What he needs is a kick in the nads.

Jackie Burkhardt (about Hyde) - That '70's Show

Ah, the short memory of Americans for all things gasoline related. Forgotten are the joys of the '70s where fuel shortages hit America and people had to go without. Where a used '67 Corvette with 427 could be purchased used for a pittance because people couldn't fuel it up. Where US automakers first saw the sales power of well-built fuel efficient small (and foreign) vehicles, and the Japanese kicked their asses thus gaining a permanent and serious market share.

From the NY Times: As Gas Costs Soar, Buyers Flock to Small Cars. Define flocking? "In what industry analysts are calling a first, about one in five vehicles sold in the United States was a compact or subcompact car during April, based on monthly sales data released Thursday. Almost a decade ago, when sport utility vehicles were at their peak of popularity, only one in every eight vehicles sold was a small car."

Surely with all the money thrown at cars by consumers, the US companies had their luminaries who saw this coming, right? "The trend toward smaller and lighter vehicles with better mileage is a blow to Detroit automakers, which offer fewer such models than Asian carmakers like Toyota and Honda. Moreover, the decline of S.U.V.’s and pickups has curtailed the biggest source of profits for General Motors, Ford and Chrysler." Guess not. Look, I'm no business expert, but shouldn't these guys have a handle on the idea that fuel prices will affect vehicle sizes sold? Shouldn't they recall the somewhat bleak '70's where about the only reason to buy most American cars was patriotism? Wouldn't it be smart to have a contingency plan?

Thank dog for one thing, "'The era of the truck-based large S.U.V.’s is over,' said Michael Jackson, chief executive of AutoNation, the nation’s largest auto retailer." Being passed closely by a Fit while riding is scary, but nowhere near as scary as a Suburban. The sooner those things get parked in favor of the Fits, the better.

What about gas sales? "How the downsizing of America’s vehicle fleet will affect fuel consumption is still largely unknown. When gas prices rise, as they are now, many drivers simply drive less to save money.

But there are some indications that the trend toward smaller vehicles will reduce the nation’s fuel use. In California, motorists bought 4 percent less gasoline in January than they did the year before, a drop of more than 58 million gallons, according to the Oil Price Information Service.

'That is an incredible year-over-year drop,' said Tom Kloza, the organization’s chief oil analyst. 'Some of it clearly has to do with changes in the vehicle fleet.'"

I may be a jerk for it, but whenever fuel prices come up at work, I take the opportunity to point out that over the course of 18 months and 4-5,000 miles of commuting, I've spent around $25 on a new chain for my bike. That's not to say I haven't taken public transportation during that time, but it's pretty rare these days as I'd much rather be on my bike.

And as a told you so, Barack Obama's website has a link to Jabberwonk.com's fuel tax holiday rebate debunking. Very interesting that he's not jumping on the stupid wagon with the other two. Man, I hate bullshit when it's not mine. Doing the math for how much you save as a consumer was pretty easy, but what I had no way of knowing was how much money the states miss out on and how many jobs are lost without this money. Take a look. It's a lot.

Our speedometer has melted and as a result it's very hard to see with any degree of accuracy exactly how fast we were going.

Del - Planes, Trains & Automobiles 1987

Wow, this not driving really does make a difference. The Financial Times reports that, "Investors shift bets to oil slide." Thanks to me and some of you, "Investors are shifting their bets towards oil prices weakening in the near future as the slowdown in US economic activity damps energy demand growth, traders in London and New York said.
The recent changes in trading positions could signal that oil prices have peaked after hitting a high of $100.09 a barrel early this month. Last week, oil dropped to a three-month low of $85.42 a barrel although it recovered to trade above $90 a barrel by Friday." Can't you just smell the power of cycling? Yay, gas crisis is over!

Perhaps there really is just a bit of supply vs. demand going on, and high pump prices are getting people to drive less. I know, I know. But I have dreams, you know.

Meanwhile, back in NYC... How'd you like to try crossing these roads? These people seem rather indifferent about it, and perhaps it's because it happens so much, but when I see it here, it pisses me off greatly. I haven't done it, but I always envision walking over the hood of the car if it's one of those deals where they should have waited for things to clear, but didn't want to have to wait one more light. "Hey, I was in the intersection when the light changed. Sorry, not my fault."

Beware the beast Man, for he is the Devil's pawn.

Alone among God's primates, he kills for sport or lust or greed. Yea, he will murder his brother to possess his brother's land. Let him not breed in great numbers, for he will make a desert of his home and yours. Shun him; drive him back into his jungle lair, for he is the harbinger of death. -Cornelius, Planet of the Apes 1968

I love that movie. Since people like pictures and because I appreciate art, I present two small bicycle sculptures done by my friend Jerome:

He sent these to me as holiday ornaments, but they got here too late to hang on the tree so I intend to display them on my desk. Thank you for the gift! He's the guy I'm going to turn to when I need machining to build the electric assist for the GreenMachine that I've got floating around in my head.

Because I advocate using a car as little as possible, I present another installment of Framing the Debate. This time, it isn't a matter of let's make an honest effort for the good of our country and planet, it's: We can't, this is bad legislation and it'll hurt Americans.

Better get that second job secured because GM says to meet new fuel requirements amounting to a 40% increase by 2020, it's going to cost an additional $6,000 per vehicle. "'We've done the research and it's going to cost us $4,000 on some vehicles and $10,000 on others, with an average of about $6,000,' Bob Lutz told reporters at the North American International Auto Show." "'That cost will have to be passed on to consumers,'" Lutz, a long-time vocal critic of federal fuel regulations, said." Can we call him unpatriotic or is that reserved for critics of big business and anyone who disagrees with our current administration?

And just why will this cost so much? We're Americans! We can send guys to the moon, save the world from Nazism, and build stuff like the Golden Gate Bridge and the Panama Canal. "'We probably have to take a lot of weight out of the vehicles. We will have to use some premium materials like more aluminum, more magnesium," Lutz said. "Which gets you the weight savings but drives the cost up.'" Surely we can easily build cars like the Geo Metro that got a gazillion mpg, but this time make 'em look cool and add lots of up-to-date safety features, right? "But we are going to try as much as possible to preserve the size of the vehicle the American public wants to buy." Oh.

I don't know, maybe people will tire of spending $100 or more each week on fuel and decide smaller cars actually can work for them. Maybe this idea of keeping the current size of a car is stupid. It wouldn't be the first time the car companies got it wrong. Heck, advertise how patriotic and wonderful small cars are. I bet people will buy them. And stop with the scare tactics involving the price, for crying out loud. Do you think Americans generally think anything other than, "What's the monthly payment going to be?" So how much does this guy get paid to lead one of the largest companies in the world?

Bicycle Accessory Review - Planet Bike's blinky SuperFlash. (Photo liberated from Planet Bike's website.)

I thought my Cateye TL-LD1100 was bright with ten leds, but this thing is blindingly bright. I put one on the GreenMachine because I got tired of swapping lights from my daily ride. I picked this one up the other day, and wow!

The two bottom lights blink at a normal fast pace while the top one (in white) shoots off like a strobe where it appears to build energy, then flash. It's a very bright light, and while I can't speak for durability, it's got two mounting straps and a clip to allow easy mounting for anyone. Finally, something powered by AAA batteries that is closing the gap on my NiteRider tail light. I'm going to score some rechargeable batteries for these mini-lights and see what happens. I hate battery waste.

And then depression set in.

John Winger - Stripes 1981

This is why I really don't think high gas prices will reduce driving all that much. People across the country think the same way about cars:
(I'm paraphrasing.)

-It might be a problem, but I'm only a tiny bit of it and nobody else is doing anything about it.
-This is my right as an American to drive.
- She's pregnant. You can't expect us to use public transportation.
-Just part of life, right?
-So, what? I'm making money.
-You mean make like poor people do?
-It's cold out.
-It's raining out.
-It's hot out.
-It's something uncomfortable out.
-I'll sweat.
Note: these films haven't been working in Mozilla for me, so try Explorer if you have the same problem.



Bicycle Commuting Tip: Don't trust your ears 100%. You need to look where you are going unlike the guy on his bike that pulled out from his driveway without looking and then proceeded to run the light to get through the intersection. Well, it wasn't so close that I had any real chance of hitting him, but plenty of pedestrians and cyclists assume it's clear just by listening. Not to mention it was a heavily-used bike boulevard and it seems silly to assume nothing is coming. Aside from him making cyclists look bad, at least he was on a bike.

I wish I didn't love you so much.

Ilsa - Casablanca 1942

Happy New Year. I intend to ride my bike more, drive my car less, drink less soda and buy my wife flowers regularly. Now that I've gotten that bit of nonsense out of the way, let's get back to depressing cultural news.

I was sure higher fuel prices and projected future increases would kill sales of large vehicles, but it shows what I know. BusinessWeek notes: "Despite high gas prices and calls for greater energy efficiency, many Americans are still buying large, luxury SUVs and pickups." They also note: "For the entire U.S. auto industry, light trucks still constitute more than 50% of sales, and the vehicles are on track to regain in 2007 the market share that was lost in 2005 and 2006." And: "...luxury SUVs were scarcely down at all: just 0.9%..." Of course big fat incentives, rebates and 0% financing make this kind of purchase more desirable. I also think people figure gas prices won't go sky-high soon enough to matter and they'll worry about it later.

Money quote? "This year's sales results show that many shoppers never stopped wanting big SUVs. With high gas prices, some of them may have needed an extra push in the form of incentives, while others can simply afford it.
And after all,...people wouldn't buy big trucks at all if the only thing they wanted was good gas mileage. 'People who have chosen to buy those vehicles understand higher gas prices,' she says. 'They know that going into it.'"

Well, personally I'd hate for anyone to sacrifice the desire for a big vehicle just to bring home some troops which we don't personally know. Besides, for all I know, most owners of big vehicles fill them up as a carpool while commuting or leave them parked most of the time while commuting by bicycle.

Here's something along the lines of framing the debate. BusinessWeek also reviews Mazda's CX-9 and calls it sexy. I've long considered Neve Campbell sexy. Watch Casablanca and try to tell me Ingrid Bergman isn't sexy. Just to be sure I sort of knew what I was talking about, I looked up "sexy" on Answers.com and the definition was: "Arousing or tending to arouse sexual desire or interest." To which I realize two things. First, it's no wonder this country has such a love for cars. We are constantly told we should love them sexually. Second, if we can define a car as sexy, that one is not. In fact, I'd go so far as to describe it as rather un-sexy. To be fair to BusinessWeek, the slang definition is: "Highly appealing or interesting; attractive." Subjective to be sure, but do we need to be told it is so by the maker and the publications in cahoots with them?

Bicycle Commuting Tip: Emergency Equipment - I suggest every year (at least) you pull your emergency kit and make sure all the necessary stuff is there. If it is, check the tube for cracking or other damage and check your tube patch glue for hardening. I got through all of '07 with no flats, so my stuff is not new. Tubes typically last a long time, but they can go bad when not being used. The glue typically doesn't dry out unless opened, but when would you rather find out? Oh, and make sure to put that $20 back that you swiped to buy beer on the way home that one day. You might need it for for a cab, or even more importantly, more beer.

I don't want to tell some eight-year-old kid he's gotta sleep in the street because we want people to feel better about their *car*. Do *you* want to?

Dave Kovic - Dave 1993

No new photos at the moment, but the Xtracycle is still a work in progress. Time constraints are a hindrance and special parts need LBS stops. Tonight it was a quick stop for a tandem-length shifter cable. I think all I need is a brake-cable for a tandem and I've got all the parts I need. I guess I could run shorter housings, but I like lots of gentle curves.

Hey kids, here's a new segment I'm taking for a test-drive called framing the debate. It happens in politics, it happens in marketing. It is the process of making an argument using certain words to send messages which create a reality that isn't really real. Framing is intended to keep you voting, driving and buying a certain way. Your defense? Analyze what is being said and question the frame.

Here's one.

Framing the Debate: OMFG, gas is expensive and I suspect that we're going to run out. What will we do? Well, we'll run on hydrogen or biodiesel. Hybrids are for now to give us time to get alternatives up and running. Perhaps clean coal.

Answer? No, new cars and fuels are not the answer. While they (generally speaking) are a huge portion of our economic growth each year and everyone loves their new car, the reality is that they are not a sustainable form of transportation. Biodiesel isn't prevalent enough for everyone to keep driving. Ethanol is a joke. More energy goes into its production than we get out (not to mention feeding our cars the corn we grow instead of hungry people and laying waste to our remaining farmland soil.) Hybrids are just plain silly. Why spend an extra $3k over a simple (and small) gas only engine when the extra fuel economy is marginal and takes a lot of driving to make up for it? And coal? Suburban sprawl? Stop, my side hurts. Think light-rail, bus, and train. Think high-density living and walking. Think bicycles and communing with your fellow citizens. Think community.

Bicycle Commuter Tip: Turn signals - Seems so often that a fancy car wasn't equipped with turn signals that I've gotten pretty good and deciphering auto-body language. Is the car pointed slightly to one direction while waiting for a light or stop? Are the front wheels turned slightly? Is the car closer to the right of the lane as approaching an intersection? Watch out for that right-hook where they turn in front of you. It doesn't matter if you are in the right if you're dead. I know riding is great for seeing/hearing/smelling the sights, but pay attention always and you'll live longer. At intersections I like to pull up as far as practical to make sure the driver sees me, and I'll go so far as to make eye contact to verify it.

Car's got a lot of pickup.

It's got a cop motor, a 440 cubic inch plant, it's got cop tires, cop suspensions, cop shocks. It's a model made before catalytic converters so it'll run good on regular gas. What do you say, is it the new Bluesmobile or what?
Fix the cigarette lighter.

So you think you know me, know what I'm about. You might, but while I appear very simple, I'm actually quite complex and often at odds with myself. Cars for example. Hate 'em. I hate driving them, I hate often being nearly killed by them, I hate paying for them. I hate them because they are so very much a part of my life even though I choose to mostly not use them. It's not like soap where if you choose to stay away, nobody knows how much you stink until you are close to them. It wasn't always this way, however...

cue the harp strumming and the watery video cut-away

It was never hard for me. I was born a middle-class white child. I remember the days, sittin' on the couch with my family, swearing' and eatin' up in Wisconsin. We had bicycles, but once upon a time, Smudgemo rode a bicycle only to summer school to take driver's ed classes. And only because he was 15, there was no bus service in summer and his parents were around enough to know if he snagged a car and drove (which he did to get to football practice before his junior school year started. They were in Europe.) The first car was a '72 Olds Cutlass S. Red with a black vinyl top and interior. Oh yeah, a chick-magnet. OK, maybe not, but it was a zillion times more-so than a bicycle would have been. This was Wisconsin after all, not Belgium. Cold weather was for hunting and killing, not running and riding skinny tires in half-frozen mud. Well the beer flowed with similar abandon, but I digress.

Then came college. And so did the '72 Olds Cutlass Supreme convertible he found for sale and somehow convinced someone to lend money for. It was also red but with a white top and a white/black interior and burned-out dual glasspacks. Love! Love, I tell you! Girls loved it, Smudge escaped a drunken driving ticket through divine intervention of some sort in his small college town, it pulled his Yamaha SuperJets with oodles of panache, and on top of all that, it ran pretty well.

cue the wake-up music

Fastforward to today. I hate cars, but like fat guy sporting clogged arteries and high blood pressure with a fondness for deep-fried Thanksgiving turkey, I have a soft spot for Cutlasses and Vista Cruisers from '66-'72 and will give them just a bit of genuine man-love. You know, high-fives and one-arm back-patter hugs, but that's it. They are still cars, and they still suck. That being said, my old convertible is now in the capable hands of my brother who is blogging a minor restoration of it which he's planning to get in high gear (get it?) as soon as he's done rennovating his craptastic '60s ranch home. Yes, you read all this drivel just to find out someone is doing a blog about fixing up a 35 year old car. Like they write on eBay, Thanks for looking!

Present day. Paint so shiny, you'd swear it was wet. Wait a minute...