Drill Drill Drill

[Matt J]

Personally I feel that forcing the big 3 auto manufacturers to switch to hybrid, electric, and alternative fuels as part of the bail out would probably have reasonably priced cars on the road in a matter of years and not the decades that the oil companies are projecting.

That and we are back to the issue of oil companies not drilling on land they already own/have rights to.

 

[30ashopper]

Personally I feel that forcing the big 3 auto manufacturers to switch to hybrid, electric, and alternative fuels as part of the bail out would probably have reasonably priced cars on the road in a matter of years and not the decades that the oil companies are projecting.

Forcing companies to build products people don't want solves the problem? Come on, we've had this in place through CAFE standard for years and it's only made the problem worse.

That and we are back to the issue of oil companies not drilling on land they already own/have rights to.

The only way your going to get drilling in places where the cost of extraction is higher than net revenue is by nationalizing the oil industry and drilling for a loss.

 

[Matt J]

Forcing companies to build products people don't want solves the problem? Come on, we've had this in place through CAFE standard for years and it's only made the problem worse.

Who says they don't want them, the Chevy volt had a mile long waiting list until they decided to "redesign" the overall look and make it into a dud. Just because it's a hybrid or electric doesn't mean it has to look like a Prius.

 

[Geo]

Make the hybrid look the same as its gas counterpart. Charge the same price for the hybrid as its gas counterpart. Offer tax breaks for automakers who do this and tax breaks for people who buy their products.

Then let's see who doesn't want them...

 

[beachmouse]

Personally I feel that forcing the big 3 auto manufacturers to switch to hybrid, electric, and alternative fuels as part of the bail out would probably have reasonably priced cars on the road in a matter of years and not the decades that the oil companies are projecting.

But it's going to take a long time for any sort of switch to hybrids/alternative fuels to really matter in terms of fuel consumption. It takes a long time to phase out one type of vehicle engine. Think about how there were places that still carried leaded gas into the mid-80s even though cars that took it were decades off the market. And how many people have or want to use $20-$30K to spend on a new car in present economic conditions when they could hold onto something older and paid for?

The creek don't rise, we're looking at 5-7 years before we even think of replacing our oldest car, which is already going on being six years old. And while we hold vehicles longer than most, the Passat's hoped for 12-13 year life cycle is pretty typical for a modern car, even if it goes through a couple of owners.