I see in the ads...

First there was the TV commercial that encouraged driving in a reckless manner, weaving from one side of the road to another. Then there was the one about a car driving at high speed through a pea-soup fog. Now there is one that states, in a deep, deep voice, "When this SUV wants the road, you'd better let it have it."

According to the ads and commercials, vehicles can climb over rocks and careen around city streets in the rain without so much as a blink on the turn signals. And there is the one where a driver tears around a swamp in his 4WD, destroying the entire habitat. One commercial even says that their car turns the streets into your "playground." Then it shows an idiot lying on his back in the middle of a freeway, and he's smiling! The message is clear. Cars in general, and SUV's in particular do not have to follow laws - not even the laws of physics. One ad shows a cow's mouth dropping open in astonishment at the maneuverability of a pickup truck. Do cows really know that much about mechanical things? Why don't they show the driver pumping gas into the tank for hours? How about a picture of the SUV rounding a mountain curve and rolling over and over down into a ravine? Do ads for four-wheel drive vehicles mention their high center of mass that goes along with the high ground clearance? Do you really need tires that big, or are you supposed to pretend you are driving a trailer truck?
Howard