national obesity problem

[khedron]

From a New York Times article:

The average new car or light-duty truck sold in the 2003 model year tipped the scales at 4,021 pounds, breaking the two-ton barrier for the first time since the mid-1970's, according to a report released by the Environmental Protection Agency last week.

The fattening of the nation's automobiles is a principal reason that average fuel economy has stopped improving and the nation's consumption of crude oil has been swelling: all else being equal, moving more weight takes more energy. Add in the additional pollutants and greenhouse gases released by burning more fuel, and it is not surprising that the upsizing trend is condemned by environmental groups.

[...]

New noncommercial vehicles are actually even heavier than the statistics show, because the largest vehicles sold to consumers, including Hummers and Ford Excursions, are not classed as light-duty, so they are not covered by fuel economy rules or counted in average weight calculations. They are also exempt from many safety standards and crash-test requirements.

Comments

[desdenova.livejournal.com]

$2+ per gallon? Bring it on!

My New SUV Theory

[m00nglum.livejournal.com]

If for whatever reason you decide you need an SUV, two laws should apply. First you should be forced to own a second car which is legal to use in the city. It should be illegal to part on the street with an SUV, it blocks sight lines and makes the street skinnier. And second, a resource wasting tax should be applied to fuel for SUVs. That will make people think about wether or not they really need to use the beastie, and since they are required to have the smaller cheaper to drive car, will have incentive to use it. Heck, given how much SUVs cost, you could add the price of the second car to the price of the SUV and throw it in for free. (The whole spare care on the back of the SUV thing.)

Re: My New SUV Theory

[khedron.livejournal.com]

Thanks, guys. I occasionally worry about being out of touch with what most people think. I'm not saying you've done anything to disprove that, but at least I'm among friends. =)