If smokers have to pay more tax, why don't these gas wasting morons?

janelane wrote:
] ] People driving or riding in a sport utility vehicle in
] ] 2003 were nearly 11 percent more likely to die in an
] ] accident than people in cars, the figures show. The
] ] government began keeping detailed statistics on the
] ] safety of vehicle categories in 1994.
]
] I really cannot conceive of SUVs as the root of all evil of
] the auto industry. If anything, that title should belong to
] policy makers who refuse to hike min mpg requirements or
] lobbyists who insist that making such policy would send the
] U.S. back into little more than primordial ooze (technically
] speaking). If they could more than double the average mpg
] from 12 mpg in '72 to 24 mpg in '82, they can sure as hell
] stack on some additional efficiency now without flushing the
] economy.
]
] Rightly so, however, many of the arguments for high mpg center
] around the atrociously heavy SUV; SUVs are pulling down the
] average mpg as they rise in popularity while Congress
] continually defeats laws that would raise the minimum average
] mpg or demand tighter safety restrictions (like mandatory
] side-curtain airbags). However, the trend seems to be subtly
] shifting from giant behemoths like the Tahoe and Expedition to
] more car-like vehicles with comparable weight, height, and
] location of center-of-gravity. I was standing next to a new
] Lexus SUV the other day and noticed that it was shorter than
] me (5'3”). It's chassis is from a car, not a truck, and as
] such the weight and location of the center-of-gravity are
] greatly reduced, the benefits of which contribute greatly to
] fuel efficiency and rollover resistance (respectively).
]
] However, with the current standing in Congress, things just
] aren't going to change. Benefits to fuel-efficient drivers
] are expiring while tax breaks for land-barge drivers are
] increasing. And that's just the trouble with consumption;
] there's hasn't been a "call to arms" for fuel efficiency
] increase since the 70s. And, even in places where legislation
] is making the giant leap towards energy efficiency, some of
] the enforcers are being held up by their own biases; check out
] the link for an article entitled "California's SUV Ban: The
] Golden State has outlawed big SUVs on many of its roads but
] doesn't seem to know it."
]
] So, before its too late, I hope the policy makers, automakers
] and consumers seek to narrow the gap between SUVs and cars
] before the decline in oil production does it for us.
]
] http://slate.msn.com/id/2104755

RE: Safety Gap Grows Wider Between S.U.V.'s and Cars