Modern Autos Lack Efficacy/Efficiency

Modern autos, on the whole, are one of the low-points of American society. Sure, we need them for transportation (because of unbridled urban sprawl from profit-driven urban-planning as opposed to planning based on scientific tenets and environmental stewardship), but really... how many of us are thinking transportation when we buy an automobile? We are thinking about the color, the horsepower, the sleekness, the stereo, the rims... Some of us are more shallow than others, but it's safe to say the median in this regard is quite low. So if you define "efficacy" in terms of what we, the materialistically obsessed populace wants, then I suppose we are just getting what we asked for. We want a car that will get us to work and not need to be fixed often, but after those concerns are taken care of we are focusing on things like impressing our boyfriends with them. Otherwise, what is the point of putting over-sized engines in cars? Luxury autos are very powerful but there is almost no actual use for this expenditure. I saw my neighbor bringing a new Jeep Cherokee home today and I thought to myself "I don't know of any mountains to climb with that thing in Green Bay..." It's safe to say that that vehicle will never even leave the flat and smooth pavement from which it sits. The enormous size of today's autos is troublesome. Gas may very well make these unworkable for the poorer crowd, but for the time being there are still a startling amount of SUVs and other large model vehicles on the road. Yes, they are more convenient. But if I wanted to drive a Prius or something similar, I know have to compete on the road with these bohemoths. It certainly makes it much less efficable for me to get a small car and try to save money for myself and help the environment for everyone else. You can't see past these trucks when you pull up to them at a stop (e.g., if you are watching for traffic coming from the left and then an SUV pulls up and you have to just wait until they pass to be able to see again) either. This is a review of a book by Keith Bradsher titled "High and Mighty: SUVs - The World's Most Dangerous Vehicles and How They Got That Way." (http://www.elmerfudd.us...). The first set of quotes is from the book, while the second is from the review: "[SUV owners]" tend to be people who are insecure and vain. They are frequently nervous about their marriages and uncomfortable about parenthood. They often lack confidence in their driving skills. Above all, they are apt to be self-centered and self-absorbed, with little interest in their neighbors or communities...One of the most primitive human emotions, according to the automakers' researchers, is the urge to be ensconced within the safety of a monster -- one that makes us feel much more powerful than we actually are." "One of the saddest of Bradsher's conclusions is that SUVs are inadvertently fueling an arms race on the road. As the drivers of non-excessive vehicles experience being blinded by SUV headlights, or crushed by SUV collisions, they are becoming increasingly compelled to purchase SUVs themselves as a matter of survival...As a result, Bradsher argues SUVs increasingly dominate the roadways and it is only a matter of time before they compel drivers who are not insecure and self-hating to purchase their own obese station wagons in order to increase the odds of survival during a collision." But aren't cars getting more efficient on gas? 30 Years ago, they seemed a lot more efficient than they are now: http://www.mpgomatic.com.... This chart shows the top MPG choices for the years '78-'81. As you can see, none of them drops below 40 mpg and there are lots of very affordable choices in models that I was very familiar with when I was young because they were quite prevalent. Looking at today's numbers tells a different story: http://www.greencarreports.com.... 2012 Mitsubishi i = 112 mpg 2011 Nissan Leaf = 99 mpg 2012 Chevy Volt = 94/37 mpg 2011 Smart fortwo electric 87 mpg 2012 Prius - 50 mpg 2012 Honda Civic hybrid = 44 mpg 2012 Toyota Prius V = 42 mpg 2012 Lexus CT 200h 42 mpg 2011 Honda Insight = 41 mpg 2012 Ford Fusion hybrid/Lincoln MKZ= 39 mpg At first it's like WOW! 100s, 90s... we sure have come a long way! But as you really look at the list, it's not that impressive. These cars aren't efficient GAS cars, they are only this efficent because they are electric/hybrid! NYC had an entire fleet of electric cars and the infrastructure to charge them - in the 19th century (http://www.todayifoundout.com...)! So for us to look at this list of 21st-century autos and feel good that they are finally figuring out how to integrate that technology is pretty ridiculous. The 5th ranked car, the Prius, wouldn't even be at the top of the list in 1981. The bottom five of the list would be somewhat competitive with the older cars, but they can't do it with gas alone. Most importantly, the older list comprises ECONOMICALLY PRICED cars, while the newer list is almost all expensive electric editions of luxury brands: we are not going to be seeing the streets flooded with these models to help the poor like we did in the late '70's/early '80s with Rabbits and Omnis. None of these cars are affordable in the least, and the tenth-ranked auto (Focus hybrid) wouldn't even have qualified for the older list at <40 mpg. So if every other car is <40 mpg today, that means that we basically have no ability to purchase efficient autos like we did in the late '70s. This is almost beyond belief. Comparing something with the technical nature of an automobile to it's predecessor of three decades prior is like comparing how we build wooden houses to the pre-colonial days. There is absolutely no excuse for this pathetic decline in efficiency. One last point I'd like to bring up is how difficult and costly cars are to maintain nowadays. Last year the blower motor went out in my Buick (I won't drive anything smaller because in Green Bay people love to drive trucks) and I was lucky enough to know a mechanic who rebuilt the motor for me with some spare wiring and electrical tape. The job was quick, easy, and inexpensive. Yet, had I not known him, I would have had to bring the car into a shop where I would have been absolutely gutted by the mechanics there. They would have insisted I buy a brand-new part and have them install it, which would have been in the triple-digits as far as cost. Have you looked at the dashboard in your new car? Have you tried to figure out where it comes apart? Try it once and then let me know how to do it. Your entire dash is probably one piece that covers the entire section from the driver's door to the passenger's door, and without special knowledge and tools you won't be able to work with it. When I was younger, cars were simpler to work on. I changed the stereo in my '89 Firebird by simple getting a screwdriver and undoing the screws that were in plain site right in front of me. Cars are incredibly difficult and complex to work on nowadays, while delivering even worse efficiency. Parts are so varied and specialized that almost everything you need must be specially ordered for that exact make/model/year, which drives the cost of buying these parts through the roof. We could very easily have much more efficient cars which are easy to work on with universal components that are prevalent and cheap, all while delivering superior gas-mileage. But we don't.