Free Republic

Drivers rethinking vehicle choices amid high gas prices Smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles are gaining favor with buyers around the country By MATT GLYNN News Business Reporter 10/2/2005 Higher gas prices are influencing buying decisions in the showroom, auto industry experts and local auto dealers say. Some drivers are trading in full-size SUVs and trucks for smaller vehicles with better mileage, after pump prices rose dramatically about a month ago. No one is saying the SUV's day is over. Instead, customers seem to prefer switching from a full-size SUV to a smaller one. "I don't see a lot of people going...

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Pfc. Justin Bellatti smiled and waved as flocks of pretty young women strolled past his patrol at Baghdad University. Bellatti’s unit, the Baumholder, Germany-based 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, was in charge of providing security at the university last week during a series of lectures by instructors from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. Providing security — and girl watching — is pretty good duty, and the troops of Company A knew it. “A lot of guys try to talk with the Iraqi girls. I just try to concentrate on the job,” Bellatti said. “It’s...