| Last month, Stampede Park hosted the Everything To Do With Sex Show, a consumer trade show that featured smooth-chested male models, dildo booths and blow-up dolls of every race.
But the real fetish show just emptied out of the Roundup Centre – the Calgary International Auto and Truck Show, which took place March 12 to 16. No sex show could see as many people fawning over consumer goods as this – pimply gangs of high-school kids videotaped each other sitting in a Corvette, a shammy army stalked the grounds and cleaned up bodily residue, and the new Dodge Durango featured a slogan that said "Big, but not too big."
But these aren’t the best days to be a Durango fetishist. Sport utility vehicles have been all the rage the past few years, but have also come under some heavy fire lately because of their insatiable appetite for gasoline (last year’s Detroit fleet had the worst gas mileage in 21 years, according to the American government).
Critics say the trucks increase North America’s reliance on Middle Eastern oil in a time of crisis – television commercials in the U.S. have even linked driving an SUV to supporting terrorism. At the same time, the price of gasoline is skyrocketing – some bigger SUVs have crossed the psychological threshold of $100 for a full tank.
SUVs are also among the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions on the road, something that gained attention after the federal government signed on to the Kyoto Accord to reduce carbon emissions last year. The American Environmental Protection Agency publishes an auto emissions list each year, and the bottom of that list, where the worst polluters are found, is littered with SUVs – the Ford Excursion and Lincoln Aviator, for example, belch twice the emissions of those at the top of the list, such as the Honda Civic. And, to the annoyance of conservationists (and asthma sufferers) everywhere, January saw sales of Ford and Lincoln SUVs hit a record – 3,209 units sold in Canada during that month alone.
But if the Calgary International Auto and Truck Show is any indication, things may be changing. The Roundup Centre was still invaded by monstrous trucks – including the 10,000-pound gorilla of SUVs, the $170,000 Hummer – but many of the slick marketing campaigns at least touched on the criticisms leveled at SUVs. The complete Dodge Durango slogan, for example, was "Big, but not too big... easier to city-park than monster SUVs." It was far from a Greenpeace rally, but such signs were completely absent from the automobile industry as recently as the late 1990s.
Most of the people attending the show and eyeing the SUVs seemed to be aware of the criticisms and had at least considered the issues. As usual, real people were more thoughtful than the stereotypes presented in the mass media.
"People are always going off about SUVs, but it depends how you use them," said one middle-aged man, who didn't want to give his name, while warming the seat of a huge Toyota Sequoia. "I've got one, but I only drive it on weekends. I have friends who have small vehicles and they have to take two vehicles sometimes if there are a lot of people."
Another woman at the show, who shyly scooted away before giving her name, said she doesn't see the logic of owning a big SUV unless you need it.
"If you're just going to go around the city, you don't need it," she said. "I need one for some of the driving I do, but I don't drive it in the city."
Depending on your perspective, those comments are either an acknowledgement of responsibility on the part of SUV owners, or self-justification for excessive consumption. But there were other signs that good gas mileage may be on its way back into style.
Much of the marketing for SUVs at the show still centred around the ridiculous notion that the trucks go hand-in-hand with nature – for example, a Jeep Liberty sat atop a mound of fake mountain terrain with a Do Not Touch sign – but some prominently displayed their gas mileage. Toyota also had a huge advertising booth for its environmentally friendly Prius – the car is not an SUV, and its ads featured a life-sized photo of David Suzuki, whose visage was once anathema to organizers of such events.
The auto industry may have a long way to go before it holds hands with the environmental movement, but at least there are signs of change. The whole issue was encapsulated, albeit inadvertently, by looping commercials played by Toyota on a television near their booth at the auto show. One highlighted some sensible changes to one of its SUVs, saying "You can have a big SUV, or an SUV that's a big idea." That, however, was followed by an ad for a 4Runner tearing up the side of – get this – Mount Everest. |
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