Mixed views over proposed SUV ban

SUVs - environmental disaster or essential item?

Legislators in the US state of California aim to ban increasingly popular SUVs, or sports utility vehicles, on ecological grounds but popular feeling remains firmly split on the issue.

BBC News Online spoke to two people with very different views on the issue, and finds that, although in the US there are mixed feelings over SUVs, all agree that action is needed to combat growing pollution in the country.

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Sara Draper is a 31-year-old housewife who lives in Indianapolis in the US state of Indiana. She says that there are other, far more practical ways of dealing with America's environmental problems.

Draper [right, with her daughter] says her SUV makes her feel much safer on the road

America is supposed to be about freedom of choice, so, how, then can you ban SUVs?

A traditional car does not fulfil my needs, I need a four wheel drive.

SUVs give a higher viewpoint of the road - because I'm short in a traditional car I could never see over the bonnet!

It's very useful, it carries a lot, it has four wheel drive which is handy because here we have very brutal winters.

They also feel much more solid, here when driving with so many big trucks on the interstate where things are so much bigger it is easier with a bigger car.

Minivans are just as ubiquitous here, certainly in the Midwest. It's because car manufacturers have pushed them as outdoor vehicles and they're not used here for that and so these [Californian] legislators are feeding on the manufacturer's marketing message.

Most people buy their cars because they see it a status symbol anyway - why single SUVs out?

I'd love to go off road but in reality I have to go to the supermarket!

I used to work for Ford in England, and you soon find that the reason why anyone buys a car is number one because of style.

No one buys a car because of how they feel.

SUVs just happen to be more expensive so people see them as a luxury.

Most people buy their cars because they see it a status symbol anyway - why single SUVs out?

In America freedom of choice is paramount. People here expect to see 100 different kinds of cereal so why would they give a car up?

I think it is California being California, but it does point to a really big problem.

There are scarce resources on the planet - but if they are really serious about the environment in the US there are other things they could do, such as turning off computers or lights in office buildings for a start.

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Dan Holmes is a 30-year-old technician from Chicago, Illinois. He says that, although he is not in favour of a total ban, he says he hopes the proposal will encourage Americans to be more sensible about their vehicles.

I think the proposed legislation is an important awareness step, even though I don't think it'll pass.

My biggest complaint about SUVs is that most people don't even use them for what they're made for.

Chicago has pretty harsh winters and my two wheel drive always saw me through it

People think they are safer but they are just as capable of rolling over and hurting you if not more so than other cars.

If you run into me - I'd rather you did so with a car!

The things are also getting bigger and bigger, it's getting to the point where maybe next we'll have tanks on our roads.

They've become a status symbol. And driving for the purpose of a status symbol really irks me.

I'm a bike rider - although I also own a Volkswagen hatchback - and it annoys me that I may get run over by one on the ride to work.

We build many, many cars in the US, but we build small cars too.

If we're supposed to buy American - well, buy a station wagon or a hatchback. Mine holds an insane amount of equipment.

My wife is a photographer, and we get all kinds of stuff in the thing - I've beat it up for six years and it's been no problem.

SUV's have become the biggest American flag you could buy, so to speak.

OK, maybe it's because it costs more that buying one helps the American economy, compared to other cars, but still...

Chicago has pretty harsh winters and my two wheel drive always saw me through it.

The more stuff like this proposed legislation happens the more people will be aware.

In California they always act on such issues because of their poor environment, and I don't like the fact rest of the country feels like saying "Well we're not screwing up" when we should be doing this across the board - not just in one state.

I hope it sets a precedent and encourages people to be more sensible with their vehicles.