Well... Since Slanderer wants a practicing automotive journalist, I think I might have some stuff to add to this conversation.

SUV's are safer for the driver, more dangerous to the pedestrians and others.

They are not required (especially the larger ones, such as the expedition et. al.) for every day use by the majority of drivers

They use more gas than similarly sized minivans

NOW... before I get attacked.

Hybrid SUV's, and reasonable SUVs such as the Lexus RX330, Highlander, Escape Hybrid, et. al. are acceptable. Essentially, unless there is a need for a "real" SUV (winter driving doesn't cut it, I live in Detroit), then the best solution for SUV lovers is a car based SUV. These are acceptable because they are not as dangerous, are not as tall, are not as gigantic and are not as gas guzzling. With AWD sedans and car based SUVs now available, there is no excuse for SUVs for everyday commute.

BTW Dr. Guy, I used to own a Toyota 4 x 4 (precursor to the Tacomas) and you're right--its turning radius was crap. Nothing like a 7-point U turn in heavy traffic

Actually, no.  They still have the 4x4.  The tacoma is the light truck.  But at least now i know it is not me and just the truck.  I love it, just not the turns!

With AWD sedans and car based SUVs now available, there is no excuse for SUVs for everyday commute.

Sorry, My neighbor had an AWD subaru. He is a fire fighter,and they dont get snow days.  he wiped out coming home.

In an SUV, he would have done a lot better.

But enough of that.  In the end, it comes down to freedom.  Dont dictate what we can drive.  You dont like it?  Legislate or tax it, but dont dictate.

Have you ever been in a *SERIOUS* accident? I'll bet not. If you ever had been your choice of vehicles would show it rather quickly! You neglected to mention that SUV *drivers* tend to suffer fewer injuries due to the larger vehicle sustaining less damage

I've been in 2, both in SUV's.  The first one, we rolled a Blazer.  Had we not been riding in a Blazer with a higher center of gravity, we probably wouldn't have rolled.

The second one....I slammed head-on into a semi in my Jeep.  I was doing 50-ish, he was doing 65.  Had I not been driving an SUV with an airbag, I'd have been killed.

I see both sides of the coin.  Yes, in some aspects, they are safer.  In others, they aren't. 

As for people having 'rights' as taxpayers....I just hope you're prepared for the taxation and penalties that will surely ensue to protect what little environment our kids will have left after all of our excesses have destroyed it (when I say excesses, read people driving gas-guzzling SUV's all the time when a car would suffice)

By the way, both of my accidents happened in poor weather conditions, the very time driving SUV's with all wheel drives are supposed to be safer. 

Sorry, My neighbor had an AWD subaru. He is a fire fighter,and they dont get snow days. he wiped out coming home. In an SUV, he would have done a lot better. But enough of that. In the end, it comes down to freedom. Dont dictate what we can drive. You dont like it? Legislate or tax it, but dont dictate.

What I find amazing is the ignorant attitude that SUV means you can drive in any weather condition. As an experienced person in the automotive field, I can tell you that AWD (or height) does nothing to help you when you are not accelerating. When you are stopping, for example, AWD/SUV won't help you. It doesn't prevent you from sliding, from colliding and from spinning out. It doesn't prevent you from wiping out either.

Now, I am not dictating what you can drive. After all, I feel you can drive a tank if you want. What do you think legislation is though? A suggestion? More like dictation. Fuel standards should be raised. The car companies have no excuse for this; they have the ability to up the fuel economy while at the same time increasing performance (i.e. hybrid ala Accord or Lexus RX400h). In addition, cars such as the Hummer H2 have no place on the roads. They are a burden on society, and are unsafe to the populace. They also burn fuel like there’s no tomorrow. You tell me, which would you prefer. Increased mileage standards, or higher taxes, or sea levels rising and terrorism increasing?

So Doc, how do you know your neighbor would have faired better in an SUV? SUVs get wrecked too - I've seen pictures. And I must add that we absolutely must have dictates, or some of us would simply do whatever we wanted. I personally don't believe we should have laws regulating our own safety like seatbelt or helmet laws. I ALWAYS wear my seatbelt in a car, and don't ride a cycle, but I don't want to be told to do it. However, when it comes to things that are potentially harmful to others, there are too many people who go through life with blinders on to leave it to us to regulate ourselves. Many SUVs are getting smaller and safer to other drivers, but some are also getting bigger, and those are the ones that worry me. When you drive them, you have an air of invincibility about you, and are less inclined to drive safely. I say this from my own experience driving an SUV (Chevy Trailblazer), and there's no doubt in my mind that such an attitude on the road contributes to carelessness. Am I saying that every SUV driver is more careless than non-SUV drivers, or that they have no place on the road? Absolutely not. But if you can prove to me that people buy them more for utility than image, I'll eat my Taurus.

Now, I am not dictating what you can drive. After all, I feel you can drive a tank if you want. What do you think legislation is though? A suggestion? More like dictation

No, it is democracy in action.  To enact laws by bureaucrats is dictation.  Please do not confuse the 2.  While you may not like a legislated law, at least you do have a say in it.  You have no say when a law or rule is created by a bureaucrat or judge.

You tell me, which would you prefer. Increased mileage standards, or higher taxes, or sea levels rising and terrorism increasing?

All conjecture and hardly proveable.  HOw about stop flying on Jets as they consume a lot of fuel?  Wouldn't that be better?  And just as stupid.

Detroit will increase gas mileage when the populace demands it, and not before.  Why?  Because it is in their best business sense to do so.  Arbitrarily raising fule standards ala cafe is what created SUVs to begin with, so try it again and you are going to get another unwanted side effect.  You can not cheat the law of supply and demand no matter how noble your intentions are.

So Doc, how do you know your neighbor would have faired better in an SUV? SUVs get wrecked too - I've seen pictures

For the very reason you hate them.  They are a lot bigger and survive impacts a lot better.  It was a single car accident that due to the size of the car, totalled it.  He was not speeding so the impact was only at about 15mph.

My apologies Doc. I interpreted your remark to mean he would not have wrecked had he been in an SUV (which may or may not be true). Nonetheless, this brings us back to the other point regarding overall road safety. Had the collision involved another vehicle, the SUV may have caused more damage to it then a "regular" car. Also, if I recall correctly from the last Consumer Reports Auto Issue, SUVs sustain as much or more damage from a cost standpoint when involved in minor fender benders as many other vehicles, so I believe there may be a perception out there that they are more durable than they really are, but I'll have to check my figures on that one. I'm also curious now about what the crash tests reveal. I'll check that as well.

As for the fuel issue, we've always had gas-guzzlers, SUV and otherwise, and if someone wants to fund using a Ford Expedition or the like as their everyday vehicle, well, I wish they'd just send me some of that extra money they've got floating around.

Get a grip. It's called America, the land of the "free". I don't care if I'm only driving "2" blocks to the store. It's a *right* that I as a taxpayer ( highway taxes) and a consumer ( gas prices, insurance and registration fees) PAY FOR!!!

Worst exploitation of Land of the Free I've heard in a long time. It's that kind of attitude that creates so many problems. Thank God we have the power to make laws to limit the "rights" of people like you in your expanding universes of egocentrism.

-suspeckted

Worst exploitation of Land of the Free I've heard in a long time. It's that kind of attitude that creates so many problems. Thank God we have the power to make laws to limit the "rights" of people like you in your expanding universes of egocentrism

And thank God that we also have the right not to make stupid idiotic laws that do more harm than good.  Those precoius Hydrogen cars that are so dear to the left?  They cause more polution than they eliminate in the making of the gas.  AN SUV is more evironmentally friendly than those POS.

I find it funny how people want to justify driving gas guzzlers and then use logic like supply and demand. If people want to drive gas guzzlers they should have the right and no legislature should be put in plavce to stop it. But when gas prices go up again because of supply and demand we get outraged and demand that something be done about it. That the government should step in prevent the increases in gas prices.

In the end people are just selfish and greedy. They only care about what they want and damn anything that gets in the way of it.

Doctor, I am an expert in the automotive field. You are not.

On another note, Hydrogen requires electrical energy, which can be obtained from alt. fuel sources (granted such sources need to be developed more). The hydrogen is just a way of storing the energy created using alt. energy sources (or regular energy sources). There is an inherent difference between Gas and electical energy.

Doctor, I am an expert in the automotive field. You are not.

On another note, Hydrogen requires electrical energy, which can be obtained from alt. fuel sources (granted such sources need to be developed more). The hydrogen is just a way of storing the energy created using alt. energy sources (or regular energy sources). There is an inherent difference between Gas and electical energy.