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5290 messages, Last post on Oct 25, 2006 at 8:37 AM
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Replying to: tpe (Sep 28, 2006 3:58 am) Bingo. It is NEVER politically popular, regardless of the issue, to make individuals responsible. Remember, to a politician, we are but sheep with no minds of our own, wandering aimlessly until Madison Avenue tells us where to go. "If all the vehicles on the road in CA were getting 40 mpg would you still sue the auto manufacturers? These cars are still emitting CO2 and causing environmental damage." Are they? We all emit CO2 just breathing - and we do it 24/7. Are we causing environmental damage? "Oh c'mon", you'll say. "The amount of CO2 exhaled by a human is insignificant compared to what is emitted by a 40mpg fuel sipper, let alone a 15mpg SUV". TRUE. But then the question becomes: Where is that magic line in the sand? At what point to does 'environmental damage' occur? Just how much CO2 is TOO much? Is the lawsuit saying that the 'damage' inflicted by a 40mpg car OK but the 'damage' inflicted by a 15mpg SUV is not? Now trying PROVING that point in a court of law. Another point, all these manufacturers make fuel efficient automobiles. As individual consumers, WE chose whether or not to conserve fuel. Are the manufacturers being sued for giving the consumer a CHOICE? Or are the Califorinia politicos saying that the general public is just too stupid to make the 'right' choice therefor, as our esteemed intellectual betters, they must step in and protect us from ourselves? |
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Replying to: larsb (Sep 28, 2006 6:31 am) DCX built just such a car, the Intrepid ESX-3, in 1999. It was shot down by Chrysler because they did not believe anyone was crazy enough to pay the hybrid premium that Toyota is currently getting for their hybrids. Much better looking than any of the Toyota hybrids IMO.
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Replying to: rorr (Sep 28, 2006 6:43 am) I'm not sure what we can do about our producing CO2 when we breath. Its possible that people with certain metabolisms produce more CO2 than others. There are probably medical test that can identify these people and then they need to be sued also.
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Replying to: rorr (Sep 28, 2006 6:43 am) That is exactly how the elitist in our government act. Maybe we are stupid. We keep re-electing the same people to serve us. Most make their views clear during the campaigns. They are going to give us more than the other guy. Right, they will give us our own money back as they see fit.
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Replying to: tpe (Sep 28, 2006 7:34 am) Or simply institute gas rationing. He who owns a more economical vehicle gets to drive more. It all comes down to just which choices you want the politicos to deny. After all, what's the consumption difference between someone driving a 20mpg vehicle who drives 10k miles a year and a person driving a 40mpg vehicle driving 20k miles a year? "There are probably medical test that can identify these people and then they need to be sued also." Abso-stinkin'-lutely. And it's a well-know scientific fact that healthy/skinny folks generally have higher metabolisms and exchange more O2 for CO2 than the more, uh um caloric-challenged amoung us. Let's sue skinny people! 
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Replying to: gagrice (Sep 28, 2006 7:38 am) Ah, a fellow cynic. And completely correct. |
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Replying to: gagrice (Sep 28, 2006 7:29 am) They had a CONCEPT car, and an estimated production price. And at the time, battery technology was SUCKY and diesel was WAY WAY DIRTY. So, no, they did not build my dream car - they built a CONCEPT of what such a future car might be similar to. They do have a good head start if they wanted to try the same car now. |
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Replying to: gagrice (Sep 28, 2006 7:38 am) That is exactly how the elitist in our government act. Maybe we are stupid. We keep re-electing the same people to serve us. Most make their views clear during the campaigns. They are going to give us more than the other guy. Right, they will give us our own money back as they see fit." Yes, they are. So long as voters blindly support one party or another, and elect people based on their "feelings", people who are telling them what they want to hear, that will be the case. Don't hate the player, hate the game. 
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Replying to: larsb (Sep 28, 2006 6:31 am)
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Replying to: larsb (Sep 26, 2006 1:32 pm) As far as 'armor plated SUVs' go, well, a Highlander Hybrid can be armourized. So that's not a good argument for allowing government waste. And even, let's say, if certain officials, by the nature of security, are REQUIRED to drive SUVs - there are WAYS to get them up to 25 and 35 MPG. One group of scientists took a Ford Exploder up to almost 40 MPG with about $3400 in mods." I would like to see a URL to that story. The only case I know of is a bunch of university students who achieved good MPG - at a cost of 100K in specialized modifications. It is not a matter of requiring an SUV, it is a matter of load carrying capacity. Armor plating and bulletproof glass are heavy. A HH bearing that extra weight and the passenger weight would get pretty bad MPG, and might not perform well enough in emergency avoidance situations (the vehicle has to accelerate and maneuver around threats). In my younger days I had a tour of duty in Honduras. We had to drive up a mountain several times a week. The government origninally provided Chevy Suburbans with 6 cyl engines and factory armor plating. The vehicles could not get up the mountain. A V8 engine would have worked; this is the same principle. A security chief starts with the requirements, and then finds the vehicles that fit the requirement. But we needen't worry, the Excursion was phased out last October. So the Governator will be riding in something else next time... |
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