35 mpg

35 MPG

According to an article in the NY Times, the US Senate has passed a

bill to force cars, small trucks and SUVs to achieve an average 35

miles per gallon by the year 2020. Unknown to me, apparently the

current bar is at 27.5 mpg for the year 2008, but I can't help but

chuckle at that one - perhaps I'm misinformed, but I don't think the

average SUV sold today, in 2007, achieves 27.5 mpg or anywhere close

to that. Cars, maybe, but not SUVs or small trucks.

Despite my doubts that auto manufacturers will actually adhere to this

new standard, lets hope that they at least improve significantly over

what they can do today.

In frustrates me to no end seeing so many SUVs on the streets of

Cambridge/Boston and the neighboring areas. In my own unscientific

estimation, close to 40% of the non-work-related vehicles driving

around the city are SUVs and I have to wonder... why?

Is there some off-road driving that needs to be done in the middle of

the city that I'm simply not aware of? Maybe they need to drive across

the Boston Commons to avoid traffic?

Are these people driving off to the Great Outdoors on weekends and for

some reason need an SUV? Like in those SUV commercials where young

couples go off and drive through mountain ranges and settle on some

cliff to have a picnic while enjoying the view of nature?

If those couples really enjoy nature so much, you'd think that instead

of getting an SUV, they'd have bought a (cheaper) car, driven to a

parking lot near some hiking trails, and hiked through the wilderness.

If everyone bought an SUV and tore up the wilderness every weekend to

"get away", there'd be nothing to get away to after a few years.

Everyone would just be driving to SUV parks (kinda like trailer parks,