A liberal buys a Mitsubishi Outlander

I just finished reading Mark Benjamin's article on Salon.com, and I recommend reading it if you're on the fence about that new SUV.

Benjamin's growing family had outgrown his 10 year-old Volvo wagon, and he found himself in the showroom buying a new Mitsubishi Outlander. The purchase brought up a host of liberal guilt. My favorite line in Benjamin's article: "Here is the dirty little secret about SUVs: They're horrible for everyone except the guy in the passenger seat. Then they are great. And what a deal! Too bad SUVs are killing the planet."

It reminded me of a realization I had on Boxing Day, as I drove with four buddies in a Cadillac Escalade Hybrid on LA's freeways. There was no way that we could have transported five adult men more efficiently that day on our trip from North Hollywood to Long Beach and back. We wouldn't have fit in a compact car, and we wouldn't have gotten better mileage in a sedan -- in fact, we might have overloaded a sedan, given the fact that we went to Long Beach for Brazilian Barbeque. The big SUV was the best mode of transportation that day, and the ride was comfortable and fun. Any SUV guilt I had that day was eliminated, and I almost felt like I was being friendly to the environment.

Almost.

Photo © BJ Killeen