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Politics : View from the Center and Left -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TimF who wrote (111941)	5/26/2009 3:58:24 PM
From: Cogito	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 541403

>>he real issue isn't whether its possible to make cars get higher gas mileage without making them smaller. It is possible to do so. The issue is whether you can get big increases in gas mileage without shrinking cars, making them underpowered, too expensive, or otherwise unacceptable to the buying public. If higher gas mileage was an issue without trade offs it already would have happened.<< Tim - I neglected to respond to the post that you were responding to here, from Alastair. But the thought I had when reading his post is the same thought I have reading yours. People who say that Americans won't buy smaller, more fuel-efficient cars are all assuming that gas prices are going to stay relatively low. What we saw last year when oil went through the roof is that Americans were desperately trying to ditch their SUVs, and dealers couldn't keep hybrids and other fuel-efficient cars in stock. Gas prices will inevitably rise over time, and Americans will want cars that they can afford to drive. The sooner American car companies start developing those cars, and the less time and money they spend working on massive SUVs, the better. It would be foolish to just wait until gas prices go way up again without preparing for that event. Obviously, I'm speculating, I'm not an expert, and I could be wrong. But I believe that over time you will see I was right. - Allen