I was thinking that while many people who think that the world is going to end because of carbon dioxide emissions are trying to get people to drive more efficient vehicles, many times, particularly in the cases of truck and SUV owners, the reason that these people drive these cars is to compensate for their own lack of self-esteem. They see these vehicles as methods to introject importance into themselves and therefore, quite understandly, anyone who wants them to drive something more patriotic (i.e. more fuel efficient) would encounter quite a bit of friction upon trying to convince them to do just that when the person in question buys something new. Any attempt to tell these people (i.e. a significant plurality of drivers in America) that they either are being unpatriotic by increasing dependence on foreign or are bringing the end upon themselves (if you are partial to the idea of doomsday because of carbon dioxide) would therefore end in failure. So if anyone wants to get SUV and pick-up truck drivers to drive something else, the only way to do this is to attack the root of the problem, that being these people's own lack of self-esteem. I suppose becoming psychologists would be the best way to do this.

Anyway, that is my idea. I am not going to argue over whether or not the planet will end if Greenland is actually green again or if we are even influencing these things. I just had this idea and thought that people here might be interested. Accept it at face value.

The past week looking at new vehicles with temp plates has been very interesting in the Dallas area. Saw about a dozen of them. Normally half or more would be trucks/SUVs but only three of them were - the rest were 30mpg+ cars.

Money is finally talking...

61.5mpg lifetime - 82mpg in recent months

Best Run >
www.cleanmpg.com

"fanatic" is what the lazy call the dedicated

It could be an abnormally. The majority of people driving these vehicles would sacrifice their homes before sacrificing them. They introject self-esteem into themselves with these vehicles and thus find losing them the equivalent of losing an arm or a leg.

Maybe you should become a psychologist first and then do some studies before concluding that vehicle choice is a self-esteem problem.

I'd hate to see you waste time if self-esteem isn't the real reason for owning a truck.

Eventually the wallets are going to do the talking. That's all the psychology most people need to change their minds. That, and maybe advertising.

On slashdot.org, someone was griping about how he used to own a truck because it made him feel "big." When you see people driving SUVs and pick-up trucks, many of them are short in stature. It has long been said that the majority of people driving these vehicles do not need them. If they did need them, there would be no demand for luxury features that would only get ruined by work that needed these vehicles (e.g. farming), yet there is a huge demand for them. It seems to follow that the majority of the people who are driving these vehicles have self esteem issues.

People with gambling addictions gamble away everything long after their wallets have started talking. The same goes for tobacco and alcohol. The lack of self-esteem for which people are compensating with these vehicles is not going to allow them to buy more fuel efficient vehicles, period. They will become paupers before they sacrifice these vehicles because they get a feeling of importance from them and the automobile industry has been a catalyst in this by encouraging the idea that these vehicles make people important. For example, look at the following rebate form:

http://www.castrol.com/liveassets/bp...bate_3159A.pdf

That man in the picture looks absolutely ridiculous, but the advertisement is trying to convey a feeling of importance that his truck gives to him and once people feel that, they will do whatever they can to maintain it, much like how people respond to feelings of false happiness from other sources such as alcohol and tobacco.

The term for what you are doing is stereotyping.

Can't we find a way to enlarge small peters to eliminate the need for pickup trucks.

i really think there is something to that, at least partially. pickups used to be utilitarian, remember? flat seats, no power steering, 3 on the tree?

then, one day, they all of a sudden started become as fancy as cars, and we were being told by advertising companies that we NEEDED this.......that bigger is better, and fancier, and besides, then you don't have to worry about all those bothersome mileage requirements, since trucks don't qualify anyhow. we (in general, not anyone in particular) have equated cars/trucks with our image, far more than just a way to get from point A to point B. i see it being pushed as a reflection of ourselves.

if we were all realists, we would drive something small to work, and not care.....but it's not in human nature to work that way, in my opinion. thus, there are drivers that are totally convinced they need 4000 pounds of steel surrounding them just to haul their butts to work.

also, based on the feedback on the MSNBC news forum following the posting of the hypermiling interview i was involved in.......i see a lot of folks out there that are just plain selfish and nasty.....we are in the way of their god-given right to speed......they are late, so get out of their way......several said that were they to see one of "us" on the road, they would run us right off it. is this what human nature has become? i think partly because it's an anonymous comment and they don't have to face the results in person, but isn't that also what seems to happen behind the wheel? you are in a huge metal box where frequently the other people on the road can't see you, allowing you the freedom to behave as you wish. i wonder if some of the posters who bragged about tailgating us with their F350s would also shove someone out of line in the supermarket because they were in a hurry, and the person in front of them was walking too slow?

is this what we have come to? 'fraid so.

just my humble opinion

Best fill 66.7 MPG, best tank 801.5 miles



laurie, central minnesota

Nothing like judging someone from afar. And you guys wonder why Joe Blow America doesn't want to listen to your suggestions. Could it be because they are full pulpit preaching.

Here is one possible way. Change or your grandchildren may be the last of us. I actually have a degree in psychology too.