With all the negativity here surrounding American SUVs, and cars in general, I think a little perspective is in order.
The reason why Americans drive big, truck-based SUVs with gas-guzzling V8s is a matter of economics and space.
Fuel only recently became "expensive" here. I emphasized that because even now, it's not all that much when compared to most other non-OPEC countries around the world. I'm paying $1.89 a gallon for 87 octane gasoline, and that's fairly pricey for me. But I think most Europeans would love to pay what we pay for fuel - converted for currency, fuel here is anywhere between 65-50% cheaper than in Europe.
What that means is that it hasn't been necessary for American car companies to make more fuel efficient engines. It doesn't make sense fiscally to invest in producing more fuel efficient engines when the car-buying public is perfectly happy with the status quo.
But in that regard, attitudes around here are starting to change. Give us a few years to catch up and American cars will be giving the rest of the world a run for its money when it comes to fuel efficiency.
As for the size of our SUVs, well, we've got a lot of room in this country. Thousands upon thousands of miles of really wide roads on mostly open space in which to roam freely. So why not drive a big, truck-based vehicle in it? It's not like we're cramped or anything.
American car companies know that. So they put their SUVs on already mass-produced truck chassis to save money on manufacturing so that the vehicles can be sold at a cheaper price. It may not make for SUVs that handle perfectly, but it makes economic sense. And that's always the bottom line in business.
And like I said, that's all it is: economics and space. If the economic and environmental roles where reversed between Europe and America, the kinds of cars we produced would reflect that.
That said, Ford's concept really is ugly as hell.
) are, well... indescriptible. The interior can only be described as orange. My kid loves it.
