, 2007 8:21 PM

OK, I can see your point and can understand the annoyance of SUV's being "the thing" now, but I would be rather ticked if one of your notices ended up on my 4-Runner. I like to see a SUV for what it's meant to be, a Sports Utility Vehicle and when I see these too low to the ground, wouldn't dare take that over a bumpy trail, luxury versions, driven by well off young adults, it gets a bit frustrating. However, there IS a need for them by some. I own and work around horses and use mine quite often for loading up hay, grain and shavings. Yes, I find it a pain to drive my SUV everyday, but can I afford another car? No. So yes, you would find my vehicle parked at the post office or grocery store. I need to have access to a SUV or truck and cannot afford to even think about paying another set of loans and insurance for a more efficient car. I also like having a SUV as there are occasions where I have to (or shoot even LIKE) to go offroading or need to pop it into 4 wheel to be safer when driving in bad conditions. I also drive less and spend less on gas than everyone else I know who drives a car since I don't wrack up much mileage over the year. I have a 1999 model and only 50k miles on it, which is greatly under the average. So perhaps that SUV you are glaring at is actually eating less gas than you think.

Oh and yes, while in school, I did take the bus, but sometimes I even wonder if my effort to carpool was even worth it by the huge billowing clouds of smoke coming out the back of those buses. But somehow that is supposed to be better than driving my SUV everyday.
People drive SUV's and trucks for many different reasons and you shouldn't judge without knowing their reasons. People are already aware of their impact on the world, whether positively or negatively, and one little notice is not going to change their mind, especially where it serves to irritate rather than educate. jmo.

Posted by: Shane at May 28, 2007 5:42 AM

[And Mark, you don't seem to understand not only the power of but the obligation of free speech in this country.]

So that's how you justify yourself to yourself. I'm trying real hard to recall that part in Civics class. Yes, now I remember; First amendment protection from the Government kicking the ass of a citizen for bad mouthing it or otherwise stirring up revolt. ---> the right to say anything one wants whenever one feels the impulse for however long one wishes to bang on about government or otherwise---> the right to be obscene, to be rude, to obtrude whenever wherever one wishes ---> the responsibility to speak out. ---> the requirement to never shut up. ---> The requirement to obtrude. (it gets even worse than here) ---> The requirement to extend this right to non-citizens. ---> Requirement to extend the right to leaders of regimes that deny that same right to its own citizens.

A simple splendid right is mangled into something unrecognizable. But I don' want to put words into your mouth. I must be careful not to attack something you haven't said.

But you're right, I don't understand the requirement for me, as a citizen, to never STFU or in other ways make a nuisance of myself. What a drag for you blogging is insufficiently direct.

From this post you seem like the type of person I avoid with a 10 foot pole. (with poo on the threatening end). *throws down oven mitts* I'm leaving.

Posted by: bour3 at October 2, 2007 1:09 AM

I will drive what I drive. If you want to make an impact start investing in thermal depolymerization, pebblebed reactors, hydrogen as a fuel source. You cannot conserve your way to having enough available fuel for development, transit, etc. You have to expand the pool of fuel (so to speak).

Posted by: Richard Cook at January 1, 2008 4:50 AM

Also, if people were as serious about pollution as they claim they would recognize the problem is not here it's in developing nations (China, India). Our pollution trend line is down. Theirs is way up.

Why not start pressuring those countries that if they don't cut pollution we won't buy their products? You would find a whole new set of problems to cut your teeth on if you did that.

Posted by: Richard Cook at January 1, 2008 5:08 AM

I drive one of the smaller SUVs(seats 5). We live in an area that gets snow,and is hilly, so there is one reason to drive something with 4WD. Family vacations were another motivator. We three plus the in-laws, everyone's crap and a large dog :-). Before SUVs? We'd go in two cars...that's pretty wasteful, I think. Now, one vehicle to haul everybody and everything.

How much of SUV purchasing is vanity-fuelled, I wonder. Many are really really big, and when you see them on the road it's usually to take one kid somewhere. But, perhaps like my family, on weekends and over extended holidays it's packed and used for it's true purpose.

Posted by: crella at January 21, 2008 12:02 AM

Seems ironic that to accuse these folks of having manliness issues you *leave anonymous notes on their windshields*. How's about growing a pair yourself and hanging around to berate them in person.

Posted by: olive at May 10, 2008 11:00 PM

Uh, Olive, I'm hardly anonymous, since I put my phone number on the thing, and wrote it up for New Times Los Angeles under my own full name, and then it ran, also, under my own full name in Phoenix New Times, and then I talked about it on over 100 radio shows and in the London Independent and the Guardian.

Read my blog, dearie. I have no problem approaching people who are behaving badly and telling them to stop shouting into their cell phones, etc. Did it at Manchester Airport just last week. Stood up before a big group of people and told some boor that our attention didn't belong to him.

PS, Olive, where's your last name while you're snarling at me for my supposed anonymity? (I'm endlessly amused by people who don't entirely think through their actions.)

Oh yeah, and the manliness thing was just a joke. I've written several reassuring columns about small penises.

Posted by: Amy Alkon at May 10, 2008 11:05 PM

So what you're saying, Amy, is that crowing about your self-righteous crusade from the safe distance of a radio studio/news column is the same as confronting somebody on the street with your penis "joke". (BTW, is that like the "joke" men tell - you know, "Her problem is she needs is to get laid?") The phone number thing - meh, it sounds like a cry for attention. You really show your hand in the comments, whining how using vehicles you don't approve of us somehow not "fair". Waah!

Lousy logic on the tu quoque, BTW. AFAIK SUV drivers do not typically put signs in their vehicles saying "Please leave comments under windshield wiper". Nor was I aware you require people to post their full names here.

Posted by: olive at May 11, 2008 12:45 AM

Olive, your argument that I'm afraid to get in people's faces just doesn't wash. Go onto my blog and see all the people who I confront directly about how they shout into cell phones, etc. If there's one thing I'm not afraid of, it's being direct. I'm a newspaper columnist. I write in my own name and get lots of hate mail all the time. It's really not a big deal to me to be out there, in face and in name, criticizing people, Olive with no last name. In fact, I rather enjoy it.

So...did you lose your last name? Or are you just a big ass hypocrite? Because I don't see you putting it in above.

I drive a SULEV Honda Insight (that means Super Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle, which means it blows as little crap into your lungs as possible), because I care about creating as little pollution as possible without walking all the way across Los Angeles.

When I'm talking about "fairness," I mean it in an evolutionary psychology (free-rider)/"Tragedy of the Commons" sense -- a cry for people to not use more resources and pollute more air than they absolutely must. Look it up. Find your last name while you're at it and put it in your next comment. Your hypocrisy bores me. As do your comments.

Just last night, two guys chose to blast their megabass outside my house at 12:30am. I went out, confronted them, and by the end, they apologized and said they would never do that outside people's houses again.

Yeah, I'm a big old wimp, shying away from all human contact.

Posted by: Amy Alkon at May 11, 2008 1:00 AM

It is aggrevating to deal with these women and men that go parading around in these oversized behemoths as if they own the road. Reminds me of a few years ago when I was living in Columbia, SC. The roads had frozen over but of course if you're not high enough on the food chain you still have to show up to work. I was driving along the highway and out of nowhere this woman driving an SUV so large it needed its own theme music comes blazing past me. Not only is putting waaaaay too much confidence in her SUV but she must have not been driving too long because there were still sheets of ice coming off her SUV. And let me tell you when you're going over 70mph and a sheet of ice comes sliding off the roof of your vehicle it does not just fall to the ground. It will go flying. And sure enough a pretty large sheet of it came off and flew straight into my own windshield.

So not only are those oversized things severe gas guzzers but a lot of the peopel out there driving them think that an SUV gives them the license to do whatever they want.

I'm sure you're speaking from your own experience but it does seem odd to assume a small penis when you see a massive SUV.

Posted by: Danny at May 16, 2008 7:42 PM

There's nothing here worth commenting on.

Posted by: Tom Lowe at July 15, 2008 5:23 PM

What was that, Tom, the Internet version of "Kilroy was here"?

Posted by: Amy Alkon at July 15, 2008 6:45 PM

Alexis D'Tocqueville, way back in the early 19th Century wrote a book, Democracy in American. He said there was more personal freedom in totalitarian France than in the USA.

He explained that while the government was restrained by the Constitution, people weren't. So, other citizens essentially hounded and harassed anyone who didn't agree with their own beliefs. (He said it less simply.) The end result was less, not more, personal freedom in the US.

Wacko extremists and terrorists have one thing in common. They are impatient. In most cases, if what they believe in is right, it will come on its own. Instead they run around spreading whatever amount of hatred and discontent their beliefs justify to them, and think they are wonderful creatures.

And, they all have a group of admirers.

As far as your childish attacks on those who do not use their full name, welcome to the Internet. That's how it's done. As before, you prefer to claim the right to make your own rules on the spot. You allege to be an adult person. If you don't like how it's done on the Internet get off the Internet. OR, kiss off on most of your traffic and fix your blog to suit yourself.

Posted by: irlandes at July 25, 2008 8:49 PM

So, other citizens essentially hounded and harassed anyone who didn't agree with their own beliefs.

We call it "freedom of speech" over here in these Younited States.

I prefer persuading people, through changing public opinion about SUVs, that it's wrong to pollute other people's lungs more than they need to to get around in a society structure like ours, rather than passing legislation.

That's really a big problem for you?

And I've been blogging since 2003, and on the Internet since the early 90s. I get that people do use aliases. Because somebody does something doesn't mean it's right -- attacking somebody anonymously, for example.

I guess your ethics, however, are more the monkey-see-monkey-do variety.

Posted by: Amy Alkon at July 25, 2008 10:53 PM

Just gotta say that if I could afford a fancy, big, brand-new SUV I would buy... a Mini Cooper. In Laser blue, with a moon roof and all the bells and whistles. What can I say, it's my dream car. :D

Posted by: Sandy at July 29, 2008 5:56 PM

Sure you have the freedom of speech. You have the legal right to call your grandmother a ho. But it isn't very civilized. I just love when people who are rude and obnoxious defend their behavior by saying the constitution protects their crass behavior. You are right, it does, but you still don't need to be an ass.

Yes you can harass everyone who drives an SUV. Do you also harass everyone who doesn't car pool? How about those in sports cars or classic vehicles such as a 60's Rambler? And don't give me that you couldn't afford anything else. I am quite sure you could have sold the Rambler and bought a used Geo Metro for a pittance.

The problem with attacking people(SUV) at random is that you don't know that person's story. You don't know if they car pool in a gas sipper during the week and only take the SUV to the grocery store because it actually fits more than a gallon of milk. Or maybe their 82 year old grandmother can't get in and out of a tiny, low to the ground econobox so they take the big SUV.

I own a mazda with 30 mpg that I car pool in every day. So that is like getting 60 mpg. I also own a pick up truck(18 mpg), because my mazda can't haul a horse trailer or fit 10 bales of hay. I also take my 82 year old grandmother to her appointments and grocery store in the pick up because she can't get out of the mazda with out her sciatica acting up.

What you should do instead of harassing random SUV drivers is lobby congress to create a law forcing the automakers to make practical electic cars available or at a minimun set higher standards for mileage.

The reality is that there are few decent choices out there for reliable, inexpensive, and green cars. Sure I could buy a hybrid, but it would cost me $10K more than buying a regular car with above average gas mileage. Look at the Prius. It costs around $20K. Now I could spend only 11K for a Yaris and get 35-37 mpg.

The other issue with hybrids is their complexity. When your hybrid breaks down, it is gonna cost you big time. How about when you have to replace that bank of batteries at $60 a pop? What about the sulfuric acid in those batteries? Where do you think that goes when you have to replace a battery?

So here is the problem with attacking random people based solely on the car in the parking lot. You don't know the whole story.

Here's mine.

Car pool during the week...every day
Only use the truck when necessary(once a week)
Ride a horse(very efficient gas mileage) for recreation instead of driving to dinner or a bar
Use sheep, goats, and horses to "mow" my lawn instead of using a lawn mower.
Use some solar power for outdoor accessories
Set the therm at 62 degrees during the winter and wear lots of sweaters.
Use ceiling fans during the summer instead of A/C(yes, even when it is 90 and humid)
Installed tankless hot water heater
Have over 1,000 trees on my property

You get the point.

If you think you are special for driving a hybrid....you're not. You need to try a little harder. A hybrid is a nice start, but hardly the whole story.

Posted by: Green Machine at August 6, 2008 2:51 PM

My hybrid is a Honda. It doesn't doesn't "break down." My parents, however, have American cars, and have always had only American cars, and those are the expensive ones, unfortunately. Furthermore, the battery in my car is warranteed for 10 years. I bought it as soon as I could afford a new car. In four years, I've put 13,335 miles on it, although it would've been less had I not been driving all the way across L.A. and back twice a week to care for a sick friend for six month. I get 65mpg if there isn't a lot of traffic, and I'd get more if I had a manual transmission and didn't live in L.A. Basically, though, I've arranged my life so I don't have to drive much. Also, I'm from the midwest, and I tend to keep things I buy and take care of them and not just by new things. Plus, the resale value of my care is very high, and I don't have to pay for parking (hybrids that are not polluters park free in L.A. and Santa Monica).

Free speech is extraordinarily civilized. It keeps us civilized -- my pressure on SUV drivers might mean somebody felt pressured NOT to pollute unnecessarily. When I bought my Rambler, I had just moved from New York and didn't understand that I should've gotten a more environmental car. And thanks, with all the money it cost me, and with the way I was struggling as a writer, I didn't have the money to buy another car. My point isn't that poor people must go get a hybrid, but that people who drive new Lincoln Navigators should be pressured to drive something less polluting and less likely to kill anyone they have a crash with...and endanger their own children if they have them.

Oh, and I don't have A.C. -- hate it, so I moved to someplace where the climate doesn't necessitate it. Been using reusable bags at the grocery store for the better part of a decade, and only now that there's a movement for that do people not look at me like I'm nuts. I live in a rental house, which came with a tiny patch of grass, and they don't allow goats in metro Los Angeles, far as I know, but if I owned this house I would put in native plants that don't require watering or mowing. As I put above, I don't buy new things until the old things are toast, and I haven't bought something in a retail store in ages. (Shop at Goodwill, on eBay, and mostly buy clothes at consignment stores. Even got my vacuum at Goodwill, and a good deal of my decor in this room comes from my gay neighbors' garage sales...great taste, Donghia table for $10, etc.)

Posted by: Amy Alkon at August 6, 2008 4:46 PM

My cards will say, "If you're a dumb broad who talks on her cell phone while driving an SUV, I feel sorry for you."

Posted by: metalman at August 20, 2008 5:20 PM