IS BIGGER BETTER?: Moving Toward a Dispassionate View of SUVs

• Published in: Environment : science and policy for sustainable development Vol. 46; no. 9; pp. 8 - 21
• Main Author: Plotkin, Steven
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington Taylor & Francis Group 01.11.2004; Kirkpatrick Jordon Foundation
• Subjects: Automobile fleets; Automobile industry; Automobile safety; Automobile sales; Automobiles; Energy efficiency; Environment; Fuel economy standards; Fuels; Market shares; Pollution; Popularity; Product quality; Purchasing; Safety; Sport utility vehicles; Traffic accidents & safety; Trends; Trucks; Vehicles

Although the typical image of SUVs--big, rugged, and powerful---has captured the attention of the car-buying public, critics have railed against them, decrying them as gas-guzzling road hogs. Plotkin argues that a critical look at the data surrounding SUV fuel economy, safety, emissions, and popular...