Gee, it sounds like *some people* (I ain't pointin' any fingers) shoulda paid more attention to the EPA MPG figures clearly posted on their cars' price tag at the dealership. You know, 10 MPG didn't sound good back in the late 1990s when gas was in the $1.50 range BECAUSE 10 MPG IS WASTEFUL in anything smaller than a semi-truck or bus.
I have a '96 Honda Accord four-door that STILL gets a consistent 33 MPG, and I do a lot of freeway and surface-street driving. Yeah, it's a manual tranny, and it won't win at the dragstrip (it's not a "slow" car like the average dunderling's SUV), but it does everything I need it to do on a daily basis. It trumps the normal use of an SUV any day.
IMHO, people should only be allowed to own pickups and SUVs if they use it for business, period. If you need to move something once in a while, RENT A TRUCK: $20 at UHaul for a Chevy pickup. As far as SUVs and pickups for 4x4ing, cool, use them AT THE PLAYGROUND, not as a daily driver. It's not about "freedom" or "democracy"; if someone has more money, that means s/he gets to have more votes. What it IS about is affluence and waste.
Your 'Busa (or whatever motorcycle you ride) isn't a waste if you use it as a commuting vehicle or as a track bike, and, really, it's a damn fine fuel efficient vehicle. $10-$12 to fill it up is not wasteful of money or fuel (sh*t, you SHOULD BE getting 35 mpg+). You pickup truck or Chevy Tahoe or Hummer H1,2,3 IS wasteful, and, unless you're moving around the scout troop every-damn-day, you're a BIG part of the problem.
Whew. Had to vent. To summarize, SUV- and truck drivers suck. And they can't see sh*t on the road. And they ought to be confined to minivans. And more people should be out on two wheels. And HAH HAH if you have to pay $50 a fill-up, stupids. Da-yah-um!
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