Word: suv
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...other side are champions of the land barge. These assorted auto lobbyists, free-market enthusiasts and moms on car-pool duty say there's nothing wrong with roominess, four-wheel drive and a seat high enough to give you a look at the world. Owing to their Establishment orientation, SUV partisans aren't burning anything (except gas); their defense is mostly carried out in sedate op-eds. After enduring months of attacks, pro-SUV forces cheered last month when it was disclosed that the Bush Administration wants to increase a tax break allowing small businesses to deduct much...
...first blush, then, the SUV war looks like a fight between two groups of elites--the overeducated vs. the overcompensated, the Whole Foods crowd vs. the Outback Steakhouse crowd, New York Times people vs. Wall Street Journal people. Keith Bradsher, a Times reporter, wrote High and Mighty, a book published in September that calls SUVs "the world's most dangerous vehicles." Recently columnist David Brooks attacked Bradsher in the Journal for his "broad generalizations about people's souls on the basis of what car they drive...
Broad generalizations are indeed skidding wildly through this debate. First of all, many critics fail to note that not all SUVs are created equal. Today's fastest-selling SUVs are those like Dickie's RX 300, a so-called crossover SUV, or CUV. Whereas traditional SUVs are built on truck frames, many crossovers are essentially tall cars that get O.K. gas mileage. While sales of the largest SUVs dropped 2.4% last year, the crossover market grew roughly...
...same time, it's wrong to think shifting consumer tastes have rid the roads of gas-sucking, top-heavy SUVs. Though total passenger-vehicle sales fell 1.9% in 2002, SUV sales rose 6.9%, to nearly 4 million--more than ever before--and only 1 million of those were the crossovers. The rest were traditional SUVs, which will pack the roads for years. And while SUV sales slipped 3% last month, the car companies are responding with rebates as high as $4,500 for hefty SUVS like the Dodge Durango. Car analysts at J.D. Power are predicting that by year...
...course ridiculous to accuse even H2 buyers of lending support to terrorists--just as it would be silly to call them patriots because their big-ticket purchases help the economy. But the SUV boom does raise serious questions that affect everyone who owns an SUV or drives near them: Are these vehicles safe? How much are they fouling the air? Are they making us more dependent on oil pumped in places where people burn U.S. flags before breakfast? While no one should demonize SUVS, is it fair for the government to subsidize them with tax breaks and regulatory loopholes...