slowdown

Toyota Plans to Mass-Produce Plug-in Prius in 2012

As I read all of the technical gobbledy gook and flip back and forth between bytes of various articles and studies on battery powered cars….I have to wonder who will be buying them.
My sons graduate from college this year with four-year degrees. They will earn a starting salary of around $40k per year. They will likely have health care but no pensions..so will have to put money away for old age…ideally…10% of their income. They will have to be “do it yourselfers” just as their Grandfathers and Fathers were/are.

We will be retiring or forced into lower paying jobs in the next few years (yes age discrimination is alive and well in this country). We will go back to being “do it yourselfers” (personally…we already are) due to income limitations.

That said – the bulk of the population will be purchasing one vehicle that can:
- Haul two adults, two kids, the family dog, the travel trailer or camping equipment and the fishing boat (the days of hotels and flights are over – we go back to camping).
- Carry a payload or pull a trailer capable of hauling everything from lumber to bricks (these young kids are buying small starter homes that need repairs and so are we).

For those that need two vehicles, the second will likely be a cheap driver that will get one person back and forth to work. The average person will commute to work or live and work in small rural communities. Like myself – my kids and their friends, view living in big city trappings as unattractive, dangerous, unhealthy, too confined and far, far too expensive.

So…what’s the intent here. As far as I can tell…these cars will be too expensive to own and operate for the average family and they will not meet their needs. I really want an answer because from my spot in the back seat…we are heading down the wrong path. If the intent is to force a change to my lifestyle – I’m getting back in the driver seat and my answer is – NO!
You all need to go back to the drawing board. And this time…instead of waiting for some other country to figure out the answer for us…start working on the solution ourselves. Since our household incomes have been dramatically reduced – the solution needs to be a low cost alternative fuel that allows us to maintain our previous standard of living. From everything I have read – the electric vehicle isn’t it.