What would it take to make small cars desirable?

[bowtieguy]

Snax,

this is precisely why i do not understand the "raise the gas tax" mentality of MANY on this site. also some members have more than 2 vehicles. my thought is it should be: one vehicle per adult.

my family HAS made changes to the already high gas prices(altho they haven't kept up w/ inflation). we do NOT tow anything,take long trips,ski,or live in snow. we hardly go anywhere except work, school,shopping etc.

if other taxes for everyone are already being raised(they are locally here), i believe new fed taxes will reach more than just the rich elite, the new gas tax being one.

GW aside, we ALL are still polluting! if an ultra efficient full size car(hybrid or otherwise) was affordable for my budget, i'd buy it. isn't that what this thread is REALLY about?--making(or selling) more FE vehicles, not necessarily smaller ones.

Once again taxes are NOT the answer. the gov't(all levels) should focus on conservation and budgeting within. creating tougher FE legislation(auto makers) would help as well. many would say these are impossible. well, if taxes continue to go up, many of us will be in impossible situations(financially).

wonder what the affect on the eco system would be in the event of another deppression? more people cooking over flame,body secretion w/out sewage control, lack of maintanence on vehicles(more pollution, abandoned cars, increase in accidents), just to name a few.

[SVOboy]

Originally Posted by bowtieguy

Once again taxes are NOT the answer. the gov't(all levels) should focus on conservation and budgeting within. creating tougher FE legislation(auto makers) would help as well. many would say these are impossible. well, if taxes continue to go up, many of us will be in impossible situations(financially).

Not to beat a dead economic movement, but I think you're missing the crucial point that the government doesn't buy cars for the people. Tons and tons and tons of regulations for conservation, the arts, this and that fail all the time because some people would really hard to get a law passed and then the public just doesn't give a crap.

Take for example the ZEV mandate in california. Was it the car companies that killed it? I think not entirely...some people worked really hard to pass that law and force the production of electric vehicles, but there wasn't enough incentive out there for people to buy the damn things.

You can talk about "government budgeting" and blah blah blah but it's all hot air if there's not motivation behind it. And I think a good talk with a couple of economists would learn you up on the fact that taxes are the best way to get things done. Obviously they're powerful forces, look at you always ranting about them!

[Snax]

Originally Posted by bowtieguy

also some members have more than 2 vehicles. my thought is it should be: one vehicle per adult.

While I can understand the ideology behind having fewer vehicles, consider the reality that for the average family, both vehicles will likely be driven every single day. When one of those vehicles is a full size pickup or SUV, that just doesn't make sense in the long run from a fuel efficiency standpoint - and there will always be a need for them, however slight or necessary it might be. But that get's back to what I was saying: Why not rent to meet that need, or at least economize by keeping the guzzler parked until needed?

The fact is, we got by just fine with just one vehicle over this last November-August, but it ended up having to be the gas guzzling truck!

[rvanengen]

Originally Posted by Snax

While I can understand the ideology behind having fewer vehicles, consider the reality that for the average family, both vehicles will likely be driven every single day. When one of those vehicles is a full size pickup or SUV, that just doesn't make sense in the long run from a fuel efficiency standpoint - and there will always be a need for them, however slight or necessary it might be. But that get's back to what I was saying: Why not rent to meet that need, or at least economize by keeping the guzzler parked until needed?

The fact is, we got by just fine with just one vehicle over this last November-August, but it ended up having to be the gas guzzling truck!

Renting a large vehicle when needed is an excellent idea. Two days ago, we bought our son a toy that was too large to fit in the Taurus wagon with all of us in the car...so I simply drove home, dumped everyone off, retrieved the toy, went to class, and then came home. No pickup truck needed...despite the stunned looks of the people in toy store...imagine, remove toy from box, flatten box, load items, and leave. Still getting 22mpg with our large enough car.

Now...if I still had my old Bronco...I could almost park my 190e in the back...but why?? Believe it or not, 8' 2x4's fit in the wagon with the back hatch closed.

The times that we cannot get it to the house (like a big load of cement or 4x8 sheets of wood) we either get it delivered, or rent the home improvement store trucks for about $20.

On the tax topic...how about instead of just punitive taxation, also offer SIGNIFICANT tax credits for hitting high FE targets...this will allow the manufactures to produce the "lower" profit vehicles and still make enough money to be interested?? Otherwise, I saw...stay the *&^*&&%$^%%*^ outta my back pocket!!!