Philip J. Koenig wrote: > The problem is that SUV's are being designed, sold and bought as > mass-market passenger cars, yet for years they had (still have, > AFAIK) all sorts of smog and mileage exemptions due to being > categorized as "light trucks". > In most cases they are light trucks. There are two general categories of North American SUV's. The smaller ones, such as the Blazer, are built upon the mini-pickup drive-train and chassis (in the case of the Blazer, it is the S-10 rolling chassis). The larger SUVs, such as the Yukon, Tahoe and Suburban are built on the full-sized pickup (e.g. the Silverado) rolling chassis. The smaller ones are much lighter and more fuel efficient than the full-sized pickup-based units. In fact, once they are broken in (and NOT in 4 wheel drive mode), light SUVs such as the Jeep Cherokee, Blazer and 4-Runner are not much more fuel hungry than a mini-pickup or a full-sized passenger car. The one notable exception to this rule is the Dodge Durango which, although based on a mini-pickup chassis, is a pig when it comes to fuel efficiency. Personally, I'd just as soon have my 1946 MG TC back. -- burns _______________________________________________ http://linux.nf -- [EMAIL PROTECTED] Archives, Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, Etc ->http://linux.nf/mailman/listinfo/linux-users
