Wednesday, March 03, 2004
One can only hope
This article asks whether smaller cars are the next big thing in the American automobile market. Unfortunately, the article thinks it's unlikely given the installed base of HUGE cars.
That's unfortunate. Perhaps I've just grown accustomed to Europe's smaller cars, but it seems that cars have grown even larger since I left 4 1/2 years ago. I can see why the average American would be reluctant to get a smaller car. You don't want to find yourself inside the functional equivalent of a balled-up wad of tin foil after a collision with an extenda-suburban.
I remember hearing talk of the need to reduce our dependence on foreign oil after September 11th. I also watched as Congress inexplicably voted down McCain's gasoline tax increase (which would have done LOTS to reduce our usage of oil, which is the real problem), and Bush inexplicably pushed for more drilling in Alaska (which wouldn't have any effect for 20 years, and then would manage a 1-3% increase in our total supply of oil).
I don't think America is really serious about reducing its dependence on oil. Most places in America have horrible mass transit, so people NEED cars. I tried using Dallas' new train line between Dallas and Fort Worth. If you were going to Dallas or Fort Worth, great. The station was near the center of town (at least in Dallas, though a bit less so in Fort Worth), but all stations between the two points were in the middle of nowhere. They had large parking lots near the stations because people had to DRIVE to them, largely defeating the purpose of having any kind of mass transit system.
Drunk driving is considered more an issue in America, and from my experience, it is. Though Americans are certainly prone to binge drinking (which I think is a function of our high drinking age, as it turns alcohol into forbidden fruit THROUGHOUT college), Europeans are as likely to want to drive drunk as Americans. The difference, of course, is that America has very little in the way of mass transit in MOST cities. Granted, some have a decent system, like Chicago or New York, but most don't. This means people have to drive home after hitting the bars, unless they want to pay a $40 taxi fare. Some might argue that that's the price you pay if you go out drinking in bars, but why are we putting moral penalty points on drinking?
But I've gotten off topic. If we truly want to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, we need to use LESS of it. To make us use less of it, we need to have smaller, more gas-economic cars and more mass transit. The only way to do that is to make the price of gasoline more expensie.
I'm not suggesting we slam the price of gasoline to European levels overnight. That would destabilize the economy. Rather, gradually raise the price of gasoline over the course of 10 or 15 years. That would inspire people to migrate to smaller cars over those years, and make mass transit more economical in American cities.
Of course, I might as well ask Americans to learn to juggle flaming torches and take up tapdancing. The fact of the matter is, if ANY politician suggests we raise the price of gasoline, all of America starts to scream in unison like those creatures from the 70s version of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers."
Perhaps its our independence streak. To be honest, it is FUN to have a car all to yourself. I miss being able to hop in the car and go someplace (haven't had my own car in 4 years). We wouldn't necessarily have to give that up, though. All I'm saying is, smaller cars and more mass transit.
This article asks whether smaller cars are the next big thing in the American automobile market. Unfortunately, the article thinks it's unlikely given the installed base of HUGE cars.
That's unfortunate. Perhaps I've just grown accustomed to Europe's smaller cars, but it seems that cars have grown even larger since I left 4 1/2 years ago. I can see why the average American would be reluctant to get a smaller car. You don't want to find yourself inside the functional equivalent of a balled-up wad of tin foil after a collision with an extenda-suburban.
I remember hearing talk of the need to reduce our dependence on foreign oil after September 11th. I also watched as Congress inexplicably voted down McCain's gasoline tax increase (which would have done LOTS to reduce our usage of oil, which is the real problem), and Bush inexplicably pushed for more drilling in Alaska (which wouldn't have any effect for 20 years, and then would manage a 1-3% increase in our total supply of oil).
I don't think America is really serious about reducing its dependence on oil. Most places in America have horrible mass transit, so people NEED cars. I tried using Dallas' new train line between Dallas and Fort Worth. If you were going to Dallas or Fort Worth, great. The station was near the center of town (at least in Dallas, though a bit less so in Fort Worth), but all stations between the two points were in the middle of nowhere. They had large parking lots near the stations because people had to DRIVE to them, largely defeating the purpose of having any kind of mass transit system.
Drunk driving is considered more an issue in America, and from my experience, it is. Though Americans are certainly prone to binge drinking (which I think is a function of our high drinking age, as it turns alcohol into forbidden fruit THROUGHOUT college), Europeans are as likely to want to drive drunk as Americans. The difference, of course, is that America has very little in the way of mass transit in MOST cities. Granted, some have a decent system, like Chicago or New York, but most don't. This means people have to drive home after hitting the bars, unless they want to pay a $40 taxi fare. Some might argue that that's the price you pay if you go out drinking in bars, but why are we putting moral penalty points on drinking?
But I've gotten off topic. If we truly want to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, we need to use LESS of it. To make us use less of it, we need to have smaller, more gas-economic cars and more mass transit. The only way to do that is to make the price of gasoline more expensie.
I'm not suggesting we slam the price of gasoline to European levels overnight. That would destabilize the economy. Rather, gradually raise the price of gasoline over the course of 10 or 15 years. That would inspire people to migrate to smaller cars over those years, and make mass transit more economical in American cities.
Of course, I might as well ask Americans to learn to juggle flaming torches and take up tapdancing. The fact of the matter is, if ANY politician suggests we raise the price of gasoline, all of America starts to scream in unison like those creatures from the 70s version of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers."
Perhaps its our independence streak. To be honest, it is FUN to have a car all to yourself. I miss being able to hop in the car and go someplace (haven't had my own car in 4 years). We wouldn't necessarily have to give that up, though. All I'm saying is, smaller cars and more mass transit.
