OK, I'm glad we got hosed at the pump
Long before I ever heard about personal computers, I was a huge fan of automobile design. When I was a kid, my room was jammed with miniature model cars I spent hours assembling, painting, and proudly putting on display.
So it was that my first real car was a second-hand Pontiac that could roar from 0 to 60 in no time flat. It got a whopping 7 miles to the gallon, but since gasoline cost around 75 cents a gallon (as my addled memory recalls), I hit the road as much as possible.
(Credit:
CNET News)
But as they say, that was then and this is now.
When I lived in New York City, I had little use for a car. (There's this thing back east called "mass transportation.") All that changed after moving to California, land of wide open highways and a train system worthy of your garden variety Third World basket case.) Over the years I had tracked the change in design trends and knew that SUVs and big muscle trucks were the rage. It wasn't until I began driving around every day in my Honda Civic that it hit home. Good green zealot that I was, I made a point of scowling at other drivers whenever a gas guzzler pulled up next to me. Needless to say, over the last decade, I've done a lot of scowling.
So let me confess that yes, I was quite pleased to see the price of oil shoot through the roof. In fact, I was even ecstatic to read reports of pain at the pump. The hell with my fellow citizen. The more expensive it cost to fill up, the happier I was. If wussy appeals to our common fellowship failed to do the trick, maybe, just maybe, a poke in their pocketbooks would convince the SUV crowd to mend its ways.
Of course, I was blaming the wrong party. People drive what car makers serve up. If the U.S. was turning into Hummer Nation, it was because of benighted technology design decisions made by clueless auto execs. They had gorged on fat margins from the manufacture of big vehicles at the expense of doing the environmentally right thing.
No more.
Earlier this summer, General Motors reversed its years-old dependence on trucks and big vehicles, committing to build an electric car in 2010. (Click here for an interview CNET News did with Wagoner about car technology and fuel efficiency.)
Unfortunately for GM and the rest of the Big Three, the chickens have come home to roost. GM and Ford continue to bleed big losses and there's concern the U.S. auto industry may not survive without federal intervention. Chrysler's not doing much better, looking for a buyer after talks with GM ended.
In the meantime, though, you have to wonder what they're smoking in Detroit. Take Ford, which introduced a 3-ton, 16-miles-per-gallon pickup called the F-150. Wasn't it less than a month ago that the Big Three had convinced Congress to agree to extend cheap loans--ostensibly to help them retrofit their plants to enable the production of more fuel-efficient vehicles?
Sigh.
And don't get carried away by the recent swoon in crude oil. Yes, prices have dropped from around $140 a barrel to the $60 level. However, that's more due to the (increasingly global) recession than to any structural changes. What's more, this is an impermanent state of affairs, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency warning that prices could hit $200 a barrel by 2030.
Maybe the Obama administration will conclude that it is in the national interest to bail out the nation's automakers. I'd hate to see one more American lose their job. But before sending another dime, let's at least agree that making more gasoline-swilling mega-vehicles will return Detroit to the brink.
Charles Cooper has covered technology and business for more than 25 years. Before joining CNET News, he worked at the Associated Press, Computer & Software News, Computer Shopper, PC Week, and ZDNet. E-mail Charlie. 
More R&D into the things that MATTER, like building useful tools that cost society LESS. First giant company that gets that and jumps in with both feet will be the winner!
I guess people feel there's now hope in dealing with the climate and peak oil.
Although I disagree with you on one point, car companies can't sell an SUV if nobody wants to buy it. It takes two to tango. Car companies didn't invest in efficient and green tech, and the public just wanted big cars and didn't want to think about the serious problems we have.
Second of all people shouldn't be having families larger than that anyway, don't forget there is an overpopulation problem.
Responsibility, people. I mean come on. There is no reas
How utterly stupid.
In a free market country, personal choice is left to the individual. You want it, you pay for it. I got no problem with that. Necessity is the mother of invention. When we run out of cheap gas, we'll get something better.
And for the record: three kids & a Mazda minivan.
Note, there is not enough resources on the planet for everyone to live with dignity, or even to live comfortably as people in the west do. If we want to solve poverty and poorness, we need fewer people, every where.
Personal choice is a good thing and is the foundation of democracy, to enable everyone in the world to have the benefit of it, we need a greater sense of responsibility and fewer people.
Nice attempt at spinning the fact that SUV's are gas guzzling pigs.
Yes, Obama will make the grass green and the birds sing.
It's saddd.
I wonder how long it'll take people like her to realize that Obama's only a man.
Come on now, did you really think there was a shortage of dumb people? Trust me, there's enough to go around on both sides and they do. Picking out one dumb person to make the whole group look bad, now that's just your average Fox news tactic and it isn't like we don't see what you're trying to do.
Come on now, did you really think there was a shortage of dumb people? Trust me, there's enough to go around on both sides and they do. Picking out one dumb person to make the whole group look bad, now that's just your average Fox news tactic and it isn't like we don't see what you're trying to do."
Don't bother being objective...
You know, I didn't really vote or pay any attention this time around ...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amazing. You haven't been paying attention and your right (RESPONSIBILITY!) to vote is unimportant to you (otherwise you would have voted!), but you expect others to listen to your brainless drivel? Go play outside, the grownups are talking here.
It's not my responsibility to vote. It's my right to vote and like all my rights it is also my right to not vote. I can choose to exercise them or not. Also, just because I don't support one candidate doesn't mean I automatically have to give my vote to the other guy that I dislike just as much. I can vote for A, I can vote for B, or I can keep my vote and take support away from all the candidates and I should have the right to do that. You may not like it, but I don't give a crap.
This mantra that you have a responsibility to vote is just propaganda to get out the vote for both sides that you've obviously fallen for because you believe everything you see on TV. It's not actually true you know. I realize a non-vote is just as much of a vote, but it's a different vote and it's the one I made this time around.
A vote of 0-0 is a much different vote than 1-0 or 0-1. Just because I don't support A doesn't mean I have to give B that extra vote they need to cross over the 50% mark or some other threshold. If you don't understand the math behind all that then I feel sorry for you. If neither side has earned my vote then I won't give my vote. They didn't earn it. If you have two employees that don't work for you the proper thing to do is to fire both of them. It isn't to fire one and give the other one a raise just because you hate that employee less.
When someone does something to earn it they will get it. If you can't understand that then obviously you need to grow up. You go ahead and superficially vote for the lesser evil all you want. At least I know your vote doesn't really mean anything to you. You'll just throw it away on someone you hate just because you like the other guy less. Not me though. My vote means something to me and you have to earn it no matter what side you are on. Just because the other guy didn't earn it doesn't mean you get mine for free or by default. But yes, the get out the vote propaganda they have sold you does sound good doesn't it? I just didn't fall for it because I know that I have a right to not vote and it does make a difference if people exercise that right.
Now, off to play outside. It sounds like fun and you bore me now anyway.
We get 16-18 MPG in this yehicle. Our other choice in vehicle would be a full size van. My brother and sister both drive these, and our Yukon XL gets far better mileage than they do!
Now that we're back down to our small family of 6, we can take the extra back seat out and not have to pull a trailer if we are going on a trip!
We also live in the country so we don't do much city driving. We looked at the Yukon Hybrid, but unless you are driving a lot in the city, the MPG won't ever make up for the cost difference in going for the Hybrid.
I must say I am so SICK of people bashing SUVs! I agree we have to get away from oil dependency and find a better fuel, but until then, drive the vehicle that fits your life!
if you do indeed agree we should get away from oil dependancy then shut it
anyone who already has 4 kids then goes out gets 3 foster kids and 3 large dogs and feels the need to constantly drive around with every last one of them in the car is retarded anyway if you ask me
anyone who already has 4 kids then goes out gets 3 foster kids and 3 large dogs and feels the need to constantly drive around with every last one of them in the car is retarded anyway if you ask me"
I approve this statement.
anyone who already has 4 kids then goes out gets 3 foster kids and 3 large dogs and feels the need to constantly drive around with every last one of them in the car is retarded anyway if you ask me
------------------------------------------------------------------
It's amazing how many people posting here think they somehow have a right to dictate how others live their lives. It becomes funny when such people call others retarded and yet can't seem to figure out capitalization or use punctuation. It's OK, we'll wait for you to look those big words up in the dictionary.
If somebody wants to spend their money on gasoline (or iTunes songs, or PS/3 games, or an subprime adjustable rate mortgage), so be it. It is their choice. It is a free country. Or at least it used to be.
If we can bail out irresponsible, greedy people who used a subprime, interest-only, adjustable-rate, 100% down mortgage so they could get into a house which cost 50% more than they can afford, we should also bail out the poor saps taken advantage of by predatory car loans stuck in an SUV they cannot afford to put gas in.
If somebody wants to spend their money on gasoline (or iTunes songs, or PS/3 games, or an subprime adjustable rate mortgage), so be it. It is their choice. It is a free country. Or at least it used to be.
If we can bail out irresponsible, greedy people who used a subprime, interest-only, adjustable-rate, 100% down mortgage so they could get into a house which cost 50% more than they can afford, we should also bail out the poor saps taken advantage of by predatory car loans stuck in an SUV they cannot afford to put gas in."
The psych ward says you need to be back before 8PM for meds and snack time.
But, these increasingly aggressive and self-righteous attitudes have worn down my patience.
I am a single person, so no family to haul around and yet I drive an Acura MDX.
Why you may ask, because it makes better economic and environmental sense than driving a small car AND a truck. There is barely a weekend that I don't have a trailer behind the car to haul supplies or equipment for the farm I live on or how much equipment I fill my car with for the Sound and Lighting Production company I co-own.
I did my research and ended up with a vehicle that gets mid 20's on the highway and was ULEV before most people had even heard of the certification. The car has been with me for over 7 years and almost 130K miles with no mechanical issues.
So, next time before you jump to judge, stop and realize that what works for you may not work for the guy next to you and just because I don't drive a glorified golf cart doesn't mean I don't care about my impact on the planet.
Think about it for a moment, the public got RAPED by greedy oil executives who have been retiring with multi-billion dollar severance packages and he's happy about it.
I'm glad the repukes got thrown out of government and we can now start rebuilding and trying to put some sanity back into this nation of ours.
This price guarantee would enable companies to invest in bio-diesel, tar sands, shale, drilling or whatever technology with only the risk of getting their technology to work cost effectively. I doubt that any politicians have the backbone to do this.
I mean, I've got a lot of hate and anger inside me.
--------------------------------------------------------------
I guess so. Sucks to be you then. Why do you think I or anyone else should care what mental problems you have?
I need the Wrangler because of what I do: I enjoy the outdoors, and it gets me to trailheads for hiking and backpacking to wilderness places where I practice photography. The Unlimited has enough room for my gear for an extended trip--sometimes as long as three-four weeks. And, I've been know to take the Wrangler out on the rocks for a little play--but only where permitted (Moab, UT; Disney, OK, etc).
I guess at the end of the day I agree that any soccer moms/mall crawlers out there who own a Wrangler (or Hummer or whatever) would be better suited to buy something else. Station wagons and vans would work. Yeah, any guy wouldn't be caught dead driving either one, but that's a perception thing. And, if your real life is so boring that all you do is drive the kids to soccer games and crawl the malls, you probably aren't going to change anyone's perception about you just because you buy a Wrangler that's unsuited for the task. --mark d.
That would require empathy and understanding though...
Cheap gas, and the world lives with gas guzzlers and pollution. Attempts to force automakers to produce eco friendly products only irks conservatives - and auto makers spend more time finding work arounds. The fault is that the corrective action is aimed at the middle man -- the automaker. That is telling the automaker, "hey, forget about what the market is telling you. " which is antithetical to good capitalism.
Expensive gas changes demand. Now politics is out of the equation. Automakers are now free to do what is in their best interests, which in this case, is to product efficient, and likely cleaner, products.
But the real problem, is with climate change, the damage to the environment is not accounted for in the free market. This is why we need either a cap and trading system or a carbon tax.
What the market is telling the automakers, can also be the wrong thing, if the consumers are short sited and irresponsible.
- by nicholdraper November 8, 2008 7:17 AM PST
- The real problem is our government. I have vehicles that range from a scooter that gets 77 mpg to an Expedition that gets 8 to 12 when pulling my trailer. For those who think we have an over population problem, start reading modern reports. Sure in the 1970's population was growing, but in all industrialized countries, population is shrinking. It would be shrinking in the US if not for the Hispanic population. Claiming that people have no reason for a big vehicle is stupid. Even single guys have friends and like to go hunting, fishing and boating together. Try pulling a boat with a scooter, it can't be done safely. We need to stop the name calling and make laws that make sense. Charge taxes and insurance on the first vehicle. Allow people to buy second and third vehicles tax free and require the insurance companies to cover them. Then the people would be able to keep the boat hauler in the driveway while taking a sensible car, or motorcycle to work. I have to pay an extra $200 a year for a scooter even though I cannot drive it at the same time I drive my Expedition. Our gas tax should go up a little as well, peg it to inflation, rather than a flat 40 cents. If I'm driving my Expedition with eight people in it, I get better MPG per person than the author in his Honda.
- Like this Reply to this comment
-
Showing 1 of 2 pages (59 Comments)