10 Jan 05
Last year, 4x4 owners had it a bit rough across the pond. Ads by the Detroit Project aired on US television portraying SUV (sports/utility vehicle) owners as funding Middle Eastern terrorism by lining the pockets of corrupt oil magnates in the palms of evil dictators. US religious groups launched their own 'What would Jesus drive?' campaign, aimed at relieving the stranglehold that big, thirsty 4x4s have on American roads. The Saviour, they implied, would have just one vehicle in his big Carport in the Sky (the average American family runs three), and it would probably have been an eco-friendly one. Meanwhile, activists such as the Environmental Liberation Front (ELF) vandalised Hummers and Suburbans across the country, and threw nails on the drives of SUV owners.
But, as the third Channel 4 documentary in a series about climate change showed, even in God's Own Country, Americans' love affair with their road monsters hasn't faded, despite all these efforts to 'educate', not to mention sharp rises in petrol prices. If anything, there are even more SUVs - bigger and thirstier than before - on the US highways.
'What Would Jesus Drive?', took a look at some of the more intriguing characters in each wing of the debate.
