I actually welcome higher gas prices (to a point). I live in Denver, where way too many people drive a huge ass SUV or truck. I am not talking about an Explorer or Blazer or any reasonably sized vehicle. I mean Expeditions, Excursions, Escalades, Yukons, F350s and so on. Meanwhile, we are fighting a war which fundamentally is about oil. I am not saying that we can't have cars that fulfill our needs. We are Americans, and we are capitalists. That's what this country is about. However, show me one soccer mom that couldn't use an Explorer instead of an Excursion.
Oh and another thing- If you are going to drive a beast of an SUV/Truck, learn to park it.
I believe the same thing, but unfortunately, I'm something of a conspicuous consumer myself by driving a luxury sport sedan that gets 20mpg. I could get by with a hybrid civic, but I chose something else. If someone can afford an Excursion (and the gas for it), I'm not going to say they can't buy it no matter how much I oppose their buying it.
I don't have a problem with conspicuous consumption. I have a problem with conspicuous consumption that destroys the environment, causes war, and makes the highways unsafe for anybody driving a smaller vehicle. Believe me, I am conservative and a capitalist. I just hate seeing these giant monsters driving down the road with bumper stickers that say something like, "Say NO to War." How ignorant do you have to be to realize that we pay some of the lowest gas prices in the world by fighting wars like this so that you can waste it all because you have 2 kids and, god forbid, some gym equipment to carry around?
For the record, I would set the level of reasonable gas mileage at about 20 MPG. It isn't so low that it is extremely wasteful, but also isn't so high that we all have to drive golf carts around. I am just looking for some moderation here...
so...if I have 3,4,5,6 or more kids and a snowmobile, motorcycle, atv, boat, utility and/or camping trailer to pull now and then - would it just be ok if I drive very carefully and put a Caution: Wide Right Turns bumper sticker on my Yukon XL? Thanks, cause I don't wanna lose sleep over this.
2004 | 6MTs | Diamond Graphite/Graphite
Upstate NY
I mentioned that because of what you said about conspicuous consuption. I got the feeling that what I was saying was coming off very "green". I would actually consider myself a conservative/libertarian and a capitalist. Those are just all labels anyway and above all I am a pragmatist. I think most people who aren't held publicly accountable for their stances (i.e. elected officials) are usually somewhere in between anyway because they consider each issue individually, not based on party lines. Ever watch Bill Maher?
As to whose moderation is correct; How about this? The US uses 25 percent of the world's oil supply, and represents 5 percent of it's population. Admittedly, that isn't all because of SUVs, but who can argue that everything is a-ok with that number. If we want to do better, then the first place to look at is vehicles that are at the bottom of the gas mileage bell curve. The G35 is a perfect example of a vehicle that is comfortable, luxurious, over powered for what somebody "needs", yet still has a reasonable gas mileage.
By the way, I am flying down to Dallas this weekend to pick up my 6MT Coupe.
As for us using 25% of the world's oil: doesn't that come down to capitalism and pragmatism? We can afford that gas, so we buy it. It's probably not fair, but does that mean it's going to change? I'd actually like to see the numbers for Europe and Japan, because they have different balances of industry and cars than we do.
But you're right, we are definitely the most consumptive (?) nation.
Wow this topic has become very political. Ya'll sound very well informed. I'm not big on politics, but I do have my opinions. I say If you can afford to drive a huge SUV around, then no one should tell you that you can't. I don't know what label I would get for that. I just like to respect the fact the everyone is diffrent, and we have to get along somehow. Even though we all label ourselves, and others, we still fall under the same catigory...American.
|03.5 G35 Coupe | 5at | Obsidian Black | Graphite | Premium | Performance | Pictures |
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