Woe the mighty Jeep

Some might think this is a first for an Aspen Times reporter. But, a couple of weeks ago Scott Condon wrote a well-balanced article about the lady that drives her Hummer in Basalt (Aspen Times 5/26). He didn’t attack or sensationalize. He even included a website for anyone who cares about gas mileage and emissions (fueleconomy.gov). By the way, you won’t find the Hummer listed because they’re a class of vehicle that isn’t required to report fuel economy and emissions.

On one hand, buying a vehicle is hard enough without the enviro-granola stuff. On the other hand, we should acknowledge the destructiveness and unsafetyness (language is a constantly evolving thing) of these vehicles.

Maybe Scott could chronicle how Jeeps were exempted from the Clean Air Act and allowed to emit much more pollution, and be less safe than passenger cars. Other manufacturers designed SUVs and drove them through the EPA loophole and 30 years later we have a military vehicle as family car. You also get a $100,000 business tax write-off if you buy a Hummer because they’re over 6,000 pounds. What, no SPF 200?

Jim Paussa

Basalt