In the January 20, 2003 Orange County Register, Tibor Machan argues that Arianna Huffington is wrong to claim that people who drive SUVs are supporters of terrorism. Machan says, “If people who drive SUVs are helping terrorists solely because of their vehicles' allegedly poor gas mileage, than so is everyone in America who eats groceries or sits on furniture which are transported to stores on gasoline-powered trucks.” Machan defends his choice to drive an SUV, claiming, “my SUV is safer than many other vehicles.” He says Huffington is “advocating policy decisions that would make it more difficult, maybe impossible, for us all to purchase an SUV.” Finally, he portrays Huffington's view as an outgrowth of socialism, and hence as “un-American”.

Unfortunately, Machan's arguments are unsound. It is erroneous to equate people who choose to drive an SUV (despite having numerous other comparable choices that are more fuel efficient) and someone who buys groceries or furniture that is transported in what is likely the most efficient way. While Huffington would also likely encourage the manufacturers of large gasoline-powered trucks to find ways to improve their fuel efficiency, one has little choice in using such a truck when it comes time to transport a couch. On the other hand, consumers have countless alternatives to their gas-guzzling SUVs. The Dodge Caravan, for example, gets 21-27 mpg and has a cargo volume of 142.3 cubic feet, while the Lexus LX470 SUV gets 13-17 mpg and has a cargo volume of only 90.4 cubic feet. That's not to mention that one could buy three Caravans for the price of a single Lexus LX470!

Machan also relies on the myth of SUV safety to justify his wastefulness. On the contrary, SUVs are four times more likely to roll-over in an accident than cars and three times more likely to kill the occupant in a roll-over. According to Keith Bradsher of the New York Times, the occupant death rate in SUVs is 6 percent higher than it is for cars and 8 percent higher in the largest SUVs.

Machan also suggests that Huffington wishes to make it “impossible” for people to buy SUVs. If one actually reads what Huffington advocates on her web site, detroitproject.com, it is not clear that she supports any specific public policy changes at all. She points out that a 3 mpg increase in the average fuel-efficiency of vehicles nationwide would save over 1 million barrels of oil per day and encourages people to voluntarily trade in their SUVs for hybrid vehicles.

Finally, Machan's rant about socialism is so off-topic as to barely deserve a response, but it should be made clear that the first standards for fuel efficiency (CAFE standards) were enacted in 1975 during the Republican administration of Gerald Ford. It is rare that one hears Ford's administration being characterized as socialistic. There already exist numerous restrictions on the kinds of vehicles that auto manufacturers in the U.S. can sell, and we have not devolved into socialist robots in the last 28 years since these standards were instituted. We need not fear socialism. Rather, we should fear the national security risks that dependence on Middle-Eastern oil creates and the environmental damage we do every day by continuing to drive the current crop of wasteful SUVs.