03-05-2008, 01:13 PM
oink, if a person needs the vehicle, they need the vehicle. But if we truly want to decrease our dependence on foreign oil, the people need to speak up. Here are some interesting items I discovered.
The same US vehicle exported for use in Europe averages a 30% increase in fuel economy with only an initial $250 technology upgrade. It's not even offered to US consumers but is used in fleet vehicles when the customer demands better gas mileage. Why?
The over-the-road truck manufactures have been able to vastly improve MPG of their vehicles when the operators demanded it. If the same technological improvements were applied to passenger vehicles, the average MPG would be 42. This technology is available but has not been offered to passenger vehicles. Why?
GE has applied available technology to their locomotives and can now haul a loaded 100 car train over 100 miles using less oil than a passenger vehicle driving those same 100 miles. Why?
When taxi fleets started using lease arraignments and driver had to pick up the cost of fuel, many fleets could not lease out their inefficient vehicles. So they demanded better gas mileage. Many taxis with all the heavy-duty upgrades still get better gas mileage versus the same non-taxi version sold to consumers. Why?
For decades school buses were some of the worst fuel economy vehicles manufactured. School district purchased because they had to purchase. Manufactures saw no need to change because they had a lock. A few years back two of the heavy-duty truck manufacture entered the field, bringing their fuel economy technology. Schools now had fuel-efficient buses available with little additional cost. Now with demand for fuel-efficient buses all school buses manufactures seemingly overnight had 25% or more fuel economy improvements. Why?
Why? The answer is simple. We don't care about how much gas we use. We only care about the cost of the fuel, not the amount. If gasoline dropped to $1.00 a gallon, do you really think people will care about hybrids and MPG? Heck no they will buy a car even if it only gets 10 miles per gallon because it's the price of the gas that really dictates our concern.
When we stop caring about the cost of the gas and start caring about the amount of gas we use, will we really see a change. But so long as we as a whole couldn’t care one rat’s *ss about how much oil we are actually consuming, we are getting from the manufactures what we deserve. Tax gasoline at $5.00 a gallon and you’ll see F-250’s getting 32+-mpg city by end of year!
The same US vehicle exported for use in Europe averages a 30% increase in fuel economy with only an initial $250 technology upgrade. It's not even offered to US consumers but is used in fleet vehicles when the customer demands better gas mileage. Why?
The over-the-road truck manufactures have been able to vastly improve MPG of their vehicles when the operators demanded it. If the same technological improvements were applied to passenger vehicles, the average MPG would be 42. This technology is available but has not been offered to passenger vehicles. Why?
GE has applied available technology to their locomotives and can now haul a loaded 100 car train over 100 miles using less oil than a passenger vehicle driving those same 100 miles. Why?
When taxi fleets started using lease arraignments and driver had to pick up the cost of fuel, many fleets could not lease out their inefficient vehicles. So they demanded better gas mileage. Many taxis with all the heavy-duty upgrades still get better gas mileage versus the same non-taxi version sold to consumers. Why?
For decades school buses were some of the worst fuel economy vehicles manufactured. School district purchased because they had to purchase. Manufactures saw no need to change because they had a lock. A few years back two of the heavy-duty truck manufacture entered the field, bringing their fuel economy technology. Schools now had fuel-efficient buses available with little additional cost. Now with demand for fuel-efficient buses all school buses manufactures seemingly overnight had 25% or more fuel economy improvements. Why?
Why? The answer is simple. We don't care about how much gas we use. We only care about the cost of the fuel, not the amount. If gasoline dropped to $1.00 a gallon, do you really think people will care about hybrids and MPG? Heck no they will buy a car even if it only gets 10 miles per gallon because it's the price of the gas that really dictates our concern.
When we stop caring about the cost of the gas and start caring about the amount of gas we use, will we really see a change. But so long as we as a whole couldn’t care one rat’s *ss about how much oil we are actually consuming, we are getting from the manufactures what we deserve. Tax gasoline at $5.00 a gallon and you’ll see F-250’s getting 32+-mpg city by end of year!