Are SUV owners unpatriotic?

[Jewels]

Criticizing SUVs and their owners is in vogue since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Critics say gas-guzzlers keep America hooked on foreign oil, compromising U.S. foreign policy.


Critics initially faulted sport utility vehicles because they produce more greenhouse gases than smaller vehicles. Then safety concerns were raised. Now, SUVs are drawing a different kind of protest.

In Newton, Mass., last week, a dozen sport utility vehicles were spray-painted with ?No Blood for Oil? and other antiwar slogans.
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Columnist Arianna Huffington is behind provocative new television commercials suggesting that people who buy the vehicles are supporting terrorists. ?I helped hijack an airplane,? says an actor portraying an ordinary American and SUV owner in one of the TV spots.

A group calling itself Earth on Empty, in Somerville, Mass., is "ticketing" owners of SUVs for "failure to pay attention to your own behavior." A Pennsylvania-based environmental group last year announced a "What Would Jesus Drive?" ad campaign to urge consumers to park their SUVs.

Few SUV owners are amused. Most say sport utility vehicles are superior in safety, convenience, performance and comfort. And they?re the ones buying the gasoline. Is it unpatriotic to own a SUV?