Everywhere we look, there seems to be a debate about SUV’s. Wasteful, inefficient, monstrous, the list goes on and on.

Now, I’m not saying that I fully agree with either side of the arguments – I know that there are those who buy huge bling-bling machines just to say “look at me, I have more than you,” but we’ve always had that going on. On the other side, there are those (albeit a small percentage) who bought the machines with the intent of hauling people, soccer teams, and if you’re my dad, you’re even in a smaller minutia of a percentage and you drive a new Montero Limited through the trails in Attica, Indiana.

All this considered, this is the “now” part of the argument. What about in a few years though? I’d be willing to bet that a large percentage of today’s SUV’s will be in wrecking yards in the near future due to accidents and neglect, just like any other make and model of vehicle.

As Zookers, we seem to be known as innovative and creative when it comes to modifying our vehicles. This most likely stems from our origins when we wanted to build our trucks up, but there were few if any parts to be had. We recently revisited this scenario with the sudden interest in modifying “Kicktracks” (Zook-Speak for Sidekicks and Trackers.) Cryptic messages would float around the internet, “hey, if you take the manifold from this car and
the brake lines from this van, you’ll have lockers.” 

So where am I going with this?

Time to start getting creative, people. In a few years we’re going to have a lot of new things at our disposal… Lincoln Navigators and Oldsmobile Bravadas out the yin yang. So pay close attention to the SUV’s you see around town, learn a bit about the inner workings, there could be something in it for all of us down the lines. Think of all the little electric motors that power the electric tailgates and such… there’s bound to be something fun we can do with
them, don’t you think?

One of the concerns with our hobby has always been our impact on the environment – treading lightly and such. Many people overlook the fact that many of us are quite responsible in our ways as we wheel and choose to focus on the fluids we leak and the leaves we crush. In a sense, what I’m proposing here is a long-term recycling plan.