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Blogs by Donelle Knudsen
Where Have All the Hummers Gone? 9/18/2010 5:05:57 AM
Our landscape is in for a change. It occurred to me recently that I hadn’t seen as many BIG Hummers on the road as I did a couple of years ago. Where have they gone? Are they languishing in garages or on used car lots, victims of GM’s takeover, higher gas prices, and the sluggish economy? I’ll admit I’ve never understood why the average driver would want to own a vehicle fashioned after the military Hummer designed for combat situations.
But times have changed and the public has responded by buying smaller, more fuel efficient vehicles. Ironically, my husband and I have owned small cars all along, starting with a 1968 VW Beetle. However, four years ago we bought a mid-size SUV to replace our aging second car. We needed a vehicle in which we could haul larger items and ride more comfortably on long road trips.
I like the choices the consumer has in vehicles today. When I was growing up, most of our neighbors drove sedans or station wagons; few families had two cars. I used to dream my dad would buy a “muscle” car; something cool and unquestionably sportier than our practical station wagon.
Recently I heard of the idea to actually assign a grade to new vehicles: A,B,C,D, etc. based on the vehicle’s efficiency, i.e. carbon footprint on the environment. Don’t cars already have stickers with all the necessary fuel efficiency information? By grading cars, will extreme environmentalists try to “guilt” us into driving expensive hybrids or cars that can’t fit the needs of our family?
I see that the time is approaching when our freedom of choice and the concept of taking personal responsibility will evaporate. And this will affect how we purchase durable goods, consume food, heat our homes, spend our money, and even dispose of our garbage. Some U.S. cities, including Boise, Idaho, have installed microchips in garbage and recycling cans to track consumers’ disposal habits. Fines or mandatory recycle classes will be levied for those who don’t meet the recycling standards. And this will be done in the guise of living for the “greater good.”
Are the “hummers” in our lives going to become extinct? I wonder.
