13 replies to this topic

[mss]

Sentient Being: The day we start building nuclear power plants and start shutting down the oil and coal plants is the day we finally decided to do something.

Right on!

Mark: We largely only drive to the market and the wine store

I wonder if they let rickshaws park at the market? I usually take a shortcut to the wine store along the railroad right of way, and an added bonus is that you can walk back on the tracks with a couple bottles in paper bags. Now that's living.

Doug (watch out for spikes sticking up)

There was a time when you went to the store only once a month. Then came the car and we went only on Saturday. I still only go once, but on Thursday when stuff is marked down before the weekend refill. We made our own wine.

Edited by mss, 09 May 2007 - 09:20 AM.

[gm_general]

Well, to keep it to investments, I wonder if Tesla Motors will go public? Would be a great investment. I hear they may be coming up with a cheaper car than that $100K thing of beauty. God, I can't stop drooling looking at their site!

[OEXCHAOS]

The thought of plugging in a sports car is both perverse and yet strangely appealing... Much like myself! M

[TechSkeptic]

The best and most efficient way to charge people for the real cost of driving (pollution, road wear, etc.) is simple - through the gas tax. It's much simpler, for example, than trying to legislate arbitrary mileage targets or impose surtaxes for SUV's, etc. And it's fair because everyone will pay in direct proportion to how much they use. People with Mark's enviable lifestyle will be rewarded for not driving much, as well as people who drive more but use super-efficient cars. In addition, those people who drive more will naturally tend to shop for more efficient cars, and therefore the manufacturers will figure out how to make them, like Toyota did when they brought the hybrid into the to mainstream. If some companies go bankrupt, that's just the way things work in business, keep up with the times or go the way of the dinosaurs. The U.S. auto industry has had several decades heads up on this, so I hardly feel sorry for them.