🚀 go-pugleaf

> True. Kudos for the Liberty and similar models. But shame on the big
> behemoths. The issue here is SAFETY and they are a THREAT TO SMALLER
> VEHICLES

I drive those "smaller" vehicles because they make sense to me, and I say,
"So what?" to the behemoths. I am not threatened by them because I know how
to be a defensive driver. The issue that you have skimmed over is that all
SUVs are not behemoths, but I have never seen a list that describes which
SUVs are a problem and which are OK. All I have ever seen is ranting and
raving that SUVs (presumably all of them) are rolling death traps, and this
is clearly a misrepresentation of the truth, if not a flat out lie.



, and, besides, since you claim that they are TRUCKS they
> should be required a TRUCK LICENSE

They are a Pick Up Truck based vehicle, for the most part. The smaller
models, Rav4, CRV, etc., are not truck based, but as a general rule, it is
safe and fair to say that SUVs are a derivitive of the pick up truck.

No special license is required to drive a pick up truck.



and their drivers be TRAINED like
> TRUCK DRIVERS and the SUVs should be driven the way the TRUCKS do, not
> in the RECKLESS, AGGRESSIVE, PREDATORY way they zigzag around us. It's
> a jungle out there, boy... ;)

I drive 100 miles round trip to work, and I almost never see SUVs driven the
way you describe. This is not to say that they are never driven that way,
but when they are driven that way, it is a function of the attitude of the
driver, not qualities (or the lack of them) of the vehicle.

The only valid reason to attack SUVs is on the fuel mileage of the largest
four or five models. Most SUVs give mileage figures that are on par with a
"normal' passenger car of similar capacity. The offensive models comprise
less than 10% of SUV sales, maybe even less than 5%. (I would be interested
in seeing sales figures that showed various models as a percentage of total
sales in America.)

I think that the owners of the most offensive models would love to buy them
in a more fuel efficient package. Maybe the Hybrid technology that is on the
horizon will offer the efficiency we need with the size we demand. I think
the owners of just about any size car or truck would like to have the same
size car or truck and not have to buy so much gasoline. I really like my
BMW, but if I could get another one that gave my 45 mpg instead of the 28
that I get now, then I would be thrilled. Surely a Suburban owner is well
aware that he is only getting 10 mpg, and if he could get 30 mpg, he would
jump at the chance. He isn't going to want my BMW though.