I'm not sure I understand how the decision to buy an SUV caused their idiot son to get drunk and go for a joyride??
I think I'm missing something here.

He drove the SUV in the first place due to the precieved image of "cool". The lawsuit came from a number of factors, including the damage the SUV caused to the other party involved, both to the car, and to the health of the driver.

Had he simply chosen to be a bit less cool and taken a car, the lawsuit probably wouldn't have happened as the guy involved would have been fine. Of course, the son probably wouldn't have gone on a drunken joyride in the first place if he was acting with any sort of intellegance.

My problems with SUVs come from the laws that protect them (The entire light truck crap), the fact that they are typicially driven by people unaware of the differences, and the fact that most have never been off road, hauled 7 people, or towed something large. The arguments I have seen here seem to indicate SUV owners here have valid reasons to own them.

As far as the fuel argument, remember that MPG does somewhat equate to the polutuon a vehicle will put out. As some of our European friends have pointed out, our US engines are absolutly horrid on efficiency and polution.