Parts of the rest of the world are declining and parts are climbing. If the US took the lead in MPG efficiency, as the number 1 auto consumer, I imagine much of the world would follow.
If the US car companies could profitably gain market share by making more fuel efficient cars, they would. They aren't making them, so the car companies probably believe its not economical.
Actually 9 years is the median and it has been climbing, WAG because of better quality. So you would have to accelerate the replacement cycle by less than 100%. A stretch goal, maybe, but could you get close, certainly.
FYI - in Japan, they accelerate the replacement cycle as follows. Owners have to do a relatively expensive "check up" every two years until the car is 6 years old, and every year after that. There is a point with cars that are 7-10 years old where the annual check up cost becomes close to the value of the car, so owners trade in the ~8 year old car for a new vehicle, and the car dealers ship the ~8 year old cars off to South East Asia.
Is the Iraq war expensive? Was 9/11 expensive? I could argue that neither of those events would have happened without our dependence on oil imports.
It's conjecture, but I'd say 9/11 would have happened even if the US were oil independant. The main cause of 9/11 is US support for Israel. The Islamists don't hate the US because we consume oil; rather, they hate us for supporting a Jewish homeland smack in the middle of a traditionally Muslim region. As for invading Iraq, it's hard to say it wouldn't have happened if the US were oil independent. In hindsight, it's kind of hard to say why it happened at all :-) |
