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certainly it will take a combination of efforts, as well as education of both the businesses advertising and selling the cars *and* the consumbers buying them.
telecommuting has been getting more traction in positions where it makes sense and works.
mass transit, better connections at the terminus of the main trunk lines are needed. i.e. you take the train to work, but the nearest station to your office is 8 miles away. Shuttles are needed to make it happen, make them free if you have a train ticket (maybe they are already, don't know. my wife drives one saab to train station, takes the train, walks 1/2 mile to office. has another saab parked inside there if needed. know this isn't possible for everyone, wish something like it was...).
oh, bet I get an earful here... even our son says, why do they make trucks (and cars too!) that can go 2x the speed limit, get there in the blink of an eye, and are so large (trucks) that the *headlights* are shining directly into the back of my head, most vehicles are single occupant about 90% of the time... And if larger is safer, then the guys that purchased smaller are less safe? With that logic, we should continue to see larger and larger and... see the point here? Trucks four or five years old are small compared to the H2 and Ford Imposition and all of the ones with the aftermarket lift kits and all of the other modifications. But the driver feels "safer" driving that living room on wheels around. The also drive like 1) they are still driving a *car* and 2) they are in their living room.
Bet I get more replys here too... I believe that the fleet fuel computations that the manufacturers have to meet are getting worked like the salary caps in pro sports... Basically the spirit of the fleet fuel milage is not being adhered too. Want to get better fuel effeciency? Make purchasing larger GVW, engine size, HP, lower milage, and other metrics MORE EXPENSIVE. I know, but it's being used for *business*. Ok, then register it with commercial plates and *NOT* the less expensive non-commercial plates. You can go ahead and write off the purchase, but your yearly operating expenses should be *higher* than a personal vehicle. If you really needed the size you should be ok, if you didn't don't buy it...
I don't believe that just raising fuel costs will curtail usage. It just moves personal expenditures from one pile to another (one night eating out a resturant covers the monthly increase for me, what about you?).
A combination of:
1) more attractive mass transit (cost & ease of use) *where* it makes sense.
2) better *real* fleet milage numbers. smaller engines w/better economy.
3) pain on owning a high use vehicle. If you drive a huge vehicle empty most of the time you aren't using it properly. I don't blame you, I blame the manufacturers that convinced you via advertising (and using rules that the government has in place that are *different* for cars and trucks...) to buy *into* the image. You need a work truck? Then get one. a basic Ford F-150 is a work truck. Add four doors and make it into something other than a "work truck" and you are now in "luxury vehicle" land.
4) a better marketing campaign on this (i.e. recycling has made good inroads. let's do something similar?) make better economy a desired trait, just like safety, utility and features are now. make this a "status symbol"
5) with increasing telecom advances, increased telecomuting where possible.
6) more 9/80 or 4/10 work weeks. cuts down on commuting to work by 10% or 20%. a direct savings in fuel *and* expenses to the employee. Gee, a three day weekend? American, what a place!
7) continued hybrid and other alternate fuels. but let's *not* borrow from Peter to pay Paul. Don't use one type of fuel to create another and call that conservation. That's a shell game.
8) you may laugh at this one, build more all in one malls or strip marts so that you can have an *all in one* stop shopping experience.
9) continue to expand on-line shopping, both for price comparisions and actual purchases. clicks and not ticks on the odometer...
open to any other comments, share them>
just one mans rant....
-soneway
btw - I find it somewhat amusing that tips for "getting better milage" are things like "don't carry around unnecessary items in your car" like golf clubs, tools and the like. Then I look up from my four door saab 900 that has a four banger with a 5 speed, and see that almost every second vehicle on the road today is either a mini van or truck. Almost without exception (unless headed to or from a school) with only a driver inside. The spare tire on the large trucks weighs more than my sticks do... LOL
, Thu, 9 Mar 2006 09:27:57
, Fri, 10 Mar 2006 01:05:33, Fri, 10 Mar 2006 01:07:39, Sat, 11 Mar 2006 01:57:09
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