Thanks, Ferg! I think it's longer than what most of us here would tend to actually read, but it's well worth a look. I didn't read it all, but did flash through the whole thing. My two favorite parts: Where they talk about how SUV'S aren't safer than other cars, provided you take everything into account; and this, about who buys SUV's and why (apologies especially to the ladies):
.....what consumers said was "If the vehicle is up high, it's easier to see if something is hiding underneath or lurking behind it." Bradsher brilliantly captures the mixture of bafflement and contempt that many auto executives feel toward the customers who buy their S.U.V.s. Fred J. Schaafsma, a top engineer for General Motors, says, "Sport-utility owners tend to be more like 'I wonder how people view me,' and are more willing to trade off flexibility or functionality to get that." 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.....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."
And I still think we should start a movement for consistency: Since SUV's are trucks, they should be treated like trucks. Like, can't go on parkways, and can't be in left lane.