The Point of SUVs... I think.

For a long time, I have puzzled over why people get these gargantuan SUVs. They are ungainly, fat, gas-guzzling, and quite frankly, ugly. And they never have nearly as much room inside as their outside dimensions would suggest. Some SUVs, like Hummers, are probably a status symbol. But the majority of them are just plain big, stupid-looking cars.

For awhile, I bought into the theory that people thought they were more "safe". Everyone says that fear is a great way to sell things, and that might especially apply to cars. But given that SUVs aren't really more safe than other cars, it really doesn't explain the volume I see on the road.

But watching a bunch of people getting out of their SUVs at the same time the other day, I had a revelation: fat people buy SUVs, or rather, people who don't want to look fat. Just like a tall man looks even taller getting out of a small, sexy sportscar, a large person looks quite a bit more petite getting out of a Suburban. And if you are already lithe and willowy, that effect is magnified. A skinny person getting out of an SUV looks downright ethereal.