A PR stunt in San Francisco tomorrow will give people the chance to take a sledge to an SUV to show their outrage at gas prices. To promote its launch in the city, car sharing service Zipcar is asking for donations to smash some fuel inefficient vehicles.
However therapeutic it may be to take a few swings against anything, it would have been more appropriate if they put out some Chevron or BP gas pumps, or perhaps cardboard cutouts of oil execs, instead.
I like the idea of car sharing -- rent a car only when you need it and save on the insurance and maintenance costs. People who make solo errand runs in their 18 mpg monsters are wasting our air and their money, so why not encourage them to drive small cars during the 90 percent of the time they are sufficient, and limit the big rigs to camping trips, buying furniture or transporting the soccer team?
Here's an idea for a car dealership -- offer decent trade-in value for swapping an SUV for a compact, and require SUV rental contracts that make the vehicles available upon request. The dealer makes money both ways, and we unclog the roadways and air.
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