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US Economy
- Thread starter Jas667
- Start date
20ducks said:Wondermike said:20ducks said:...After WWII, it is considered a right, not a privilege, to own a number of cars. The houses in my neighborhood no longer sell houses with 2 car garages.
Hmm what about when people can't afford it any more though? Will they switch to a saloon with better consumption instead of a truck, people like AJ and Shipkiller have got F150s don't they.
All depends on the image really. Do they need one, is more the question. As in for work or hobby. Many of the peeps I live around have one because it is the manly vehicle to have, I guess. A few I know for sure have never hauled a thing or towed a boat or anything. Dunno. Let's see what they have to say.
Vehicle needs are so different when comparing Europe to the US. There are many differences in needs let alone geography. Here in the West 1000 miles is a day trip. I could almost travel all of Europe in that distance. Some states are 800 miles across. Many people travel over 200 miles round trip just to get to work. There is very little or no public transportation out here in many places so that is not an option.
How does a family of 4 with all the associated equipment needed for children and possibly the family pet, travel in a Smart Car? How does a housewife buy and transport even weekly groceries in a Smart Car with the kids? How do you transport 4 sheets of plywood, 10 bags a cement, and other materials from Home Depot in a Smart Car? I am only using the Smart Car as an example, insert your favorite.
I am only bitching and I do not have any good answer, but just getting a small energy efficient vehicle is not going to salve problems for many of us out here in the relatively rural areas of the US.
While it's true that North America (Canada and the US) will not likely change overnight to be more like Europe, change will come. We're just going to have to figure out how to evolve our economies and living styles to ones that are less reliant on energy consumption.
For example:
Shipping by rail is much more efficient per tonne than shipping by truck, but for the last 30 years or so in western Canada we've been ripping up our smaller rail lines. I expect that in the next 30 years we'll be laying them back down again. Of course I'm just as bad as the next person because I enjoy being able to by fresh fruit any day of the year. That fruit was grown in California, Florida, or even further south and shipped into western Canada by trucks within a day or so of being picked.
As mentioned earlier, people in both the US and Canada commute huge distances every day to work. Mainly we do this because we've chosen a lifestyle because we could afford it. As the cost of energy and everything that is affected by energy goes up, we'll be faced with making new choices.
I noticed when in Mexico a couple of years ago that at a construction site there was one large truck (maybe a 3 ton) that had brought in some materials. The people working on the project arrived on scooters, bicycles, walked, car pooled in a small car, or took the bus. In Canada a similar construction site would have the same large truck delivering the materials, but for some reason everyone working at the site would arrive individually driving big 4 wheel drive 1/2 or 3/4 ton trucks. They claim that they have them because "they need to haul things", but they rarely do.
As I've said before, we've made choices because we could afford to. In the future we'll have to make new choices as the economy shifts under our feet.
"May you live in interesting times." (ancient Chinese curse)
Bill
For example:
Shipping by rail is much more efficient per tonne than shipping by truck, but for the last 30 years or so in western Canada we've been ripping up our smaller rail lines. I expect that in the next 30 years we'll be laying them back down again. Of course I'm just as bad as the next person because I enjoy being able to by fresh fruit any day of the year. That fruit was grown in California, Florida, or even further south and shipped into western Canada by trucks within a day or so of being picked.
As mentioned earlier, people in both the US and Canada commute huge distances every day to work. Mainly we do this because we've chosen a lifestyle because we could afford it. As the cost of energy and everything that is affected by energy goes up, we'll be faced with making new choices.
I noticed when in Mexico a couple of years ago that at a construction site there was one large truck (maybe a 3 ton) that had brought in some materials. The people working on the project arrived on scooters, bicycles, walked, car pooled in a small car, or took the bus. In Canada a similar construction site would have the same large truck delivering the materials, but for some reason everyone working at the site would arrive individually driving big 4 wheel drive 1/2 or 3/4 ton trucks. They claim that they have them because "they need to haul things", but they rarely do.
As I've said before, we've made choices because we could afford to. In the future we'll have to make new choices as the economy shifts under our feet.
"May you live in interesting times." (ancient Chinese curse)
Bill