I doubt that the organizers (if such exist) have any delusions that a
drop in consumption resulting from a gas out would have any effect,
even at the very local level. My assumption is that the goal is press
coverage. This would have some effect, though an unpredictable one
once the affair became political.
Given that my Sprite returns a fairly steady 33 mpg, I think that our
best bet at effecting true change is to call for a constitutional
amendment requiring all auto manufacturers to build, market, and sell
spridgets. They would be allowed to sell other vehicles, but only
under penalty. The penalties will be linked to the size and fuel
consumption of the non-spridget products and other indexes that I
choose (since I will be the car czar). Thus, in the US, Ford would be
forced to sell 123 Sprites for every Incursion (I mean Excursion)
sold. However, they would gain points for every Euro-spec Focus sold
in the States. DaimlerChrysler would be forced to sell 138 Midgets
for every Mercedes-Benz sold in the States. The extra 15 spridget
penalty is because we're already tired of Daimler's 'Uber All'
attitude. GM sucks so badly that they will not be allowed to make or
sell spridgets. Instead, they will have to take a financial penalty
for every boring, rainy-day-in-dreary-old-Pimlico car they sell.
Since this is all they make anyway, these penalties will force the
demise of GM, and none too soon. Happily, the extra effort that it
takes to hand-build the spridgets means that all those GM workers
will have jobs waiting for them in the Ford and Chrysler plants. All
auto workers would then have interesting jobs that require thinking
and craftsmanship. Accident rates would drop as people would be
driving cars that (1) they can handle and (2) they know will not
protect them if they do hit something. Additionally, injury rates
would plummet. We'd all be driving little cars that make going the
speed limit fun, so the few accidents that do occur will be
fender-benders. Finally, our dependence on foreign oil would truly
plummet, greenhouse gases production would drop, the hole in the
ozone would fill again, and spotted owls would roam the earth looking
to kick butt on snail darters.
Now, if we'd all just do as I say...
---
On 2/26/00, paul m wrote:
>mike,
> this kind of activity is a futile effort and probably would result
>in a false impression. just consider the stability of oil/fuel prices
>that
>is created by the futures markets in crude oil in 3 and 6 month
>increments.
>a 3 day boycott at the retail level would be about as significant as a
>pimple would be on the north end of a south-bound elephant.
>
>lbc content: adult elephants usually weigh more than a "stock"
>spridget!
>(your tonnage may vary)
>
>paul m
Jeffrey H. Boatright, PhD
Senior Editor, Molecular Vision
http://www.molvis.org/molvis
"Seeing the Future in a Very Tiny Way"
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