UK’s Advertising Standard Authority has banned two Toyota adverts for advertising that disregards its environmental impact. Clea Skopeliti writing for The Gaurdian:

The ASA ruled that the adverts “condoned the use of vehicles in a manner that disregarded their impact on nature and the environment … they had not been prepared with a sense of responsibility to society”.

Veronica Wignall, a co-director at Adfree Cities, said: “These adverts epitomise Toyota’s total disregard for nature and the climate, by featuring enormous, highly polluting vehicles driving at speed through rivers and wild grasslands.”

Wignall said there was a disconnect between the way SUVs were advertised – with campaigns often depicting them in rugged environments – and the reality of where they were largely driven. Research has shown that three-quarters of new SUVs in the UK are registered to people in urban areas. “It’s a cynical use of nature to promote something incredibly nature-damaging.”

SUVs are pure f*ck you I got mine individualism. They make the road more dangerous for pedestrians and even other drivers due to their size. And the reasons people give for owning them are usually bullshit. They’re not even more spacious than a van. And the pickup trucks keep getting shorter in the back and longer in the front so the utility is getting worse every year. Unfortunately it has now become an arms race whereby people are almost forced to get a big vehicle.

Here is an excellent video on the ridiculousness of SUV culture.