Got Gas?

 

 

 Does anyone remember the oil/gas crisis of 1973? I do. Well, I remember some of it but the politics and the economics are cloudy history lessons that I have little memory of. My memories are of hours spent sitting in lines waiting for a couple of gallons of gas. My memories are of foregoing trips to the store and putting the car in neutral and coasting down hills to save drops of fuel. My memories are of everyone wishing they had a little, tiny, Japanese car that sipped gasoline and the sudden popularity of bite-sized, silver Toyota Corollas. I believe many older Americans have forgotten the pain of that time and those not even born back then it is no more than a dystopian Net flicks-type story, difficult to believe. 

 Well, it was real. It really happened and it will happen again...and from the looks of things we have forgotten many of the lessons of that energy melt-down so we will have to learn the lessons all over again. I base my opinion on simple observations. 

Back in the 1970's cars were big, with big fins and V-8 engines under the chrome hood ornaments.  The new, popular SUV was a change in style but they still drank a lot of gas. No one cared about that as gas was cheap and the feeling of being solid and high in the driver's seat was attractive. The view from the driver's seat of a Ford Explorer was thrilling and commanding. The constant reminder on the evening news that the SUV was prone to "roll-over" was meaningless. "It won't happen to me. I'm a careful, experienced driver." Perhaps the only thing that prevented many of those SUV owners from dying was the gas shortage. They drove less and they drove more slowly. Speed limits dropped from 70 or higher down to 55 mph. Fewer people died. Air pollution subsided some.

 I get it. Ok. But as I said, history repeats and in 2023 we have nothing but SUV's, Oh! and pickup trucks. The new "family car" is a pickup truck. Nowadays, likely as not your kid's first car might be a pickup. Mucho Macho professionals and their wives have pickup trucks. Got a boat to pull to the water? You better get a pickup. It'll also drag your RV and haul the stuff you buy at the Home Depot. An all around vehicle and the backbone of the modern automotive industry, but the time will come when all those pickup trucks sitting in gas lines will wish they were Toyota Corollas again. Speed limits are casually ignored. Bigger vehicles make one feel invincible so we drive faster. So-called "safety features" in new vehicles make us think we are safer but we are not. We are watching large display screens and multimedia presentations as we race 10, 15, 20 mph over the speed limit. Our cell phones demand attention. Our GPS's cry out to be followed, while the road conditions are ignored.

No we are condemned to repeat the frustrations of the 1970's. Electric cars will help. So will the hybrid cars. Solar energy and wind farms will help too, but the most important lesson we can take away from our mistakes and experiences is that conservation is the most important thing.