[bestclimb]

Hows the mileage on a suburban once you figure in the load? Yes for a person commuting the fuel per mile per pound of payload moved is way better in a metro but load a suburban down with 9 people and 800+ pounds of stuff and the thing comes into it's own.

person 180 lbs (per the FAA +10 lbs cause we are heavier now than when that figure was derived.)
metro
4x180 720 lbs +150 lbs in the back(maybe, this guesstimate is based on the size back there and how much stuff I put in a plane similar to what most people put in a car)
870* lbs of stuff at 45mpg* 39,150 pound miles per gallon

suburban
9x180 1620 plus another 800 lbs of stuff
2820* at 15mpg* 42,300 pound miles moved per gallon

I may be being generous with millage numbers given how loaded each vehicle in the comparison is. I pulled the payload of the suburban off the interweb for a 99 model

If you had 2800 pounds of stuff you would need 3+ metros to do the work of one suburban. With the suburban you are only moving 1 driver or not making the back trip as well. On the other hand if you are not loading the suburban down you are not getting anywhere near efficient.

To say that a large rig is not the right answer does not quite get to the crux of the issue. So what if someone is not being efficient by driving an suv, they are already paying the price at the pump. Gas prices going up will reduce the demand for inefficient rigs so will a the increase in "global care" or what ever newspeak buzz word of the day they come up with for not being a jerk. Frankly I don't much want someone dictating what type of vehicle I need to drive I can look at the issues and make that decision for my self as can most anyone else. If I make a poor choice then so be it.