#31
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"N8N" wrote in message
... seriously. some people just don't look at the big picture. I don't know how many times I've heard "I bought a new car and I really like that it's environmentally friendly." I used to try to explain that the most environmentally friendly car was one that was already built; now I just smile and nod because usually they just wouldn't get it and thought I was a nutcase. Nate, you have a good grasp of the situation. We are hearing "Global Warming" and politicians crying that if we're willing to turn all of our income over to them and drop our standard of living down to what's in the 3rd world that we'll be TRYING to do something about it. Of course the fact is that there might not even be any global warming per se' and what we're seeing is the perfectly natural conditions near the end of the intermediate periods between ice ages. The fact is that it is so long between ice ages that there can easily be "averaging" of the geological remains that they use for assuming temperature profiles. While we certainly could improve our use of energy and abuse of the environment, man adds essentially nothing to global warming and as we see with the "USE GRAIN GENERATED ALCOHOL FOR TRANSPORTATION" the are completely ignorant of the effects of their stupid policies and while third world people are now starving in greater numbers we see some "environmentalists" saying this is a good thing because there are too many people in the world. Never occurs to them that starvation leads to war. |
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#32
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Tom Kunich wrote:
Chalo wrote: I believe that both car manufacturers and car buyers will persist in their folly until there is no way to continue, and they will do so with the blessings of the government. You don't understand the free trade system? IF people want large cars the builders should build them. The government should stay entirely out of this. Fat SUVs are not about what the people want; they are about what the automakers wanted. They cost less to make, but they sell for more-- all by circumventing the safety and efficiency standards that had been set for cars. (And by marketing to people's baser motivations.) Make no mistake, if federal and state laws and fees were favorable to people driving 10-wheel truck cabs instead of cars, a lot of people would drive them. But that wouldn't make it OK nor would it be a genuine expression of what people want. In Colombia, four-wheel-drive vehicles have traditionally been subject to lower tariffs than passenger cars because they fall under the category of agricultural equipment. So for middle-class Colombians who can afford a family car, it's very likely to be a jeep of some kind. If the tariffs were the same for jeeps and regular cars, most of the folks who now drive jeeps would drive cars instead. That's pretty much the same kind of phenomenon that gave us Yankee housewives and office workers driving Tahoes instead of Tauruses-- except that most SUVs were specifically created to exploit a loophole, and then relentlessly marketed by appealing to people's fear and aggression. Before the manufacturers' contrived SUV phenomenon, such vehicles were available. The AMC Wagoneer, International Travelall, Chevy Suburban, etc., were all on the market for decades, but most folks didn't want them. Even Americans don't just naturally want those things. By the time 6000-pound cars can't be run because fuel is too scarce and expensive, 1500-pound petroleum-fueled cars probably won't work either-- their economically useful lifespan won't be worth the cost to develop and distribute them. I can't help what you believe will happen in the future especially when it portrays absolutely no likelihood. We will see towns and cities compressing and public transport becoming more popular just as it was pre-1930's. Yes, we will see those things. And most of us here will live to see the end of the car as we understand it. When petroleum isn't cheap anymore (and this is just the beginning of the price increases in store), gas cars will begin to go away. But many attributes of the cars we know are simply corollary to gasoline power. It's why there's been no satisfactory electric substitute for gas cars. Gasoline allowed us to be energy spendthifts at minimal cost. Even if cars switch over to burning corn ethanol or food oil or Congolese orphans or something, energy efficiency will be a higher priority relative to the cars we tolerate now. By the time circumstances demand a switch from SUVs to something like today's economy cars, that alone won't do enough to reduce consumption to an economically viable level. Small cars will be only a brief stop on the way to modes of transportation that we don't now think of as cars (think golf carts on down in size and performance). It's just inevitable unless someone figures out how to prevent Chinese and Indian folks from buying their own cars as soon as they can afford them. Or unless someone finds a whole lot more oil that's cheap to get at. The difference this time is that unlike earlier oil crises, petroleum isn't going back to categorically lower prices from here. They'll continue ratcheting upwards as a continually diminishing supply meets an increasing demand. Raping ANWR all you want won't change that. It isn't just cars that will be passing into history. Before long, the price of air travel is going to catch up with oil prices. The airlines are now buying time with a combination of petroleum futures contracts and net losses. Jetting around won't be the stuff of middle- class family vacations for much longer. But relying on American-style right-wing politics and big business to get us out of this predicament means there will probably be a lot fewer middle-class folks in a position to regret that fact. Chalo |
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Chalo wrote:
Even if cars switch over to burning corn ethanol or food oil or Congolese orphans I'd like to see the conversion kit for my 4-carb setup. -- Andrew Muzi www.yellowjersey.org/ Open every day since 1 April, 1971 ** Posted from http://www.teranews.com ** |
#34
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"Chalo" wrote in message
... Tom Kunich wrote: Chalo wrote: I believe that both car manufacturers and car buyers will persist in their folly until there is no way to continue, and they will do so with the blessings of the government. You don't understand the free trade system? IF people want large cars the builders should build them. The government should stay entirely out of this. Fat SUVs are not about what the people want; they are about what the automakers wanted. I suppose that they became the largest selling vehicles because people are way too stupid to know what they want. They cost less to make, but they sell for more-- all by circumventing the safety and efficiency standards that had been set for cars. (And by marketing to people's baser motivations.) Fancy that - the vehicle in which deaths and serious injuries are the lowest per vehicle are more dangeros according to you. I don't like SUV's - I drive a compact. But those who want them should buy them. The auto makers are paying a substantial portion of the labor market and interference in that will have extreme and grave effects on the economy. It isn't just cars that will be passing into history. Before long, the price of air travel is going to catch up with oil prices. The airlines are now buying time with a combination of petroleum futures contracts and net losses. Jetting around won't be the stuff of middle- class family vacations for much longer. But relying on American-style right-wing politics and big business to get us out of this predicament means there will probably be a lot fewer middle-class folks in a position to regret that fact. Chalo, your opinions are interesting. But in my opinion they are inaccurate. Let's wait and see who is correct. |
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On May 19, 6:46*pm, N8N wrote:
On May 19, 1:20*pm, Ryan Cousineau wrote: In article , *Chalo wrote: A Muzi wrote: Chalo wrote: The American lifestyle used to be based on horses. *When driving cars no longer makes sense, then we will learn another way of life. *I believe the inflection point has already arrived, and the time it takes to switch to another predominant mode of transportation will be a function of the amount of government corruption multiplied by the amount to which corporate business clings to the status quo. By corrupt, do you refer to the aggregate regulations which have doubled vehicle weight, halved mpg and effectively banned from the public roads any practical new 1200~1600lb passenger motor vehicle? I see more of those huge living-room-sized monstrosities now (yecch). Yep, that's a fine example. I believe that both car manufacturers and car buyers will persist in their folly until there is no way to continue, and they will do so with the blessings of the government. *By the time 6000-pound cars can't be run because fuel is too scarce and expensive, 1500-pound petroleum-fueled cars probably won't work either-- their economically useful lifespan won't be worth the cost to develop and distribute them. *I think we'll see people try them, and relatively high- performance battery-electric vehicles, before resigning themselves to something less convenient but also less expensive. *I don't know what exactly that will be, but I expect a mix of low-speed microcars, scooters, bikes (both the regular kind and power-assisted), electric transit, electric taxis, and a whole lot more walking than most of us are accustomed to. Chalo Well, 1500 pound cars exist all over the world right now, and many are being developed even as we speak (Volkswagen Up!, Tata Nano, many kei-class cars). I think the Smart Fortwo is the only 1600-pound car that anyone is even trying to sell in America. Even a Lotus Elise weighs more. That said, you won't even really find kei cars in Europe, though they generally tend to have a lot more of the small cars and a few sub-compact sizes that basically don't exist in North America (small cars with 1-litre engines like the Hyundai Atos). But it's very hard to build a car that small and still meet most of the US safety regulations. The Smart succeeds, but it is more of a comical parody of a practical car than anything else. If by "succeeds" you mean "is smaller than but not more economical than existing more conventional vehicles" then yes, it does. *If you're going to have so little luggage space, why not just ride a motorcycle? Indeed. *Unfortunately I think that at least in this area people are too afraid to ride motorcycles because motorists just don't pay attention. *Likewise with cycling on public roads. *Plus, you need an extra endorsement on your license to legally ride a motorcycle, which is a PITA if you didn't get it when you first got your license (if you had parents like mine, you didn't. *I've been meaning to rectify that but just haven't gotten around to it.) nate You know when American parents have the respect, or at least the obedience, of their children. The children wait until they're adults to ride motorbikes. -- AJ |
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Andre Jute wrote:
You know when American parents have the respect, or at least the obedience, of their children. The children wait until they're adults to ride motorbikes. My mama told me that I had to wait until she died to get a motorcycle. I didn't wait that long. Chalo |
#37
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On May 19, 3:31*pm, "Tom Kunich" cyclintom@yahoo. com wrote:
"N8N" wrote in message ... seriously. *some people just don't look at the big picture. *I don't know how many times I've heard "I bought a new car and I really like that it's environmentally friendly." *I used to try to explain that the most environmentally friendly car was one that was already built; now I just smile and nod because usually they just wouldn't get it and thought I was a nutcase. Nate, you have a good grasp of the situation. We are hearing "Global Warming" and politicians crying that if we're willing to turn all of our income over to them and drop our standard of living down to what's in the 3rd world that we'll be TRYING to do something about it. Of course the fact is that there might not even be any global warming per se' and what we're seeing is the perfectly natural conditions near the end of the intermediate periods between ice ages. The fact is that it is so long between ice ages that there can easily be "averaging" of the geological remains that they use for assuming temperature profiles. While we certainly could improve our use of energy and abuse of the environment, man adds essentially nothing to global warming and as we see with the "USE GRAIN GENERATED ALCOHOL FOR TRANSPORTATION" the *are completely ignorant of the effects of their stupid policies and while third world people are now starving in greater numbers we see some "environmentalists" saying this is a good thing because there are too many people in the world. Never occurs to them that starvation leads to war. I think a large part of my worldview just comes from being born into a Pennsylvania family of mostly German descent - we just as a matter of course use stuff until it's well and truly used up, and *then* consider replacing it. The fact that it's envronmentally correct to do so is merely justification for our innate tendencies nate |
#38
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In article
, Chalo wrote: Tom Kunich wrote: Chalo wrote: I believe that both car manufacturers and car buyers will persist in their folly until there is no way to continue, and they will do so with the blessings of the government. You don't understand the free trade system? IF people want large cars the builders should build them. The government should stay entirely out of this. Fat SUVs are not about what the people want; they are about what the automakers wanted. They cost less to make, but they sell for more-- all by circumventing the safety and efficiency standards that had been set for cars. (And by marketing to people's baser motivations.) Make no mistake, if federal and state laws and fees were favorable to people driving 10-wheel truck cabs instead of cars, a lot of people would drive them. But that wouldn't make it OK nor would it be a genuine expression of what people want. In Colombia, four-wheel-drive vehicles have traditionally been subject to lower tariffs than passenger cars because they fall under the category of agricultural equipment. So for middle-class Colombians who can afford a family car, it's very likely to be a jeep of some kind. If the tariffs were the same for jeeps and regular cars, most of the folks who now drive jeeps would drive cars instead. That's pretty much the same kind of phenomenon that gave us Yankee housewives and office workers driving Tahoes instead of Tauruses-- except that most SUVs were specifically created to exploit a loophole, and then relentlessly marketed by appealing to people's fear and aggression. Before the manufacturers' contrived SUV phenomenon, such vehicles were available. The AMC Wagoneer, International Travelall, Chevy Suburban, etc., were all on the market for decades, but most folks didn't want them. Even Americans don't just naturally want those things. By the time 6000-pound cars can't be run because fuel is too scarce and expensive, 1500-pound petroleum-fueled cars probably won't work either-- their economically useful lifespan won't be worth the cost to develop and distribute them. I can't help what you believe will happen in the future especially when it portrays absolutely no likelihood. We will see towns and cities compressing and public transport becoming more popular just as it was pre-1930's. Yes, we will see those things. And most of us here will live to see the end of the car as we understand it. When petroleum isn't cheap anymore (and this is just the beginning of the price increases in store), gas cars will begin to go away. But many attributes of the cars we know are simply corollary to gasoline power. It's why there's been no satisfactory electric substitute for gas cars. Gasoline allowed us to be energy spendthifts at minimal cost. Even if cars switch over to burning corn ethanol or food oil or Congolese orphans or something, energy efficiency will be a higher priority relative to the cars we tolerate now. By the time circumstances demand a switch from SUVs to something like today's economy cars, that alone won't do enough to reduce consumption to an economically viable level. Small cars will be only a brief stop on the way to modes of transportation that we don't now think of as cars (think golf carts on down in size and performance). It's just inevitable unless someone figures out how to prevent Chinese and Indian folks from buying their own cars as soon as they can afford them. Or unless someone finds a whole lot more oil that's cheap to get at. The difference this time is that unlike earlier oil crises, petroleum isn't going back to categorically lower prices from here. They'll continue ratcheting upwards as a continually diminishing supply meets an increasing demand. Raping ANWR all you want won't change that. It isn't just cars that will be passing into history. Before long, the price of air travel is going to catch up with oil prices. The airlines are now buying time with a combination of petroleum futures contracts and net losses. Jetting around won't be the stuff of middle- class family vacations for much longer. But relying on American-style right-wing politics and big business to get us out of this predicament means there will probably be a lot fewer middle-class folks in a position to regret that fact. Chalo Well put Chalo. Regarding higher efficiency automobiles as the antidote to impending the price shocks/energy crisis is to not comprehend what's ultimately in sto a lifestyle largely without the personal automobile. Such a completely logical and plausible scenario is too drastic for most to grasp leave alone prepare for. I've a colleague who thinks that once Big Oil's great booster, Dubya, is out of office petrol prices will come back down to Earth -- "just like they do every time." But this time is just not like every time before. |
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