Recent Comments:
Spy Shots: 2010 Chevy Cobalt {Autoblog}
May 8th 2008 11:13AM This needs to be offered as a hatchback to if they want to be taken seriously. There is a huge difference between a small sedan that has a 14 sq. ft. trunk vesus a hatch that has 42 sq. ft. with the seats folded down (e.g. VW Golf).
This is an important car not just b/c of gas prices but also for the fact that it could be sold globally in large numbers taking advantage of the low dollar.
Get 'em while they're not hot! Dodge Rams going for $13k below MSRP {Autoblog}
May 5th 2008 11:28PM "The price of your gas is not going to come down, it is going to go up. World demand and futher prices are going to dictate you gas prices now The USA is no longer a oil producing giant as it once was. You import much of your oil. The proper attitude would be to realize that the world demand is up and the supply is possably getting lower so we should be looking ways to reduce and conserve what is left, not by how much you can afford. I live near a refinery here in western Canada and I pay $5.63 canadian for gas that is pumped out of the ground and refined in my own back yard!!!"
To follow up on this since I am one of those people who have made decisions to reduce my dependence on fossil fuels by what I drive and where I live I will not go along with any scheme to subsidize people who have chosen the opposite. In other words I will vigorously oppose any tax or fee along the lines of the Universal Service Fund for telephones to mitigate the impact of gas prices on the heavy users. I've heard grumblings of raising the gas tax and then giving certain classes of drivers an income tax break but that is not the free market at work. The free market in that case would be those classes of drivers passing on the increased cost of gas taxes - in this case raised to shore up infrastructure (see MI bridge collapse) - to those who buy their services.
As far as "want versus need" I think it would be a great thing if all Americans instead of going to Las Vegas or Disney Land take a trip to the developing world. I guarantee you it will change your perception on what is necessary to get by and may even make you appreciate the things that you have even more.......
Mexican crude oil supplies to U.S. to be cut back by 184,000 bpd {Autoblog Green}
May 5th 2008 4:00PM This is significant but wasn't it Brazil who recently announced the biggest find in decades just recently?
Next-gen Prius coming in January with more power, efficiency {Autoblog}
May 2nd 2008 11:52PM I would prefer to drive a diesel Golf but I respect the Prius for what it is and what it accomplishes.
To those that say the Prius is a big success b/c it advertises the fact to the world that its drivers are green I have two words for you: Honda Insight.
That hybrid came out before the Prius from a reputable company and had a futuristic look to differentiate it from other fuel savers and yet it never sold in many numbers.
Why?
Because it did not offer the combination of value, economy, low emissions, utility, and ease of use that the Prius does.
And now the Prius is selling in big numbers w/o the benefit of a gov't tax credit.
CT: thank you for a common sense attitude from someone who obviously is qualified to judge the merits of the Prius versus a more traditional American vehicle..........
Tom Friedman takes on the idiocy of a gas tax holiday {Autoblog Green}
May 1st 2008 9:24AM Since the gas tax was last raised in 1993 and it is a set amount rather than a percentage the buying power has decreased due to inflation. Meanwhile the cost to build roads has increased faster than the general inflation rate. All this means less money for infrastructure, cost cutting and an increasing burden to the state to come up with their own funding mechanisms like toll roads.
The gas tax holiday is a pandering, extremely short-sighted gesture to the working class that will hurt the country's economic vitality even more. There are for example thousands of bridges that the DOTs and Feds label "Structurally Deficient" or "Functionally Obsolete" and this will only perpetuate this along with increase congestion, lost time, and more driver frustration.
The great thing about the gas tax is that it is a "pay to play" tax and hence is very fair. Whether you drive 3000 miles a year or 100,000 you pay a tax in proportion to your use, and for larger vehicles like truck damages you cause, the roads.
Let's also remember that if the average price at the pump is $3.60 and that includes the 18 cent fed gas tax that the tax represents only 5% of the total. What big difference is 5% gonna make.
If anything the gas tax should be increased to shore up our roads, increase safety, better engineering, ITS (intelligent transportation systems), and to pay for the massive increased in road cost. TxDOT estimates that the inflation rate for roadbuilding this decade has been 62%.
My proposal would be to index the gas tax to inflation so that there is a yearly increase to pay for needed maintenace and added capacity. Raising the gas tax will spur innovation in the free market for higher efficiency vehicles and spur consumers to less frivolous consumption.
Sorry, your SUV is now worthless {Autoblog}
Apr 30th 2008 9:43AM "maybe now i will be able to see into the distance instead of the back end of a gas guzzler. good bye gas sucking behemoths."
And more importantly the roads will be safer for us small car drivers with less of these on the road. In other words I'd much rather get hit by another VW Golf than by a Tahoe.
Another point is that no one "needs" to tow a boat unless that is there job. You "wanted" a boat so you justified the purchase of whatever body on frame vehicle you got.
Realistic people and grown-ups know the difference between "need" and "want."
Now we know why the automakers weren't screaming over the CAFE rules {Autoblog Green}
Apr 29th 2008 3:57AM "no - jacking up a car does not change its footprint - therefore it does not change the cafe requirements. This system isn't perfect - but the old system was flawed also."
I think he was referring to the likes of the Subaru Legacy and PT Cruiser, cars which were slightly modified and lobbied to qualify as trucks.
Yes California's system is looking better every day. Not as much incentive for diesels (due to the extra energy and CO2 byproduct per gallon) or ethanol. No class distinction and a higher standard overall. That system will bring about European class cars and substantial CO2 reductions.
Toyota wants to know what people think about higher gas taxes {Autoblog Green}
Apr 26th 2008 11:14PM Maybe it will take a few more major bridge collapses in this country before people will realize they can't get something for nothing.
Not all politicians waste money and the private sector invests in a lot of hogwash too (Windows ME, Olestra, Ritalin, etc.)
The difference with money that is taxed and money spent on oil is that in the case of the former most of the money remains in this country while in the latter case most of it goes abroad.
Long ago the Europeans had the idea of tax gas enough so that people use it judiciously and also that their economies will not be so dependent on a unstable commodity. Of course the Europeans are not in a depression so it will not cause one here. Even if you double the federal gas tax (18 cents) that increase would still be a fraction of the increase we have seen in gas prices the last three years.
Increasing the gas tax is a better solution that CAFE since the latter still give no incentive for people to actually drive less once they have their new vehicle with X% better mandated MPG.
I also have no problem with the gas tax being used as a sin tax since the likes of the British gov't have issued studies that global warming could cost between 1 and 20% of world GDP. It that is true we actually need massive fuel taxes to wean us rather quickly............
Earth Day: How far must you drive your hybrid before it pays off? {Autoblog Green}
Apr 23rd 2008 9:28AM Any comparison that takes into consideration the purchase price but fails to mention depreciation is incomplete. Fuel misers like the diesel VWs have had consistently better residuals than their gas counterparts and I would expect to see the same with many of the hybrids here.
Secondly like others have pointed out the Prius should be compared to the Matrix@ 25/31 since they both provide about the same amount of utility.
Earth Day: How far must you drive your hybrid before it pays off? {Autoblog Green}
Apr 22nd 2008 11:41PM These figures are way off those published by Money/CNN:
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/autos/0711/gallery.hybrids_that_pay/2.html
