Janengland~I see that you are converting a bus into a motorhome. How is that on gas consumption? Everybody contributes to the environment, in one way or another. It's just to different degrees.I mean, who here walks to work each day or rides the bus? To answer the original question "why a truck or SUV?"~~ That's like asking why do you have a 4 bedroom house instead of one bedroom? Why do you have an inground pool instead of an above ground one? Why do you have 4 children instead of one? It all depends upon your lifestyle, needs and wants. That's life and life is meant to be enjoyed. I agree with Gary~everybody needs to chill and enjoy life as best they can. In the meantime, I will continue to drive (and enjoy) my BMW Z3 and my new Lexus RX330 when I get it.

"...I can understand buying a truck if you have a large trailer to pull..." Thank you for allowing me to keep my truck. I am forever in your debt. Well, if you think being childish will help... "...But where I live, most of the pickups and SUVs don't tow large trailers (they don't even have hitches) and they have never been off-road (unless you count sliding into the ditch because whoever was driving it "lost control" of it)..." Did these vehicles do things on purpose to make the drivers "lose control"? It is well-known (except in the he-man hinterlands, I guess) that SUVs have a much higher center of gravity than cars. They are far more likely to tip in an extreme maneuver than a passenger car. They also are heavier than many cars, which means they take longer to stop. This is all basic physics, but maybe not everyone took that class. In addition, many SUVs come with "all-season" tires which really aren't good on packed snow and ice. Couple trucks with less of a dynamic with drivers who don't compensate for the fact that this vehicle doesn't drive like their old Cavalier and people end up in the ditch. But I suppose they're all smarter where you live. "...Those trucks are sold on the basis of how tough the buyer thinks it makes them look; they certainly not being used to carry the people and stuff that even a mid-size Ford or Chevy could handle..." The largest purchasers of Hummers are women. Big and tough?Yeah! Right! If you don't think there's an appeal to women in appearing strong and invulnerable, you need to join the 21st century. "...You have no idea who you're talking with, do you? I am one of the "rich" people you talk about. I get taxed plenty, thank you..." And you feel you should pay more taxes? If you do and are serious about griping about the "tax breaks for the rich" silliness there is a form published by the IRS that allows you to pay more money to the government than your tax bill indicates. Normally I don't talk about my finances because it's no one else's d**n business. But I'll tell you that my entire Dubya-ordained tax cut went to charity as soon as it showed up in my paycheck. There are many people out there who need that money far more than I do. And, IIRC, you were the one who was griping about taxes ("And who may I ask is the one to cause this "disincentive" other than your pals in the Government by using taxes or the courts to regulate things? (TAX THE OTHER GUY! NOT ME!)") I never claim to be a friend of big government. I don't want to pay more taxes any more than anyone else does. I just realize that there are matters that the Almighty Market does not address. Who will address them but the government? You and the rest of the "compassionate conservatives" certainly won't. You may not think so, but we all have a stake in providing physical safety and security, a basic education, and economic opportunity to all citizens. No one is holier than anyone else. What I know is it doesn't come free. It also doesn't have a payback sometime within the next fiscal quarter, which is why the Almighty Market doesn't deal with it. Spend the money carefully, but spend it. Not doing so is penny-wise and pound-foolish. "...No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible." First, 1,300 years ago (one of your "earth nanoseconds") is about 65 human generations. Put things in human terms and they sound quite different. Second, you're displaying the same kind of binary logic you did with your trailer example. We may not be able to stop the cycle of global warming or cooling or whatever is going on. But, in the face of much independent scientific research that confirms problems in the ozone layer and increased rates of melanoma and weather extremes, does it not seem like long-term thinking to do something that can delay our effect on that phenomenon? Do you let your toddlers play in the street, on the theory that -- statistically -- they'll be involved in a motor vehicle accident at some point in their lives anyway, so why worry about it now?..." You dodged the question. I'm still waiting for an answer. What caused the massive global warming and cooling in the past? Fish. That's at least as logical an answer as your question. I don't know what caused climate change in the past; none of us was around to observe it. 65 generations is a long time to suffer through anything. If your entire argument depends on the answer to this question, you're hanging by a thread. "...If there was a true free market in vehicles in the U.S., though, there would be a lot of used pickups and SUVs around. Several lots of them, in fact..." Free markets mean lack of government intervention. I think you want LESS of a free market so the vehicles you don't like are not sold. No. You went to Civics class, but you obviously failed Economics. In a truly free market, we would not be subsidizing cheap oil with a fraudulent war that all of us pay for (especially the tens of thousands who have died fighting it). We would not be paying by-the-head for the EPA or for crash standards or the fire departments and ambulance corps which have to respond to accidents caused by big trucks. Business owners who bought big trucks would not be getting tax breaks for buying them (as they have over the past years). People who buy big SUVs would be charged for the additional damage those vehicles do to roads and other common property -- as well as the costs of trucking additional fuel to stations because they're so thirsty. That is a free market -- not taxing everyone per capita regardless of their actual use of resources. If the people buying big SUVs and pickups had to pay what they actually cost, many fewer people would own them. You don't like certain body styles because they "use up resources". I hope you don't live in a home larger than say... 1500 square feet. And if you do I hope you aren't using up all the resources by heating it with gas or oil. After all you don't "need" a large home. You need a bedroom for you and your spouse and a bedroom for each of your kids. Add a living room, kitchen, maybe a dining room and a basement for storage and anything more than that is wasteful. I know you agree. These McMansions are the SUVs of the housing world. I was doing a craft show last fall and I was talking to the exhibitor next to me about the price of oil and she said she just built a 4300 square foot house in NJ and she was frightened as to how she was going to pay to heat it. I went back to my booth and just shook my head at the total waste of energy that is being used. Ha! I happen to live in an 1800-square-foot house (including basement, which is largely unused). It is heated with natural gas but all of the electricity is from wind power. No, I don't "need" a large home. And I don't have one. In fact, the only reason I have a house as large as I do is that it's difficult to find a smaller one that I could make handicapped-accessible. So let's use those "disincentives" you like to force the owners into more sensible houses. Right? See, we CAN agree. PS. I live in a 3 year old 1300 sq ft ranch style home that I had custom built on 2 acres here in Vermont. I use wood as my primary heat source and oil for hot water and backup heat. I'll use MAYBE 300 gallons of oil this year. And I stay nice and comfy even when it goes to minus 30 in January. You seem to like twisting what I have to say. I don't need to spend any more time undoing the pretzel you're creating. My contention remains that, if people had to pay the true costs of the vehicle they drove, the only people driving large SUVs and pickups would be the ones who need to drive them, not the poseurs who hope that such a vehicle will substitute for their personality. Considering the real cost of buying anything -- even what we "buy" with our taxes -- would be a valuable exercise and no doubt would transform a lot of purchasing in this country. It's the folks who believe that everything is free who really are deluding themselves. Merry Chrismahannakwanzakah to you.

Along the lines of what Funky said, in 2015, I bought a used Lexus RX350, with low mileage that looked new. Its been great to haul dogs, compost, small trees, you-name-it. Brace yourself - I bought it after seeing it on Craigslist, and doing careful researching and having it checked out. It's incredible. A friend has a Toyota 4Runner that he loves, but he says the Lexus has more zip. It's called a crossover, meaning "the difference between the two is simple: A crossover is based on a car's platform, while an SUV uses the chassis of a truck. The result is that crossovers use "unibody" architecture, meaning the body and frame are one piece, while SUVs use a "body on frame" design." I also have a WONDERFUL place in Maine that services it for much less than the local dealership. They are all former dealership employees and do not try to up-sell anything like the dealer. I wish everyone had access to a place as nice as this one.

"make sure you change your oil regularly" I'm not going to comment about what practices auto makers have concerning their warranty coverage but from the standpoint of a car owner, oil level is far more important than regularity of changes. Many cars today use synthetic oil and while any oil gets dirty over time, synthetic oil's ability to do its job doesn't degrade the way petroleum based engine lubricants do. For many cars, burning a little oil in normal use can be expected. It's not unusual for a car to need to have some oil added in between regular oil changes. After hard conditions - a lot of stop and go driving, or high highway speeds especially. A low oil level will do more harm, more quickly, than being a few months or thousands of miles (or kilometers) past the change schedule. The message is - check your oil regularly when the engine is cold and especially before a trip. Double check to have the right grade and type of oil on hand to add when needed, before it's needed.