No, Lanny is not a "typical" suv driver.  No one is "typical". 
 
Personally, I drive my (smallish) suv because I have trouble with my knees/back and I get in and out of my car a lot for my job.  The higher seat height is easier on my body.  I also like the way I can get my telescopes, backpacking gear and groceries out of the rear end without bending over into a trunk.  I also like the 4 wheel drive for when the roads are bad in the winter.  I also like how I can fold the rear seat down and it functions like a truck for hauling big things.  I also like how I can throw a couple of extra kids in back if I'm hauling a bunch of my kids friends.
 
Do I wish it got better mileage?  Yes.  Do I wish the government would require suv's to get better mileage so that I could find one that does (and is still big enough to put my 17 year old in the back seat)?  Yes.
 
I think the point is that different people buy things for different reasons, and you can't know those reasons just by looking at them.  Lumping everyone who drives an suv into some "evil whole" is pointless and accomplishes nothing.  The original article that Lanny was responding too was over-the-top to the point of being hateful and downright odd.  I read it, and considered it's point of view anyway. 
 
Welcome to the listserve...
 
On Fri, 17 Jan 2003 10:45:50 -0600 "Philip W. Scott" <[log in to unmask]> writes:
I appreciate Lanny's spirited rebuttal, but surely he realizes that he does not represent the typical SUV owner/driver.  The vast majority of SUV owners have no practical purpose for owning such a vehicle, they buy them purely as status symbols.  For the most part they are also blissfully ignorant regarding the environmental damage they are doing everytime they pull out of the driveway.  That is the point.

Orlando Schwartz wrote:

[log in to unmask]" type="cite">
A few days ago this topics list had an editorial that seemed to blame all of the
problems of western civilization of SUV's.  It has taken me a few days to
formulate a rebuttal.  For impact this is a bit of a bare knuckles reply, but
hang on to the main point at the end.  I've copy the original editorial below if
you missed it.  LS

SUVism, A New Hate Crime?
By Lanny Schwartz

 I've owned a SUV for the last 30 years.  I've explored fascinating desert
backroads and marveled at elk in a remote meadow of the Rockies.




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