Road sows

Wed, 24 May 2000 08:00:00 +0000

So now it's official: Sport utility vehicles pollute more than cars do, they
consume more fuel and they pose an exceptional danger to cars due to their
exceptional size and height. We already knew this (though some of us were
in denial). But it certainly is href="/news/feature/2000/05/13/suv/index.html">bracing news coming
from the Ford Motor Company, the same company that recently began
selling a 4-ton, 19-foot-long family truck that is called the Excursion but is
known to some as the Ford Valdez. ("Have You Driven a Tanker Lately?")

For me, the real news isn't that SUVs are environmental hazards, or even
that Ford has chosen to overlook this compelling detail. What surprises me
about SUVs is who drives them.

Not long ago, if you found yourself being tailed within an inch of your life
by one of these monsters, you could be reasonably sure that testosterone
poisoning was at work. But now I don't even bother to check my makeup --
the macho creep back there is as likely to be the soccer mom next door, or
even her mom, as the beefy working guy with the big strong arms and a tiny
... oh, you know.

Salon.com > Beth Gallagher

Road sows