[pissant]

Good. Increases my chances of survival when one of them scooters hits my SUV.

[Flavius]

"The laws of physics dictate that, all else being equal, larger and heavier vehicles are safer than smaller and lighter ones. In relation to their numbers on the road, small cars have more than twice as many occupant deaths each year as large cars," says an IIHS report.

and there you have it, head up prius lovers

[finnman69]

Where do you put the 50lb bag of dogfood?

[Cliff Dweller]

I will drive one when they pry my cold dead hands from my Full size Ram 4x4...

or when I can no longer afford the fuel costs... whichever is first.

[oh8eleven]

Oh no, not this $hit again ...

[Travis McGee]

Cars no bigger than Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, Ford Focus and similar compacts made up 13.4% of vehicles on the road in 2004, R.L. Polk registration data show. But they accounted for 30% of vehicle fatalities that year, says the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. "The laws of physics dictate that, all else being equal, larger and heavier vehicles are safer than smaller and lighter ones. In relation to their numbers on the road, small cars have more than twice as many occupant deaths each year as large cars," says an IIHS report.

Am I the only one who sees the obvious solution? Ban all vehicles larger than a Corolla.

< / sarcasm >

[BladeLWS]

Hell I'm all for this, going to lower the prices on the newer SUV's by a ton, going to be great when I replace my 97 Grand Cherokee in a few years.

[Proud2BeRight]

Rescue crews will be able to simply hose the remains from those death-traps.

[Vaquero]

[MediaAnalyst]

Lighten up dudes, you guys are so conditioned by the MSM trying to shove Yugos down our throats, that you instinctively don't even consider a place for small cars.

This new trend actually started when one of the car companies (can't remember which) started selling a well-built, but stripped down car in Eastern Europe, and then selling the same car, but with the usual bells and whistles that us Westerners tend to prefer for twice the price. The Western Europeans wanted the cheap car big-time, something all the Suits with MBAs never expected.

For someone who drives to work 5 miles a day, I don't have a lot of use in bringing 2 tons with me each way. I just a car that's reliable and has air conditioning and can fit me and some luggage.

Given that my only other option (for a new vehicle) would be a motorcycle, I'll take one of these peckers any day.

If companies want to build these cars, let them. If the government then jumps in and demands that we buy them - then scream.

[AlaskaErik]

"Nobody at retail wants to pay" all the costs associated with making a small car, he says. "You have safety regulations and environmental regulations that put a lot on top of the price."

So says Chrysler. I'd venture to say that overpaid union goons are the real problem with US autoworkers. I paid $7499.00 for my Kia Rio. No way Chyrsler could come close to selling a car for that amount and still make a profit. Nor could Chrysler make a car that cheap and have it be reliable. My Kia hasn't had a single problem in the 29,000 miles I've owned it. Many of those miles have been at a steady 70 mph. When I change the oil at 5000 miles, the dipstick still reads full. If only US automakers could be as efficient and durable.

[ZULU]

Here we go again.

The clowns in Congress summoned the gasoline thugs last month after Hurricane Katrina to grill them about price gouging on oil.

Prices went down.

Some time later, we see prices rising again - on off-driving season. I guess Santa Clause used more gasoline this year in his sleigh, thus driving up prices.

Meanwhile, its a continuing farce with individual states blockiing or trying to block off-shore drilling, the Sierra club and assorted nuts successfuly blocking new drilling on th Alaskan North Slope, Congressional obstructionism to new energy programs, the continued threat of Kyoto nonsense, more energy usage by the slave labor communist-industrial complex in China producing things for us we should be making here for ourselves, and finally, last but not least - no more new refineries being built or new nuclear powered electric plants.

In a few years at the rate we are going and our incompetent politicians are leading us, we won't need to worry about illegal Aliens. The U.S. will become a third world nation in thrall to the Communist lords of China and the illegals will be going elsewhere.

[wallcrawlr]

Good. More gas for me.

I like being able to see over all the specks sitting in my Suburban.

[Hoboto]

Gee, I wonder who will be whining first when gas prices reach above $3.00/gallon again?

[RTINSC]

I like small cars and think they are a good idea. As a proud owner of a Yugo SUV, with the optional V-3 engine, I routinely get 65 MPG. While it may not have the heft of the larger American SUV, and lacks a horn, it fits comfortably in the cargo compartment of my H1 and makes a fine spare.

[OldFriend]

Might be a suitable vehicle if you live in a warm climate. Frankly, I wouldn't dream of giving up our SUV for a compact, or even sub compact car in the winter.

[billbears]

I suppose that's why Jeep just released a new vehicle with a larger Hemi (420+HP). Companies always release vehicles with no market for them

[Casloy]

Need t o bring back that good old VEGA! Now there was a car you could crash into a tree and not feel any remorse.

[TheForceOfOne]

Almost time to tax the drivers using the roads by the mile.

Liberals love the feel good environmental activist point of view. Wow, we killed the SUV! Hurray!

Instead of drilling for domestic oil they want us to use less oil. I guess they're worried about China's economy.

[Proud2BeRight]

Some people just don't consider that saving a few dollars in gas is worth the increased risk of killing their family.