Concerning increased deaths from smaller cars, here is a recent study below showing the correclation between higher CAFE standards and highway fatalities. (Many of you green types will have wished you were in a larger car as traffic suddently stops before you on the freeway and you’ve got no place to go.)
SUVs are not safer than regular cars, heavier cars are not safer than lighter cars in general. They are harder to steer in an emergency, they don’t handle as well, and they don’t stop as fast. It’s simple physics. They do however transmit a lot more energy to their target in an accident. So if you just want to protect your family but you don’t give a shit about anyone else (like 99% of Americans), drive a big old Excursion. That way when you run into a Prius after losing control at 80mph on I5 you’ll kill the hippie family driving it but you might make it out allright. It’s the American way.