Hollywood has known for years now that vehicle choice is part and parcel of public image.
Quick: name three celebrities who drive Priuses? (Probably didn't take you very long, did it?)
Public attention is starting to shift more and more onto the vehicle choices of public officials as well, particularly those officials which claim to support the various causes one would associate with efficiency or reduced dependence on automobiles as a solution.
It's not entirely new, but it's a growing phenomenon. EG:
The Mercury News: San Jose city officials drive gas guzzlers
Quote:
San Jose has its "green vision," a sweeping 10-point plan to make the city a leader in environmental stewardship. But do city leaders drive the talk?
No. At least not yet.
Mayor Chuck Reed and the 10 city council members are all still driving conventional gasoline-slurping cars. Hey, aren't we supposed to become "Green Valley?"
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This one particularly takes the cake:
LA Times (via LAist): Should the City's Top Transit Dude Drive a Hummer?
Quote:
Back in May of last year, [LA Times'] Steve Hymon rounded up who drives Hummers at City Hall and found that the city's Transportation Deputy for the Mayor drives a Hummer H3. ...
He has the right to drive to work, but Lopez is correct that Mr. Transit in a Hummer is like "having a surgeon general who smokes unfiltered Camels while snacking on Cheetos."
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I've seen (but haven't read) articles about what vehicles are owned/driven by the various candidates in the race for the top Dem & Republican jobs.
This kind of scrutiny is only going to escalate. Do you know what kind of vehicle the person you last voted for drives? Do you care?