Some of them look really nice. Then there are those really short corny-looking guys who get them to overcompensate. My mom drives them because she feels more secure in a ginormous vehicle.

Why dont you go ask AL GORE?!?!

Because we are American, and in America, bigger is better.

Personally, I live in the Suburbs and we do a lot of off roading, camping, hunting ect. So four wheel drive is a must for our lifestyle.

Some people, a very small percentage, need something that large to use it, like hauling their toys or many people to transport, or they DO travel over rough terrain. We used to haul horses, up to 4 at a time and had a road that was definitely 4x4 territory. But we just bought a bug truck. Most people buy one because they think they look nice and it impresses people, looks appropriately 'successful' for their line of work.The media encourages them and pushes how much they NEED one.

They buy them as PRVs*, no matter what the cost or the harm. * Penile Replacement Vehicles :o)

Because personal vanity and the need to advertize one's testoterone level take precedence over saving money and helping conserve resources. Some people need trucks. Most don't. But in America, bigger is better and the automobile is king. We don't use them as transportation. We use them as status symbols.

I need it to tow the boat to the lake, tow the trailer full of brush, trash or leaves to the dump, seats seven, has the power for tough jobs and is insanely flexible. If I didn't need it I wouldn't have it. I own three vehicles and unless I need the truck it sits due to its relatively poor gas milage but for me it is a must have. A Prius can't do for me what I ask of the Durango.

Because they look so da*n good! I'm not saying that it's a good reason...

To compensate for size issues...it's the biggest they've got and the hardest to drive..and worth more in the end....and at least they don't reproduce.

In my part of the country we NEED these gas guzzling vehicles because a large part of our jobs are agricultural. Thats what these people in washington don't understand. They say, raise the gas, and buy little elctric cars! Well, here in North Dakota, a little electric car isn't going to take crops off the field, bring cows to the market so people have food to eat. In the long run, these big wigs are going to realise they are hurting the country because if us farmers and ranchers across america can't afford to raise the livestock and crops because of fuel prices, then production decreases (which is already happening, it is insane!) then we will have to import every ounce of food. Then you can talk about the terrorism that will happen. In short, everyone needs to realise that them big fuel guzzling vehicles are needed!

We do now and always have bought for our most demanding need. The big truck or SUV gets full and packed with gear maybe 10 or 20 weekends a year. Tows the boat or pushese the plow another dozen times a year. Unless we have enough money and parking capacity we are limited to the number of cars we can own for each purpose. So, the SUV gets flown solo to the mall, drive-thru or on the expressway to work. The only good news is that some SUVs now are at least approaching the mileage of compact cars a few decades ago. There is also a trend for the manufacturers now to build MPVs and Crossover vehicles that can better suit some driver's needs.

Because they have a small penis and they are trying to make up for it? Seriously. I think they are more of a misguided status symbol than anything else.

What harm are you refering to - perhaps we should just dump all of our civil liberties and let idiots like you tell us how to live. Why your are at it - go tell all of the hard working UAW's that they are guilty of aiding and abetting. Perhaps my neighbor, who is handicapped, should give up his van and walk - oh, wait, he doesn't have any legs. I'm sure his solar powered wheel chair would fit in the back of a tiny little car - it obviously holds your intellect. BTW - global warming is a hoax. Get over it - we are not capable of harming the planet. If I'm wrong - we can use a couple of nukes and induce a nuclear winter. As for gas prices - the explanation is SCARCITY of fuel in the GLOBAL ECONOMY! It has everything to do with suppliers being unable/unwilling to increase their production capabilities. Thanks to the eniormentalist, the US can't drill, can't build new nuclear power plants - hence we're only hurting ourselves. When your back living in your cave - stay away from my comfortable SUV - I've got a gun.

Trucks, buses, airplanes,fire engines, construction equipment are bigger fuel guzzlers than suv's why do people drive those?

Your lack of awareness astounds me. Ask yourself this: What's the best way for a mining company to haul 5 tonnes of rock down a small 7km dirt road in the middle of winter (a road too small for a dump truck)? Do you suggest that they carry each rock by hand? Use an economical car that will get stuck in the mud and snow? Or, do you suggest they buy a proper 3/4 or 1 tonne truck with 17" or 18" wheels and 4 wheel drive, and simply haul the rock down properly using a trailer? How about a farmer moving hay? Should he resort to pack mules to make the 20km trip to the edge of his property? Or simply buy a capable pickup, load it up, and be done in 2hrs? How about a landscaping company in the summer? How do you suggest the worker(s) move a lawnmower or two, weedwackers, an edger, rakes, shovels, tarps, gas cans, and their final grass clippings from site to site? Or what about moving pavers for a backyard renovation project? Are you suggesting that using a prius to make 40 trips instead of the one required by a proper pickup is better for the environment? What is a better use of the landscapers time, and why should he exert 40 times the effort to do a simple move like that? Not to mention the increased food and water he will consume, the increased traffic congestion of one car making 40 round trips, and the economic cost as he loses other jobs while moving stones? Before jumping on the 'green' bandwagon, at least give it some thought. While not everyone who buys an SUV or a truck really needs it, most do. Have some respect for these people that usually do work that keeps the economy moving. There's a saying I heard a few years back - 'Trucks move (or drive?) america.' That's pretty accurate.

I personally prefer my truck to a high mpg Honda Accord (sedan) because it holds up better when things get tough. I live in Anchorage, Alaska and lets face it a pot hole in a honda civic or sliding without a trucks wheel base lends itself to the trucks favor. Being taller than wheel spray helps me see at night. And being able to get home from work at 2 a.m. in 4 or 5 inches of snow without worry, in the end, is worth the loss of a few miles per gallon. An Accord gets about 22 mpg in the city, I am getting between 14 and 16, so I would be saving about 6 or 8? I can seat 6, tow 10000 pounds, help friends move, and have the torque to pull a Prius (40mpg) out of the snow. I can carry wet sleds and snowboards, bring home a Costco run or a table and chairs. I love Subarus- great MPG and AWD, but my family has 5 bikes, a row boat, "Dump Runs", and we garden- There are days I wish there were higher mpg's available for trucks- and days little cars hope I'll pass by and lend them a hand - my f150 is beautiful inside and on a long drives has space to bring things and for guests to feel comfortable. My truck also gets me to work everday and its what I use to pick up kids from school - overall I just cant trade what I can do with my truck for a sedan or gas mizer hatchback

There are lots of reasons people buy these type vehicles. Some people feel safer in big vehicles. I have a Honda Civic and a Dodge 2500 4x4 Diesel. Guess which one I drive most often (Honda). Guess which one I feel safest in (Dodge). I have a 700 foot driveway to plow. Honda is useless for that; Better take the truck. I have to haul a trailer for 200 miles? It's the truck again. Are there some silly reasons people drive these things? Sure; but I don't want some other person who doesn't live in my shoes deciding what I can drive. Why should anyone else feel otherwise?

Because we can. Because they are needed for some. Because they want them and can afford then. Because they need to haul more than will fit in a piece of shit "smart car" that putzes around powered by a motorcycle engine. Because they need the room. Because they are capable of actually driving their vehicles (harder to drive an SUV??? WTF?? Wow, you must suck at driving!) Because you fucking enviro weenies are fun to piss off. Mmmmmmm air conditioning cranked and windows down...WOOHOO!!

My SUV is small, gets about 16 or 17 MPG, and is the easiest thing in the world to drive. It's no worse for the environment than all those trees chopped down, all that fuel in freight burned, and all those loanfills being filled with the nonsense book and DVD "An Inconvenient Truth." The very one that Al Gore used to fly around in a private jet to promote and lecture you about how bad private jets are SUVs are for the environment.

Because you can't tow a boat with a Toyota Prius. Because a family of 7 doesn't fit in a Honda Civic. You can't get the couch into a Dodge Neon.

It saves a lot of them the effort of having to learn how to park.

I suppose because city-folk need to move stuff too. Or maybe they just like "big" like most other Americans. : )

Sometimes it's a status symbol, other times it's for those few times a year they move a large item around. They could just do like that car rental company's commercial suggested: When a project comes up(like the project of building that treehouse did for the family in the ad), they could just rent a vehicle. It would definitely be cheaper in the long run. Instead of paying a few hundred bucks a month for a few years they could just rent. There's a place down along the coast in my state called the Camden/Rockport area(Think mini-upscale portions of Connecticut). It's only considered a town though. There it's mostly a status symbol, they went from Izuzu troopers to Suburbans to Escalades. Most of the people in town don't need them, they hire others to move things for them. So that leaves status symbol, at least in that area. I do notice in larger cities, it's not the older vehicles('79 Jimmy's or Broncos) usually that are the large ones, it's the Lexus or Escalade's. Surburbans are soooo last year, darling. :-)

Because I would need to drive 3 Prius' in order to haul all the people, suitcases and crap that I haul around from week to week. Because I cannot afford to just buy a new car because mine is socially unacceptable to you. Because I LOVE MY FORD TAURUS & I LOVE MY FORD EXPEDITION. That's why. Why do 'country people' drive gas gobbling big 4x4 trucks or suvs?