Mike Whelan posted the above photo to his Flickr photostream recently.
Back in April, when gas prices were still well below the $3-per-gallon mark, it looked like sales of SUVs were starting to slow. Interestingly, we’ve crossed the threshold Keith Bradsher quotes in High and Mighty, his book detailing how the US auto industry became so dependent on SUVs and how common sense has been powerless against them. The threshold was the point at which gas prices would begin having the same effect on current car purchases as the 1970s oil crisis did.
Oil prices are rising as oil reserves are declining. Where will you be when we find ourselves on the far side of the Hubbert Peak?
tags: auto industry, automobiles, car purchases, cars, crisis, empty gas tanks, energy, energy crisis, energy prices, gas, gas prices, hubbert peak, oil, oil crisis, oil prices, oil reserves, peak oil, powerless, suvs
3 Comments
Hey great article, i also wrote a similar article too, check it out if you like
-Rick
Coming Crisis
[tags]Coming Crisis, baby boomers[/tags]
this is weird because are gas prices are $3 a gallon and back then it was3 cents so they shouldnt be mad
These are all problem of design, designed to enslave us…
3 Trackbacks/Pingbacks
[...] I’m a fan of the Smart, the fuel efficient European roadster that’s smaller than a Mini (see above). It’s coming to America, but indirectly and not without some complexity. Oddly, considering the current energy crisis and that buyers appear to be looking for more efficient vehicles now, there’s a lot of red tape involved with bringing efficient vehicles new or old to the US. [...]
[...] People looking for oversized pickups, ridiculously large Russian Army trucks, even jet powered speedsters have it easy. But what about people who have some understanding of the Hubbert peak and don’t want SUVs? 50+ MPG cars have been available in Japan for 30 years now, and can be bought used in Canada for under$5000. But US law forbids importing them to the US! Heck, the Smart, the super-efficient line from DaimlerChrysler, has been available in Europe (and now Canada) for about ten years now, but it too can only be imported with a lot of restrictions. Don’t talk to me about Priuses, either. They’re selling on ebay for almost $30,000. [...]
[...] The movie makes some good points, but let’s face it, high oil prices encourage conservation and research on alternative energy technologies. [...]
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