Auto News 5

President Barack Hussein Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, D.C.



Dear Mr. President,

I have a hard time with SUVs. I can understand drivers who appreciate a high seating position, although it gives no advantage when everyone else drives tall vehicles, too. I can understand wanting to give the impression that you're ready to tackle the Serengeti, not just the drive to the grocery store. Signifying that you might be something more than you actually are seems to be important to many people. I understand that experience with rough-riding, truck-based SUVs made many people flee to car-based crossovers that provide the same signs of tough capability without the concomitant discomfort. What I can't understand is the widespread willingness to push a tall, square-cornered box through the air at the cost of unnecessary fuel bills when an aerodynamic vehicle would do the same job more efficiently. But there clearly is a market for small luxury SUVs, and Mercedes-Benz thinks it needs an entrant, thus the GLK.