Apparently, their time frame didn't allow them to include the VW bug, which of course was the industry standard for a long time when it came to parsimonious fuel use.

Oddly, the list includes the original Honda Civic, but not those tiny little Honda Civic-precursers: CVCCs, I think they were called? My friends all either loved 'em or hated 'em.

"They are death traps!"

"Cute, though."

Via Insty, who—one way or another—is going to get me to subscribe to Popular Mechanics this coming year: they are just so good at comparing our future options when it comes to energy, and they tell us which organizations are doing it best—if you want to know who's going to win the "energy race," you need to be reading them.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 11:06 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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It looks like it contributed. Via PJ Media:

Ours is a petroleum-based economic system, and the high prices for oil and natural gas drove the cost of most things up. The subprime borrowers were scrimping to get by and the increase in food prices, in fuel prices, and in the prices of most items due to higher transportation costs pushed many subprime borrowers into default. This crisis was decades in the making — with the Community Reinvestment Act and demands by government that lenders make these subprime loans — but came to a head at this juncture because of spiraling energy costs.

And Russia invaded Georgia.

During the first presidential debate, the subject of this invasion came up and Obama hemmed and hawed with the standard “we must use our allies to pressure” fare. John McCain had the perfect opportunity, but let it pass, sounding strikingly similar to Senator Government in his analysis of the situation. He has since repeatedly missed the opportunity; the answer was “drill here, drill now.”

Russia is resurgent because of energy, and the invasion of Georgia was largely over the natural gas pipeline built to supply Europe and bypassing both Russia and Iran. The Russians tried to destroy it with air raids in the opening days of the war. Vladimir PutinÂ’s strategy for a return to superpower status for Russia is built on oil and gas money; the increase in worldwide demand has made Russia rich, and Putin and his oligarchy own a piece of most oil and gas companies operating there. Their power is based on their control of this wealth and the stability of the Russian government hinges on the stability of these commodities. A drop in the price of fossil fuels is destabilizing to the princes of Muscovy.

And the financial crisis in America is, indeed, hurting them. Russian oil companies have been forced to cut prices, leading investors to withdraw $33 billion from the Russian economy. Russia already has serious problems finding people to work the Central Asian oil fields, and depopulation problems have driven them to offering free land to American farmers if they would become Russians. (Perhaps we should settle illegal immigrants there; many have a working knowledge of U.S. farm practices, work hard, and want a better life for themselves.) Economics is a tyrant, especially where a nation is ruled by plutocrats and not by laws. Putin cannot afford the slow bleed of petroleum wealth.

His war in Georgia was costly. The current hemorrhage in oil prices makes military adventurism just too expensive.

That is why John McCain should have called for “drill here, drill now” in the debates, and it is why he should harp on this issue. McCain is positioned to take advantage of the drop in oil prices, since it was the threat of new U.S. drilling, led by his own party, that brought those prices down.

This is a winner: good for the economy; a foreign policy success, if unintentional; and a clear difference between himself and Barack Obama, who has employed the audacity of soap to scrub his connections with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, along with Tony Rezko, William Ayers, Jeremiah Wright, communist Frank Marshall Davis, Raila Odinga, ACORN, the Chicago Democratic Socialists of America, etc., from under his fingernails. McCain should remind everyone, and continuously, that four-bucks-a-gallon gas is only the beginning if Obama strolls down the Potomac to the White House.

The stock market crash in 1929 became the Great Depression because taxes were raised at a time when the market needed liquidity—and Smoot-Hawley placed tariffs (taxes) on imported goods at a time when free trade was needed most. Obama proposes raising taxes and rethinking NAFTA, while wanting higher gas prices. Anyone can do the math, if it is laid out for them. The Obama plan makes economic collapse likely. Oil is the lifeblood of our economy and McCain has already promised to remove ethanol subsidies. This is a winner for him, and he should trumpet this to the heavens.

If heÂ’ll only listen.

That's what 527s are for, Boys and Girls. And Vice-Presidential candidates.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 04:10 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I'm wondering what our overseas overlords have in mind for us. By that I mean Saudi Arabia, of course, in consultation with Iran and with a tip of the fedora to Russia.

Please build more electric/hybrid cars, continue researching renewables such as wind and solar, exploit clean coal, utilize natural gas, and build us some French-style, super-clean nuclear-power plants.

Oh, and . . . what was that other thing? Right: drill, Baby. Drill. Especially here in SoCal. We gots us the building permits, the pipelines, and everything. Just create a ruckus so the enviro-extremists aren't looking for a year or two, and we'll have your petrol right here. Hangin'.

A commenter at Gail's post informs me that electric cars are expensive. Maybe—but they are getting less so. Meanwhile, there are plenty of gas-sipping alternatives, including a lot of cute offerings from Toyota, Nissan, and Honda—as well as the bitchin' Mini, and the kinky, fabulous Smart Car, which is shockingly inexpensive and downright adorable.

These aren't hybrids, but they get gas mileage that is as good as or better than my old VW bug did. (With better safety, superior handling, more power, etc.)

And if you really do need hauling space or the comfort of a sedan, there are plenty of hybrid SUVs and sedans (e.g., the Camry).

Of course, now that I live in a condo development, all the plug-in cars are a lot less sexy to me: I'd either need a huge extension cord that would go down three stories, or I'd need to cut a deal with the HOA and charge directly from their garage—paying an additional electric bill based on their estimate of how much extra electricity we were using. Sounds a bit icky, at least from the perspective of a possible pioneer: I'd rather deal with a hybrid that had a battery.

Or (my favorite) a flex-fuel vehicle.

Or (my other favorite) one of those Mercedes that runs on biodiesel, or French-fry oil. Free fuel might well be worth living with a car that smells like a fast-food joint.

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