Okey doke.
I've tried to stay off this thread because I knew I wouldn't be able to stay on topic. But we've had a little drift, and everybody is being very pleasant and seems to be compassionate and reasonable. So first off
good job, guys. Next, please bear with me as I put on my preaching hat and climb up onto this apple crate.
Originally posted by Kirk:
The US has such cheap gas that most people don't find it a hardship to have a gas-guzzling vehicle.
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Gas in the US is only cheap *at the pump* What you don't see is what we're paying for that gas in the form of Federal taxes. The actual price of our gasoline is far higher than it appears at the pump - and even those who don't use any gasoline are still paying for it. Subsidizing the gas, if you will. But your point is still valid that if it is seemingly cheap to fill up a huge tank, then there isn't much incentive to purchase a more efficient form of transportation. Unfortunately, this is the common view and is somewhat short-sighted.
Originally posted by dilettante:
Other people are in a better position to decide what they "need" than I am. It's a free country..
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">I'm ALL for choice. The bad news is that MY choice of vehicle, of clean air and of energy independence is quickly being removed from my grasp. The freedom of others to choose to drive 10 or 15mpg vehicles is destroying many of the freedoms that I wish to realize for myself, my family and the world. I would like to choose NOT to have to defend foreign oil rights with military action. I would like to be able to drive a production EV.
Damn... did I mention that I was gonna get all preachy? Hope so...
Originally posted by PlayboyJoeShmoe:
If they get hybrid technology to do what I need...Like uh, where would you put some batteries in this thing???
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Those were valid concerns a few years ago. But not today. The vehicle you need could have been made years ago if the ZEV mandate had teeth back when it was introduced (1998 - and now pushed back for the THIRD time to 2005). Today's hybrids consume no more passenger or cargo volume than a trunk-mounted CD-changer. I'm serious - because the gas engine is smaller, the fuel tank can be smaller as well to make room for the batteries. The side-by-side ICE and electric motor take up the same space as the original large ICE. And really, on a large truck, you'd have to sacrifice NO space. You just hang the batteries under or inside the frame. My Rav4EV loses NO interior space as compared to the ICE version. All the batteries hang under the frame - and since there is no fuel tank, the spare sits under the rear floor instead of hanging out in the breeze off the tailgate.
OK. Back to diesel talk. Thanks for sitting through all this. And please know that I'm fully aware that there are perfectly valid reasons to own and drive large vehicles (many given in this thread). The ones I'd like to see removed from service are the status trucks that are typically single-person commuters, and nothing more. Here in the SF Bay Area we see them more often than Honda Civics. I'm glad the drivers have the choice to drive these things - but I sure wish it weren't at the expense of MY choices. Alternative fuel technology just might create a happy compromise eventually.
