[SZonian]

"...but I think we do need to downsize our vehicles to some reasonable degree. I see lots of people driving huge SUVs and trucks who do not need them..."

Really? You know why everyone has a truck or SUV?

Tell ya what. Why don't you come on down to my Scout troop and tell them that from now on, we need everyone to drive their own scout and own equipment to a campout vs. me driving half of them at one time. How is having TWICE as many cars on the road any more efficient?

You come and tell the missus that we need to pay for a larger, less fuel efficient truck to make a delivery instead of me just taking it home right then and there.

I CHOOSE to drive a truck and the fact that environFREAKS won't let us get our own resources out of the ground is a major factor in the USA being strangled.

You are advocating that the gov't RESTRICT a person's right to choose their own personal conveyance for no other reason than you're own personal demands.

[SZonian]

Oh, and it’s a FORD truck that I drive.

[prisoner6]

BINGO! I owe you a cigar..or drink...or whatever!

There were many times my small car driving friends came to me and asked me to pick up things from furniture to top soil!

Of course they turned around and complained about my Durango!

[HwyChile]

LOL. I knew I would get a lot of feedback on my post about needing to downsize our cars to a reasonable size (I am not talking about going down to Smart Car size). However, I guess this is where I will just agree to disagree with folks who think everyone should be able to drive anything they want regardless of the gas mileage. Most folks who drive those large vehicles don't need them—it is a fashion fad. Most families would be better off with a mini-van and most guys who have trucks rarely use them for hauling anything. Your “freedom” to drive what you want is causing more pollution and less energy for us in the long term, so your “freedom” is having a negative affect on the rest of us. By the way, I live in Texas (the truck capital of the world) and so I see how people use their big SUVs and trucks.