Would You Give Up Your Cars for a Cleaner Environment?

[Wrecked944]

Originally posted by strother
I would give up my car as daily transportation, but I'd want to keep it for sport.

Same here. Pretty much the only reason I use my porsches for daily driving is safety. The high speed abilities of a porsche are just wasted on the street. But I genuinely believe that porsches are safer than other cars (in fact, after I bought my first p-car, I was deeply shocked at how wildly uncontrolled all other cars felt in comparison). I tell ya, the first company that comes up with an environmentally friendly car that handles like my 944 is gonna get a big check from me.

That said, I have been looking into getting a diesel...preferably from mercedes or some other top end company...and trying out the biodeisel approach. I have a friend who is going deep into that world and I am very seriously intrigued.

Oh yeah, and because of the huge torque that you can get from a diesel, a biodiesel sports car is not at all out of the question. If anybody on this BBS wants to try such a thing, I'll gladly throw some R&D cash at it.

[Rick V]

This gets 30mpg with the ac on and 32 with the windows open. I think it is friendly to the environment. It also serves as my daily driver. 30% chance of rain is 100% chance the SC will stay in the garage

[Moneyguy1]

I am impressed at the number of posters who are sensitive re: oil dependence and the (not onlyh natural but also) economic environems.

Hats off!!

[M.D. Holloway]

OK, different spin, would you give up your car to stick it to the big fuel cos and the middle beast and the crooks in Africa that ensalve the poor?

[HardDrive]

If we all had to give up our cars tommorrow, I would not mind, as long as there was good public transport.

That being said, I think it is horse **** to make people feel guilty about driving cars when industry, in particular coal fired power plants, dumps far more pollution into the atmosphere.

[Rufblackbird]

I would not give up my car nor my bike, but if we had a rapid transit system (like a monorail or something) I would be more than happy to take it to work everyday. 92 octane at the nearest Chevron just hit $2.75 a gallon...

[campbellcj]

If I had an alternative way to get to work every day with perhaps even +15 minute commute times, heck yea I would do it most days.

The current reality is that public transport options (I'm guessing but can't be far off) would be 2X or more the one-way car drive time, which is already 30-40 mins at best and 90 mins at seriously degraded times.

If somebody would install a system (express luxury bus, train, helicopter, or whatever) that would get me to work more quickly than my car, with reasonable comfort so I could read or work or whatever, hell I would be willing to pay quite a bit for that.

[David]

I couldn't give up my car but I see a future where I'll be limited to driving it on the track.

I'm putting EFI on my 930 purely for environmental reasons, the performance gain is just a bonus.

Even a $2.20 or more per gallon, I don't think Americans are going to conserve fuel. I think the government should start increasing gas taxes maybe 10% a year until it's high enough for people to start wanting more fuel efficent vehicles.

I also wish there was a 1/2 ton full size truck with a small turbo diesel, such as a 4 liter V-6. I bet such a vehicle would get over 20mpg as apposed to my truck which gets 12mpg.

[jyl]

Suppose we gradually raised gas taxes and put that money into mass transit. Cities which currently have poor mass transit systems and choking traffic (LA, Seattle, for example) could develop good mass transit systems, and people could read and snooze on a comfortable train instead of suffering for 1 hour in traffic. The increases could be slower for regions where mass transit is not so feasible (rural areas, for instance).

Alternatively, maybe we could increase taxes or CAFE standards to favor more fuel-efficient vehicles. If 10% or 20% of demand for big fuel-sucking truck-based SUVs shifts to mid-sized fuel-efficient car-based SUVs, that would be significant.

I'd like to see the federal government actively looking at things like this. The government has done nothing to reduce gasoline consumption. We've spent over $300 billion on MidEast wars, oil has climbed to $60, and the only energy policy I hear from Washington is encouraging new nuclear power plants. I think more nuclear power is a good idea, but that will mostly replace coal, not oil.

[bryanthompson]

Does increasing gas tax actually work to discourage people from driving, though? I get the idea, but I don't think on a large scale people alter their driving habits because of the price of gas.

[jyl]

Maybe not, but I suspect comfortable and convenient mass transit does. (See the anecdotal responses in this thread.) The increased tax could fund more and better mass transit.

Originally posted by bryanthompson
Does increasing gas tax actually work to discourage people from driving, though? I get the idea, but I don't think on a large scale people alter their driving habits because of the price of gas.

[lendaddy]

Well, we didn't do what the environmentalists said we had to last time and I think we're dealing with this Ice Age pretty well if I do say so myself.

[Purrybonker]

[i]

Toyota Prius 6 gallons Regular 89 octane each way.

It has Sat radio, nav system, the A/C works better than any other car, it is comfortable and does whatever speed I want. The limiter is set at 116. The Cd is better than the 911. You eventually get used to the way it looks, haha, everytime you fill it up for $20. Best mileage is at 64 to 67 with cruise control on. I usually set it for 82 or 83 so as not to get run over by the trucks. Out the door $25k.

It still makes sense for a commuter car. [/B]

Wow - I'm impressed. But with long waiting lists (cabbies gobble them up like crazy) - is there actually anyway to deal with them on a Prius? Or do you just bend over and smile as you sign the paperwork and cut the check?

[gaijindabe]

When cities were ankle deep in horse crap - cars were seen as cleaner...

[targa911S]

I'm with Struther and Janus. Yeah I would drive some else or ride on a mass tarnsit. But I would not give up the fossil burner for fun.

[JavaBrewer]

Originally posted by campbellcj
If I had an alternative way to get to work every day with perhaps even +15 minute commute times, heck yea I would do it most days.

The current reality is that public transport options (I'm guessing but can't be far off) would be 2X or more the one-way car drive time, which is already 30-40 mins at best and 90 mins at seriously degraded times.

If somebody would install a system (express luxury bus, train, helicopter, or whatever) that would get me to work more quickly than my car, with reasonable comfort so I could read or work or whatever, hell I would be willing to pay quite a bit for that.

Same here. Commuting from North County to SD is a joke if you're using public transport. 2.5 hours each way using a train/trolley/bus combo vs. 1 hour in my truck (15mpg) vs. 30 minutes on motorcycle (45 mpg).

Our household garage is the OPEC dream, a big azz SUV and a F150. Luckily the SUV is a low mileage kid shuttle and grocery getter for wife that goes to the pumps once every 2 weeks. The truck is invaluable however makes no sense as a commuter. We won't give up using a car (no realistic PT option) but are open to alternatives.

[1967 R50/2]

Here is a better idea. Instead of subsidizing farmers to grow NOTHING (it happens), why don't we pay them to plant TREES on that empty farm land? Would serve as a nice Co2 buffer, maintain the top soil and provide usable lumber at a later date.

...nah sounds to reasonable.

And sure I'd take mass transit if it were available. The bikes would be just for occasional kicks.

[lendaddy]

I know farmers that intentionally sabotage their crops to get gubmint dough. You can't just "plant trees" though as it's a year by year thing.

[1967 R50/2]

Originally posted by lendaddy
You can't just "plant trees" though as it's a year by year thing.

So make a lump sum payment to plant trees and discontinue all other year to year subsidies. Then let's see how fast they jump at the opportunity to become a X-mas tree farm.

[Superman]

Originally posted by dhoward
No.
But then I usually have my head in the sand. Just ask Super...

Thanks dhoward, I'll take it from here. Anybody else want to assign me as their spokes person?

We are in love with our personal transportation, here in America. And especially us Porsche gearheads. The vast majority of vehicles on the road have a single occupant. And they out-weigh a 1956 Buick Roadmaster. I'll give up my Porsche when they pry it from my cold dead hands, by the way.

Nevertheless, I would deeply love to see mass transit facilities and schedules/routes increased/improved. I would very much like to have a reasonably convenient mass transit commuting option. I'd like someone else to do the driving, and I could catch up on some reading. And it'd be cheaper.