SUV Owners of America Statement in Response to Earth Liberation Front's (ELF) Torching of SUVs, Dealership in Southern California

Statement Attributable to Jason Vines, SUVOA President

WASHINGTON, Aug. 22 -- The Earth Liberation Front (ELF), a militant environmental group, destroyed several SUVs and a California car dealership with an early morning arson fire. This attack adds to the growing list of eco-terrorist acts and harassment committed against SUVs and their owners.

All told, the vandalism will not make any company think twice about producing more SUVs and other light trucks, nor will it shake the tremendous consumer confidence in the vehicles. Instead, the blaze destroyed the property of a small business owner, and put the lives of innocent civil servants in harm's way.

This assault is precisely the reason SUVOA is demanding other anti-SUV extremists to cease and desist their activities. With their misguided efforts and often times fact-challenged statements, people like Arianna Huffington of the Detroit Project, Rev. Jim Ball of the Evangelical Environmental Network and Robert Kennedy Jr., of the Natural Resources Defense Council, are doing nothing more than encouraging the dangerous and criminal antics of out-of- control zealots, like the Earth Liberation Front. While we believe these groups do not condone such activity, those who have generated the greatest amount of media coverage are creating an atmosphere where it is open season on SUV owners and their vehicles. It must stop.

SUVOA was formed to give voice to the 24 million SUV owners whose rights are being trampled by special interest and activist groups, as well as to provide consumers with practical information about their SUVs. Founded in 1999, the group actively defends the rights of SUV owners and rebuts false charges regarding the safety and environmental record of SUVs. For more information, visit www.suvoa.com .