Bob Lutz: Fuel-efficient cars, like global warming, a crock of sh*t 7

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1. 

   ssn139 Posted 8:41 am
   10 Dec 2008

   I think Lutz is Kinda RightWhile there is a growing market for fuel-efficient vehicles, I think Lutz is right.  At $1.50 a gallon, many, many people (if not all of the American public) want SUVs and pickups.  This is why I think it isn't the best idea to mandate that Detroit build hybrids, etc. It might be easier politically, but its also slow and its inefficient. If the language of the bill is too weak, Detroit can just drag its feet in car development. If Congress mandates too much, cars that aren't really done might get pushed forward too quickly. Instead, we need to increase the gas tax.
   I've written more on this here:http://www.thefiniteworld.com/108
   
   The Finite World. A resources and energy blog.

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2. 

   Angelsnecropolis Posted 10:32 am
   10 Dec 2008

   StupidTouch a hot stove once and you're ignorant. Touch it twice and you're stupid.
   If they didn't learn the first time then I hope they get burned pretty bad the next time.
   Idiots.

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3. 

   Biodiversivist Posted 10:54 am
   10 Dec 2008

   Why do some people wantSUVs and pickup trucks? Answer that question (right) and you might find a solution to the problem. Before SUVs came along we drove eight cylinder monsters called station wagons. Marketing renamed them and they became status symbols for poseurs who don't use them for utility or sport.
   Pickup trucks have always been tools for people who actually work with their hands. Successful marketing also turned them into status symbols for poseurs.  
   It's all in our heads--victims of successful marketing.
   It is entirely about status seeking. We have to find environmentally benign ways for us monkeys to compete. Lutz is a dinosaur. SUVs and pickup trucks will eventually become as uncool as muscle cars and station wagons. Hopefully they will be replaced with something a lot smarter.
   
   In the end, it all comes down to biodiversity. Poison Darts--Protecting the biodiversity of our world

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4. 

   jcwinnie Posted 6:49 pm
   10 Dec 2008

   They will be back for more"Baghdad Bob" Lutz' comment is indicative that the auto companies again believe that they can walk away from a commitment after they get the money. And, he probably is correct. After all, Washington Theater makes Hollywood fairy tales seem positively Cinéma vérité.

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5. 

   Green Granny Posted 9:40 pm
   10 Dec 2008

   Well saidAnd SUVs and pickup trucks already are becoming uncool in some neighborhoods.
   An "interesting observation" from Ohio:  I never saw a McCain bumper sticker on a hybrid or small fuel efficient car.  The vast majority of McCain bumper stickers I saw were on SUVs or pickups.  I did see a few Obama bumper stickers on gas guzzlers.  Obama, not McCain, won Ohio.  Unscientific observation? yes.  Still. . .
   
   "We must be the change we wish to see in the world." -- Mahatma Ghandi

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6. 

   nycowboy Posted 12:50 am
   11 Dec 2008

   Low-Fat CarsThe problem with energy efficiency is it's too often like a severely obese person stuffing his or her face full of low-fat Twinkies in an effort to lose weight.
   It doesn't work.
   A lot of the reason why the automakers are broke is because we've been forcing them to sell cars that the public doesn't want, and moreover aren't profitable to sell.
   While Toyota was marketing it's Prisus to keep the politicians happy, it was revving up production of a mid-size pickup, the Toyota Tacoma and making it's Toyota Tundra bigger. Toyota saves face, while bigger portions of it's profit come from bigger cars.
   I like my Ford Ranger, and I'm actually going to buy a bigger truck next year. I impressed my friends when I pointed out my Ranger cost only $10 a week to fill up -- when gas was $4.25 -- because I only drive about 50 miles a week -- all up to state forest, to go camping, to my parents farm, or a few small trips around town. Big cars with big engines are fun to drive.
   The only way we are going to reduce energy consumption is to drive less. To invest more in mass transit. I ride city buses about 80 miles a week, and it's a wonderful relaxing experience. Snow is so delightful when you don't drive.
   Cars should be for fun, not commuting.
   The global warming problem is an "urban problem". It's largely the fault of the people who live in New York City, Los Angles, Chicago, and Houston, who have no reason to be commuting in private automobiles. Mass transit works well in populated areas. If those cities halved their car millage driven in a year, greenhouse gases emissions from cars would be reduced by at least 25%.

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7. 

   2wheeler Posted 7:08 am
   11 Dec 2008

   Something to itI can validate Green Granny's observation about Ohio bumper stickers. I saw an Obama sticker on the back of a honkin' huge Expedition SUV today (but its passenger the side door was damaged, and it was being driven unrepaired on an inner city street).  Are late-model SUVs the new Cadillacs?  They're likely fun to drive, safe-feeling and american made, but costly to the planet.
   Obama's perceptive comment about the "trance...shock...trance" pattern, has the ring of truth to it.  We're back in the trance, and GM's serving the trancey kool-aid.  A couple days ago I myself overheard a co-worker say he owns one SUV/truck and is thinking about buying a second one.
   I understand a provision was removed from the auto bailout bill that would have prevented use of the money for appealing states' efforts to regulate vehicle climate emissions.   Maybe it's good that it seems DOA in the senate today.
   A hefty carbon tax and full rebate on a per-capita basis, as James Hansen advocates, does seem like the right approach.  It would be more transparent and easier to implement than a cap and trade system (how would the latter be applied to mobile sources like personal vehicles?).  In addition it would create the incentives for all manner of climate friendly solutions to be implemented, without picking winners and losers upfront.
   As for me, I'm still biking in to work here in the Ohio winter.  When it gets really messy out there,  I'll take a city bus.  I'm not regretting my family's choice in 2000 to reside back in the city, for a minute.
   
   Moving toward sustainability with hopefulness, one revolution at a time.

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