Why is the SUV so irresistible to a large percentage of Americans? The European and Asian markets have a relatively small arena for SUV's and those that are available are paltry compared to the domestic-bred Sport Utility Vehicle. Maybe it's America's wide streets and even wider waistbands, maybe it's our abundance of cheap gasoline, or maybe it's just the nature of Americans to believe that bigger always means better.
America's obsession with the enlargement of everything is not anything new. Since the United State's humble origin as 13 headstrong colonies, America almost always strives for the biggest—and therefore the best—in all she does. Not content with control over most of North America's eastern coast, America's leaders developed a little thing called Manifest Destiny. This grand scheme of expansion declared that the United States' ambitions—nay, divine rights—called for America's borders to stretch from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
Never-mind that between those two shining seas lay several sovereign Native American societies, including the pacifist Sioux Nation. The Bigger is Better Policy forced these peoples into "Reservations" and also drove the American Bison to near-extinction. But don't you worry; American policy has always been fair and balanced.
This brings us back to the tax policy of the present-day United States that grants tax breaks to those individuals who purchase an SUV. Why, you might ask, would the government encourage its citizens to buy the most dangerous, gas-guzzling vehicles available to them? Good question. I wish I had an answer for you. Disregarding the ridiculous tax breaks, I believe that there are three main reasons why Americans buy SUV's (and other obscenely large vehicles):
SUV's Bought for Legitimate Reasons
I'm not so foolish to believe that nobody really needs an SUV as some eccentric environmental groups may have you believe. For instance, my Scoutmaster owned a Chevy Suburban, but regularly used it to transport six or more Boy Scouts and all of their gear for a weekend of hiking and backpacking. Carting around a half-dozen people and their equipment constitutes a legitimate need for an SUV. Are you a construction worker with a heavy-duty F350 truck that you use regularly to tow cement mixers or several tons of equipment and building materials? That's fine by me! Are you a college student with a ten-year-old Blazer that enables you to move all of your stuff to and from Scranton in one trip? Then you'll get no complaints from me. Large vehicles bought for the purpose of moving large quantities of people or other things make perfect sense.
My SUV Makes Me Feel... Special
If you have bought, or want to buy, an SUV but don't have any real reason to own one, you probably bought it to make yourself more important. That's right, you see your SUV as a status symbol. Many others probably see your huge SUV as desperate compensation for something much smaller. Don't fret, you'll never be too big to cry. Few things are more laughable than some over-paid executive piloting his bright-yellow H2 through the commercial district or the winding streets of New Jersey suburbia. Believe me, your Hummer's 26 inch wheels aren't necessary to get you through that pothole on 42nd Street; my Honda gets me past them just fine, sans OPEC's cheers of joy.
I'm ignoring roughly half of the population at this point by not mentioning SUV women. While female SUV owners might not be purchasing their SUV for the same reason as the guys—although there may be some Freudian issues involved here—my car trips have led me to believe that some women see an SUV as a sign of their professional aggression. Glass Ceiling spoiling your day? Take it out on the asphalt jungle. Sadly, SUV-driving women tend to be some of the worst drivers on the road, in my experience. I can't count the number of times that a woman yakking on a cell phone tailgated me, randomly accelerated or braked, swerved into my lane, or otherwise exhibited driving abilities comparable to Glen Campbell on a bad day. I suppose it is hard to pay attention to other things—like the rest of the vehicles on the road—when you're at the controls of your Sherman. However, not every female SUV owner is a bad driver, it's just that a disproportionate number of bad female drivers happen to drive SUV's.
SUV's Bought for Safety
If you don't actually need your SUV for hauling stuff and you're positive that your SUV wasn't bought as an extension of your success (or whatever), then you probably bought your SUV because you thought it would make your travels a bit safer. Sadly, you are mistaken. That four-wheel drive SUV might help you get started on snow and ice better than your average two-wheel drive car, but it won't help you stop any quicker. Braking performance is actually better in a smaller car—much better. Due to an SUV's weight, high center of gravity, and a little thing called inertia, SUV's (and other large vehicles) take many more feet to stop than cars and other smaller vehicles. The Ford Explorer, a mid-sized SUV takes 150 feet to stop when travelling at 60 MPH on dry pavement. The average car takes between 120 and 130 feet in the same test. Considering that 60 MPH is about 88 feet per second, 30 feet might be the difference between a safe stop and a family outing to the morgue.
However, an SUV's faults do not stop with braking. While the current American mindset seems to favor "bigger is safer" when it comes to trips on the nation's highways, SUV's are three times more likely to roll over and kill you than all cars on the road. In fact, the most stable SUV is more prone to rollovers than the least stable car. Rollovers also happen to be the leading cause of death on America's highways; about 62% of more than 10,000 rollover deaths are in SUV's each year. If you didn't know, it's because the auto-industry (which has cozied up to the Bush Administration) doesn't want you to know. SUV's are an enormous source of profit for all of the domestic automobile makers. Still not embarrassed or frightened by that behemoth in your driveway? I suppose you're just braver and—more than just a little bit—dumber than I.