Changing the conversation on oil
I really enjoyed this article and I felt that it does a great deal to highlight where the real issues are with gas prices and it paints a realistic picture. There is one interesting thing that I am honestly SHOCKED I haven’t a lot more of. Since we know we can affect the market forces in terms of oil costs, why aren’t the politicians changing the market? Amazingly, I did see a little of this with McCain’s new battery push, but I mean a real investment in alternative fuel solutions like Honda’s FCX car. If the government gave several billion dollars and tight timelines around making these cars (and an array of vehicles) affordable, accessible and serviceable, dramatic change could occur in the next 5-6 years.
I looked at this report:
I retrieved the following data:
Automobiles:
USMS members report 2.17 cars per household. 49.4% report having 2 cars, with 19.7% having 1 car and 19.6% having three cars. 51.9% of households report buying a new car every 5 or fewer years. The average length of time between car purchases is 6.3 years. Given the average number of cars per household we can extrapolate that USMS households purchase a new car every 3 years, on average. Japanese car makers are the preferred automobile provider. 43.9% of members report preferring Japanese cars, 33.6% of members prefer American cars, and 14.2% prefer German cars. 8.3% prefer “other” countries of origin.
If we do something significant like provide a $5,000-$10,000 tax credit to ALL people (not tiered by income) in order to drop the barrier to entry somewhat on a new car purchase, I think we could affect that 6.3 years. Since the car already exists by Honda, they could step up production significantly within the next 1-2 years and within the next 2-3 years most manufacturers could follow suit and we could change the market.
I would personally love to see the market changed vs. looking at how to fix something that is inherently broken and finite.
Additional notes:
Consumption Article: http://www.usms.org/admin/surveys/May2006/consumption_report.pdf
Article Link: http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/jun2008/db20080619_412349.htm
Honda FCX Clarity: http://automobiles.honda.com/fcx-clarity/
3 years ago