House Passes PRO IP Bill

[Dan Lund]

On Fri, May 9, 2008 at 11:56 AM, keith smith <klsmith2020 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> That bring up the free market issue.  If the government does not
> artificially lower the price of gas (and some would say the government is
> the cause of artificially high gas prices) then alternatives become more
> viable.  ie solar research might occur and solar/battery vehicles become
> available.

Agreed completely.  Unfortunately in today's world, everytime
something like that is addressed in congress/senate, or even
politically in some form, the whole "free markets only exist in
america" blah blah persist.  I've listened so mahy times in person and
everytime I've opened my mouth about it, it's automatically knocked
down by snide comments or retorts such as how tax breaks are given to
research companies, etc.  Other things ad nauseum, also.  It's akin to
being told to STFU. (to put it bluntly)

> I personally would like to see an urban travel vehicle built for 2 or 4
> small people.  Kinda like a Geo Metro but of higher quality.  Because I
> often see this huge SUV being driven by one person who is the sole occupant.

The Honda Fit is pretty decent, believe it or not.  While it's
definitely not a 3 cylinder by any stretch of the imagination like
most of the Metro's thought of until later in it's life, it's fuel
economy is great and holds 4 people nicely.  (with stuff in the back,
also)
Most of the SUV driven is because of the "fear" characteristics,
believe it or not.  I ride motorcycle primarily, and for many years
I've examined drivers on I17, 51, 101, and 10.  Nearly always when an
SUV is driven, it's a 30-40 year old woman who hasn't learned how to
use the hands-free feature of cellular phones in one of those
vehicles.  Of course there are other people that drive occasionally
such as certain varients of men.
All of that being said, I had a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee Unlimited
back in 2000.  Of course I had stuff going with me constantly, along
with 4+ people at the same time.  I also liked offroad driving up
north. (which I did much lighter than my older Wrangler)  I'm willing
to bet there's at least a few people with those needs.
Then again, I guess there's not much offroad driving to be done with
an Escalade...

-- 
Thanks,
Dan Lund