Thread: Market trumps Congress when it comes to fuel economy

Originally Posted by Cowman88

Ford has the escape and GM has a hybrid coming out soon but they both made a lot of mid size sedans people just didnt buy as many

Granted, but the point brought out in article was the fact that Detroit is and has been truck-heavy...and the handwriting has been on the wall since Fall 2001...and here we are in the Spring of 2008.

Indeed, there is no regulating the old supply & demand curve.

Appetites of the individuals drive the beautiful free markets where they are permitted.

In my detestation of waste I marvel at the driving habits of my countrymen who seem to drive as though fuel were free.

Originally Posted by Ryan Bailey

Indeed, there is no regulating the old supply & demand curve.

Appetites of the individuals drive the beautiful free markets where they are permitted.

In my detestation of waste I marvel at the driving habits of my countrymen who seem to drive as though fuel were free.

And then they complain about it when the price goes up.

I have a friend who drives everywhere as if gas is free. He rarely carpools because it's inconvenient. He drives an older V6 that probably gets 20/26 MPG. Then he complains that the oil companies are fleecing us.

I commute from Redmond to Seattle using public transit. Lately there has been a noticeable increase in the bus-riding population. Predictably, a lot of the time spent on the bus is spent b*tching about the high gas prices.

However I still notice a large population willing to make their way to work in their cars, alone (therefore without the benefit of being able to use the transit lanes) and stuck in high traffic. This is dumb, given the fact that the Seattle area has very decent pubic transit that can be made proper use of.

And this is supposed to be a Red State, so elsewhere in the US this is probably worse

Originally Posted by antimony

I commute from Redmond to Seattle using public transit. Lately there has been a noticeable increase in the bus-riding population. Predictably, a lot of the time spent on the bus is spent b*tching about the high gas prices.

However I still notice a large population willing to make their way to work in their cars, alone (therefore without the benefit of being able to use the transit lanes) and stuck in high traffic. This is dumb, given the fact that the Seattle area has very decent pubic transit that can be made proper use of.

And this is supposed to be a Red State, so elsewhere in the US this is probably worse

I thought Puget Sound had a poor public transit system. Too many tax initiatives killed resulting in little to no light rail/subway. I used to laugh just as you observe when they would complain about lack of this or that and then go vote down any and every tax increase.

Originally Posted by Shek

I thought Puget Sound had a poor public transit system. Too many tax initiatives killed resulting in little to no light rail/subway. I used to laugh just as you observe when they would complain about lack of this or that and then go vote down any and every tax increase.

I am not an expert in how things happen, public transit wise in other cities, but the Puget Sound Area seems to be doing not too bad. It is, of course, not NYC or Chicago, but there does seem to be a failry reliable bus transit system.

The main area, King County (Seattle/ Redmond/ Bellevue) is served by 2 bus companies; while other adjacent counties have bus services into Seattle downtown. For those who complain that they do not live on bus routes, there is actually a fairly decent sprinkling of Park & Ride facilities. There is also a commuter rail system, serving north and south bound commuters from Seattle downtown. On top of that, Microsoft has started a bus service for its employees, so there realy are a lot of options here.

You are right about the lack of Light Rail/ subway though; they are trying to do something about that but have not made any progress so far.

Buying SUV's and trucks (that they really don't need, but their egos definitely want) that gulp gasoline by the station-full.

Don't be jealous some of us can afford to put sixty dollars into our tank weekly.

In Tampa there is a transit system, but unfortunately it is more for the city. In the suburbs where I live there aren't enough bus stops to make it convenient for people to get around. Luckily my Hyundai Accent gets about 27/33 MPG's and I can fill the tank up for around $33.00 which lasts about two weeks! Of course I only live about 2 miles from the school. And most of the shopping centers are convenient for me!

Let the free market work. This means more economical cars will sell better when fuel prices go up. It also mean that people have every right to buy WHAT THEY WANT with their own money. If they WANT an SUV, they have just as much right to get it with their own money as someone who WANTS a Prius. If people wanted SUVs, they get to live with the consequences, but we are adults and should be allowed to make our own free market decisions. As for the car companies, they don't make much profit on small cars, so of course they encouraged the purchase of high profit light trucks? Complaining about businesses trying to make a profit is like complaining that sharks are mean for eating fish. It is just what they do. American automakers will adjust to market realities when they ARE market realities, politicians should not make their business decisions for them.