I live in the country.  You take a dirt road to get to the dirt road we live on.  I drive a 2002 Trailblazer, with 130,000 miles on it, but I think it’s good for another year or two.  In order to get around in winter weather and travel into rural areas of the state to see my family, I need a 4-wheel-drive, heavy-duty vehicle.  I wonder, when the time comes, if I’ll be able to purchase an American-made, 4x4 SUV like I have now.  The Trailblazer has already been discontinued, and I’ve heard others are on the chopping block.  With all the pressure from the government for small, fuel-efficient vehicles I’m wondering if American auto companies will just drop all of the larger vehicles from their lineups altogether.  Because, when the time comes, I’ll have to purchase a vehicle that meets my needs, not one that some bureaucrat has decided is “right” for American drivers.  Will fuel efficiency be the only consideration when auto manufacturers decide what to build?  I hope not.  

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(Submitted for publication to The Lansing State Journal, Grand Ledge Independent, Portland Review & Observer,  & Clinton County News on February 11, 2010)
(Published in the Lansing State Journal 2/19/2010)