LUCKe27

Ah, youth ... a wistful time when everyone that doesn't agree with you is a naive drone that has succumbed to the propaganda machine.

Peter Zimmermann

[QUOTE=Oshin11;4982656] It wasn't Bush's initiative that got this underway, this research has been going on for a long, long time...

Sure it was, and the Clinton Administration's attempt achieved a level of success, but that program was geared more to the gas/electric hybrids than toward hydrogen, and was abandoned after only a few years. However, when Bush announced his plan, my point above was, that he energized the research community, and put the need for alternative energy on a global scale that had not been seen before.

Oshin11

[QUOTE=Peter Zimmermann;4983116]Now if we could only get solid state fuel cells going

phiba

It isn't about the money. We used our 5 buck weekly allowance to fill the tank and drive the windy roads every weekend. We're paying for that now. Alternative fuels will probably be even more costly. But the independence and clean air we'll get in return make it well worth it! Might just have to drive less, is all.

Peter Zimmermann

Bingo! We've been doing that for a while now. Although it wouldn't be possible for us to move closer to work, it is possible to combine trips. Our post office is inline with a number of conveniences that we use, such as the cardboard/recycling station, the pharmacy, our favorite grocery, the vet, etc. There was a time when, if we had an item to mail, I would cruise over to the post office. Not any more, that letter stays in the drawer until there is a stack of them, or I have to go to Trader Joe's, etc. All trips are now multi-purpose, and doing that has actually lowered our monthly gasoline bill by a few bucks.

old man neri

I found a number of things are helping. I noticed in my city that buses are getting more popular. (There is no other form of transit here) They have their own dedicated lanes and massive parking lots at the major stations. A lot of people drive to the bus station and then take the bus downtown. A monthly bus pass is cheaper than a monthly parking pass downtown, it's quicker to take the bus downtown, there is no traffic aggravation, and you save on gas. During rush our the bus to downtown comes about every 2-3min. Incentives like this really help I think. One just has to get over the stigma of taking a bus. It's also popular for hockey games, buses cruise in their own lanes to the arena when everyone else is stuck in traffic and bus fare is significantly less than parking fees at the arena. How can you argue with that economy. Plus you can get completely trashed on the bus at the arena! I think they are also starting up with the carpool lanes around here.

The other thing people need to do is to stop with the SUVs. I always shake my head at someone pumping gas in to their excursion complaining about the price of gas.

Peter Zimmermann

I wish that usable public transport was possible here, Bakersfield is so spread out that it is just too much ground to cover. I know what you're saying about SUVs, but we find our VW Touareg to be a much-needed vehicle. This is the land of dually pick up trucks and huge SUVs, the V-dub gives my wife, during her commute, a fighting chance at seeing what's ahead. We tried a small car for a while, but she was so uncomfortable driving next to the never-ending flow of behemoths that it just didn't work out. That, and we have two kids and a dog to haul around...

Droops83

My parents live in the Houston area, and they have the same problem: everything is so spread out! It takes 20 minutes minimum to get anywhere, and everyone drives trucks, so you must join their ranks to be able to see anything. Efficient public transportation wouldn't necessarily work so well there. I think they did manage to build some sort of light rail system in downtown Houston, but nobody takes it! LA has the same problem, too spread out.

The big debate here in Santa Barbara is whether to widen the 101 where it bottlenecks into 2 lanes or to build some sort of light rail system between here and Ventura. Of course, this being the apparent birthplace of the environmental movement, there is a big push for the rail system, but I wonder if anyone would use it if it were built today. I wonder how high gas prices would have to be before many people started seriously changing their driving habits. $5? $6? I'd be all for a federal $1 per gallon gas tax to fund research on alternative energy; too bad nobody in Congress would have the ***** to put forth such a bill! This is coming from a car enthusiast, and I like to take my car to the track when I can and I work on fast cars for a living! But, I guess I make up for it for not driving much, I run to and from work every day, and I walk or skateboard most places I need to get to in town on the weekend. My poor 951 sometimes sits for almost a week at a time!

One interesting point I will make on the side is that we always hear the argument to wean ourselves off of Middle Eastern oil. This is a great idea, but I was shocked to find out that only about 20% of the oil imported to the United States comes from Middle Easter countries (look it up)! Most of it comes from Canada and Mexico, believe it or not. Much of the rest comes from Venezuela and other South American countries. Nonetheless, many of the OPEC countries are in the Middle East, and anything that happens over there affects the price of oil, and thus our security, greatly. Not to mention much of Europe is dependent on Russia for oil and natural gas, and as we all know Putin and Co are not the nicest of people . . . . . anyway sorry to ramble, but it is nice to see that even though it seems like a dichotomy, it is possible for some of us here to be a gearhead yet be mindful of our wastefulness at the same time!

dsmith

From what I've read, less than 1% of car buyers buy hybrids, and only a percentage of those surveyed bought for environmental concerns (the rest for gas price concerns). So, right now, I still say it's based on cost.

Now, I've never seen a show, advertisement or news segment touting the possible overall benefits of PHEVs. I think if more people understood and embraced the goals of how/when to use them, when to recharge and how PHEVs can help power grids and power your home (V2G), when not in use, acceptance would really gain steam. Then the cost basis could change.

Here's a good example of what I think should be advertised. Imagine what a marketer could create in a 30 second spot of what life could be like.

http://www.calcars.org/vehicles.html

I just hope the "Hollywood" stigma that is getting attached to them gets reversed, not that the USA has yet shed it's thoughts on station wagons.

From treehugger.com:
"The bottom line is that the largest market is still waiting to buy one. How many of you own a Prius or hybrid?"