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0 pointsethagnawl1y ago0 comments

I'm not sure why you're being down voted for suggesting a practical and fact based solution. The USA is, regrettably, not making a pivot towards public transportation anytime in the near future. So, lighter cars are one way to address this issue.

You didn't expound upon your point about the unintended consequences of CAFE standards but they're very real. Instead of making smaller and more efficient sedans per the guidelines, car makers opted start making all of their vehicles "light trucks" -- 80%+ of new vehicles are SUVs or bubbly looking "crossovers" -- which are not subject to the same demanding standards. Small sedans also cost less and would require ongoing R&D to continue to meet the CAFE standards. The end result, as this thread is interested, is heavier vehicles with bigger tires and more plastic in the environment and our brains.

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linotype1y ago

Los Angeles would be very difficult to transition at this point, it’s just too low density. It was better 100 years ago than it is now.

lmm1y ago

Los Angeles is one of few US cities that is managing to build at least some new transit lines. Increasing density in desirable cities is actually pretty easy, all you have to is make it legal (by-right zoning) and then the market will do the immensely productive and profitable thing.

peterbecich1y ago

I find it interesting that at a certain time in Los Angeles, a segment of society could afford a craftsman cottage house, but not afford an automobile. This was the prime era of the Pacific Electric streetcar suburb, say around 1890-1920. Today, obviously, anyone who can afford a house anywhere in the country can afford an automobile.

The end of the Pacific Electric system was not a conspiracy theory by tire companies or anything like that; the price of the cars dropped and that's what consumers preferred, i.m.o.

lenerdenator1y ago

Or Kansas City. Or St. Louis. Or Detroit. Or Chicago, even.

Pretty much any major American city is less dense than it was 100 years ago. It was cheaper to build out than it was to build up.

wongarsu1y ago

From an infrastructure perspective building out instead of up is incredibly expensive. Not just transport but also water, sewage, electricity and internet.

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newsclues1y ago

Fires can solve that.

borski1y ago

You’re right, but the thing that leads us to lighter EVs is solid state batteries.

cosmic_cheese1y ago

Yeah, I’d expect EVs to get lighter over time as technology progresses. Car bloat is a much bigger problem. Totally insane that little practical city cars like the Honda Fit have gone practically extinct in the US in favor of bigger, heavier cars that don’t even necessarily bring improved cargo capacity for all that extra bulk.

ethagnawlOP1y ago

I have a 2018 Fit and it's a fantastic car. It gets 36 MPG and has much more interior space than it would seem. I've had taller people ride in it comfortably and its crowning achievement was fitting a hot water heater in the cargo area with the rear seat split -- without having to remove the child car seat on the other side. Pair a roof rack and you really don't need more -- especially day-to-day.

It's a crying shame that they've stopped selling them in the US. Marketing (the real men need their Rams, thank you very much!) and the CAFE loophole seem to have won the day, though, and we're all worse off for it.

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