CNN.com – The politics of getting around campus – Oct. 29, 2003
Robert Gardner’s Ford Explorer had “no” etched into its front windshield. Gardner, a sophomore from Memphis, Tennessee, was upset because driving an SUV for him isn’t so much a personal choice as a matter of financial circumstance.
“It’s just what my parents gave me,” he said. The politics of SUV driving don’t really concern him. “As far as gas mileage, I could care less to tell you the truth. As long as I have gas, that’s my only concern.”
A mixed message, to be sure. At first, I thought perhaps he was just afraid to say “thanks, mom and dad, but I’d rather have a hybrid.” But then he showed his true colors.
A student later in the article says that market forces should decide these issues, though he would rather see less gas guzzlers. As I suggest here, it’s the size and weight that have more of an impact on the infrastructure than fuel consumption. As alternative fuels or engine technologies come into play, we’ll still be tearing up the roads that were built for 2000 pound vehicles with ones that weigh twice that.