I think the fascination with SUVs is understandable but misplaced.
America runs on trucks; rail freight is antiquated and visibly
mismanaged. It is only used for very low value goods (ironically, coal
among them). Truck traffic almost certainly dominates liquid fuel
demand, and certainly dominates the cost of road construction.
mt
On 6/15/07, James Annan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> Michael Tobis wrote:
> > How do you come up with 50%?
> >
>
> By comparing the fleet efficiency of the USA to what is easily
> achievable with a wide range of existing vehicles. It's not like there
> is any rational reason for subsidising SUV production.
>
> It should be noted that (in the UK) people move house on average every 7
> years, although this is presumably made up of some regular movers and
> others who stay in one place for decades. I guess people change vehicles
> at a similar (probably higher) rate. So I don't buy your "couple of
> generations" claim (well, maybe that is true for giving up *all
> driving*, but IMO that suggestion is a bit of a straw man). People who
> actually think about trying to reduce their transport requirements can
> often do so with relatively little effort. However, currently the price
> of petrol even in the UK is so low that it barely figures in the process
> from a purely economic point of view (the time cost of commuting is a
> bigger issue for many if not most people).
>
> James
>
> >
>
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