I hate SUVs

How many times have you heard or read that? It seems to be pretty popular in the liberal crowds to hate SUVs. And I'm one of 'em. A liberal who hates SUVs that is, not an SUV.

Why shouldn't I hate them? There seems to be a never-ending list of reasons to dislike their smog-belching, gas slurping, rolling-over, tanker-like carcasses.

So imagine my self-loathing when I had to recommend one of the dinosaur-like big-rigs to a co-worker. That's right. Recommend. Above everything available in the autoworld, I went and told a co-worker she should buy an SUV.

But before you go revoking my Greenpeace membership, let me explain.

She has three kids. She's on a tight budget. She's got a fairly decent commute each day.

Her only requirements were that it have three-row seating, be affordable and drink less than her ex-husband. With those three criteria, all but one vehicle are excluded from our search. That one is the Toyota Highlander Hybrid.

For about $25-$30,000, this mom can haul her three cuties and their assorted paraphrenelia all over town to the tune of 28 m.p.g. And each cuty will have their own little play area so no one has to put up with, "He's touching me!" for 200 miles.

Add the optional DVD system and no one has to put up with, "Are we there yet?" for 200 miles. She'll still have to put up with, "Mommy, I have to pee," and, "Mommy, I dropped my ice cream." But won't it be good to know the ice cream didn't drop on one of the other two cuties?

So I learned from this that while I truly hate SUVs, sometimes they fill a need no other vehicle can.

You just gotta wonder, though, what need is being filled by that 20-foot long GMC Suburban driven by the 22-year-old single woman who tried to run me over last week.