Defenders of the SUV can contain themselves no longer. A new book dedicated
to bashing the big sport-utility vehicles has sent their defenders in the automotive
press to the battle stations. They're pounding their keyboards, and out has come
much verbal violence, though little substance. Lacking good arguments, the defenders
have taken to attacking people who express anti-SUV views, rather than the views.
Count me among the SUV critics, though with some reservations. I do not think
that SUV owners are necessarily headed for the hot place, as environmentally conscious
clergy have recently suggested. I could even envision my having one — if,
for example, I lived on a llama farm and had to transport 80-pound bags of feed
up a dirt mountain road on a daily basis. That not being the case, I drive a Honda
Accord.
In any event, the storm centers on a book with a long, descriptive title,
"High and Mighty — SUVs: The World's Most Dangerous Vehicles and How They
Got That Way." As you may guess, author Keith Bradsher does not like SUVs. Formerly
chief of The New York Times Detroit bureau, Bradsher spends 441 pages condemning
the safety record of SUVs, their environmental impact, their manufacturers and
their buyers.
His remarks have not gone unchallenged. In the December issue of Automobile
magazine, columnist David E. Davis Jr. calls Bradsher some things I cannot repeat
here. He creatively describes other critics as "bicoastal glitterati" and "hysterical
housewives of the '80s" — all dedicated to "denying freedom of choice to
hundreds of thousands of sublimely happy SUV owners."
In AutoWeek, columnist Steve Thompson accuses SUV detractors of "vitriolic
assaults," not only on freedom but on fun, as well. They are furious, he says,
that "millions of people are 'allowed' to make their own choices about what to
own and drive, let alone to enjoy." He calls people who hate SUVs the "Alliance
against Fun."
Speaking of fun, may I interject something here? I don't find this war on
terrorism to be much fun at all. Americans might be having a far better time had
SUVs not increased their dependence on Mideastern oil. And not a few of them think
the cause of freedom might be better served by removing the source of terrorist
funding.
I'll take a pass on delving into the psychodynamics of SUV owners. There may
be some truth in Bradsher's generalization of SUV drivers as vain, insecure and
aggressive. But the SUV drivers I'm close to — a single mother and two elderly
couples — are none of the above. It's not the fun factor but the fear factor
that has them wheeling around in their 5,000-pound Oil Warriors. They think that
bigger size automatically translates into greater safety, even though it's not
true. SUVs are top-heavy and tend to roll over in horrifying accidents. (Bradsher
offers studies showing that occupants of SUVs are actually slightly more likely
to die in crashes than are occupants of cars.)
It can be amusing to wax sociological, but both sides should be careful. Karl
Brauer, editor at edmunds.com, insists that SUV critics are simply losers who
are envious of successful people. "What better representation of success currently
exists than the SUV?" he asks. Oooh, I can think of some, and without even leaving
the dealership.
When I see a nation given over to gas guzzlers, I think not of success but
of failure — a failure of public policy to protect our nation's environment
and its security. More depressing is the unwillingness to even lift a finger to
reduce fuel consumption when the technology to do so is readily available. You'd
think Detroit would embrace the improvements to make SUVs far less objectionable,
including to SUV owners themselves.
Last summer, William Clay Ford Jr., chief at Ford, touched on something when
he conceded that fights over fuel economy had dimmed Americans' love affair with
the car. "People used to write songs about T-Birds and Corvettes," he lamented.
With Americans headed toward another war in the Mideast, the Toyota Prius
has become a hip automotive statement in Hollywood. The Prius is a gas-electric
hybrid made in Japan. Cameron Diaz and Leonardo DiCaprio each have one. Meanwhile,
sheriff's offices in Florida have been buying these 40-mile-a-gallon vehicles,
they say, to help the nation reduce its dependence on foreign oil.
When Americans start buying Japanese cars as a patriotic gesture, Detroit
should worry.
Providence Journal columnist Froma Harrop's column appears regularly on
editorial pages of The Times.
Copyright © 2002 The Seattle Times Company
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