do "gas guzzler" taxes apply only to cars?
Case in point, an SUV in the streets of Paris could be comparable to a big rig in our neighborhood streets. Especially when there's already very little room for the tinny mini cars. Pars
B.S. A midsized car has as much, or more legroom than a pickup or SUV. An Accord has 33 mm greater leg room in front than a GMC Yukon... the Yukon does have 8 mm greater headroom in front. Does your buddy have long legs or a big head?
Yes, it does give a strange perverse satisfaction to hear the SUVers whinge so about the recent gas price hikes. D'oh, did they think it wasn;t going to happen? They should move to Iraq, where apparently the U.S. taxpayer is subsidizing gasoline to the extent of a pump price of ~5¢/gal. Paris has the same mix of light trucks, pickups, vans and other commericial and semi-commercial vehicles as any other city; it also has some of the widest boulevards of any city on the planet. The streets are *not* all to small - no different really from NYC. As for the banning of tractor trailers from neighborhoods, it's always seemed absurd to me that those things were allowed in streets where it is impossible for them to obey the road rules - IOW if you cannot get around that corner without riding the curb, taking down a bush/tree and crossing a double yellow or solid line on to the wrong side of the road... don't go around that corner. Rgds, George Macdonald "Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??
Many SUVs are no bigger than the average Paris taxi-cab. Rgds, George Macdonald "Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??
Allright, they're not all too small, but there's enough small roads to make it an issue. Espeically when it's time to park the car. True, You'd have to be one gutsy driver to take a big rig into the downtown area. Some of these Grayhound drivers seems to make it look easy. Pars
thats not fair to criticize the SUVers for whining about gas prices. thats like buying a new grill and then having it rain all summer. instead i'd blame the ones who voted (or lack of) the goon into office responsible for the price increase. thats like asking your neighbor to hose you down every time you go outside to barbecue.
I think you can assume that modifying the vehicle ride height for street use would be illegal. And I think you could pretty well count on it voiding your insurance. Would police/munincipalities enforce it? Some would. (Similar to window tinting.) Eventually one would stop you. You would be fined and your insurance canceled. Your auto registration would be suspended until you could prove that the vehicle had been returned to compliance. And if your modified vehicle kills or injures someone, your willful endangerment of their life would certainly be considered in the lawsuit(s) against you. (The ones the insurance company will have nothing to do with.)
Judging from the height of the flames, I would say most SUV drivers in Iraq keep their tanks pretty full.
dunno bout the insurance part, but it will void the mfr warranty, and if the truck gets stolen/totalled, and the lift kit isnt on the policy, the insurance wont pay for it kinda weird- seems in so cal, theyll harass kids for wheels that stick out, tint, loud exhaust, but the (mostly white) kids with the lifted trucks dont get harassed. i guess i could see a johnny cockran doing something like that, but if you get hit by a truck, its going to suck no matter if its lifted or not.
Criticize? I'm laughing at them and their myopic vehicle choice. Grill in the garage. The impact is somehwat different in terms of national economic health. You think OPEC gives a shit about Iraq? The price of oil has little to do with the situation in Iraq, which was not pumping much anyway under the corrupt U.N. oil-for-food program. The oil industry infrastructure in Iraq is err, broken... after 12 years of neglect. Think about blaming the growing economic success of China which is sitting on its indigenous oil source, while the world market price makes it attractive to do so. Rgds, George Macdonald "Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??
which is exactly what america does. they learn from us pros! we have oil in texas, and alaska, and california. we just dont use it. why? hell- why not? the oil companies are getting their share, so they dont care.
Oil companies will start to care about their reserve capacities once hydrogen fueled fuel cell vehicles start to hit the market around 2010.....there will be head to head competition in the energy arena.This will be the beginning of the end of the oil fuel era too.The Saudis know this as well.That is why they are trying to moderate prices right now.If prices continued to go through the roof,these technologies would rollout even faster and hasten their demise.It is in the cards anyway;all they can do is slow it down.Hybrids ARE ALREADY HERE....these cars are a stopgap between now and then.In general OPEC will have diminishing influence.
i'm aware that the US imports most of it oil from mexico and not the middle east. but there is the increased inflation, increased taxation, and general cost-compiling related to the import and refining of oil. i miss the economy and overall standard of living from the clinton days. me??
Gee thanks, Gordon....You've given me one more thing to worry about as a mom of someone whose car is modified somewhat illegally. :^) I always knew the darker tint might get him stopped, but hadn't thought about the angle you present. I will be *so* happy when he reaches the age that *he's* responsible for his actions, not us. It's 18, right? Fingers crossed it's not 21....
I suppose it's always possible that someone is going to stumble on a wonder catalyst which makes hydrogen production economically feasible -- personally I have my doubts -- and that the portability problem will be solved... even more doubts. The current talk of hydrogen as a fuel is a fraud. Yeah well we also have FFVs in the Mid-West which run on ethanol and gasoline but that doesn't mean they are viable - in fact their existence owes more to the D.C. pork barrel than any sound science/economics. Rgds, George Macdonald "Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??
It doesn't matter where exactly the oil comes from - it's a global market. Clinton got lucky - the rot, mostly triggered by the dot-bomb, had already started before he left but he dodged the major brunt of it. If you want a scapegoat.... err, Greenspan whom Clinton left to run amok. Rgds, George Macdonald "Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??
I wouldn't worry much about the tint leading to insurance/liability issues - hard to show it caused an accident. Getting pulled over is another matter. As for your son's emancipation; ages may vary from state to state and there may be other factors like who owns the car, who pays the insurance, does he live with you, claimed as a dependent, etc. Good luck.
