About Those Gas-Guzzlers
I just read in Road & Travel magazine that the average American still prefers driving SUVs, Vans, Trucks and Luxury Sedans with relatively strong engine performance to smaller, more fuel-efficient cars.
OK, I admit I am one of them.
I feel safer driving a four-wheel-drive vehicle in the winter. I enjoy having a truck around to cart cumbersome, heavy loads. And when I am on a long road trip, I would rather drive a Camry than an Echo. Why is this? Do we think that driving gas-guzzling, pollution-spewing automobiles will not affect existence as we know it in our life time? Do we believe that peak oil is a myth and that driving an automobile has no connection to the war in the Middle East? Are we so selfish we don’t care that the status quo will affect future generations?
I don’t know about you, but I don’t believe we need to give up size, comfort and performance in our automobiles. I truly believe that with American ingenuity we can create an alternatively-powered automobile that is affordable.
There are a number of different options out there: hybrid vehicles, Gasohol, bio-diesel, fuel cells, and electric. Now is the time to fully explore the pros and cons of each emerging alternative transportation technology and support the one you believe makes the most sense for you and for our future.
We also need to put the fear of re-election into our government officials’ hearts and heads. We need to subsidize research so there can be some drastic changes to how our automobiles are propelled down the road.
My favorite alternative vehicle is the electric car. Wouldn’t it be beautiful if all the automobiles had zero emissions and were powered by water (hydroelectric), the wind (windmills), and the sun (solar energy)? Am I a crazy dreamer or could this become our new reality?
In 2006 there was an interesting documentary film playing in select cities called Who Killed the Electric Car? It examines a theory that Big Oil and the U.S. government colluded to undermine electric car technology taking off in the 1990s. Whatever the reason they have failed to excel and double in sales numbers, with all the technological advances and $5-per-gallon gas looming in our not-so-distant future, electric cars merit a very deep and committed market push.
There are a surprising number of small independent automakers out there creating electric cars in all sizes, shapes, comfort levels, engine performance and price ranges, including: Feels Good Cars Inc., Meyers Motors, Phoenix Motorcars, Wrightspeed Inc., Venturi, e-ride, B.I.G. Man, AC Propulsion, Commuter Cars, Tiger Truck, to name a few. You could purchase a Xebra Zap! For only $12,500. Or you could go for the Beauty Queen of them all; the Tesla Roadster which sell for over $100,000 each. This vehicle is powered by an innovative lithium-ion battery that will hopefully offer some insights to the major automakers.