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Some slightly related from Technorati and Google.

[Rebuilding Place in the Urban Space] Dr. Gridlock drives an SUV: According to Bradsher, internal industry market research concluded that S.U.V.s tend to be bought by people who are insecure, vain, self-centered, and self-absorbed, who are frequently nervous about their marriages, and who lack confidence in their driving skills. Ford's S.U.V. designers took their cues from seeing "fashionably dressed women wearing hiking boots or even work boots while walking through expensive malls." Toyota's top marketing executive in the United States, Bradsher writes, loves to tell the story of how at a focus group in Los Angeles "an elegant woman in the group said that she needed her full-sized Lexus LX 470 to drive up over the curb and onto lawns to park at large parties in Beverly Hills." One of Ford's senior marketing executives was even blunter: "The only time those S.U.V.s are going to be off-road is when they miss the driveway at 3 a.m."

[True Blue Liberal] ... or is ridicule the best way to neuter america's love for the suv? (and remember that SUV is rhymed with luv just as GOP: As much as people remember the Gas Crisis of the seventies as the sole cause for the temporary death of full-sized sedans and station wagons of that era, I remember another cause -- Ridicule. I was in high school and college at the time, and NO ONE I know would have been caught dead driving a full-size vehicle of ANY kind. If you did, you were old, you were impotent, you were a family man or driving your grandfather's car.

[knobboy] Better Dump The Escalade: Gas Prices Seen Hurting SUV, Truck Sales"Large SUVs and full-sized pickup trucks account for close to 80 percent of North American automotive profits for Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp., Deutsche Bank analyst Rod Lache said in a recent research note."

[Car Buyer's Notebook.com] Test Driving the Hyundai Tucson: Another driver made a careening turn right in front of me. Luckily my foot reacted faster than my brain -- I couldn't help thinking, 'what is that guy doing?' Because my foot hit the brake, slowing the Tucson from about 40 to 15 mph, we avoided any unpleasantries.

[blue meme] A small sliver of reason: Gas prices affect SUV sales: Large SUVs and full-sized pickup trucks account for close to 80 percent of North American automotive profits for Ford Motor Co. (F.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and General Motors Corp. (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) , Deutsche Bank analyst Rod Lache said in a recent research note.

[Consumersunion.org] CU Statement to the US Senate Regarding Safety Risks of SUVs: Indeed, the automakers have continued to defend SUVs publicly by stating that a larger, heavier vehicle is safer for its occupants than the occupants of a smaller, lighter vehicle in a crash. They promote this message, despite the negative impact such larger vehicles may have on the occupants of smaller vehicles in a crash—and despite data indicating that motorists are not necessarily safer in SUVs than in cars. Researchers Marc Ross and Thomas Wenzel, at the request of the Los Angeles Times, just this month updated a survey they completed last March, finding that most mid-size and large cars are as good or better than the average SUV at protecting their own drivers, and much more protective of drivers than the average pickup. Further, Ross and Wenzel found that SUVs have a higher combined risk than mid-size and large cars because of the inordinate damage they can inflict on other motorists in crashes.

[Ffej.org] FFEJWORLD: » Blog Archive » big brother and little green apples: and i’m leaving out vans and minivans, some of which have more legroom then the camry, some less, and most have much higher seats. my mother’s full sized chevy express van fer instance would fit you better then almost all the suv’s on the market. shit,

[Abcnews.go.com] ABC News: Some Gloat as SUVs Get Hit By Gas Costs: But despite their big gas tanks and generally poor gas mileage, are SUV drivers really suffering more than everyone else? Though sales of the largest SUVs have dipped, a recent ABC News poll suggested SUV drivers are not yet feeling more pain from gas prices than car drivers are, finding no difference in reported hardship (see second related story).

[Sciencepolitics.blogspot.com] Science And Politics: When Wimps Lose Their Minds: ... that she needed her full-sized Lexus LX 470 to drive up over the curb ... from countless, intensive sessions with car buyers was that when SUV buyers ...

[Autoblog.com] GM, Chrysler hybrid plans include two-mode system - Autoblog - www ...: I have also noticed that Cummins has been working on pushing through the EPA light duty truck motors for US markets. I think that D/C will take advantage of emerging Cummins diesel technologies coupled with this new "hybrid" transmission that GM has at the ready, thus making a HUGE leap in economy in the Light truck/SUV. All of this is either orchastrated by Dieter Zetsche or just imagined in my head, and completely speculated onto this forum by me.

Reflected tags on Technorati: Blog, Automotive, FunkyCars.org