The end of big SUV's in California?

[Kadie]

CALIFORNIA
Carmakers say state's greenhouse rules would endanger SUVs
Supreme Court hears case against EPA Wednesday
Michael Taylor, Chronicle Staff Writer

Tuesday, November 28, 2006


The auto industry said Monday that lawsuits over vehicles' greenhouse gas emissions could eventually force manufacturers to eliminate big SUVs from the market in California, an assertion denied by environmental attorneys and the state air quality board.

"If we lost (in court)," said Dave Barthmuss, General Motors' spokesman for environmental and energy affairs, "certain vehicles could not be offered for sale -- vehicles that consume more fuel than others. There would be fewer SUVs and we might not be able to offer them for sale in California. It could spell the end of the big SUV in California."

At the California Air Resources Board, however, spokesman Jerry Martin said the 2002 law in question cannot force the auto industry to reduce the size of its vehicles or to abandon any models it wants to keep selling.

The spat over what may happen to SUVs in California stems from a pair of federal court lawsuits that have been going on for years but are back in the news because one of them is scheduled to be argued Wednesday before the U.S. Supreme Court.

more...
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/11/28/BAGG5MKVEJ1.DTL

[XemaSab]

1. DIE SUV'S DIE!

:bounce:

[Warpy]

10. I remember how my pop felt about SUVs, monster pickups and

Momvans. He called them those )#($)!#@*&!@&(*ing rolling billboards.

I'll be delighted to see them all turned into working vehicles, never to be seen in another supermarket parking lot, parked so close to me on both sides that I have to crawl in via the hatchback.

[Parche]

13. suv

Stupid Utility Vehicles, I am with you
I cant stand them
I despise them
every single one of them
I dont care if they get 50MPG I despise them

[RB TexLa]

20. Mine gets about 11 mpg in city driving

so you can really be ooh, ooh, ooh, oh, so, holier than thou. Now pat yourself on the back.

[wuushew]

25. Where does environmentalism fit into your personal ethos?

n/t

[RB TexLa]

26. I run very little heat in the winter and turn the electricity completely off

at my lakehouse when I'm not there. Being honest even with high gasoline usage I still put more oil into the market than I take out of it.

[Parche]

27. 11 mpg??

That is really bad gas mileage

Because of SUV's America wastes over 1million or more gallons of gas per day

[Megahurtz]

31. Stupid UGLY Vehicles. n/t

[Solo_in_MD]

14. we called ours the Mothermobile...and we loved it.

1989 Astro Minivan. 170K miles on it before we gave it away to someone who needed it more than we did. We hauled us and the kids everywhere in it...soccer, dances, skating, family trips. While I am not a car buff, that particular one had a lot of good memories.

I don't have a problem with larger vehicles either, if they are being used correctly. For example, tradesmen and shops that deliver need larger vehicles, but a Crewcab F-350 truck as a commuter vehicle makes no sense.

Recently I saw a Renault Kangoo for the first time. Diesel, gas, or LPG opitions. Seats 4-5 and carries cargo. Availabe as a commerical or passenger vehicle. Great concept but best I can tell not sold in the US.

[driver8]

17. I don't consider minivans to be SUV's. Before I got married, I swore

that there was "no way in hell that I would drive a minivan."

Now that I have two children and a dog, I have seen the errors of my ways.

Our minivan rocks! :headbang:

[Solo_in_MD]

24. They are great family cars, and do not have to be monster gas hogs.

We had a med 6 Cyl in ours which did well. Take out the seat and it would haul more than most 1/2 ton pickups.

[mitchleary]

2. Maybe they could make a deal

and bring back the EV-1.

[LeftCoast]

3. Please, like GM is even going to be around to sell cars in a few years!

Same with the other 'big three' automakers. These are the geniuses that figured oil was going to be cheap and plentiful forever so why worry about developing efficient vehicles? Oh and lest we forget the 70's, these are also the same guys who said that they could never ever sell cars with those terrible catalytic converters.

[Momgonepostal]

4. That would be fine with me, but...

it sure would make a lot of people mad. A lot of people would just go out of state to buy them.

I dislike big SUV's for the poor way they share road and parking space, probably more than for environmental reasons.

[iamjoy]

5. They Can't Sell Obnoxious Over-Sized SUVs in CA?

:nopity:

but, but...what will Arnie drive?

Seriously, how would this impact vans and trucks legitimately used/needed for business purposes?

[kiahzero]

11. It won't, because it's FUD.

The automakers are lying to the public in an attempt to sway public opinion.

[Bluestar]

6. Maybe I can finally find a parking space . . .

here in the golden state that is not completely crowded out by the selfish ass in the next space in the giant SUV.

[Nikki Stone1]

7. AMEN!!

Parking has gotten to be such a pain with these damn SUVs?

[Double T]

8. GREAT IDEA, but the supreme neocon court will make their decisions......

in favor of the large corporations; to hell with the environment.

[rox63]

9. They could sell hybrid SUVs

If they wanted to, that is...

[MurrayDelph]

15. They already do

Ford has the Escape Hybrid
Toyota has the Highlander Hybrid
Lexus has the RX 400h

I looked at the Highlander Hybrid once while my Prius was in for scheduled maintenance.
They are selling it as an SUV with more power for the engine size, rather than the
gas savings. The EPA puts it at about the same as a normal car, which is good for
an SUV, but nowhere near an economy car (let alone a Hybrid car).

[geomon666]

12. Well you know, even if it was true....

that's just too f***ing bad now isn't it. "Oh no, we can't sell SUV's." Cry me a river and I'll drown you in it. Damn thugs.

[sweetheart]

16. Just as long as i can drive a dodge ram 3000 pickup...

who needs an SUV. :-)

More monster trucks could mean more monsters... hmmm.

Do monster trucks and neocons correlate?

[sweetpotato]

18. Never understood the attraction of the SUV

Honestly, if you had heard back in the 1960s that the car of the future was a big, boxy truck, would you have believed it?

I thought we would have streamlined, aerodynamic, swooshy cars. Or monorails. Or jet-packs.

Not a Big box on wheels with leather interior, cup holder, heated seats, etc.

Its still not what Walt Disney put in Tomorrow Land.

[Javaman]

23. Where's my flying car?? I want my flying car!!! they lied to us. LOL nt

[Cleita]

19. This is what got Arnold reelected I believe.

He drastically cut down DMV fees on large trucks and SUV's. I think that converting these behemouths to biodiesal, ethanol and hybrids might be a better idea. Those self-involved SUV owning Californians don't want to give up their big cars and trucks, so I guess environmentalists have to tackle it from another angle.

[RB TexLa]

21. It's not like people can't go to a border state and by what they want

And nothing to stop dealerships near the state line for giving discounts to Californians.

[Javaman]

22. My own amusing SUV story...

Minding my own business, while out driving my two door, 4-cylinder, same length as a ford escort, only 6 inches higher jeep sport, I get cut off by a gigantic ford f-250 pick up. I beep my horn and yell, "you cut me off" (he also ran the stop sign to cut me off), he gets out of his truck and walks over to my window and says and I quote, "you SUV drivers think you own the road". I which point I started laughing really hard and I spit out, "me? you blew through a stop sign, then cut me off. Besides my car could fit in the bed of your pick up!" He got red and stomped off all the while me still laughing quite loud.

It just cracked me up.

[Selatius]

28. GM and Ford are in trouble because they failed to innovate

They were too interested in short-term profits by building SUVs instead of diverting funds into research and development into more fuel-efficient, higher quality 4-door sedans and other models. Their manufacturing philosophy as well as their corporate culture are killing them, and they don't seem to care, and now they're pissed because California could possibly force them to change.

[calimary]

29. "The end of the big SUV in California" - and that's bad because....

....?

[Megahurtz]

30. WooHoo!

:woohoo:

I fucking hate those things!