Roadshow - The
big hum in the background It's Hummer fans sounding off Hummer
haters, get over yourselves. I realize that in the Bay Area, SUV owners are about
as difficult to defend as women who smoke during pregnancy, but . . . Cliff
Mather Pittsboro, N.C. A I thought the column on the new Hummer TV commercials
might generate more responses. So off Cliff goes, lumbering down the freeway. Q
It's a free country, people can buy what they want and within reason advertise
how they want. The Hummer commercials show somebody purchasing a vehicle, not
using it to drive over screaming children in a playground. I'll wager there
are a like number of traffic accidents from granola eaters in VW Microbuses as
there are from cigar-chomping fat cats in SUVs. There is a like amount of
fuel consumed by the Microbus crowd as the SUV crowd. Cars burn gasoline. Some
cars are more efficient, but it adds a ton of pollution either way. If you don't
want to pollute, then walk. What? Without a car, you can't get to work and earn
a living for your family and contribute to society? Hmmmm. You're starting to
get the idea. Cliff Mather A But, Cliff, what do you drive? A
My family owns a Honda Odyssey (big like an SUV, but it's a foreign car and hard
to tell if it's politically correct or not) and a V-8 Ford Mustang (boo! hiss!).
We moved out of San Jose a month ago to escape the congestion, rude drivers and
general obsession with stuff that doesn't matter. Now we live in North Carolina,
where people are courteous while driving, no matter what kind of vehicle they
drive. Furthermore, I work out of the house and consume very little gas. If uptight
readers want to spend less time on the road for fear of giant, snarling Hummers,
maybe bug out of San Jose like we did. Just please don't send them here. A
More from the Hummer crowd. Q I'm sensitive about the responses you printed
on the Hummer commercials because I am a Hummer owner. My main issue is the consideration
of gas mileage, and the image of being a gas hog. People who commute are all consumed
with this problem, and lay the blame at the easy targets -- vehicles that do not
get 30 mpg or more. But what about people that make a conscious decision to live
close to work and work schedules that do not involve rush hour commutes or freeway
driving? My entire commute is no more than 15 minutes total. My employer actively
chose to place work hours at alternative times to circumvent rush hour traffic,
thus improving gas mileage while reducing pollution caused by sitting in traffic.
These points mitigate the mileage issue, and actually show more of a concern for
the environment than the holier-than-thou attitudes given by proponents of high-mileage
cars driven over extensive commutes. That's enough to drive a Hummer owner to
road rage. Ric Green Castro Valley A A Hummer H3 gets 15 mpg
-- under ideal conditions. They are not classed as light-duty trucks and are not
covered by fuel economy rules. They are also exempt from many safety standards
and crash-test requirements. That's why people get so irritated at Hummer TV commercials
which make these vehicles seem so macho. Face it, we are the gas hogs of the world,
and the Hummer is the symbol of that deserved reputation. Geez, China has tougher
mileage standards than does the United States. At least 35 mpg ought to be our
standard. Anything less is shameful. Q Here's another bad SUV commercial:
A Jeep, four-wheel-drive version, is tearing up a beautiful trout stream with
fish and aquatic critters flying everywhere, while the grinning male driver and
smiling beautiful blond companion think this is a blast and fun. We've had some
of this insensitive behavior in the Carmel River in the not-too-distant past.
Ugh. Tom Pelikan Carmel A Just wonderful. Q You might
appreciate this: I saw a license plate last week on a white Prius traveling in
the carpool lane on westbound Highway 237: HOV HOG. Michael Runzler Walnut
Creek A Classic. Q I would really like to get a hybrid, but they have
to make them just a little bit smaller so it can fit in my SUV glove box. Ken
Underwood San Jose A Nice comeback. | 
