Originally posted by Freckles
I've been thinking about it for a couple year so Jan. 6th I bought a 2003 Prius.
That is so cool! I love the color! One of my doubts about it is the safety rating. It passes all the government tests (has to before it can go on the road) but what about the Insurance Institutes offset crash testing? They haven't tested it yet. Toyota traditionally has great safety ratings though. (my parents were in a bad car accident a few years ago so vehicle safety ratings are very important to me).

All kidding aside, it's just that everyone has their own needs plus their own "likes" and an SUV simply fits my lifestyle better, with kids, dogs, rescue work, but they do use a lot of gas!
I've got no problem with people who actually "need" as SUV because they make use of the "Utility Vehicle" part of SUV. It's all the suburbanites around here who just drive them as status symbols that bothers me.

And I have to admit that we're looking at a Chevy Tracker because we want somethiing with 4 wheel drive to tow behind the motorhome. That way when we get to the desert areas, or places like Big Bend National Park, we can see more of it because there are many places out there that can only be accessed by 4 wheel drive.

So it's not SUV's in general that bother me, it's the waste of all that fuel just for the sake of egos. And I agree, an SUV that gets better gas mileage would be great.