US roadways will look like Europe soon...

What about those with a need for something larger?
Three of my twelve grandchildren live with me.
There are many times we need our van.
I am not super wealthy,just do not have a choice.
BTW,I had just under 1/2 tank ( 12.6 gallons) today,cost $50.00 to top off.
Put 7.2 gallons in my Pri Saturday $27.50.
I top both off each week.
That is about $310.00 a month.

 

There are several options available for those who need a larger vehicle... VW would do good to bring their autobus back over here. This will be more economic than than pretty much any SUV on the road today. Also, don't forget about minivans... built lighter and safer than SUV's, people would be wise to wake up to how smart these vehicles are instead of opting for the dinosaur SUV.

On the topic of the roads looking more European, I certainly hope so... A couple of other things we could 'learn' from and implement:

- bike paths and sidewalks flanking every street
- a road surface that is actually smooth and driveable. If we get these monster trucks off the roads, maybe it will actually defer the inevitable pock marking and pot holes on pretty much every road and freeway. I was stunned how good the roads were in Denmark last year... even the smallest backroad was smooth and free of pot holes, and this is a country that is subjected to frost and snow/ice every year. Or then again, maybe we just make sucky roads here, in the name of saving money.

 

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Funny, it used to be wealthy people showed off by driving fast, sporty, small cars, now it will be bouncy, big SUVs.

Although our vehicle inventory will be more similar to the European market, we will staill have the supersized roads, so that will be nice. Have you seen the roads in Europe? Tiny!

One trade I'd like is out interstates allowed to be run like the Autobahn. I loved the open sections where it was no speed limit, and the unwritten rule to stay right or get brights flashed in your rear view until you wake up and get over. Loved that! We need that here!
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No doubt,we make REALLY,REALLY sucky roads here!!

 

I agree that there are just times where some people need a bigger car which of course is fine.... We just need bigger cars available as hybrids or other, such as this van... Could you imagine how great it would be if all the people driving vans because of larger families or whatever had this choice.
Toyota Estima Hybrid Van (Available in Japan)

 

I have no problem with bringing an Autobahn-like system here... but we need quality roads first. There is no interstate in Northern California that is safe for people driving 100+mph on regularly.

 

500/month?????

I was burning 500 a week in my diesel 4x4 2500. Try getting a 2k fuel bill every month, it really sucks.

 

Roads here are not built as well as ones in Europe, the road bed is not nearly as deep nor packed so tightly with sand/concrete/etc.

Also, while I now drive a Prius, there was a time I drove an Explorer. I have three kids (older now) but at the time I could not fit all 5 of us (hubby, me and 3 strapping sons) into a car smaller than that for family outings. Bigger vehicles do have a proper place in this (or any) driving society.

 

Wow! That is a lot of driving. I have driven a Duramax quite a bit myself, and it was not uncommon to get 18+ mpg. Given that, and estimating an average diesel price of $4/gal, you must have been driving around 9,000 miles per month. Even if you were pulling a heavily laden trailer and only managing 12 mpg, that would add up to 6000 miles per month. That is an absurd amount of driving indeed. I detect a hint of exaggeration.

 

I get 22+ with my duramax 3/4

 

I don't doubt it, and that is why I said 18+. The duramax is truly a fine piece of technology. If I needed a truck to pull things, it would hands down be my first choice. I am not disputing the fuel economy so much as a mileage driven during the course of said month.

 

In Europe, like we should do here, when they have a need for larger cargo space they choose a longer car, like a wagon(of course an awesome Mercedes type), not a big tall SUV. Don't think I ever saw an SUV in Europe(for 3 years), except driven by the GI's stationed there having brought their vehicles with them.
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I was on interstate 70 in Illinois, and did a little "road census." I don't think people realize the number of SUV's and vans with (usually) ONE person. Here were my results:
30 tons of vehicle (looked up the rough specs for each model recorded)
75 seats (lots of SUVs and Vans) LOTS
14 occupants. ...[something is wrong here]
That means for the average of 5.3 or so seats, there is one person. Usually the driver.
There is absolutely no excuse for that! That is over 2 tons per person!

 

Believe me guys...

The Party on Autobahn is over...

I drive every morning to work 50km "Not-restricted" Autobahn with 110km/h = 68,35 mph... at this 50km I get overtaked by maximum 20 cars... the rest drive likes me or less than 65 mph

Regular Fuel in germany is 1,47 EUR/l... thats 3,79 EUR/gall means...

1 Gal regular Fuel in germany is 5.88 US$

German Autobahn is slow at this times

Andreas

 

Not quite true. I was in France (Paris) and Spain(Barcelona and Valencia) in March, and saw Hummer H3's and Land Rovers in both countries. Both are the boxier SUV size, and neither were the "rental" car type. I also saw station wagons, usually of the Mercedes or Volvo size, as well as bobtail delivery and semi trucks. What I saw most of were very small cars, though, and even a few Prii.

 

Again, you are judging people you don't know. Perhaps they just offloaded 4 kids at 3 different schools and are now on their way to work.

The judgemental attitude that absolutely no one ever needs to drive a large car or SUV is uninformed and ridiculous. Plus, you know what gas costs. Those people are paying the same price as you, and they're paying much more quantitatively for driving that large car.

 

The US will have greater emphasis on walking and bicycle routes, electric light and high speed rail, and more human-centered communities. Large trucks will cease being "warehouses on wheels" traveling back and forth across the country and will focus on train to local community transport. We will make greater use of renewable, sustainable energy - solar, wind, hydro and geothermal. All this will be more cost effective and efficient. It makes no sense for every family to live in a "starter castle" or drive a "land yacht." We must work from being 100 years behind Europe. European roads are narrow - for good reason, emphasis is on transportation, not megalarge, fuel guzzling individual vehicles.

 

I agree with your comment. I don't begrudge anyone driving their SUV's or minivans. And it's not my job to judge anyone for what they choose to drive. (I do wish, however, that they would stop parking next to me in the parking lot. No matter how far away from other cars I park, when I come pack to my smaller vehicle I will have one of these behemoths on either side of me. It makes it extemely difficult to back out of my parking spot, even with a back-up camera. That's just plain rude!)

 

That's still very cheap compared to the UK:

Regular fuel in the UK is £1.18 per liter. That's £4.46 per US gallon or $8.74 at today's exchange rate. I don't remember how much of that is taxes. I want to say it's something like 40p, but it could be as high as 70p. If I can find any solid numbers, I'll come back and edit.