It may well be true that many (maybe even most) purchasers of SUVs don't use them off road
much, but who cares?  Many people drive cars that hold five or more people, but they don't
necessarily actually drive five people around all the time.  My Saturn would go 120 MPH+, but
that didn't mean I had no business buying one if I didn't intend to drive it that fast all the
time.  Why should someone else care because their neighbor drives an SUV but doesn't go off
road?  Vanagon owners should be the last to criticize, since my wife's Rodeo has better fuel
economy and lower emmissions than almost any Vanagon.  I love my Westy, but I know I am not
being particularly environmentally responsible when I choose to drive it.

The fact is that SUVs are popular because they carry five or more comfortably, like a sedan,
hold a lot of cargo, like a station wagon, pull a trailer about as well as most trucks, sit
high enough for good visibility in traffic, have good ground clearance for rough roads (and
urban speed bumps), and even have four-wheel drive in many cases for snow or mud.  Since we
love the versatile nature of our Vanagons, we should also respect the multi-use capability of
the SUV.  They are popular because of their versatility.  Mini-vans, of which VW vans are the
first example, are popular for the same reason.  My Westy sits and sleeps four, but that
doesn't mean I have to always have four people in it.  It's nice to have a vehicle that is
versatile.

Sorry for the rant, but I get a bit tired of the frequent SUV bashing.  If you don't want one,
fine, but why criticize others for buying a versatile vehicle?  That's why most of us bought
Vanagons, isn't it?

Bill

----- Original Message -----
From: "Marc Perdue" <marcperdue@ADELPHIA.NET>
>
> Not arrogance at all.  While the exception is that there are people everywhere that use 4WD
trucks
> and SUVs appropriately, and I imagine there's a higher concentration in your neck of the
woods
> given the terrain, most sales of SUVs are to people that seldom use them off-road.  Here's a
> web-site that pretty much covers this phenomenon fairly well:
> http://poseur.4x4.org/