I think my blood pressure has gone up again and this time it is because of people out and about as we approach Memorial Day complaining about the rising cost of gasoline. Listen, people, please, take my advice -- Shut the hell up! At least shut up, or start using that energy for solving the real issues here.
What got me going was a quote I read on CNN in their article Fed Up Station Owner Shuts Off Gas Pumps that can be found here . In this article Maria McClory stated that she drove over 100 miles a day for work in her SUV. This one got me going. The kicker occured later when John Schwartz indicated that he could not "fill up his SUV at that price" (previously stated at $3.49/gallon). He later indicated, per the article, that "...if it keeps going like this, my kids will never be able to drive."
Give me a damn break. As a citizen of the United States of America, it sickens me when my fellow citizens gripe, bitch, whine, and complain when they are forced to step up to do something that the rest of the world has been doing for quite some time. This sense of entitlement that many Americans have is ridiculous. And don't give me that "we're entitled to it because our soldiers pay in blood when no one else fights" B.S., because I will smack you down with the unnecessary-war bat so hard you'll go running to mommy crying for bandaids and a lollipop.
The rising cost of gasoline is NOT the problem -- it is the MILEAGE we get. What we pay for gas is still not what the rest of the world pays for its gas. If you don't believe me, go drive around Europe for a while. When you realize you are paying four and a half bucks a gallon for gas, then you'll understand.
But four and a half bucks a gallon isn't bad if you can get 40 or more miles on it, right? Maybe 50? But Fatbody, we can't have these cars. Fatbody, our government and our president and our car manufacturers are telling us that they are working diligently to solve this for us. Fatbody, if we are lucky, we may see cars on our roads that get 40 mpg in ten years. Unless we buy hybrids, or hydrogen cars.
STOP BEING AN IDIOT! The technology for better gas mileage exists. If you don't believe me, check out the New Ford Mondeo, manufactured by (yes you guessed it) the American Motor Company we know as FORD. This is one company we have that says they are FRANTICALLY WORKING TO IMPROVE YOUR GAS MILEAGE ABOVE 25mpg. This is one company that George W. Bush is pushing to "develop new technology" so that we can have cars with higher gas mileage on our roads sometime in the future. The Ford Mondeo 2.0TDCi LX (115ps) 5d, on sale in Europe TODAY, gets 50 miles per gallon! 50! FIF-TY! Why the hell can't I buy this car in the United States? It's made by FORD for goodness sake! Want to see more cars? Click here . What you will see is a list of all cars sold in Great Britain and their results on governmental mileage tests. If you want more mpg, go to diesel, but for now, I'm arguing petrol (gasoline).
One thing to note is that their gallons are 8 pints of 20 fluid ounces each, ours are 8 pints of 16 fluid ounces each. This is a 20% difference, which takes the 50mpg down to 40mpg. Hell America, I'd SETTLE FOR FORTY MPG. And if the fact that they are selling these cars in Europe without giving the United States consumer the option to purchase doesn't piss you off, listen to this.
If you want a better comparison, Ford sells the Focus in both the United States and in Great Britain. According to the U.S. Government Fuel Economy information database the 2007 Ford Focus 2.0L 4-cyl. 5 Speed Manual gets 27mpg (New EPA) 31mpg (old EPA). In Great Britain, according to their standards the most similar Focus, the Ford Focus C-Max 2.0 Duratec 2.0L 5 Speed Manual Petrol (gas) engine gets a whopping 38.7mpg. With the above fluid ounce conversion that meets the above old EPA of 31 mpg, which was amended to be 27mpg because it was deemed innacurate. These are combined numbers that bring up problems in their calculations, relative to the standards of the country computing the statistic. So let's compare highway mileages. Not highway and city mile averages. The U.S. Gov't states the Focus gets 33mpg highway, and in Great Britain, the Duratec gets 50mpg. Did I say that right? You're damn right I did. FIFTY miles per gallon. FIFTY POINT FOUR (50.4) to be exact. And again, after the fluid ounce conversion, that's approximately 40mpg!
Didn't I say something about selling myself on a street corner for forty mpg?
If you feel you are entitled, Americans, then drop your cheetos and get your butts off your couches and pitch a tent on you congressman's lawn and GET THESE CARS INTO THE UNITED STATES.
GM produced twenty five years ago the car known as the GM TPC. It got 75 miles per gallon! And believe it or not, this same company produced the GM Lean Machine in 1982 that reached 80 miles per gallon! And beyond that, the GM Aero series and GM Ultralite in 1992 are proven to reach 100 miles per gallon!
WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?
Do you get this? In 1992, GM could manufacture a car that achieved 100mpg, but continued to sell cars to the public that only achieved 20mpg.
WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY?
Why can't we work forward from what we already know and increase our fuel efficiency, instead of continuing to undermine our populace by telling us we can't do what we've already done?
WHY?
WHY? WHY? WHY?
WHERE IS MY 50 MPG CAR? I'm entitled to it, after all.
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3 comments:
Amen, brother.
In Turkey, gas was approximately US$2.50 per LITRE. It cost us $80-$100 to fill up our tiny little rental car. American drivers ain't seen expensive gas, yet.
Tell it like it is, my friend. Those of us born after WWII didn't have much of a say in the rampant suburban sprawl that virtually forces us to own a car. It is more than a little irritating that my personal transport gets approximately the same gas mileage as a 1908 Model-T Ford (25mpg.)
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