Now would you buy one?

I would like to, but not for that much money ($12,000). I could get a used Honda Civic for way less money that has more room and the same gas mileage.

Comments on this post: 8

If there was ever a time to feel like you are being pandered too, this here is the time. Both McCain and Clinton are touting a “gas tax holiday” in their stump speeches, which would supposedly remove the gas tax for the summer driving season, saving you some money at the pump. Obama thinks it is quite silly and just a political ploy, and he is absolutely correct - the federal tax on a gallon of gasoline is $.184, so if you are using 10 gallons of gas a week, you would save about $1.80 a week. Is that really going to make or break anyone? I don’t think so. And what happens when that $.184 tax gets put back in place at the end of the summer? What a fun day that will be, when the price of gas shoots up almost $.20 a gallon in one day! But before talking about what they should be doing, let’s keep one thing in mind - these are people running for President…they are not actually the President. All the speeches in the world will not make anything they say happen until they are actually President. So when you hear any of them saying “I will remove the gas tax for the summer driving season”…they can only be talking about the summer of 2009, when and if they are President. It reminds me a lot of being in high school, when the student running for student body president proclaims something like “I will put a soda machine in every classroom”…when everyone knows that will never happen.

Instead of political moves like this put into play in order to garner votes, the candidates should be touting real energy reform bills and subsidies for research into alternative energy instead of subsidies for oil companies making record profits…not tax cuts that will only save us a few pennies while taking money away from road repair and maintenance that the states desperately need. I am not saying that Obama has the best plan for the future of energy use and generation in this country (I don’t think any of them do enough in their proposals, quite honestly), but at least he does seem to understand that this proposal by Clinton and McCain is just political pandering. I would like to hear about real energy reform from these candidates, not idle talk about removing a few cents on each gallon of gas in order to try to secure a vote.

They really do think we are that stupid, don’t they…

Comments on this post: 7

$4.03 per gallon of regular unleaded. Ouch.

Just last year, we were all concerned about gas going up to $3.00 per gallon. Now we would give anything to have that back! Everyone was worried about their summer travel plans, airfares going up, home heating costs going up…but now that gas is another $1.00 higher, is anything going to change? Is $4.00 per gallon the new norm and now $5.00 is the new scary price?

We need electric cars asap.

We do not need to exchange oil for corn-based fuels. We do not need to extract hydrogen from water. We need electric cars with a range of a maximum of 250 miles and a top speed of 65 mph…that’s it. Personally, I don’t even need a range of 250 miles or 65 mph where I live. If I could get an electric car that went 40 miles at 45 mph I could go mostly everywhere I could ever need to go. A simple plug in at night could recharge the car in just a few hours, and using grid power would be much cleaner (and cheaper) than using fossil fuels in our individual cars. So why don’t we have these yet?

Because there is a lot of money to be made in $4.00 per gallon gasoline, growing food for fuel, and extracting hydrogen from water, that’s why. And it’s just wrong that the automotive companies, politicians and the oil companies are in cahoots together to extend this fossil fuel run for as long as they can to maximize their profits, while you and I foot the bill and pad their wallets. And while I think it is great that there are some private enterprises building cars like the Tesla electric car, it needs to be done on a grand scale so we can get the price down from $200,000 per vehicle to around $20,000. Show me an electric car that goes freeway speed and can take me a decent amount of miles before needing a charge, and I will be first in line. Bill Gates, care to get involved with electric cars? Al Gore? Richard Branson? Bueller?

Comments on this post: 11

Courtesy of a piece of junk mail that escaped my blocking efforts. I figure if they can send me unsolicited mail, I can create a blog post out of it!

Here are several ways to improve fuel economy:

1. Driving 55 vs. 70 mph saves up to 20% more fuel. Use cruise control when appropriate to save even more. (I really need to work on this one)

2. Drive consistently. Jackrabbit starts and hard stops burn more gas.

3. Avoid idling. Sitting in the drive-through for 15 minutes for that quarter-pound burger can burn up to a quarter of a gallon of gas. Consider parking and going inside to order.

4. Chill out. Roll down your windows to cool off in city driving, saving the air conditioner for highway travel, when open windows are a drag - literally - on a vehicle’s aerodynamics.

5. Lighten the load. Carrying extra cargo burns more gas. So take the golf clubs out of the trunk when not hitting the links.

6. Fill up when it’s cool. Early morning or late evening fill-ups generate fewer vapors.

7. Don’t top off the tank. Doing so can result in spilled gasoline, which creates environmental issues.

8. Use the correct fuel grade. Unless the manufacturer requires it, high-octane gas is a waste of money. (A very important one!)

9. Climb every mountain…but build up speed first, then maintain it on the way up. Coast down to save gas.

10. Remove the roof rack. If you don’t need it, stop wasting gas carrying it around.

11. Get a tune up. A properly tuned engine improves fuel economy by about four percent, according to the EPA.

12. Replace a dirty air filter. One that is full of dirt makes the engine work harder and can let impurities damage the engine. Replacing a plugged air filter improves fuel economy by up to 10%.

13. Keep your tires properly inflated. Under-inflated tires can decrease mileage by 3% and can lead to reduced tire life-spans.

Well there you have it. Something good came out of junk mail!

Comments on this post: 3

Granted, it is not soon enough but still - at least they have a plan to kill it:

It seems like that rumor is now being confirmed: HummerGuy.net has been informed by official sources that there will be no “next generation” refresh on the H2 and that within a few years - not fast enough for some of us - it will finally fade to black (”Reports have the H2’s end of production between 2011 and 2014″).

Adios.

Comments on this post: 2

In what could possibly be the dumbest thing I have ever heard or read, a certain Senator Jim Battin (R- La Quinta) has introduced a bill that would allow drivers of the biggest and most polluting cars on the road to buy their way into the HOV Lane. In California, if you own a hybrid, you could have gotten a sticker allowing you to drive by yourself in the carpool lane. I thought it was a great idea, until they decided not to give out any more stickers. Now there is an incentive! Thanks to a post at the Liberal OC that referenced my old post about California running out of the HOV stickers, I got to read about this asinine bill.

SACRAMENTO – Senator Jim Battin (R- La Quinta) announced today legislation that would encourage every owner of a polluting, flashy, fuel sucking car to buy their way into an environmentally conscious “carbon neutral” lifestyle. SB 1374 would allow auto owners who purchase carbon credits that offset the carbon dioxide emissions of their vehicles to participate in the Clean Air - High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) decal program, allowing the driver to use an HOV lane.

Are you kidding me? I wonder just how much money went into his pocket from the auto manufacturers to even try to present this bill. How about we just make more stickers available to either hybrid owners and/or small car drivers, and force people to drive smaller cars? I know the bill has no chance of passing, but still - Hummers in the HOV lane? Please…

Comments on this post: 6