I read a column in the paper today about sport untility vehicles. The guy was really blasting them for safety and economy. I agreed with him only in part. Here in America, we are free to choose what kind of vehicles we like. And there are a few people who really need an SUV. They are great for hauling a trailer and if you have a big family, some of them offer more seating space.

I've driven several and would not be happy using one in normal daily use, but that's just my preference.

From a safety standpoint, they are big and heavy and nobody but a trailer truck is likely to run over them. But they have a tendency to flip in almost any wreck. Most of them roll over when a tire goes flat. I have passed several wrecked SUV's on the interstate and none of them was still sitting on four wheels. I've also seen them in junk yards and they almost all show signs of having turned over. They are not safe vehicles.

Fuel economy is another thing that should be left up to the driver. I know more fuel consumption means more pollution, but there is nothing illegal about driving a gas hog. My personal choice is for less thirsty vehicles. Maybe if everybody got 30 miles per gallon, we wouldn't have to depend so much on imported petroleum.

I still laugh a little at people driving four wheel drive vehicles when they have absolutely no use for four wheel drive. Even when it snows, you seldom need that feature. If you drive a vehicle 100,000 miles and use the 4WD for a couple of hundred miles at the most, is that good ecomomy? It's usually cheaper to belong to an auto club and get towed out of a snowdrift from time to time.

Don't get me wrong. If I lived in a wilderness, or if I went out hunting in the boondocks several times a year, or if I lived in a snowy mountain area, I'd have 4WD. But I don't do those things.

I don't think that all SUV's should be removed from the road and outlawed. I don't think anybody should tell me what to drive. But I still grumble when I wind up parked between two whopping vehicles in the Wal-Mart parking lot.
Howard