Would you drive an alternative-energy car?

[Delano]

Poll question: Would you drive an alternative-energy car?

Would you drive an alternative-energy car?

Or more specifically, would you buy one as your next vehicle if the price was say, 20% higher than a comparable combustion car, and the powerand safety were comparable? Which one would you be most interested in?

(If you already have one, please click the one you have)

[Dark]

1. Yay! I got to be the first person to vote!

Anyways, I'd drive anything that functions reasonably and is economic.

[TexasMexican]

2. No

I will probably buy a diesel truck though and do any necessary modifications myself.

[graham67]

28. Just looked at a diesel Ford F250

$6000 more than the V8. :(

[ibegurpard]

3. I would drive ANYTHING that was safe

and used an energy that wasn't dependent upon non-renewable sources.

[Sugarbleus]

4. I chose other..........

Because..............I've finally come to the realization that we should stop buying so many cars period. We should stop building more highways and start building railways, many different types of railways. Some for commuting, some for long haul, some for short haul.

Leave the highways for people taking their kids to school or picking up the laundry or people going camping etc.

I came off a short/long haul drive recently...I'm getting older and I was exhausted! The traffic was atrocious. The constant staring at the road was tiring. My feet swelled up. My eyes went blurry. My butt got sore. my Back w/arthritis was killing me. The gas is too expensive and I can't watch the scenery. How nice it would be to have a nice rail ride to a long destination without having to stare at the road, being able to get up and walk around, even take a nap.

There would be ample lots along routes to park cars in patroled safty and inexpensive electric or ? vehicles for rent at your destination. I used to think that would be a lousy idea, but with all the talk of pollution and blood for oil, I think it makes a whole lot of sense now. Of course the auto industry would howl bloody murder--they were the co signers of the first interstate highway systems in the first place--so we'd buy more cars. Voile' We are in the mess we're in now because of it. We wouldn't have to take up more precious land to build enormous highways in urban/suburban areas. It would be ideal and pleasant. Railways would have to go in every concievable direction too, to make it accessible for almost everybody. The oil companies would freak out, but....Muahahahaahah :evilgrin:

[AndyTiedye]

5. Trains are Not Only Efficient, They are a Very Nice Way to Travel

We need more of them.

[shraby]

6. Also a more efficient way

to transport goods. I remember the looong trains when I was a kid..some had over a hundred cars. It was fun to try to count all of the cars.

[samhonk]

10. I did too

Oil dependency is not the only problem with car dependency. I have a friend who refers to cars as "cat-flatteners", and while that's a glib name for them, it's still true that even a nonpolluting car can run over pedestrians, bicyclists and animals.

We'd be best served by starting to ease ourselves off car use entirely, by supporting rail and other mass transit, as well as developing walkable cities.

[IrateCitizen]

11. Another name for cars -- "belt expanders"

If people live in areas in which it is actually easier to train/walk/bike, they're healthier because they get more exercise through their daily routine. If they live in areas in which it is easier to jump in a car and drive, they tend to be more obese.

Hence the higher obesity rates in the US as compared to Europe.

[samhonk]

17. Good point, IC

I've lost 40 pounds since I got a job within walking distance. The best shape I was ever in was when I was a bike commuter. Having public transport within walking/biking reach of people who are now in sprawling car-centric 'burbs would help a lot with the obesity epidemic.

Slightly OT, I keep seeing a lot of foofaraw online about how bicycles (bicyclists) use as much energy as cars, if they eat only meat, and stuff like that. It's starting to look like the "bikes use as much energy as cars" meme is catching on - though I notice these calculations leave out the idea of a car driver's basal metabolism.

[Kellanved]

21. What is the point about the energy amount?

I mean most food isn't made from fossil fuel, so it is still far better for the environment. (CO2 from plants - or by extension animals - is Global-Warming neutral, as it only releases CO2 accumulated during the lifetime of the plant; that's what BioDiesel is all about).

[samhonk]

23. I'm not sure.

as far as I can tell, it's fuzzy-logic car apologia. It just annoys me that it keeps popping up here and there.

As a science geek, I get annoyed when people on any side of an issue abuse figures or statistics to advance their cause. For instance, I'm very much in favor of people walking to work, but I got mightily peeved by one walking advocate's insistence that walking and driving actually amount to going the same speed. According to him, if you count the hours you have to work to pay for the car, insurance, and fuel, and average the car's speed over THAT time plus driving time, it works out to typically 4-5 miles per hour, or walking speed. Therefore, walking and driving are exactly the same, so why drive? I do agree that - where possible - people would be better off to walk, but I'm not going to try furniture shopping or taking my wife to the hospital on foot.

on another edit: By this logic, if you count in all the time that went into preparing the moon shot, maybe we could have walked THERE in about the same amount of time. According to http://www.geocities.com/naran500/features/universe/one_step.html , it'd take about 14 years to walk it.

on edit: for the record, when I do drive, I drive a Prius. I've had it for 3 years and been very happy with it. So I guess my real answer to the poll is "Yes, gas/electric hybrid."

[AndyTiedye]

31. Depends On How Much You Get Paid

> I got mightily peeved by one walking advocate's insistence that
> walking and driving actually amount to going the same speed. According
> to him, if you count the hours you have to work to pay for the car,
> insurance, and fuel, and average the car's speed over THAT time plus
> driving time, it works out to typically 4-5 miles per hour, or walking
> speed.

Mr. Walking Advocate appears to be making far less than minimum wage.

[IrateCitizen]

24. My counter to that bike argument is simple

If you want to become a fat-ass by spending all your travel time behind the wheel of a car, that's up to you. Just don't cry about it when all the kids point and laugh as you waddle down the street wearing a moo-moo.

Personally, I'd rather bike and look good as a side effect.

[samhonk]

26. I'm with you on that one

But you do realize posts like that are a cue for a lot of "not everyone CAN bike / walk to work" - which is true, but often intended as an accusation rather than a pledge of support for public transport & walkable / bikeable cities.

[Lorien]

32. I love travelling in Europe because of it's great rail

system. It's just so much easier and more relaxing! I've come to loath driving the freeways here in Florida; I swear, everyone with an SUV is a f*cking homicidal/ suicidal maniac!

We had a measure on the ballots years ago that would require the state to build a high speed, mag-lev rail system. It passed in a landslide, but Jebby, of course, has looted the State treasury to give tax breaks to millionaires and therefore the system can't be buit. But he found enough $$ to give his campaign contributers to widen all the freeways! :grr:

[Sugarbleus]

35. I'm really pleased so many relate to this topic...

I'm in Calif. This being such a huge state--still plenty of room--I can envision some pretty nice rail systems going into service here. "They" say that the people won't go for it. I don't advocate the abolition of cars, just the added benefit of rail service to help move people from place to place more efficiently; in my case, more comfortably.

As I stated in my original post, it's no wonder ole Jebbers won't spend the bucks on rail service...it would cause investors in the auto and other industries to lose. Awww That attitude is so short sighted.

There are soooooooo many possiblities for change that would benefit everyone and help save the environment and oil reserves, for those concerned about that.

We still have to run our ships and planes and trucking industry but we can find alternative sources of fuel for the remainder of cars on the road and for heating/power etc.

One of you mentioned the benefit of having our jobs or mass transit or biking ways close so that some of us who can still walk...DO SO in order to stay healthier. It's true. These ideas would do that.

I really do have a vision of how things could run effectively for everyone. It's just about getting citizens on board with the ideas and pressing them into action. We have to PRY the reins of transit control out of the tight fisted hands of the power elite.

Great replies all.... :thumbsup:

[Delano]

7. Kick.

For the morning crowd.

[shoelace414]

8. Prius

I already drive a Prius.

[trogdor]

16. What kind of mileage do you get?

There is a movement afoot (maybe you've heard of it already) to discredit hybrid cars. The idea is to drive them in such a way as to minimize the mileage increase (like flat out on the expressway doing 90), then report on the cars as if Toyota were selling us a bill of goods. One prominent meme is that the EPA's MPG test is biased toward manufacturers, and Toyota is knowingly using the EPA's mileage estimate to mislead consumers.

Since I don't know enough to rebut any of this, I was wondering if you (or any other Prius drivers) could.

[shoelace414]

19. MPG

about 35mpg in winter and 45mpg in summer

[IrateCitizen]

9. I can't vote on this, because I'm torn between two choices

The next car my wife and I get will be a gas/electric hybrid, probably a Toyota Prius. We were leaning toward a Corolla before, but with gas prices going up-up-up, we would undoubtedly make up the difference in reduced fuel costs.

But I'm also interested in converting an old pickup truck to biodiesel some day too, especially for local trips.

In any event, I think we're rapidly approaching the day when we will no longer be able to easily jump in the car and go for a drive everywhere, when we will be FORCED to take less trips and explore alternative modes of transportation, so that's why I'm looking at the hybrid in the short run and biodiesel in the long.

[supernova]

12. I'd drive any alt engery car except

biodiesel. I'm not sure about it. I'm just not fond of diesel.

[wtmusic]

13. Bicycles and the Internet

take me everywhere I need to go on a daily basis

[TommyO]

14. Diesel, dino or bio

I'm currently driving a VW Jetta diesel which can easily use biodiesel - nothing experimental about it.

[ClassWarrior]

15. I voted hybrid...

...because they're the most practical at this time. And when it's time for a new car - soon - I'll probably by the Civic hybrid.

But I'd go for any of them, given their practicality. There's no infrastructure for electric yet. Hydrogen's still too unsafe. And I don't know much about bio or other experimentals, but just about anything's better than the economic, environmental, and social damage to our world being caused by fossil fuel dependency.

[AntiCoup2K4]

18. Sadly, compact cars are not realistic when you're 6'6"

Hopefully, hybrid technology will soon be available in trucks or SUV's that are a little more realistic for myself. Or a diesel operated vehicle, running on biodiesel. The bus system here uses it, and they seem to run fine. Plus the exhaust smells a hell of a lot better than regular diesel.

[samhonk]

20. Where do you live?

I'd be curious to see/smell bio-d buses. Here in Salt Lake City, Utah, we have a public transport authority whose heart is in the right place but we're not that far along.

[IrateCitizen]

29. The new Prius is NOT a compact...

I don't know if you've seen them or not, but they're a full midsize, with the interior space of a Toyota Camry, or more.

[Lorien]

34. Slightly more interior space than a Camry

and since two 6'4" friends of mine drive Camry's, few people should have trouble with the Prius.

[redqueen]

22. I voted Hybrid electric/gas

because it seems that's what's most easily available. Not that I'll be able to afford it or anything. :)

I agree with Sugarbleus and others though, that trains are the way to go. I much prefer public transport when I go downtown. I wish our cities were more cyclist-friendly, too, because I'd love to be able to bike around for neighborhood tasks, but drivers around here seem to be downright hostile to cyclists.

[tom_paine]

25. Yes. In fact there is a good chance my next car will be one

[TX-RAT]

27. Would buy one now if

It could do the same work as my truck. But sadly they don't exist.

[Oddman]

30. I think bush should give up Air Force One

and start traveling by HOT AIR BALLON - his administration blows out enough hot air for a trip round the world!

[noiretextatique]

33. what about ANY alternative-energy car?

no option for that.

[buycitgo]

36. I'm looking for a Prius now.......

going to take vacation to whichever place in US/Canada has cheapest price.....fly/train out--drive back

anybody know if you have em in your neck?