CALIFORNIA BIKER ''STICKS IT'' TO SUV'S

For four months, it's been hunting season for a pair of mischievous middle-aged men in the Bay Area, according to a December 26, 2000, ASSOCIATED PRESS article written by Karen Gaudette.

''Their prey is the far-from elusive sport-utility vehicle,'' she writes. ''As a weapon, they use a bent toward civil disobedience and some strong glue.'' Charles Dines, a construction worker who rides a BMW motorcycle, and Robert Lind, who runs a deer-repellent business, have scampered all over the region to smooth homemade bumper stickers onto hundreds of SUVs - the vehicles they love to hate.

Dines came up with the idea after several chats with Lind about their shared scorn for SUVs. He likens it to the public pillories of old, where offenders were exposed to public shame.

Their motivation? They say they're tired of watching SUVs suck down fuel at gas stations and flood rear-view mirrors with blinding headlights at night. But mostly, the ''mad taggers'' are mad about the SUVs' impact on the environment. ''We look at the bumper sticker as a way to punish these people,'' said Lind, who drives an old BMW car. "They think their status trinket is more important than the environment we all share.''

The black-and-white stickers exclaim,

''I'm changing the environment! Ask me how!''

Naturally, the taggers' victims usually don't agree, and tagging cars with their stickers could be construed as vandalism, a misdemeanor. Lind says the facts about SUVs make the risk worth it. Drivers bought 2.8 million SUVs in the United States through November 2000, about 17 percent of all vehicles sold. Sales are up 4.6 percent from last year, according to Ward's Automotive Reports.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, average fuel economy in the SUV, van and pickup category is just over 18 mpg, compared with 23.6 mpg for cars. And some SUVs also have less stringent federal emissions standards, since they are classified as trucks. Carl Calvert, editor of the magazine TODAY'S SUV says, ''There's always a certain faction that's going to be looking at the negative attributes of SUVs.'' But he adds, ''I think you can look at any automotive vehicle and see negative aspects.''

Lind maintains that most SUVs are bought for status, not utility. ''Our goal is to attach enough social shame and ostracism to an SUV so that perhaps we'll change public opinion,'' he said.