"The Future of Cars"

In the 50s'... I can remember the "Gas Wars" in my little hometown in Upstate New York.

There would be three gas stations in a row, let's say an Esso, a Sinclair, and an Atlantic ("Atlantic keeps your car on the go - for business or pleasure - in any kind of weather - Atlantic keeps your car on the go..."). But I digress. The first would advertise "26 cents a gallon"... the second would be "25 cents" and the next "24 cents." For this, they all ran out to the car - washed your windows, checked your oil and tires and coolant - and pumped your gas. I wonder if they do that today in China? They would see-saw and my father loved it. I don't know what kind of mileage our 1952 Hudson Wasp got, but it was a tank.

Much later, my high school years of 1959-1963, would let us cruise a Friday night date for $2 bucks in the tank. That was my hourly wage at Mr. Wallace's drug store. It's funny, because if a kid makes $8 bucks an hour today, that still is enough for gas on Friday night. The new Chevy Impala then was about $2,500, today it's $25,000.

Our problem, as Americans, is that we are voracious consumers. After WWII, Europe went for small cars, small apartments, and scooters. We morphed into 59' Caddy's, Hummers, McMansions, and Harleys. Not to mention Big Macs, Mega Big Gulps, Biggie Fries, and "All you can eat buffets." Well, we're paying the piper today.

There was a great story on cable last night about the 2009 Tokyo Auto Show. The cars were absolutely gorgeous. Beautiful to look at - cheap to buy - and seriously economical to operate. But guess what? Nearly none of them are produced for the US market? Why? BECAUSE WE NEED HUMMERS, DARN IT! WE MUST HAVE 4X4 DRIVE. WE MUST BE READY FOR.... WHATEVER!!!