🚀 go-pugleaf

"Benj" <bjacoby@iwaynet.net> wrote in message 
news:443061c8-386b-43ce-b8ea-ba8fc20ba9ac@l42g2000hsc.googlegroups.com...
> On May 16, 8:09 pm, Joerg <notthisjoerg...@removethispacbell.net>
> wrote:
>
>> > --Damon, still hoping for a Mr. Fusion
>>
>> There is a Ford Fusion:http://www.fordvehicles.com/cars/fusion/?v=html
>
> A ford Fusion for what?  MPG 20/29! Cripes my Toyota pickup truck gets
> better than that!  Obviously nobody ESPECIALLY those at GM have ANY
> intention of dealing with running out of oil!  They also seem to
> prefer taking a backseat in the auto industry allowing other companies
> to actually be number one.
>
> Not only is there the ELECTRIC car fiasco, but there is much more as
> well!
>
> Consider the electric car. Yes, there are battery problems: Lead acid
> are heavy. Ni-MH tend to discharge just sitting. and Li-Ion are very
> expensive with a 5 year life.  BUT, the key is that these cars run on
> COAL and not OIL!  That means that even though they leave something to
> be desired in performance, you still get to keep driving to work every
> day even when gasoline hits $100 a gallon.
>
> Which brings up the point. Cars have various functions. Yes a nice
> high performance gas car does a lot of things nicely. It has power, it
> has range, it has comfort.  But a great deal of driving is just going
> to work daily through slow city traffic. So an electric is ideal for
> that. You recharge at night and go to work each day.  No wonder people
> loved them. The idea of using an electric to perform ALL your driving
> is dumb.  But splitting out your commuting driving for electric makes
> great sense.
>
> And in the meantime, hey I'm driving a "classic" Geo metro! 45/55 mpg
> (actually measured by me!) Now go look at current offerings by auto
> makers! NOTHING comes close.  It seems that building a Geo is sort of
> like making a mummy, everyone has forgotten how to do it!  Cripes, I
> LOVE that little car but support from GM is nil, they have offered
> NOTHING like it for years, and pretend that this "technology" doesn't
> even exist!  It's downright criminal!
>
> And that's not even the limits!  One could use aluminum and carbon
> fiber construction to go for some "real" mileage! But instead all we
> have is a huge scam and wringing of hands as if nothing can be done.
> I've got it, lets all drive to work in gigantic high-profit SUVs that
> GM will happily supply [and then demand a higher salary to pay for the
> increased fuel costs] You want a formula for disaster? There is one
> for you!  And GM will support you in it.

I totally agree. I am not totally satisfied with my 1997 Saturn SW1 average 
33 MPG, but models made after about 2002 are much worse. I think after 9/11 
gave us an excuse to invade the Middle East to get cheaper oil, the car 
companies and energy giants decided that they could sell power and 
performance rather than economy, and get richer doing so. And when that 
plan backfired (or maybe it worked as planned), it was found that everyone 
(except the middle classes who had bought into the big bad car/SUV scam), 
could get even richer when demand soared and prices went up to what they 
are today. They will likely stabilize when US prices reach par with the 
rest of the world at about $6-$9/gallon, and by that time many people won't 
have jobs to which to commute, and they will have had their SUVs 
repossessed.

Paul