Yesterday in Detroit the auto industry showed off their new line of fuel efficient vehicles. I have to words …. expensive and ugly.
The article is called Auto industry shows off fuel-efficiency and it talks about the new vehicles that are out this year. The ideas that they are coming out with are pretty good. The mileage that you can get in these vehicles are pretty good and they are also very good for the ecosystem. But who really drives these things?
First off they make these things very ugly. I’ve seen maybe just one hybrid vehicle that didn’t look too bad although I think you could fit it inside of my son’s matchbox case. Why is it that they can’t just take a nice looking car and change out the engine to run more efficient? Why do they have to change the exterior of the vehicle as well?
If they really want to sell these things they need to start making them more attractive. Most people would not get caught dead riding around town in one of these. The only people that would are probably the ones that want to show off that they are driving one, because you definitely know when you are pulling up to one.
Size is another issue. Regardless what your wife/girlfriend says, size does matter. These little vehicles might be ok for driving back and forth to work in, but the are not practical. You would still need another vehicle just to go shopping or take a trip.
Not only does needing two vehicles mean more expense, but the the price of the things are also outrageous. Where is the incentive to buying one? Ok, so I can save a few cents at the pump, but I’ll have to pay thousands more to buy one. Right now it just doesn’t seem like a fair exchange to me.
Let’s say that you decide you want to spend the extra money on an eco-friendly vehicle. You love the unique look and feel of it and you want to go out for a nice Sunday drive. You notice that your fuel gauge is starting to get a little low. Now what? Most gas stations are still not st up to sell these special fuel mixtures. You options are regular, mid-grade and premium. If you go to Quick Trip you can get something like 20 different octane levels…or so it seems. But what you won’t see is the fuel needed for that new expensive ugly thing you just bought.
When I was stationed at Ft. Belvior, VA. some years ago we switched over to trucks that ran on natural gas. These trucks were supposed to help keep the air cleaner. It was a great idea, and still probably is, but the only place we had to fill them up was at a county fuel site. The county had garage trucks and other vehicles that ran on natural gas so they had some pumps. The big problem was that the tanks would not hold more than maybe a day and a half worth of fuel. Since the fueling point was quite a ways away it wasn’t unusual for us to run out before we got filled up. Especially since the gauge on those vehicles weren’t very accurate. So they had to send a truck out with a special tank to fill us up just enough to make it to the pump.
Once again, those vehicles are a good idea, but not practical.
It’s quite possible that the auto industry really doesn’t want us to buy a fuel efficient vehicle. Maybe they are in bed with the oil companies to keep us on high petroleum based fuel. Or maybe not. But if the big boys in Detroit want us to start buying these new cars they need to start makingthem more consumer friendly. Making them look the same as the other cars on the market can’t be that difficult to do. Bringing the price down should be a big benefit to them as they will sell more. Making the fuel needed available would help as well. If the gas stations won’t bring in the fuel because it’s not worth the extra money of hassles for them, why don’t the car dealers open their own pumps? It just makes sense to me.
I think that until the automobile manufacturers start making some changes these vehicles will continue to be just another thing for the politicians to debate.
But wait, maybe that’s it………….
