Friday, June 17, 2005

Cleveland mechanic lusts for a clean environment

Once in a while a great article shows up. Here's one from the states about a mechanic.

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio -- Consider yourself warned: Don't take your Lincoln Navigator to the Lusty Wrench.
Oh, this two-technician garage in a suburb of Cleveland might work on your SUV, especially if you've failed the state's emissions test. But owner Sam Bell will want to know why you drive a gas-guzzling, emissions-belching SUV.
If Bell doesn't like your answer, his response will sound something like this:
"We generally don't service this type of vehicle because we feel they are environmentally irresponsible," says Bell, 55. "In fact, we'll go so far as to say they're environmentally reprehensible."
He jokes that he has had to "fire" customers who don't agree with his philosophy. Others come to his shop because of his viewpoint, including more than 20 people who drive hybrids. "Most people realize that I do this out of my real concern of the environment and the rest of the people on the road," Bell says. Data fly from Bell's mouth while he argues that SUVs are unsafe for occupants and fellow drivers. He cites high rollover rates and the damage that SUVs do when they collide with cars.
The Lusty Wrench works on only two SUVs on a regular basis. Those customers really need SUVs, Bell says. One is a salamander-chasing biologist who four-wheel-drives his way in and out of marshes. The other has a family of seven and uses the SUV to cart the entire clan.