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If gasoline were $5.00 dollars a gallon and your car was getting 50 miles to the gallon, you would be spending no more for gas than if your car was getting 20 miles per gallon and gas was $2.00 a gallon and you would probably call that "the good old days".
Well, gas is only in the mid 3 dollar range and the country is in a panic over the situation. Congress wants to rescind the Federal Gas Tax, and the president wants to bribe everyone with a hundred dollar check.
The 5 dollars 50 miles per gallon scenario is superior to the 2 dollars 20 miles per gallon scenario because it slows down the consumption of gasoline by a whopping 250 percent!
While Mr. Bush recently said "Americans are addicted to oil", I think George Bush really meant that American business and politicians are addicted to oil profits.
Unfortunately, nobody let Detroit in on the plan to raise oil prices and they are barely surviving.
It would be interesting to revisit the 80's and 90's and see who was to blame for lagging behind Toyota and Honda when it comes to fuel efficiency.
I would say the fuel inefficiency problem was probably caused by several factions reacting to and not trusting each other's motives, Labor unions, Wall Street share holders and politicians receiving hefty political contributions from the auto industry probably all played an equal part in the dangerously imminent obsolence of the United States Car Manufacturing Industry.
Until the key players that caused the downfall of the United States Car Manufacturing Industry from the past 25 years are identified and tried for economic treason against their own country, future businesses in this country will pull the same stunt, putting their own selfish profit movtives ahead of the future stability of the United States of America.
Capitalism may be about profit, but when that profit actually endangers the future of a nation, in my opinion is grounds for a trial based on the charge of treason.
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I agree that we need to find a new source of energy.That's a given.I also agree that the problem with capitalism is that it's all about profit only and no thought is given about what the ramifications of how decisions made one day will effect the long term.
Yet here we are.Americans love their cars,their freedom to hop in and go wherever they want in comfort.Is this so bad?Is the man who wants an SUV for the comfort and safety of his family to blame?
I see it as shortsightedness on the part of the oil monopolies.They don't care and why should they?They're making money either way.New fuel alternatives mean spending dollars for R&D and nobody wants to make radical changes on their lifestyles when they have made personal sacrifices so they could have a little safety and luxury.
Perhaps if there were more positive incentives besides the Al Gore rhetoric of "Americans must cool down their love affair with the automobile" for people to drive more economic cars,more people would forgo the gas guzzling SUV's or spend extra on a car that burns an alternative fuel supply.
Always remember the populace at large are followers.If SUV's are the rage,they will be bought,gas will be consumed.If change is to happen it must come from the top down and leaders need to lead by example.
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Americans love to save money. Their love affair with gas guzzling cars is because gas is cheap. As gas prices rise their love affair with wasteful overconsumption will wane as well.
I hate gas at 5 dollars a gallon because my older cars no longer get thed 33 miles per gallon and 35 miles per gallon that they used to get, but if it helps drives down the cost of new, fuel efficient cars as more and more of these cars are produced, then it's a good thing.
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We'll see.I know I would be major league pissed if I had just bought a Hummer and gas prices suddenly went up drastically.
As it is now,I drive an SUV,not because I have to live in luxury,it's a professional necessity.I hate having to pass on higher prices to clients.
