> >I don't see how what I was willing to accept/afford for the 1981 >Toyota Tercel has any bearing on an objective ranking in these >matters. Compared to that car, the Prius is a far more comfortable, >quieter, roomier car with much more performance. > > > On the 1/10 emissions, I agree that's important. > >At least we can agree on something here... ;-) > >G >
I understand what you're saying and don't disagree actually. I'm just saying that in the end, I'm not *sure* the overall fuel economy, measured in mpg, has increased that much over 15/20/30 years ago. I have no doubt the car is nicer and performs better. It just seems to me like more could be done. I don't want to get into politics, I have seen the movie about the EV1 yet, and I realize it's in a different class of car than the Prius, but I'll use it as an example to support the point I'm feebly attempting to make. :-) >From what I can understand there was no good compelling reason to not go into widescale production of an EV1-type vehicle that was a very green city/short trip automobile, *IF* the focus was on producing a practical commuter vehicle that drastically reduced oil consumption and was affordable. That type of vehicle would satisfy (guesstimate) at least 50% of the driving done on a daily basis in the USA. The fact that it can be done, but is not being done, is purely a matter of profit and mindset. Tom C. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
