Assessing the case against the SUV

The sport utility vehicle (SUV) has come under increasing criticism for offences ranging from exacerbating environmental degradation and funding terrorism to fuelling competitive consumption and being a vehicle that Jesus would not drive. Do the charges of made against such vehicles by a burgeoning anti-SUV movement stick, or is the consumer choice of modes of personal transport benign? Is the decision to manufacture, purchase or operate an SUV (as opposed to a conventional passenger car) a legitimate public interest, or does it belong properly within a protected sphere of individual liberty? This article attempts to evaluate the case that is made specifically against the SUV, attempting to isolate any unique sequences for which its guilt is alleged, and to examine those charges philosophically (along with a case for rejecting them).