Axles of Evil

HERE is a reasonably unbiased article from The Age about the popularity of SUV's in America. Snippet:

"Someone who drives an SUV, according to its detractors, does not care about the environment or America's dependence on Middle Eastern states that are soft on terrorism. At the heart of this controversy, like so many here in recent years, is America's favourite drug - oil. Federal figures show that four-wheel-drive SUVs average 6.9 kilometres per litre and on some larger models that goes down to 4.8. Hummers are even worse. In comparison, the average petrol-fuelled saloon manages 12. In a country where, according to the US department of energy, per-capita energy consumption has been about 4.5 times greater than the world average, the debate over SUVs is inextricably linked to the broader national debate - namely what responsibility America has to the rest of the world and how it should go about fulfilling it."