I can see it now. With all the electric cars, hydrogen fuel cell cars,hybrid cars and other gas avoiding cars the Gumment will do one of 2 things.GPS all cars with automatic billing for road use or bring back the good ole toll roads. Happy motoring!
5Pillars said ""Actually the plan is to do BOTH - get ready for the growing POLICE STATE! "" Dean Koontz had a great line in one of his books, something along the lines of "you can tell how corrupt, and how close to collapse a society is, by how much they enforce their chickenshit laws, like going 8 miles an hour over the speed limit...."
CORRECT - here is the new law that may pass in Florida - TOTALLY F U IMO!!! Speed and go to jail for 5 to 10 years!!! http://www.infowars.com/?p=2155
I proudly drive an 06 civic w/ 4 cylinders - motor trend car of the year. It gets good mileage, will probably last 250,000 miles, holds its value better than most, is extremely safe, is comfortable, looks good, etc. etc. I don't feel the need to impress others nor worry about "performance." It was the best investment for a decent price. Whether I get to 70 miles an hour in 5 or 8 seconds just does not seem to matter, unless you are 19 YO. And in the cities, I never get the point of someone with a Maserati and a speed limit of 30 mph. But you get to constantly worry about whether someone rips it off or dings it. But, to each his own. If someone wants to impress me, take the $90,000 for a BMW and spend it on those in need.
I second the opinion of LT701; I have been ranting about most of these SUV's that are clogging the roads for years now...Usually occupied by 1 or 2 people. They are very wasteful expressions of vanity. Just because you are an American and "free" to drive anything you damn well please, doesn't mean you should pick the biggest, most wasteful, road and parking lot clogging vehicle possible without getting a truck driver license. IMHO it is unpatriotic to burn so much natural resources without a good reason, job-related or such. It is bad for the environment we all share, bad for the U.S. trade deficit, and good for some countries that hate the U.S. and sponsor terrorism. My wife and I just put down a reservation fee on a smartcar (smartusa.com) and visited with the Dallas area dealership, the waiting time right now is 8-12 months. I'll rent a van from uhaul for that once-a-year or so that I need to move something that won't fit in one of our cars.
Just got a new Honda CR-V... 4 cyl., 2.2 Diesel! Top Version with leather, Navi, rear camera, radar and many other gadgets. IF it has to be a SUV, then rather such a Honda than a BMW X5, AUdi Q7 etc. It's ridiculous seeing housewifes driving their kids to school with a 2.5ton truck...
Let me clarify. I love Audis and BMWs. They are a lot of fun to drive.... However, my life does not revolve around just fun, but I need a vehicle for practical reasons and it has to be reliable. It has to get through the snow and be able to do everyday tasks. A BMW or AUDI that is more then 2 years old has a lot of headaches and its streel appeal is quickly lost as the new models roll out. When it comes time to sell them, they are hard to move. Check out any 2-4 year old BMW/Audi on the street and ask yourself if you would want that car. It was great new, but a little age kills it real quick. A 2003 Honda Accord is more reliable and practical any day of the week then a 2006 BMW. The smartest guy on the street is that dude who drives around in the $3000 8 year old Toyota Corolla. He gets about 30 miles to the gallon, doesnt worry about depreciation, doesnt worry about payments, doesnt worry about insurance, doesnt worry about his car getting a few dings...when it comes time to sell his car he'll get maybe 1-2000 for it. Thats about 1-2k in depreciation for 50-100k miles of driving. When he does sell it, it will move within a few days and at the price he sets. He may even get 3000 for it. Then he'll take that money he saved and join Don Brite or Swift to trade with it. Haha As for myself, BMW/AUDI are fun chicks to be with, but I need the chick who will be there with me for the long haul and I dont want to worry about getting stranded. HONDA gentlemen, HONDA!!!
those CR-Vs are about the right size - i peeked in one yesterday and they look like they have lots of passenger room. i have a 1994 5-speed accord. its a great car. i go into some rough neighborhoods & i drive alot of miles. i drive cars into the ground... the accord is a great car. BTW, WTF happened to diesel prices? i noticed its $4.85/gl here in Socal? used to be cheaper than gasoline? the best car i ever owned was a Toyota Cressida. anyone who has owned one will likely agree - great car. i got 350k miles on that baby - i put a used engine from japan in at like 280k. the tranny finally died at 350k great car, comfortable and had some power too. didnt get great mileage though. i get like 30 mph highway in the accord. Port - you forgot about the write-off per miles :0... i paid $2,500 for my buddys M-I-L's 1994 accord with 73k miles - she was li\terally a little old lady that only drove it around town - she avg'ed less than 7k/year in mileage. i bought it over the phone and didnt even know what color it was. ill likely give it to my son when i get close to 200k on it. the corrollas are too small.
Life is not just about being prudent in every way. I spend at least 2 hours a day driving, so I might as well enjoy the ride. Driving the Accord is sort of like a bowl of vanilla ice cream - it is not really offensive and gets the job done. Driving a nicely engineered vehicle is like a sundae with all the toppings - you just can't get enough! To put it another way, the Accord is a plain girl with no makeup; a BMW is a supermodel in your lap