The next common enemy... - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

boneheaddoctor · #16 03-15-2006, 01:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elau

Bone,
You think the few "special" hollywood types really can do that much damage? Come on, we are all part of the problem. You included.

well they need to practice what they preach or keep their yaps shut....hypocrits don't make good spokepeople. And that is much of Hollywood.

Lebenz · #17 03-15-2006, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boneheaddoctor

yeah but its the people that can least afford new cars and typilally they are those who run them until they can't be fixed any more. and they grab the cars other people are dumping becasue its all they can afford. The idea of smaller transports has a flaw...around here you would need large parking areas for people to park while they take these (bus and van pools) and property is ungodly expensive...even for the government becasue guess who has to pay for it? and then many of these cost far more that it costs to drive..important for people already on a tight buget. Or the busses don't run to where they need to go....the spokes in a wagon wheel analogy don't fit most commuters trips here. (DC Metro area) Like a lot of things the devil is in the details.

There would be hardship for economically challanged folk.

Consider a transport system that picked you up at your home and dropped you at your destination. That's the reason for the state of the art nagivation and routing. so you wouldn't need parking. Remember also that one of the goals is a minimum of a 25% reduction in fuel consumption.

As a similar example, if you’ve ever used one of the on-line file sharing programs, you’ve seen that you can request a file from a location which has good bandwidth and minimum back log. Apply this to transportation. Folks can sign up for a transport on the web and select the transport vehicle that fits their location. Alternately one can be automatically routed based on next convenience. The driver would get an on going listing of pickups based on their current routing. Not terribly difficult to implement nor expensive to maintain. If it was done properly, a huge number of folks would be able to abandon their cars and only hardly miss them.

BobK · #18 03-15-2006, 01:55 PM

We could stop "burning" oil in our cars and trucks and we would still use a huge amount of oil. It seems to come down to, "YOU stop using oil your way, so there will be enough left for MY way) a lot of times. Fair amout of I don't like those things (trucks, cars, guns, skateboards, charcoal grills, whatever), so I want to ban them, they are unhealthy!

boneheaddoctor · #19 03-15-2006, 02:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lebenz

There would be hardship for economically challanged folk.

Consider a transport system that picked you up at your home and dropped you at your destination. That's the reason for the state of the art nagivation and routing. so you wouldn't need parking. Remember also that one of the goals is a minimum of a 25% reduction in fuel consumption.

As a similar example, if you’ve ever used one of the on-line file sharing programs, you’ve seen that you can request a file from a location which has good bandwidth and minimum back log. Apply this to transportation. Folks can sign up for a transport on the web and select the transport vehicle that fits their location. Alternately one can be automatically routed based on next convenience. The driver would get an on going listing of pickups based on their current routing. Not terribly difficult to implement nor expensive to maintain. If it was done properly, a huge number of folks would be able to abandon their cars and only hardly miss them.

commutes of 40-60 miles here are not unusual..and that all fairly densly populated miles too...I know what you are proposing and it would be great if it coulf be applied but with the sheer volume of square miles to cover I can't see how they could do it around here....certain metropolitan areas I would agree it might work...but around here it would be a royal nightmare...even the local bus routes are screwed up unless you hapen to live and work along them. An example is I live 3 miles from a metro station....(subway) . It takes a one hour bus ride along a 15 mile route to get there to or from my house. ( there is a street that goes direct but bus takes a long circular route Plus the metro travel time (45 minutes each way). I can drive the HOV lanes to downtown in 30 minutes on average. At far less cost for two people. Or me and my wife can spend a total of 3.5 hours a day commuting 16 miles each way instead of driving it in just over an hour a day.

Like I said the devil is in the details......even though at the surface it does seem like agood idea. And if it could be made to work it would be. And around here any more hardship will send a LOT of families into insolvency and bankrupcy.

el presidente · #20 03-15-2006, 02:13 PM

LMAO...Congress is about as effective with Big Oil as the UN is with the Iranian nuclear threat. Just more time-wasting and posturing by our elected officials.

boneheaddoctor · #21 03-15-2006, 02:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by el presidente

LMAO...Congress is about as effective with Big Oil as the UN is with the Iranian nuclear threat. Just more time-wasting and posturing by our elected officials.

congress isn't supposed to be micromanaging local issues.....thats what you pay your local officials to be doing.

koop · #22 03-15-2006, 02:30 PM

Hollywood and Hybrids? You guys are missing the big nasty. Iran just pegged its oil to the Euro. Others may follow suit. Do a little reading on just how screwed we are if a barrel of oil isn't priced in dollars.

Crash9, care to weigh in on this development?

boneheaddoctor · #23 03-15-2006, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by koop

Hollywood and Hybrids? You guys are missing the big nasty. Iran just pegged its oil to the Euro. Others may follow suit. Do a little reading on just how screwed we are if a barrel of oil isn't priced in dollars.

Crash9, care to weigh in on this development?

wait till we blockade the persian nutcase and see how long before someone takes care of the problem for us.

aklim · #24 03-15-2006, 02:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lebenz

Business would pass their fuel costs off to the consumer and we get a major revolution in the auto industry for the deal. Could even help dig Detroit out of it’s bankruptcy spirals...

It will take more than that to help Detroit. Perception of quality is a hard thing to overcome. It is easier to lose a customer (that they have done well) than to win one back (that they haven't done yet).

Lebenz · #25 03-15-2006, 03:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by koop

You guys are missing the big nasty. Iran just pegged its oil to the Euro. Others may follow suit. Do a little reading on just how screwed we are if a barrel of oil isn't priced in dollars.

Crash9, care to weigh in on this development?

Got a link?

Lebenz · #26 03-15-2006, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aklim

It will take more than that to help Detroit. Perception of quality is a hard thing to overcome. It is easier to lose a customer (that they have done well) than to win one back (that they haven't done yet).

They have lost me for that very reason. But the key word was help. Since the early 60s Detroit's bread and butter has come from under-cutting the purchase price of better quality vehicles.

crash9 · #27 03-15-2006, 03:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by koop

Hollywood and Hybrids? You guys are missing the big nasty. Iran just pegged its oil to the Euro. Others may follow suit. Do a little reading on just how screwed we are if a barrel of oil isn't priced in dollars.

Crash9, care to weigh in on this development?

It shouldn't make any difference over any length of time as the Euro/US$ float against one another. For a few months until the trade settiled down the lack of demand for dollars vs. / Euro's would be a shocker and may help shift the center of finance east, but that's just a matter of time anyway. Somewhat of a two tiered market may develop, but not much of our supply crosses the Atlantic. Mexico just had a big discovery and Canada is our major source. They're getting stronger, but crude is a world market so that transport, taxes, & exchange rate are the only differences between the Europeans and us. Our immediate problem is Venezuela, and what would happen if they start favoring China – we'd be in a tight.

dannym · #28 03-15-2006, 04:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boneheaddoctor

wait till we blockade the persian nutcase and see how long before someone takes care of the problem for us.

Not again!

Jason Beal · #29 03-15-2006, 04:35 PM

Poor Bone...........it's all liberal Hollywood's fault.

How many cars in your "stable" again???

Why not give up some of those and help everybody out. I mean, you wouldn't wanna be a hypocrite now would ya?

Hatterasguy · #30 03-15-2006, 04:38 PM

Whats wrong with driving the Prius up to the G5?

Seriously though congress needs to get off their fat overpaid comfortable buts and do two things:

1.Half the national debt and balance the budget.
2.Figure out a way to reduce oil consumption.

This really isn't a party issue because both of them have failed in these areas.

Problem is oil and car companys have bought them off. Secondly by cutting spending they will have to tell people things that they don't want to hear. Like sorry no gov funding for that program.