big old American cars on snowy Forest Service Roads early in the morning? I was running (17 days in a row now; my 2nd longest streak ever) up a local forest road (Mt. Herman Rd) this morning and passed a mid 80's Oldsmobile with at least one missing hubcap idling at a pull-off. The guys in the car just watched me as I ran by. I am half expecting to hear about a body dump on the news later this week. On my way back down the road, it was gone.
Then later in my run, closer to home, I was passed by a Hummer with 45 day tags. Who is still buying vehicles like that? A truck is one thing (I have one and it is great for hauling lumber and furniture) but what good is a Hummer for most people? Are they afraid that Kansas is going to invade Colorado or something?
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You never know, Kansas has some pretty scary people.
In business school I learned there will always be rich people with lots of money who will choose to buy the most expensive things they can, often times for no other reason than for people to see them in it.
So therefore, companies who want to exploit that situation should always be willing to make big oversized expensive things so they have something to buy.
I'm not sure that dynamic will change as it relates to gas guzzlers until we impose a much larger gas tax.
I'm digressing way off topic, but I think the drop in demand when prices spiked is proof we need to have a much larger gas tax (this coming from an anti-tax person). I think our energy independence and security and air demand it.
Then we can have the innovation to sell $70k Hummers who run on a series of batteries. :)
Brett - you are thinking the same as me; there should be a floor on gas somewhere between 3 and 4 dollars a gallon, with the extra taxes going for research/alternative fuel. While the high gas prices were a bummer for me personally this past spring/summer (3 long delivery trips in my truck) I was hoping it would stay that way for long enough to change people's buying habits a bit more.
Check out a company called Better Place that has an idea for a whole new paradigm of buying miles bascially versus buying a car and fuel.
http://www.betterplace.com/
Yea I would think you could set a gas tax at X. X currently equals roughly what would bring the average nationwide price to $3. Every 6 months adjust the tax to whatever it takes to get back to $3. Sometimes up, sometimes down.
Back to your original post, I have seen that a few times on late night runs...a car on idle in the dark and I can tell a few people are inside. Maybe just looking for a quite place to toke up? Who knows. I always make a point of not letting them know I see them, but getting enough description in case I read about that body the next day, lol.
I'm all for a gas tax just to get rid of those ridiculously showy, machismo, and stereotypical Dodge Truck Extreme Challenge advertisements. For the feeble minded I guess.
www.ideo.com
pretty cool site with some inovative solutions toward things. I particularly like the aquaduct bike.
Wynn,
Yes, I have also OD'd on the truck commercials after spending the last few weekends watching a bunch of football. I'm not sure if Ford or Chevy is making any money, but Howie Long and Dennis Leary sure are.
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