Hal R. Varian, a professor at U.C. Berkeley is taking aim at sport utility vehicles as a danger to the community. Since it is hard to refute the fact that occupants of larger cars are less likely to be injured in an accident, he instead makes the claim that drivers are saving themselves at the expense of their neighbors. He portrays SUV drivers as self centered at best, and at worst, murderous.

In his op-ed piece in the New York Times, (filed under business "news") Varian tries to make an objective claim that people that drive SUVs kill more people and cost society more money than do drivers of those little econobox death traps.

Michelle White, an economist at the University of California, San Diego, estimates that for each fatality that light-truck drivers avoid for themselves and their passengers, they cause four fatalities involving car occupants, pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists. "Safety gains for those driving light trucks," Ms. White said, "come at an extremely high cost to others." [...]

Think about a safety-conscious soccer mom choosing a vehicle. If there are mostly small cars in her town, she can reduce the risk to her and her family in the event of a collision by buying an S.U.V.

The unfortunate side effect is that the large S.U.V. would cause significant damage to smaller cars if she was involved in an accident.

All you SUV drivers out there should run out and buy Yugos. Sure, you may be more likely to die in an accident, but your neighbors will certainly thank you for it; at your funeral.