NYT: Let's Send Our Unwanted SUVs to Russia!

Like its LA equivalent, The New York Times is making gloat while the price of gas hurts. That said, The Gray Lady's Op Editorialist begins with an [ironic?] back pat for the great American SUV buyer's eco-political awakening. I mean, former SUV buyer. "We have heartily applauded Americans’ collective decision to recognize the finite nature of the world’s supply of fossil fuels and to start driving sensible vehicles. But we must also acknowledge that this abrupt change of heart is creating a new national challenge: what to do with the suddenly redundant S.U.V.?" After a quick acknowledgment of the financial pain caused by SUV backwardedness and the trapping of buyers' bucks therein, the NYT offers a practical idea for ditching the tree-hugger's four-wheeled bogeyman: "We suggest exploring foreign countries. The Russian market for cars, for instance, is booming — thanks to a fast-growing economy and generous government subsidies that are keeping a lid on the price of gas. The best part is that Russians prefer secondhand imports over domestic Ladas and Volgas." Huh? How's that going to work? And I thought The Times was anti-SUV on global warming grounds. Alternatively… "Then there’s the scrap market." Or, finally, "The artist John Chamberlain made a name for himself making sculptures out of crushed automobile parts. Cadillac Ranch — an array of graffiti-covered Cadillacs protruding at an angle from a field near Amarillo, Tex. — has become one of the nation’s landmarks.With a few adaptations, a Lincoln Navigator might make a nice streetlamp." Who said the Times doesn't have a sense of humor?