Do SUVs have a place in the US?

Traveling across the U.S. recently, I noticed that rural America seems less in love with SUVs than does urban America. Yet, it seems obvious that rural America should be home to SUV's. Driving through the Northwest into the Midwest, it becomes obvious why people in these areas - even the urban places - would want SUVs, the weather. Practically every car over a few years old has multiple rust spots, quite a different scene from places like California.

Still, why isn't their significantly more SUV's in rural America, compared to urban areas like Southern California? Home of freeway sprawl, traffic jams, and most importantly, SMOG, the land of perpetual sunshine, Southern California, induces little rust in automobiles. The critical features of the SUV - the abilities and components that enable off-road and four-wheeling - serve little purpose on mostly, dry, flat, paved, Southern California freeways.

While some propose tenuous arguments for the "safety" of SUVs, few statistics seem to support such arguments. In fact, it seems the only real argument is choice, a fundamental value of America and capitalism. However, without some sort of humanistic consumerism by American consumers, too much choice can be a bad thing.

U.S carmakers, the big three, have capitalized on choice, reinforcing this image as the mantra of the SUV. And why not? Many articles on hybrids cars, for example, have discussed the fact that US automakers were making 15,000 profit per SUV sold just a couple of years ago. Already hybrid cars can increase fuel efficiency by 30% or more.

Fine. Profit isn't a sin. Nonetheless, was that profit utilized to make SUV's better, safer? If so, why the "Rollover Lawsuits"? Why is gas mileage the same as it was 20 years ago, even after gas lines and wars in the Middle East? Massive pollution stains the earth, with significant amounts coming from oil-driven vehicles, but no real change has been made by the big three, even with such exorbitant profits.

The few are gaining far too much, at the expense of everyone's health. Yeah, choice is a fundamental American value, but if Americans can't make smart choices, we'll end up with no choice.

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