Toyota’s Green Problem

Please note one Toyota owner's website at http://www.toyotaoilgel.com. Hopefully, Toyota will resolve the engine oil sludge matter for all affected. Oil consumption in some of these vehicles is significantly increased, and many are failing emissions testing. This is quite the opposite of "going green." Follow "toyotasludge" at Twitter for updates.

2008 Presidential Candidate Weekly Poll

For those of you who bought into the BS of "Who Killed The Electric Car", you should know that Toyota has come out and said that the movie was essentially a slander campaign against GM and that they also could not sell or lease the mules in California. Better yet, the film's director agrees. (See "Electric Car Killer?" Detroit Free Press 12/20/06)

As for the rest of the article, it disgusts me when the some group like the Sierra Club, which has no understanding of the physics behind something as complicated as a car, can sway the opinions of masses of people using inane rhetoric. Will we get there with our fuel economy? Undoubtedly. Will it be with technology ready for mass consumption today? NO. Will it be on their imaginary time table? Probably not (for reference, read up on the legislation that forced the automakers to sell the unwanted EV's in the first place and the reason it was ultimately revoked.) In the end that won't matter because SC et al will just say 'I told you so' and 'they could have done this long ago' and everyone will believe it because this country prefers scandal to the boring reality of physics and manufacturing.

And for those of you that continue to beat the drum of EV's, go do some reasearch on power distribution. Perhaps even think back to California's rolling blackouts of a few years ago. Then come up with an intelligent argument that details how you think getting even 10% of the population into rechargable vehicles won't overload the system. Or how it doesn't contribute to the pollution problem when the majority of our electricity comes from-- tada!-- FOSSIL FUELS.

Where do these people live? Somewhere other than the Rocky Mountains. I would like to invite them to visit Colorado during a snowstorm similar to those last winter which at my house we received over three feet of snow. My husband is a hospital administrator and without our "gas guzzling" 4WD SUV, would not have been able to make it to work on the unplowed, snow packed roads. Many personnel who drive half-cars had to be retrieved from their homes by SUVs. Additionally, what do you think emergency personnel drive to work? Bicycles? NO, SUVs. How convenient for Dan Becker - but not those Emergency Rooms. We also use our 4WD vehicle to visit our mountain condo to go skiing, which boosts the local economy and we have it packed to the roof and the skis are on the roof. We???re also summer outdoorsmen. We require 4WD for our mountaineering. I???d love to own a Prius, but I???d have to own three cars. The last time I visited the grocery store, I came home with 18 bags of groceries, two teenagers, their two band instruments, and their sports equipment. Had I driven a half-car, I have had to drive two cars. That wouldn???t save much gas. So before you take away our "gas guzzling" SUV's, Dan, perhaps you should visit a few households with SUVs and look at this from all angles. And ps, Dan, we Colorado Natives were environmentally conscience before environmentalism was cool.

Everyone should see "Who Killed the Electric Car." A fully electric, zero-emissions car existed (in fact several), but big oil, the current administration, and the big car companies had them all destroyed. They have the technology to make this happen, they just choose not to.

Everyone should see "Who Killed the Electric Car." A fully electric, zero-emissions car existed (in fact several), but big oil, the current administration, and the big car companies had them all destroyed. They have the technology to make this happen, they just choose not to.

I think however, while any manufacturer should work to improve their mpg on their cars, the problem with the unprofitability of hybrids for manufacturers is the fact that the people buying cars are not buying hybrids because the consumers themselves are not "green" conscious. They aren't willing to fork over the extra money to buy a small hybrid when they can spend less or the same amount on a larger suv or truck. Only products that have managed to garner mass appeal have been able to alter the expensiveness of making them into a profitable enterprise. Trucks are historically one of the most popular types of vehicles - and one of the most likely kinds of vehicles to maintain their value - why? Because it's macho and cool to have one but also - it's useful and versatile. Cars like the prius are not. Maybe they need to make some truck hybrids instead of the suvs and small cars they have been focusing on.

It's a shame a compny like toyota it's not making their best in order to preserv the enironment. Whe can tell this because there are another carmakers that don't oppose to this new legislation. But indded, companys are not made to save the wolrd or even do the "good" to anybody. Most of the time companys say they want the best for their customer but they actually just want the money. We can't expect companys do good things, companys are mean to make money. This is really complicated because we all are part of the problem. The principle of demand and supply tell us that. Companys usually make wath people want. but so many time the needs are manipulated, there is a lot of interaction. Many times we don't really need something but we want to be like anybody else and then it turns into a need. In other hand this world it's manupulated for the people with the money. To realize that we just have to look around carfully. If we pay attention we can notice invention don't go at the same speed. If we compere cellphones, computers, sattelites, electronics etc, doesn't match with the progrees in cars. Cars still the same on the engine since 1900. Only more fancy staff on the interior and exterior but engines still about the same, actually same system. so it's imposible to believe that we went to the moon already 30 years ago and we are not able to find diferent kind of power than oil. Actually I understand countries like Brazil don't depend on oil already. In short, I believe technollogy has not being relase untill all the oil on earth is gone. There are politician and companys who don't want this to happend. Indded, why to kill the chiken of the eggs.

yeah because all that manufacturing puts healthy clean oxygen into the air....
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Jon Boy

Why What already covered the economics lesson on Supply and Demand. Take a look at his response based on solid economic theory, and not useless ridicule. Explaining why Penguine's post was incorrect would be far more beneficial to the discussion than you mocking his theory.

Penguine, I'm intrigued by your comment. It seems as though you are saying that reduced demand results in increased prices. Where did you study to learn such novel business theory?

Whats the problem? I go to Germany all the time and I get cars of all sizes that get 35+ mpg! Last feb I rented a D50 Volvo station wagon and got 40 mpg while driving 120 mph (not kph). We in the US are getting ripped off big time!

I guess attacking the auto maker is easier than convincing everyone to buy fuel economy vehicles. The fact is, soon there won't be a market for gas guzzlers accept for comercial use hauling heavy loads and sorry "greeny" but that will pretty much always require burning lots of fuel. The laws of physics apply still. It's the soccer moms and dads with the "semi " size truck that they haul the kids around with that is wasting energy and polluting the enviroment for no reason. Don't worry gas is too expensive they'll sell it or the bank will forclose on there "mansion" size house.