I don't think these will continue in parallel, mostly because we (try to) do more on the positive side. But still, both with the foreshadowing from yesterday's post, and the fact that we have a very visible sign of unreconstructed vehicle thinking, it seems only fair to come right back with it.

We own an SUV. It was Georgie's (her fault, her fault!) before we were married, and just haven't reached the intersection of finances and environmental concern that would allow us to get something else. (For the record, I brought a six(!)-cylinder VW Passat to our union, and the chief reason we got rid of it wasn't our commitment to green, but that we were unhappy with its maintenance record.)

Georgie was slightly defensive about having an SUV, but would defend it by saying it was the best-mileage one available. (It's a RAV-4.) And, she hasn't driven it much; it's a 2002 and hasn't topped 40K miles yet. As a matter of strategy, we share the Prius, so that whomever is driving further will take it. That means the RAV, mostly, is for local jaunts.

Of course, we will also deploy it to move large loads, even if at a significant distance — and yes, we understand that carrying capacity is one reason people like SUVs. I'm very interested in the Smart Car, which I've started noticing on local streets recently, but with a baby coming (no, really), I can't begin to justify it, even as a second vehicle.