Brad, They hardly make station wagons any longer. I've had my Toyota Camry station wagon for 7 years and have just completed a 3,500 mile vacation into the Pacific Northwest - coming back via Idaho and Las Vegas. Much of the journey was at speeds of 80 plus in temperatures exceeding 100 degrees.
I should have changed the oil before I left. I couldn't remember the last time I changed it, so it was probably ready. Now we are back, I shall change it. I have 7 seats with seat belts, or lots of room in the back. It has 4 cylinders and doesn't have 4 wheel drive. But, it still gets something a little less than 30 to the American gallon (36 to the imperial gallon?). You'll have to look for me in the parking lot for my roof is a couple of feet below the roofs of the SUVs around me. Yet, there is plenty of room inside. Two of my daughters have SUVs and they wouldn't part with them. They love them, perhaps because they feel safe in them and the cars behave well on the road. Chris, there are plenty of alternatives to SUVs in the US. Yet, people without our perceptiveness are conned by a sly mix of coercion, PR, bribery and addiction. However, could it be that the SUVs are enjoyed by those who buy them? Might they have checked with others who own them, find they are liked and decide to look at one for themselves? The best form of transport for Los Angeles and many other American cities is the automobile. I certainly wouldn't criticize people who decide to get the best car they can afford and which will give them enjoyment while they ride. Harry -------------------------------------------------------------- Brad wrote: > America has taken the automobile into its heart, > and the automobile has taken over America. > (--Eric Severaid, CBS Evening News, date lost) > > >Christoph Reuss wrote: >[snip] > > People's "wants" were &are being manufactured, by a sly mix of coercion, > > PR, bribery and addiction. Take SUVs for example: The advertizing > > tells people they are safer and "cooler" than ordinary cars (untrue), > > and people fear being crushed in the arms race on the road caused by > > SUVs. Also, there is less and less choice on the market not to buy a SUV. > > So even people who would not really want a SUV end up "wanting" one. > > The peer pressure created by advertizing and more sublime forms of > > disinformation is even worse in other examples. >[snip] > >Even worse, there is not lots of enticing places to live >within a 15 minute *walk* of where I >work (and/or I am not able to work-at-home and eliminate >the waste of commuting altogether). > >As for "cool" cars that didn't "catch on", there was >the [French] Citroen back in the 1950s with all sorts of ideas >that other cars got only in later decades. > >When I was in Japan in th mid 1980s, I noticed 2 things: (1) >Chevrolet sedans being chauffeured for corporate executives, >wish the usual Japanese lace covers on the seats. I felt >sad that the Japanese would lust after such status symbols, >but we know that the preservation of all traditional Japanese >crafts owes a lot to a few [enlightened] Westerners. (2) I >saw lots of ordinary Japanese cars that turned up in the >United States a couple years later. Here the Japanese >were more reality oriented: Americans are always behind the >curve. > >Finally, for someone like myself who likes small things that >are well done, I note that BMW still makes for many world >markets but has stopped selling in the United States their >"compact" model (3xxti). Presumably no market for >good things in small packages in the U.S.A. (unless they >are "weird", like the resurrected Morris Minor thing >BMW is now marketing in the U.S.A.) > >Then there was the *real American car* that has >gone the way of all good things: The Checker. Besides >their Marathon model (which was used for many taxicabs), >they also had a more "civilian" version, the Superba. > >Water seeks its level. So Don't wait too long if you >have desire to own a Mercedes, since Dodge product >ads here are now touting the "marriage" of Daimler and >Chrysler.... > >I once saw a vanity license plate on an immaculate little >chocolate Porsche that was zipping past me on a long upgrade >on "The Taconic". The license plate was: > > DERRIERE > >\brad mccormick ****************************** Harry Pollard Henry George School of LA Box 655 Tujunga CA 91042 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tel: (818) 352-4141 Fax: (818) 353-2242 *******************************
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