I foresee a revolution on its way, and not in an Arab country....this is madness........

The European Commission on Monday unveiled a "single European transport area" aimed at enforcing "a profound shift in transport patterns for passengers" by 2050.

The plan also envisages an end to cheap holiday flights from Britain to southern Europe with a target that over 50 per cent of all journeys above 186 miles should be by rail.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/eu/8411336/EU-to-ban-cars-from-cities-by-2050.html

I like it.

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You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows - Robert A. Zimmerman

I imagine the governments of China and India are secretly laughing their butts off right now.

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Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.

I have to agree with one of the posters on the Torygraph site....

What will the French protesters burn during a riot?

If there is adequate public transportation I would give up my car in a heart beat. In most European cities I have visited I never had a car and never missed it.

I think it sounds like a great idea. Tell the ME to go pound sand and drink their oil.

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Sent from an agnostic abacus

2014 C250 21,XXX my new DD ** 2013 GLK 350 18,000 Wife's new DD**

- With out god, life is everything.
- God is an ever receding pocket of scientific ignorance that's getting smaller and smaller as time moves on..." Neil DeGrasse Tyson
- You can pray for me, I'll think for you.
- When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.

Everyone should experience the ease of a good public transportation system at least once. It goes something like

1) Stand at the bus stop and ask someone what bus gets you to your destination
2) Wait 4 minutes
3) Get on bus, sit and read
4) Get off bus

But if you plan on going to the suburbs you will have to plan it since bus service to most areas outside the city proper sucks. In my neck of the woods it's something like two busses during the morning and evening rush hours and one every hour outside of rush hour.

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You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows - Robert A. Zimmerman

This is not madness: This is EUROPA!

I knew that was coming. You realize, about 100 years ago we had no cars and things worked out just fine.
America will follow, it just takes them a little longer, as usual.
America needs to get out of it's baby shoes and acknowledge the maturing process.
I know it's tough business to develop intelligence capacity, unfortunately, there is no way around it.

Fact is, Europeans have long adopted to a "carless" lifestyle and a majority actually welcomes this fact.

It's America, that's literally still stuck in the "fossil" mindset.

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Europe built it's cities for people on foot, with livestock walking through town. Consequently the streets are narrow and the population, dense. Certain roadways are wide and straight. These are the paths down which livestock were driven to market and slaughter.

About 1/2 of the population of the USA through its entire history has existed since the automobile. Just as with the Europeans, we have designed our cities and towns, for the most part, as a result of and adaptation to the dominant form of transportation. They had foot travel, we have cars. It was far easier to adapt European mass transit to the fundamental planning unit, population centers, then for us. Their populations tend to be conentrated while ours are dispersed.

Thus, the European model cannot possibly work in the USA, given our current population distribution and density. To adopt Europe's (or any old world city from London to Tokyo) transportation model to the USA will require trillions of dollars of urban renewal and redesign, or a system that focuses more precisely on our western hemisphere population distribution.

I would love to see some supporting data for your claim of the "carless" lifestyle of the Europeans! And did these morally and intellectually superior Europeans who supposedly are carless do it voluntarily or was it forced on them by their overtaxing socialist masters? Inquiring minds want to know!

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1984 300TD 1981 240D

Perhaps if you ask some similar folk who live in NYC with out a car you might find an answer. Just an idea.

As for the carless part in Europe. Every larger city I have been to (Berlin, London, Rome, Paris, Madrid, Prague to name a few) were easily manageable with out a car. Even transportation between cities in Europe is quite easy with their train system.

The US chose the rout of the car. IMO it was a wrong choice but it is what it is. Given the congestion in the cities something will have to happen. Even with decent transportation the grid lock in some cites is horrendous.

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Sent from an agnostic abacus

2014 C250 21,XXX my new DD ** 2013 GLK 350 18,000 Wife's new DD**

- With out god, life is everything.
- God is an ever receding pocket of scientific ignorance that's getting smaller and smaller as time moves on..." Neil DeGrasse Tyson
- You can pray for me, I'll think for you.
- When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.

You should do some extensive traveling. I am sure it will satisfy your inquiring minds.

Now, if you on the other hand, still prefer to believe that the American system of taxation is indeed "voluntary", I think we have a clear winner in the segment of intellectual superiority.

Socialist, Capitalist = same difference.

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That's a very plausible assessment. Another fact is though, evolution will not stop at the automobile, as we know it.

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Just answer the question! Do you have anything to back up your claim of the supposed carless Europeans? I have traveled extensively in your beloved country and was stationed there in the Army, and for a carless society there sure is a lot of traffic! Just like the US, people in big cities use public transportation a lot more than those in the country or suburbs.

Not sure how you gathered that I think taxation is voluntary in any country. My point was that if the people in Europe do indeed go carless by 2050, it won't be out of a sense of enlightenment or intellect, but because they are forced to by their socialist masters who use the "green" card to further their agenda of controlling every aspect of their lives. If given the option I would say most Europeans would rather be in the US at that point. Why are you here?

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1984 300TD 1981 240D

Seriously, I think we're so far apart, I can't respond to your post.

If I answer your question as to "why I am here", what you think your next question will be?

Millions of people love to live without a car in Europe, it's common knowledge, no supporting data required. Many do so because of common sense and rationality and if ridding yourself of an aggravating burden means intellectual enlightenment, then that's what it is.

Do you think there is no control here in the USA? Just because they call it "The Land of the Free"? How come we're all depending on fossil fuel and our individual automotive transportation.

I am navigating the Greater Los Angeles area on a daily basis. You should come and try it some time.

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