Just right, yet wrong Chevy Tahoe Hybrid

Yeah, there are loopholes like the E85 credit scam/incentive of which automakers, esp. the Big 3 are taking advantage of along w/vehicles >8500 lb. GVWR being exempt (examples: Hummer H2, Ford Expedition EL). The former is a scam since there's nowhere near enough availibility or supply of E85.

But, CAFE did bring about huge increases in fuel economy in the early 80s and we're doing a lot better than we were in 1975 despite vehicles now having 63% more horsepower. (See http://www.epa.gov/otaq/cert/mpg/fetrends/420s07001.htm that I posted earlier.)

I can't speak the accuracy of your claim "75-80% of energy that is used in this country in homes and businesses" but at home, I receive electricity and natural gas (which does NOT come from crude oil). The places I've lived in have only ever been heated by electricity or natural gas, never heating oil (which does come from crude oil). Per http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epa/figes1.html and http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epa/epa_sum.html, only 1.6% of electricity generated in the US comes from petroleum. 49% comes from coal and we have PLENTY of that within a US.

Also, per the above EPA document "Fuel economy is directly related to energy security because light-duty vehicles account for approximately 40 percent of all U.S. oil consumption, and much of this oil is imported."

Oh yeah, oil briefly touched $100/barrel on Wednesday...

 

I submit to you right now that the price of gasoline has had a far greater impact on mpg than cafe. Do you think if the price of gas had been $.50 a gallon since 1980 that Toyota would have ever manufactured the Prius?

If te EPA says that only 40% of all US oil consumption is by light-duty vehicles, I think common sense would tell you that combining that figure with almost 100% home and business use of natural-gas, lp, and coal would back up my 75-80% claim.

 

It hasn't had a big enough effect. Why have "light truck" sales gone up so much as a percentage of light vehicles sales? Why are there so many monstrosity class SUVs still on the road w/20 mpg combined (MY 08+ EPA method) and below? Why are the sales of them not 0 or nearly 0? Why do still see brand new ones pop up?

Why as mileage declined after reaching a peak in early 87?

Natural gas and coal do not come from crude oil. Gasoline and diesel do. The US itself has plenty of coal but does not have plenty of oil, thus we import ~60% of the latter. Oil is the one that's been subject to: volatility, much coming from unstable regions and/or countries that don't like us (including those that harbor terrorists and hold extremist views), scarcity and us going to wars over it.

What are the VAST majority of motor vehicles in the US powered by? Products refined the aforementioned crude oil.

 

You yourself say that only 40% of crude goes to power light-duty vehicles, yet almost all of the attention and effort is used to regulate light-duty vehicles.
You know why CAFE topped out in 1987, because people wanted to drive larger vehicles becuase gas was relativley cheap. CAFE is meaningless, if gas was $.50 a gallon there would be no prius, and real CAFE would continue to drop and the manufacturers would just pay the fines like Mercedes and BMW always have.

Why all the attention to conserve a limited resource, why not put all of that effort into alternative fuels?

 

Same reason everyone does not live in a 1200 sq ft home and have one vehicle, one tv, one dvd player and one computer.

 

What alternative fuel vehicles are widely available to consumers at similar prices to gasoline or diesel vehicles, in wide use, have refueling times comparable to gas/diesel and have ubiquitous fueling infrastructure in place?

See? This goes back again to trying to CONSERVE the limited resource since there really are virtually no viable, widely available options in the short term.

 

All we have to do is decide there will be widely available alternative energy sources and it will happen. Te status quo says we continue to chase an energy source which is not endless and is controlled by a cartel.

 

Decide? Well, let's see, lots of car companies are working on/have hydrogen fuel cell cars, electrics, plug-in hybrids, ethanol/E85 based (a crock right now since the availability is poor and the net cost ends up being worse than gasoline due to the mileage hit), etc. When will we see these widely available, w/sufficient infrastructure, at a cost consumers are willing to pay and w/disadvantages few enough that consumers are willing to tolerate them?

IIRC, every US president since Carter has declared that America will be energy independent (I don't recall which if any/all gave a target year). Has that happened?

No. Look how much we import now vs. say the 70s at http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/hist/mcrntus2A.htm. IIRC, the percentage that we depend on foreign oil has gone up a lot since the 70s as well (wish I could find historical percentages).

People can do their part by buying less wasteful vehicles since it seems that gas price market forces aren't working well enough. They don't need the government's prodding to do that.

However, the government can help force this by doing things like forcing technological improvements, making it unprofitable for automakers to continue selling guzzlers (so they'll stop producing them), providing incentives for more economic vehicles, disincentives for guzzlers (or flat out making them illegal), and taxing the hell of gas. Perhaps $8 to $10+/gal gas should help.

 

How is that different from, "all we have to do to is decide we will have world peace ... and it will happen".
Or how about "all we have to do is decide (you fill in the blank) ... and it will happen"

 

Hill, unfortunately I don't think everyone in the world is on the same page when it comes to world peace. When it comes to energy and consumption, a strong US president could change things relatively quickly if the will was there.