> I forgot my pet hate about USA: The cars are too big and too many!

We like big cars. We can fit more junk in them. And as for there being too many cars, sometimes I agree--but I doubt my family could get by with fewer than three. I'm not about to walk/bike/ride a horse for miles and miles every day. People are so spread out in the US [mostly because we like our living space, but also because of some poor planning ideas from the 60's] that it would be far more expensive and wasteful to have mass transit.

>Basically, I think there is something very wrong in a society if you live within 50 miles of a city where you work in an office and have to drive to work. I realise that not all Americans live in built-up areas, but the number of people buying SUVs (yuch!) is frankly sick.

Sick? Why? The styling certainly isn't bad enough to deserve a "yuch." Plus, SUVs are fantastically safe. I like the news blurb from a few months back when a man drove off a cliff in his SUV. It fell about 100 feet and then rolled. The man walked away without any injuries.

gab"Don't try this at home"by