Let Someone Else Drive a Smaller Car

article and photos by Kelly Davis, Free Press contributor

Recently in Redmond, I was backing out of a parallel parking space and accidentally nudged a late model Grand Jeep Cherokee with my small car. The sound was horrifying for such a light tap. Immediately I heard a godforsaken howling and was startled when a middle-aged, red-faced man came running over and kicked my door. I got out and casually inquired if there was a problem. He yelled, "Didn't you see my car?" I assured him that I had. "Just look at it! Look at it!" he screamed, pointing at both of our clearly undamaged bumpers. I said, "Right. There's no damage. You know, car bumpers are made to withstand at least five-miles-per-hour hits without damage." He threatened to call the cops, I encouraged him to do so, the altercation ended abruptly, and I drove away wondering why he became so angry about a little nudge.

Well, damn straight he should have been freaking out. According to a June 1999 study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, had my nudge dented his bumper, it would have cost him approximately $6,000. Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) are not subject to federal standards in low-speed crashes, so those big, testosterone-mobiles are more likely to be hurt in these situations.

So, if SUVs are expensive to fix and fuel, are damaging to the environment, and are generally reviled by non-SUV drivers, why do Americans buy SUVs?

During the month of April, I interviewed several people in Seattle about their love affair with SUVs. I was amazed by the number of people who didn't blink at having vehicles that got less than 15 miles per gallon. About 70 percent felt that fuel should cost less, and all but one failed to see the irony of driving a behemoth gas guzzler and wanting fuel to cost less. As Joy of Medina said, "Obviously less, but there's too many cars on the road. There should be some way to get us more into car pooling or public transportation."

Contrary to television advertisements which present SUVs as a direct path to becoming one with nature, only 50 percent of the SUVers actually used their four-wheel drive and less than 15 percent of them went off-road. The most common reason cited for buying an SUV was to "haul stuff." While one can haul stuff with smaller vehicles, everyone seemed okay with the size of their vehicles. When asked why he had a giant vehicle even though he stated he could get by with a smaller car, Lawrence of Renton said, "I'll let someone else get by with a smaller car."

Following is a sample of my decidedly statistically insignificant survey. I'll let the drivers speak for themselves. However, I think Jack of Enumclaw put it best, "Americans are kind of spoiled. We like our independence and our horsepower."