Anti 4x4 lobby

It seems that the anti 4x4 lobby seems to be stepping up its crusade against people like me. I've recently seen a number of newspaper articles pouring scorn on the drivers of so called SUVs (an American term meaning Sport Utility Vehicle), including one which proclaimed us to be 'public enemy number one'.

The anti 4x4 lobby is still quite small, but in my opinion they are getting more than their fair share of media attention. More worryingly, in their search for a good story, the press are successfully turning the concerns of mainly well meaning (although often ill-informed) people into an organised campaign of hate against anyone who drives a 4x4.
My main concern is that the government will soon pick up this anti 4x4 theme and use it against us in the name of the environment. We've already seen the beginnings of this in the form of increased road tax for cars with large engines, and the indications are that these increases will continue.

Ken Livingstone has declared his intention to increase the congestion charge for 4x4 drivers, even though the scheme was introduced solely to reduce congestion, and not on environmental grounds.

For the record my Range Rover is old, but it runs on LPG, which means with its small annual mileage I probably contribute less pollution to the environment than the average Ford Fiesta driver. Until quite recently LPG was considered a waste product which wasn't worth bringing ashore. Surplus quantities are still burned as waste, so if people like me don't use it, it will still get burned anyway.

My Honda Civic which I use for the bulk of my mileage is one of the cleanest cars on the road.

Many people like me enjoy off road activities in purpose designed centres, or need the superb towing capability of our vehicles for our caravans. And as long as I'm living in a democracy, and paying my road tax, I'll continue to do so.

So why am I doing this?

I'm not sure really!

I've read other people's blogs and sometimes thought about doing my own...but I always decided that there was nothing in my life that was really worth writing about.

Then I stumbled across a blog written by my old mate Dunc, one of my work colleagues and drinking buddies from the 80's. We got round to talking about the 'old days' from the decade that taste forgot....dodgy cars, loud music...and lots of beer.

Its given me something to write about, and everything that follows here is all his fault!