Oil Junkies....

Mini to the max: Will the Smart car grow on U.S. drivers?

It's almost here... honestly it seems over priced, and when compared with several other cars already on the road here which are larger and have more horsepower... I guess I don't get the point. The Smart car has a 71 hp engine that is said to get at least 40 mpg.

The Toyota Corolla gets up to 35 mpg, has a 126 hp engine, and still maintains a sense of utility and practicality about it... and it starts at only ~$2-3,000 more than the $11,000 smart car which really can't be driven outside of an urban setting. I think MIT's shopping cart car (see prior post) has a better chance at success because it at least fills a certain niche.

Soooo... With Al Gore going on and on about ManBearPig and the world climate (political and physical) as it is, everyone is concerned about the oil crisis and it's impending potential to cause not just a domestic crunch, but an economic and relations disaster on a global scale.

Bernanke speaks and oil futures fluctuate
Drop after warning on economy; cost of gas maintains steady climb

You know what I don't get?? Where are the innovators? Where are the thinkers? Seriously... the best they can come up with are hybrid cars, tiny death traps, and wind mills? Where is solar power? Where is Mass Transit?

And for Mass Transit.... I guess I don't get why we can't use the very infrastructure we already have to support it. Ideally I think there could be large commuter stations along highways near major cities. It would work as follows... you drive your car to the highway commuter station and park it, etc, or... you take a bus or even walk to this commuter station. The station is set up as a private side exit on the highway, much like a rest area. There is no access to the highway here by private automobiles, only buses can access the exit. A station divides commuters from the outside and the buses on the highway.... really it works just like a train station with buses. Buses could travel an hour apart, or more frequently during rush hour. Large employers could be given incentives by the government to subsidize the fare for their employees.

It would be a huge public works project to implement such a plan, however I feel it would pay off in the long run.... and it would be a more realistic short term goal than rail service.

Additionally since many government workers are strictly 9-5, where applicable, I think they should be encouraged to use mass transit as a expression of their dedication to civil service. They should be obliged provide a leadership example to the rest of the country because preserving our livelihood is essentially their job.

As the world becomes more unstable, as demand for fossil fuels skyrockets with an expanding Chinese and Indian capitalist movement, and as our own oil consumption rises with population growth, the price of oil and gasoline WILL rise to unimaginable levels. For a nation that is largely rural, we had better be figuring out some solutions to the impending crisis that WILL change the way we live.

This isn't about banning SUVs, but rather it is about encouraging people to do what is right for themselves, and right for the country.