$5,000 Retro Fit Hybrid Kit

All people who pay taxes of any kind, and our future generations who will be paying the debt we are accumulating. Fuel taxes don't even pay for keeping highways in good repair. We should be paying $2 or more per gallon in addition to the price we now pay. Truckers who do most of the damage to roadways are essentially subsidized to keep their inefficient rigs rolling, and railroads are penalized so as not to create "unfair" competition.

Maybe you'll wave your limp dick. I have a dependable 1999 Saturn sedan that averages 35 MPG and is more than adequate for my basic transportation needs. I also have a 1989 Toyota 4WD pickup that gets about 22 MPG and it provides the capability for hauling larger items and for occasional use in conditions where a FWD vehicle won't make it. And there are situations where walking or bicycling are viable options as well.

But most of the trucks and SUVs are purchased and driven by people who don't need their power and size, except maybe on a rare occasion. Yet they drive them every day on long commutes from their McMansions to their jobs in the city. The auto makers we bailed out are still playing horsepower wars, and even their hybrid models are promoted as having even more power, and they brag about getting 24 MPG highway.

CAFE standards and laws prohibiting manufacture and sale of gas guzzlers are not the way to go. Just add taxes to fuel reflecting the *real* cost, and let the market regulate itself. If you want to purchase and drive a fuel hog, fine, but you should pay for your extravagence every time you fill up.

It is a similar situation with the ban on incandescent light bulbs. There are situations where a CFL just won't work, such as an unheated barn in Minnesota. An incandescent lamp is fully appropriate and it would be reasonable to just add a $2 tax per bulb, rather than ban their sale.

A ban on anything that is in demand will just drive trade in the item underground and allow criminals to make money. Just determine the *actual cost* of something and tax it appropriately.

Paul

Not that it's an immediate concern but the real cost is the climate.

The NY Times recently ran an article claiming that now most economists agree that it will be more expensive for society to ignore AGW than to do something about it.

The only long term solution is to get ground transportation powered by the grid.

Bureaucrats already have plans to tax everyone on a per mile basis -- no more privacy motoring around.

The Car Talk guys said it should be $10.

Highway taxes and even AGW are all moot issues in the near term.

Buffet just bought a coal hauling RR, BNSF.

The world's most astute investor just bet the ranch that the price of liquid fuel will soon soar and there is money to be made hauling coal.

Back in the '70s during the OPEC embargo Norfolk and Western which used coal fired steam engines all the way up into the '60s made so much money they bought Southern RR.

At times there were up to 80 coal colliers waiting out in Hampton Roads lined up for Pier 12.

Bret Cahill

"Southern Serves the South Look Ahead, Look South"

-- Southern RR slogan

So you're part of the problem that you're complaining about.

And US politicians, even the greenest Democrats, won't dare suggest increasing the tax on gas. Indeed, they complain about oil company profits raising the price of gas.

John

Nobody will pay the debt. We'll just print money.

The "most economists agree" bit is hilarious. And even if they did agree, they'd usually be wrong.

You guys need something productive to do. All this worrying about the future is making you neurotic.

John

That's why fuel will be $5/gallon again next year and $10/gallon in 2 years.

They were including the shills at Hoover and the Chicago School.

I'ld like to see the sample myself.

Lots of opportunities in technical fields especially materials science and heat transfer.

And in hauling coal.

Bret Cahill

Given that you like to post to an electronics group, you might consider learning a little about electronics. Unlike neurotic fretting about climate and energy issues that you can't control, electronics is accessible and fun.

John

Yes, that's why I can't be too enthusiastic about being a Democrat. But it beats the hell out of the GOP on most counts, and is the "lesser of two evils". The status quo as represented by either party is inherently flawed. The Republican agenda is fueled by big business and the almighty dollar, with no regard for the long term effect on the environment and people except for that which we have controlled by laws. The Democratic agenda is based on entitlements and the assumed rights of individuals to be not only allowed freedoms and attainment of an idealistic lifestyle, but be subsidized by the government (ie, you and me), and not be required to take responsibility for ones own actions and stupidity.

I am not a significant part of the problem. I have purchased my vehicles from private parties and small businesses and I have the maintenance done by local mechanics. My fuel consumption is probably half the average of most US adults. If everyone lived as I do there would be no war in Iraq and terrorists would lack the funds to carry on their world-wide agenda. People who live beyond their means and practice deficit spending with the assumption of a constantly expanding economy are the problem, and the businesses that promote this through their ads are also to blame and they deserve to go bust.

There IS going to be a major change in the way most of US=USA live in the next few years. The recent wild fluctuations in our economy are just the shock waves of a collision between our lifestyle and global reality. We are seeing an "extinction burst" of behavior as businesses and people desperately cling to and accelerate their usual MOs because that is all they ever knew or cared to consider. And it worked in the past so they try harder now that it is no longer viable.

It will be a difficult time, and the dangerous element of the equation is human nature, at least the worst of it. People who ARE the problem are manufacturing more of their kind, and many of them are genetically and sociologically predisposed to criminal activity. As the situation becomes critical, people who want so much but have so little to give will become desperate, and will seek to get by force what they want from those of us who still have anything worthwhile.

I just hope there are enough people with logical thought processes and solid morality (and weapons) to avoid total chaos and anarchy. The writing is on the wall...

Paul

But like Slowman he can't do, only whine.

What a downer! Design some electronics. You'll feel better.

John

Yes, we should bury our heads in silicon crystals like Ostriches. And reality will take a big bite out of our butts.

Maybe 2012 will be the end. 12/12/12 to be precise. Divide that by two and you get 6/6/6.

Paul

So eat, drink, and be merry.

John

We need a motor - generator that is efficient over a broad rpm range and doesn't require rare earth elements.

Bret Cahill

Low fuel taxes merely increases the shock of price increases onto the individual.

For some like the EE with the wheel motor retro kit, it creates great opportunities.

For others it might not be so good.

When the price of fuel soars in Europe, it's like a circuit with current limiting resistors.

It isn't such a shock as the price of fuel is already high and they are already fuel efficient and already have public transportation.

Bret Cahill

Why? Where would you get the batteries to run it?

The best fuel is hydrogen. The best way to store it is by attaching it to carbon.

John

Buffet has figgered out how to cut his work week down to 15 minutes.

Bret Cahill

Ah, the retirement dream, just enough to feel important/Wanted!

Unfortunately, you don't know the difference between working and prissing around on the Usenet.

Cool. They do a press release a week after they get a grant, about the thing they hope they can invent.

John

Were it not for massive government funding combustion gas turbines would never have been developed, certainly not in a timely fashion.

Eventually they'll develop a cost effective battery or they'll prove that it's impossible.

The funding speeds things up.

Bret Cahill