Put my oar in as well:
I just thought I should e-mail you with my tuppence worth regarding the 4x4 debate.
For my daily use I drive a Golf Diesel and do about 25k miles a year as a Sales Manager, however I also run a classic ex Military Land Rover as a hobby.
Whilst this vehicle does pollute more than a brand new car I feel that its overall environmental impact is not that great as it has been in existence for 25 years in its present guise, surely that it better for the environment than buying a new car every couple of years, regardless of the MPG it may achieve.
As far as safety is concerned, I can achieve a maximum comfortable speed of around 55mph and enjoy a gentle potter around over the weekends. Is that more dangerous than a 17 year old driving any modern car that can easily do over 100 mph? I think not. If safety is a primary concern then surely we should ban lorries as they can go faster and undoubtedly cause much more damage, especially ones from the continent who have a huge blind spot to their right hand side making them especially dangerous on motorways – statistics show that there are a large number or accidents caused by this each year.
The majority of the issues raised by stern environmentalists confuse me greatly, their main argument seems to be space taken up on the road and fuel economy, but a standard V6 petrol Mondeo takes up as much room as a Diesel Land Rover Discovery and arguably uses more fuel. If the environmentalists are really concerned surely they should invest their time more wisely in cracking down on sports cars which are capable of immense speeds, causing immense damage in an accident and also using vast quantities of fuel whilst doing so, whilst only being able to seat two people.
Yes, I am sure that there are irresponsible members of the 4x4 community, as with any other group of humans with a common interest, but many many 4x4 enthusiasts devote their time to helping out in emergencies and working on areas of the countryside to keep them assessable to less abled people.
Would be happy to discuss this at length if it is of any assistance in helping you produce a well balanced show.
Kind regards