Compromising My Values?

So I broke down today and did something that I never thought that I would do, bought an SUV. OK, technically I am renting it, but I am still paying to drive it for an extended period of time. For those of you that know me, I don't think that it is completely compromising my values. For those that don't, I hate SUV's. I think that they are the most useless piece of trash ever devised. As far as I'm concerned, they don't handle families as well as minivans or station wagons, they don't handle icy or slippery roads as well as a car, they burn gas like its nothing, and they empower drivers into thinking they are invulnerable. So why, then, did I decide to pool resources with my coworker and get one?

Well, for one thing I don't need to worry about icy or slippery roads here, but I may need to worry about having a 4-WD to navigate less well paved areas. Second, and most embarassingly, the price of gas is not really an object here (sorry environment!). But most importantly, the empowering drivers bit is still true. Not that I need to be empowered, but Arab drivers are in general maniacs. Additionally, many of those maniacs do it in giant SUV's. This means that when they crash (and its definitely when, not if) they do a LOT of damage. In this case, I want as much protection as I can possibly get, and sadly, that is in another SUV. I figure that as long as I'm safe with my own driving, I can lower the risk of an accident. But the risk of someone else hitting me is so high, that safety precedes all environmental or financial concerns.

And that's why I got an SUV. But I swear to you all now, when I get back to the states, I'm happily returning to my hybrid.