Living in Texas and my Mother is from deep East Texas. I can remember going to see her family there. We would pass the oil pump jacks and the oil derricks, with the smell of crude perfuming the air. Sky Chief was twenty-eight cents a gallon. We drove a land yacht, Ford Edsel 1958 Bermuda Station wagon. It had AM radio and hang on air and three on the tree.
"Standard shift on the steering column." Our family has always driven big cars. My Dad was a Ford man by religion. I say this because now I drive a small compact car and I love it! My next car will be a hybrid.
"To bad someone killed the electric car!" I travel in my work. about 2500 miles a month, and support the oil companies with my fuel dollars. I see Hummers, Pickup Trucks and SUV's by the herd. I have to ask myself
"Why do we need these mother ships?" I ask a friend of mine that question.
"Because we Americans are fat and need large vehicles' to hall our fat a** around!" Good answer! Not the one I was looking for. A Hummer is used by the military, pick ups are used by construction, delivery and farmers. SUV's are used by military and forest rangers. So way do we need these for everyday use? To me, the it is the oil companies and the big three in bed together. In the movie "
Who Killed the Electric Car?" I got a lot my answers. I would like to get other people input on this topic. Ask yourself this question; "Why do we need these vehicles?". Then go to the government web page and read about what our government thinks about how to go
GREEN. Please let me know what you think.
which is exactly why Americans want them. And let me tell you something else by golly, if I had one it would dang sure be bigger than yours!
*nudge nudge wink wink chuckle chuckle spit*
~ Greener today than I was yesterday!
Now to be fair I ride my motorcycle to work, and drive a Focus when it's one or two more people with me. My family is big enough that it justifies my owning a Suburban. I have been modifying it for better mileage as you can see in one of my other threads. Now you being around the oilfield you should know how awful the oilfield roads are. A lil car couldn't handle the daily rigors of driving 400 miles in offroad situations for sure. I can understand you scratching your head seeing just one or two people in a suburban, but they might be going to pick up a big load.
Even those of us in the oilfields know when to use what vehicle. We tend to park our trucks when possible. Hopefully they'll give us diesel electrics soon. That'll really help the mileage!
Observe the world as though you were a child and enjoy the wonder of it all.
I understand with a family. I drove the large station wagons for years. My main thing is if we are one of the most advanced country in the world, why are we not the leaders and not the followers.
During the oil shortage in the 70's my Dad said when they get the price of gas were they want it will stay there. So true. The Big Three are in trouble, and the foreign car maker are kicking their butts. The oil companies are at record profits. The say supply and demand. I say let us stop the demand and prices will come down. If we are going to have large vehicle, lets make themsuper efficient
I suppose I see how tall people would feel more adequate in a bigger car. However, I still prefer a small cover a big one. They're more convenient overall and are generally better for the environment. Plus some extra cash from saving on gas every month won't discourage me.
But hey if people are going to purchase bigger cars, we should at the very least try and make them hybrids
I have a friend who is 6ft 4. He drive a Mini Cooper. He put the seat back all the way. His wife is 5ft 6 and their children are small. They have a rack on the top. I road with him once and had ask him about a bigger car. Bigger car, bigger money more carbon on the planet. Good point!
Hopefully the car manufacturers will take this into consideration as they continue to design more and more fuel efficient cars. Maybe make them with back seats only that my husband can drive from ;)