Holiday Romance

I've been out of town for the last week or so, meaning I left my F-Cell behind in Los Angeles and flew into Reagan National in Washington DC.  In addition to the nation's capital, I also visited New York City and got there by way of driving up four hours from DC.  In addition to myself, I had three other work associates to schlep around, as well as all of our gear.  So a small car wasn't going to cut it from a practical standpoint.  I had to think bigger and the nice folks at Dollar Rent a Car provided me with a solution:
 

The Chevrolet Suburban is the antithesis of the pragmatic F-Cell.  It's big and spacious and commanding and hungry and unapologetic and larger than life.  Yet at the same time, the burb is understated and capable and strong.  If  Marlon Brando (in his older years) were a car, he'd be a Chevrolet Suburban.

And there's more to like of this big SUV behind the wheel.  The view from the driver's seat is commanding, with great visibility all around.  Big dumbo ear side mirrors means you can see everything left and right and a comfortable 'dining room chair' height sitting position. Wide bench rear seats were spacious enough for three across, with a third row seating option which still allowed for a significant amount of luggage room behind it.  All in all, short of a minivan, there really isn't much of a choice when it comes to a family truckster that can carry it all.  Unlike the motherly minivan, however, the Suburban can do it with rugged manly style.

So why was I having this holiday fling with the enemy?  A vehicle that symbolized all that was wrong with American consumers and guzzled down ridiculous amounts of foreign based fossil fuels.  A relic of the period of excess where we didn't think about tomorrow and only looked to the over leveraged, 5 year adjustable no money down world of yesterday?  Why was I loving life in a Chevrolet Suburban?  Because it served a purpose, and if that purpose was needed, there was nothing else like it.


Most American households own two cars, one for the father and one for the mother, and they buy cars based on the overall compromise of all around usefulness, trying to get the very most out of the car based on all the laundry lists of needs they need from their personal conveyances.  If you had a big family and hauled around sports gear or backpacks and occasionally towed a boat or trailer, the Suburban was the obvious choice.  The problem was, I wager the average Suburban owner only needed the Burb's capabilities less than 30% oft the time he or she was actually behind the wheel.  And when they weren't hauling or towing, they had to carry around the lumbering monstrosity with them everywhere we went. 

I'm going to argue that we can't really fault people for owning Suburbans if they actually use them, and despite the fact that I'm an advocate for alternative fuels and clean energy, I respect and as a matter of fact, enjoy driving cars like the Suburban for practical purposes.  There's a time and place for everything, and while perhaps many of us can compromise and make due with something like a Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle for their normal daily commutes, there are others of us who cannot and need the sheer size and abilities of the Suburban.