Read an excellent article on SUV safety, or lack thereof, in The New Yorker. Unfortunately the article does not appear to be online. There is an interview with Malcolm Gladwell, author of the article, and a commentary of the article at how to save the world.

The basic premise of the article is that many SUV owners buy their vehicles because of a perception that SUVs are safer than others vehicles. According to Gladwell, the accident statistics indicate the opposite, that many SUVs handle poorly, take longer to stop, and are not properly designed to withstand side impacts. Smaller vechicles are more maneuverable, which is often the difference between hitting and being hit by other vehicles, not to mention being better able to avoid pedestrians.

When searching for info about the article, came across a criticism of the article by the SUV Owners of America. Not having heard of the group, I looked a little deeper and discovered that SUVOA's headquarters is in the offices of a DC public relations firm Stratacomm. According to disinfopedia, SUVOA is an industry funded group that dispences pro-SUV information. Stratacomm's clients include the big three automakers.

Looking further, the What Would Jesus Drive site discusses the connection of one of Stratacomm's principals, Ron Defore, to Andrew Card, Bush's Chief of Staff:

DeFore and his partner Jason Vines, who works out of Stratacomm's Detroit office, were perfectly positioned to bring SUVOA into the spotlight last summer. Vines, a former vice president for communications at Ford, also oversaw public relations for Andrew Card, now George Bush's chief of staff, back when Card was president of the American Automobile Manufacturers Association. Until last year, DeFore handled communications for the Coalition for Vehicle Choice, a short-lived lobbying group run out of Stratacomm's D.C. office, which was set up by automakers and related interests to fight Congress' attempts to raise federal fuel-economy standards. All three major domestic automakers--Ford Motor Company, General Motors, and DaimlerChrysler--as well as the industry's two trade associations, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and the National Automobile Dealers Association, are current or former Stratacomm clients.

posted by Bruce Wright at 5:01 PM #