High and mighty : SUVs : the world's most dangerous vehicles and how they got that way / Keith Bradsher.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bradsher, Keith.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Sport utility vehicles--Crashworthiness.

Sport utility vehicles.

Consumer protection.

Automobile industry and trade--United States.

Automobile industry and trade.

United States.

Physical Description:

xxi, 468 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 25 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Public Affairs, [2002]

Summary:

Laying bare the dangers posed by sports utility vehicles, the most popular type of American family car, the longtime Detroit bureau chief for "The New York Times" traces the checkered history of SUVs, making a powerful case that these vehicles are worse for occupants and the environment than had been suspected. Photos.

Contents:

Part 1 The Birth of the SUV

1 Early Rumblings 3

2 Reviving a Corpse 18

3 Creating the Ford Explorer 43

4 Paving the Road to Ever Bigger SUVs 61

5 The SUV Economy 81

6 Reptile Dreams 93

Part 2 The Dark Side of the SUV

7 The Myth of Four-Wheel-Drive Safety 127

8 Rollovers 149

9 Kill Rates 166

10 The SUV Insurance Subsidy 207

11 Trouble for Cities 221

12 Global Warming, Gasoline Mileage, and a Gentlemen's Agreement 238

13 Seducing the Press 271

14 The Green Prince 282

15 The Ford Explorer-Firestone Tire Debacle 303

Part 3 The Future of the SUV

16 The Next Drivers of SUVs 341

17 Crossover Utilities 352

18 The Schwarzenegger Dividend 360

19 The Triumph of SUVs 382

20 Finding a Way Out 413

Myths and Realities about SUVs 427

The Family Tree of Automobiles 435.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [443]-454) and index.

ISBN:

1586481231

OCLC:

50253173