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Backseat Driver: Blood and money equals cheap fuel

Recent studies have found that we Americans prefer big vehicles and - manna to the auto manufacturers - small cars are not as safe as big cars.

Duh.

Of course we prefer big vehicles. Gas, after all, is still very cheap in the U.S. Yes, I know it is now hovering around the $3 a gallon mark, but that is less than half the price that it is in Europe. And when you are paying $8 a gallon, you can be sure that you are not going to drive a gas-guzzling SUV.

Why is gas so expensive in Europe? Because the governments tax the heck out of it. Here such a notion is anathema to a large portion of the body politic - in addition to the auto, oil, steel, rubber and plastics industries - and for a very good reason.

Unlike the Northeast and other urban centers - where small cars do make sense - most Americans live surrounded by vast expanses of space unimaginable in Europe. Small, economic cars don't make a lot of sense in Texas, for example, where the Chevy Suburban was always referred to as the state vehicle when I lived down there in the late 1980s.

And many Americans have rural roots they revere and for them a pickup is the only way to go. Many may use their pickups mostly for driving to and from work in the nearest city, but that is beside the point. The vehicles serve an emotional role, as indeed all vehicles do.

So forget about raising taxes on fuel. It is not going to happen and even if it did it would still be a nominal amount compared to European levels.

And so we will continue to have the best of both worlds, being able to afford to run big cars and SUVs and pickup trucks and, as an added bonus, having bought them, be comforted that we are safer in them.

Only two things cast a shadow on this self-indulgent picture: If you think the price we are paying in the Mideast - the lives of our military personnel, the maiming of thousands of others, the same of countless more Iraqis, the billions of dollars to equip our forces and run the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, the billions of dollars in aid we grant to Egypt, Israel, Pakistan and others to keep the peace - if you think all that blood and money is ALL about George W. Bush's war on terror and has NOTHING to do with the supply/price of crude oil and the price of gasoline you pay at the pump, then I would like to know the name of your drug dealer because you are obviously getting good stuff.

Personally, I think all that blood and money is a pretty high tax to pay for our cheap gasoline.

And the other shadow is the nebulous business of global warming which, while blindingly obvious to a simpleton like me, remains a debatable propostion in some quarters of our petro-driven administration.

- Peter C.T. Elsworth

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 12:37 PM to Gas prices , Safety , commentary | Permalink | Comments 0

Fuel cell Ford Fusion tops 200 m.p.h.

Last February, a group of Ford engineers set out to prove that an electric car powered by hydrogen could top 200 m.p.h. Last week, those engineers proved it, according to the Detroit Free Press.

The Ford Fusion Hydrogen 999 fuel cell car hit 207.297 m.p.h. at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah on Thursday and set a world record in the process. It is the world's first and only production-based fuel cell racecar.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 12:10 PM to Alternative fuels , Design , Ford , Technology | Permalink | Comments 0

Pay $10,000 for driving drunk, agency warns

Federal traffic safety officials kicked off their annual push against drunken drivers Monday, calling on states to toughen penalities and warning offenders that an offense could cost them $10,000 on average in fines, court costs and lost wages, according to the Detroit Free Press.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will bolster the effort with $11 million in national advertising.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 12:07 PM to Safety | Permalink | Comments 0

Flooded cars go to market with little to stop them

The Chevrolet Cavalier that Erik Leiken discovered on the Internet lacked curb appeal. Though only 5 years old, the car, with patches of primer paint, appeared to have had a hard existence.

Still, the odometer showed only 70,000 miles. And the car was a private-party bargain at $2,400, far below what he figured a dealer would charge.

But by the time the Chevy broke down a second time in San Diego freeway traffic, Leiken concluded that he had bought a clunker damaged in Hurricane Katrina, according to USA Today.
A Carfax vehicle-history report proved the car was in Louisiana when the hurricane struck.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 12:00 PM to Consumer rights | Permalink | Comments 0

People buy small cars even though they can be deadly

Americans are buying more small cars to cut fuel costs, and that might kill them, according to studies reported in USA Today.

As a group, occupants of small cars are more likely to die in crashes than those in bigger, heavier vehicles are, according to data from the government, the insurance industry and the National Academy of Sciences.

The newest small vehicles, of course, meet today's strict safety standards and can be laden with the latest safety hardware, such as stability control and side air bags. They are safer than ever. And differing designs mean some small cars are safer than average. But even the safest are governed by the laws of physics, which rule in favor of bigger, heavier vehicles, even in single-vehicle crashes.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 11:46 AM to Safety | Permalink | Comments 0

Oil Drops on Stock Market Worries

Benchmark oil prices slipped Tuesday as traders shifted focus from the threat of Hurricane Dean on U.S. energy facilities in the Gulf of Mexico to global stock markets, according to the Associated Press.

Hurricane Dean strengthened to a Category 5 storm Monday night as its rains and winds slammed the coasts of Mexico and Belize. A few companies evacuated some rigs and suspended production, but it didn't appear that the storm would cause much damage to operations in the United States.

As supply worries faded, concerns about the battered stock market's drag on global demand came to the forefront.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 11:39 AM to Oil | Permalink | Comments 0