Why Not A 40-MPG SUV?

After overcoming my initial shock from reading Mark Fischetti's "Why Not a 40-mpg SUV?" (TR November 2002), I realized that this article reaffirmed my beliefs about the motivations and roles of new technology, business, and government. I applaud Fischetti for rightly pointing out that the auto industry has little motivation to change without a mandate from Washington or an outcry from the public. Only then will new technologies serving noneconomic needs be implemented. The answer to the question "Why Not a 40-mpg SUV?" will be found with the politicians and, ultimately, the voters.

D. Fred Ackerman
Richmond, CA

We're not going to see 40-mpg SUVs anytime soon, and that's not because Detroit is incompetent. Bigger and heavier SUVs outsell smaller and lighter vehicles for a simple reason: U.S. drivers want them. Actually, so do drivers elsewhere. Mercedes doesn't make its largest cars for the U.S. market alone; plenty of Germans love big and fast vehicles, too. America's crime is not to love excess-it's to afford it.

Rick Blake
Biddeford, ME