Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Is Bigger Necessarily Better?
I was reading the Wall Street Journal this morning and they were saying that the American public wants fuel efficient cars and they don't mind buying small cars. However, those in government are worried that these small cars aren't as safe. The WSJ seemed to almost agree that we shouldn't be looking at these small cars because they aren't as safe as a bigger car. This is one of the few times when I really upset with the WSJ. I think that government regulations on the safety of cars is too much. I think we should look more at reducing standards to where Europe. Of course, that would mean we would need the infrastructure of...should I say it?...public transporation to take dependency off of automobiles.
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4 comments:
I'm not sure if it passed or not, but I know the EU was looking at requiring a fuel efficiency of around 32mpg for new vehicles (or at least the fleetwide average). That's about 50% higher than the current rate in the US and its because the cars are smaller, manual, and diesel.
The reason small cars aren't safe in the US is because everyone drives pickup trucks and SUVs.
Though, why would you buy a car with double the fuel efficiency if gas is less than half as much? I believe it's about $8/ gallon now in France.
I agree with Dan J. There is only a safety issue because of size mismatch. If standards were uniform it wouldn't be a problem. Many of the new, fuel-efficent cars use stronger-than-steel composites so they would be safer if all vehicles were the same size.
As for public transportation I think expanding our infrastructure is a good idea to fight global warming. From what I heard Amtrack ridership has been going up over the past few years, so this is good news. It is ironic that as passionate about public transport as you are Joe, you are still in love with cars. This is true for most Americans and this means that the solution is a multipronged attack that advances public transportation AND fuel-efficent vehicles.
Gas here in Europe is absolutely ridiculous. But the diesel cars get INSANE mileage, close to 40 mpg if you can drive efficiently (ie pick a speed and keep it, even at 85mph). And what helps to is they are finally being made to run cleaner.
But yes, the other problem is probably 1/10 people know how to drive manual. Being in that exclusive club I still try to avoid driving whenever possible.
But the big reason why I strongly oppose the SmartCar coming to the US (which I hear it is this year) is safety. If enough people were to make the switch, great. But they aren't going to. And you are going to have this cars literally the size of bikes driving around, and they are going to get smashed by these SUVs and Pick-ups. It is so refreshing to never see SUVs here in Europe.
I think there is nothing wrong with having an invested interest in cars, while still supporting a good, sound, practical and efficient transportation system. Look at the Germans (who seem to do everything lately right): DeutscheBahn (rail company)( is one of my favorite things in the world, and they have VW, BMW, Mercedes AND Porsche. And almost every German has one of the previously mentioned Autos. Just walking around town and seeing Porsches every 5th car. The taxis are Mercedes, its insane how wealthy this country is.
But anyways.
Tough call on the small cars. I wouldn't have a problem buying one, despite the small size and somewhat increased danger. Of course, I ride a moped around at 40 mph without a helmet, so what do I know about safety?
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