Thank you, Peri, for that interesting insight.  I'm sure Mr Musk is thinking 
along these lines already. MW


On 14 Sep 2014, at 16:11, Peri Hartman via EV <ev@lists.evdl.org> wrote:

> Well, Martin, I see it a little differently - and no offense :)  I don't know 
> how aware the typical buyer of an SUV or truck is about general cost of 
> petroleum and its effects on terrorist groups and corruption, etc.  Surely 
> some are, some aren't.  I think the real issue, however, is the choice of 
> vehicles.  The auto manufactures simply don't produce a good alternative 
> (yet).  So, if you feel you need or want a large vehicle, you can choose the 
> brand, looks, and features but not so much the fuel economy.
> 
> The NHTSA (national highway transpo safety admin) rules make it uneconomical 
> for foreign manufactures to sell vehicles in the US so, with the exception of 
> a few manufactures (i.e. Honda, Toyota) that have decided to produce 
> specifically for the US market (and largely produce *in* the US), the rest of 
> the imports mostly fall into high premium vehicles.  These rules are partly 
> for safety but, I think, have quirks added to on behalf of industry lobbying 
> to protect themselves.
> 
> The net result is there isn't any significant foreign competition and the US 
> auto makers can continue to build status quo - which is more profitable for 
> them in the short run.
> 
> I think with the relatively recent CAFE (fuel economy) rules adopted by the 
> EPA we will see a gradual change.  I'm hoping that change will accelerate if 
> Tesla and others can produce a 200+ mile range SUV or light truck at a cost 
> (including long term fuel costs) comparable to ICE versions.
> 
> Peri
> 
> ------ Original Message ------
> From: "Martin WINLOW via EV" <ev@lists.evdl.org>
> To: "brucedp5" <bruce...@operamail.com>; "EVDL Post Message" 
> <ev@lists.evdl.org>
> Sent: 14-Sep-14 4:10:01 AM
> Subject: Re: [EVDL] Electrifying Large Vehicles> converting buyers to a 
> higher mpge design
> 
>> (Um, Bruce, I don't want to appear rude, here, but singling out one section 
>> of the population on a racial basis for criticism - certainly in this 
>> context - is at best rather non-PC and at worst, a bit, well, ... 
>> offensive...? I'm trying to be delicate, here! I think I know you well 
>> enough to say I am sure you do not mean to be such but I suspect anyone from 
>> the Latin American community would be a bit surprised at the reference. 
>> Sorry if this is upsetting for you.... and moving swiftly on...)
>> 
>> The overriding impression that I get as a non-US resident (and one who has 
>> not yet visited the USA) is that in very general terms, the average US 
>> citizen has virtually no idea of how dire the fuel economy of their vehicle 
>> is compared to the rest of the world, particularly those parts of the world 
>> where diesel and petrol is considerably more expensive than the USA, and not 
>> do they care. (I expect some US-based EVDL readers will find this a bit 
>> offensive too. Again... sorry!)
>> 
>> Furthermore s/he has no knowledge nor interest in how significant this fact 
>> is on the workings of the rest of the world especially how much oil revenue 
>> is responsible for funding of various terrorist groups and the misery they 
>> cause, let alone furthering the (generally) evil machinations of Big Oil.
>> 
>> I may be wrong.
>> 
>> I'm not a parent but think if I were I would want to do what I could, when 
>> driving, to protect my children from the idiots and drunkards out there - 
>> I'm sure this is a problem the world over. To that end I would almost 
>> certainly consider a 'bigger' vehicle which does, of course, also make it 
>> more practical to haul children as well as all the necessary clobber about 
>> the place. The downside is a/ the extra cost of vehicle + fuel and b/ the 
>> associated guilt (see paragraph 2).
>> 
>> The plus side is that if car designers really wanted to, they could bring 
>> the best of all worlds together and design a car/SUV that is not only fuel 
>> efficient but also safe and roomy (in the UK such vehicles are called 
>> 'people carriers') but will anyone in the US actually buy them? As things 
>> stand, the auto-makers can sell the same old same old and that's pretty much 
>> all they care about... Then, along came Tesla...
>> 
>> MW

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