We all know about our deteriorating economy, bad real estate, and the horrifying gas prices. My question is, What do you think cars will be like in the future? More alternative fuels? More smaller cars? Less SUVs and trucks? Maybe even no cars. What do you think the future of cars or other means of transportation will be like?

You can watch Mad Max 2 to see what happens in a world without petrol

You know, this is isolated mostly to the United States, right?

Also speaking of gas prices, they have been going down in the past weeks. It is down to near $3.50 per gallon where I live! (sad isn't it, that I refer to $3.50 as cheap )

And don't forget, after Obama is elected we will finally have a compotent president who will hopefully fix up the big mess. I just hope our current Commander in Cheif hasn't screwed the country indefinitely, which is another possibilty

In California gas is above $4.00, but the cheapest I've recently heard around here was $3.97. We can't say if Obama or McCain will win right now, and maybe we shouldn't get too much into politics.

We're seeing fewer SUVs and trucks already. I think there will be a sharp increase in the number of alternative fuel vehicles on the road, but they won't be able to fully replace fossil fuels. So, then the price of gas will become astronomical and civilization will collapse.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOm18c5Btiw

I thought this was enjoyable to watch. Although I have to say that gas here in Indiana is $3.83 I think (changing from $4.15 earlier). I think in the winter months it will go down further because less people travel.

I like the reference to Mad Max 2!

Most towns and cities will modernize. For example Sheffeild (UK) has few roads in the center now, many electric trams are used, with park & ride bus systems in use. The majour road is the highway (M1) that goes around the city and connects with all the other huge roads. So the result is; less roads in urban areas, most roads around urban areas. Countryside: small alternative fuel refinerys with bandits and biker boys running decoy petrol tankers off the road!

How optimistic

A lot of Diesel-cars and trucks can use vegetable oil without any problems. Old-style-Diesel-engines aren't nearly never problematical, TDI's are more difficult. And you should avoid it, when you have (like my Omega) and Diesel-powered extra heating.

In European supermarkets sometimes you see people, who are buying the whole stock of sunflower-oil - to fill it in their cars.
Indeed, in Germany and Holland (I guess elsewhere,too) the oil for cooking is cheaper than Diesel!

With minor changes you can also use used cooking-oil from restaurants, take-aways and McDonalds. I know a guy, who collects old oil from all the guesthouses around. Then he's filtering it and put it in his old Citroen BX Diesel. No problems at all!

My brother-in-law had as a transportation car, when he has built his house, an rough Daihatsu Feroza (not big, but allowed to tow 2.8 ton-trailers). He only used sunflower-oil from the supermarket.

If you don't care about it, there's annother possibility: crushed dead animals!

No kidding, this is possible. Recently I've heard that all the trucks of this company: http://www.remondis.de/index.php?id=304&L=1
, one of the biggest German recycling-company are using it!

This company also has a knackery yard (interesting English word) in process. so there all kind of dead animal-bodies and stuff, which meat-factories and butcheries cannot use any more, were crushed in big mills and the results like fat, protein an so on will used further (perhaps for making some food, you never know).

So the oil, they got by crushing and boiling out the dead bodies, they clean it and fill them in their trucks.


Ask the farmer in the neighbourhood for a few dead cows and try it by yourself in Mum's kitchen.

Americans bitch about complain prices way too much. I believe I read something about gas prices in Britain being the equivalent of $14USD a gallon, and we are complaining gas is four bucks a gallon? Not to mention, the majority of us are still able to hold onto our full size luxury sedans and V8-powered pickup trucks and sport utilities.

I'm not going to get into specifics about real estate and the economy, not yet a least.

We drive relatively fuel efficient cars (25-30 mpg) with 4-cylinder engines, but it still hurts our budget quite a bit to buy gas at these prices. I know to someone living in Europe 4.00 per gallon may seem like they are just giving away gas over here, but if you think about the fact that it was less than $1.50 per gallon just back in 2002, it just makes me want to drive my car into a gas pump and blow everything up! Prices shouldn't go up that fast

Rather 9.

average of 1.5 € / L, which gives 6 € / US gallon. As the US$ is currently weak this makes more when converted. Thanks to that, for us the fuel did not increase as much as for you (7 years ago it was a 1 € / L)

Somewhat of an equalizing factor is that North America is bigger then Europe and more sparsely populated, everything is much farther away.