Screw Hemp.
I want an alchohol powered car. Then I can get drunk and fill my car up at the same time. 
[Homer]
“One for you, One for me!”
[/Homer]
In the 90s I had a Honda CRX that got 45 to the gallon, the best on the market. When it died there was nothing comparable. My next car will probably be green, but it may be an “old man’s” car instead. I haven’t fully decided.
I’m going to get a hybrid, not to be ecologically correct, but because I love getting good gas mileage.
Ivylad, on the other had, is eyeing the Dodge Dakota and the new Pontiac GTO.
If there weren’t a demand for SUV’s, the carmakers wouldn’t make them. You can’t legislate what people want. And I wouldn’t want to live in a society that does.
True, I agree. People should not have justify everything like. It could be argued the MPG requirments for SUVs need to be uped, but not that they should be out lawed.
A good book on the topic of oil resources/sustainability etc - The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight by Thom Hartmann
Not sure I agree with him but it is worth a read
suezeekay: Can your “43 mpg small car” haul an 8’x12’ trailer full of stuff? Uphill? Can it haul an open trailer with two motorcycles on it? Can it carry my production movie cameras, lighting equipment, dolly track and dolly, sand bags, grip boxes, stands, props, and other gear? I don’t think so. My Cherokee (which is admittedly a compact SUV) is barely up to the task. How stable is your 12-1/2 foot kayak when you carry it on your roof? How well does your small car work on Wilderness Discovery Trails or other steep, muddy, unimproved roads?
In the recent snow, my 4WD capability kept me on the road when sedans were sliding around. Certainly many small cars can handle rough road conditions (I had a Chevy Sprint Metro that did it very well); but I saw many people struggle up the hill by my house, while I had no problem whatsoever.
I’m all for small, efficient cars. I like them a lot. I wish more people would choose them. I wish I had one. But I need the capacity for my stuff.
Many people don’t “need” a big car or a big truck or an SUV; but some of us do. How much more gas would we burn (not to mention the extra time spent) if we had to make three or four trips instead of one?
If there weren’t a demand for SUV’s, the carmakers wouldn’t make them. You can’t legislate what people want. And I wouldn’t want to live in a society that does. Bingo.
True, I agree. People should not have justify everything like. It could be argued the MPG requirements for SUVs need to be upped, but not that they should be out lawed. I’m all for the requirements to be ‘upped’. As long as it doesn’t prevent the vehicles from being functional. Manufacturers are making more cross-over vehicles. I think these will fit the bill for people that may not need an SUV, but found a sedan too small.
For my wife and I, these crossovers are not the answer. We will always need a more rugged vehicle. Preferably on a ladder frame, with good ground clearance and low-range 4x4.
When cars start getting 60 MPG and SUV’s get 40, people will still grouse about those ‘gas hogs’. A bigger car will always get worse MPG. It’s a no win situation, and people that need a larger vehicle are always going to be put on the defensive.
Correction: 5’x12’ trailer.
The newer SUVs are getting better MPG.
Case in point -
My wife has a 2002 Grand Jeep Cherokee. It has a V8. I have a 1993 Pathfinder with a V6.
Same MPG. 20 highway for both (don’t do any city driving).
Yet, the Cherokee runs like a rabbit Passing another vehicle with it on mountain roads is no problem. Passing vehicles with my Pathfinder is something I like to avoid.
The Cherokee is bigger, and heavier than the Pathfinder and has more power. But it get the same MPG.
Johnny -
Also, pulling anything heavy with a front wheel drive uni-body car should be avoided. I have a 2 axle car hauler that I use to pull a small 2,500 lb loader/tractor. I also use the trailer on dump runs. The Pathfinder is BARELY adequate for this. It’s underpowered. But, at least it is big enough, and sturdy enough to do this.
I at least feel like I’m pulling the trailer and not getting chased by it.
So it would make me get the munchies!
I would say regulating them to them to point of unfunctionalness would be just as bad out lawing them. However I think most could be improved without sacrificing functionality.
Same reason I don’t expect it from ANY politicians, or people with money.
I was complaining about people who use behemoths to travel to work and do their everyday chores, and need a TV in back to entertain their kids. Not people who have to haul heavy stuff. If you have a particular use for a big vehicle then go for it. I think ]B] Evil Captor ** has a good point. We are not only using up a limited resource with our greed, we are actually indignently defending our freedom to drive whatever the hell we want while American soldiers are being injured and killed to protect that privilege. Maybe when Congress reinstitutes the draft, as they will have to to get the bodies needed to fight future wars, and we are standing in line for gas and using rationing coupons at the store like my mother did during WWII, the message will get through. We are living in a bubble and the piper has to be paid eventually.
We are living in a bubble and the piper has to be paid eventually. Whoa! Talk about mixing your metaphors! suezeekay, jump out of that canal and take a look around. It’s called “the American way of life.” We enjoy lots of things that other people in the world don’t have access to; does that mean we should give up everything? I don’t want to start a storm of controversy here, but dang! I agree that we should look for alternative fuels, but don’t confuse our capitalistic tendencies with “our freedom to drive whatever the hell we want.” Oops, sorry if my “big oil” personna is showing. You may recall where I work and for whom.
Indeed, but many can do without. A basic sedan can hold 5 people.
Alternative fuels may not turn out to be scalable - Fossil fuels were laid down over very long periods of time, so the energy you extract from burning fossil fuels for a day might have taken ten years to store; it may simply not turn out to be possible to grow enough vegetable oils to meet demand.
Me. I want one of these. 
But when time comes for me to haul materials to my building site in the north country, I will gladly get a Big-Ass Truck[sup]TM[/sup]. Because then I will have a use for its designed capabilities.
I drive a big white truck.
I love my big white truck.
I am going to buy a bigger truck.
About half the size of a semi.
Large wrecker trucks are pretty!
See Nuthinboutnuthin drive around in her big truck!
Look! Look ! What a happy trucker!
Why did nuthinboutnuthin buy a bigger truck?
To piss off the whiny crybabies?
Yes! Yes! What a happy trucker!
nuthinboutnutin. - You are welcome to drive anything you want. I don’t really care.
But.
Did you join this discussion just to piss people off, or do you have something to contribute.
ahem.
Indeed, but many can do without. A basic sedan can hold 5 people.
I would have to disagree. 5 adults in a basic sedan is not going to be a comfy fit. The ‘basic’ sedan today is pretty small. Many of the people I know are over 6’. I’m 6’4" and 210lbs. I do not fit in the back seat of a basic sedan.
4 people in my Pathfinder is OK. But then I did not by it to haul people around. I bought it because it is the most practical vehicle for me.
Does anyone believe that they are in a better position than myself to choose what kind of vehicle I drive?