Quote:
Originally Posted by ebacon
Let us take your argument to an end point. Assume cars could get infinite fuel mileage and have zero emissions. What would people do with that technology? Would they pave over everything?
Detroit experimented with improving fuel economy. Consumers simply took the savings and moved further into the suburbs. And paved their way there.
There is a bigger issue at hand IMO, and it is legislative. Automotive engineering has tried and failed at reining us in.
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Huh? What decade was this that 'Detroit experimented with fuel economy,' enough that consumers felt a great windfall that expanded their housing choices? I think you're talking about the working-class white-flight of the 60's and 70's, the era when busing came in and blocks got busted. And I don't think anyone was sweating mileage and commuting cost much until the oil shock of '73.
There was a different and obvious dynamic motivating the 'white flight.'