I'm Back!

It's been a while since my last post. I haven't received any comments on my previous so I abandoned my blog for a while. Anyway, I'm back.
Recently, I have been drawn to the "green tech" world, following and reading about all the new technologies being developed to wean our economy off oil. There are a lot of exciting developments in renewable energy and I can't wait to see the next great thing.
Another one of my interest, which goes hand-in-hand with green tech, is the auto industry. This is where I get very frustrated. I think the auto industry needs to pull its head out and re-think the way they make cars. For years, everyone knew that gas prices were going to skyrocket and what do they do? they "fuel the flame" (no pun intended) of the American public's love for the SUV and proceed to make millions of them. Not only that, they bring back the big-block V8 and the HUMMER. I guess the public is to blame also. I remember a friend of mine about ten years ago who bought a brand new, fully loaded Suburban. Back then, prices were already on the rise. I remember telling him that it was nice but what happens when gas sells for $3.00 a gallon? He said that would never happen. Well, surprise, surprise! The weird part about all of this is that people are still buying them. If you don't believe me, next time you are out on the road, count the number of cars vs. trucks/SUVs and you will see that the large vehicles win it 4 to 1. These vehicle are not only heavy and have big engines, they are aerodynamically stupid. I can understand a family needing a vehicle that can seat all of them comfortably and I believe that was the initial purpose for what SUVs were meant. But look around during rush hour and you'll see most of these vehicles with single passengers. I, personally, own an F-150 but I also own two other vehicles that give me better than 25 mpgs. I only use the truck on weekends, mostly to go to the hardware store. I actually bought it because I needed it to tow my boat. I hate driving it any other time because the gas cost is killing me. Enough on that rant.
I guess my point is: Why have American auto makers taken so long to design efficient vehicles? The average increase in fuel efficiency from the 57 Chevy days is about 10-15 mpgs! In other words, it's taken 50 years for US automakers to come up with a vehicle that gets over 30 mpgs. Considering that 1950's room-size computers fit in a pen now, that's some serious slacking.
One answer to this might be that internal combustion engines are extremely inefficient (about 20%). In contrast, electric motors are closer to 75-85%. The efficiency is there, the torque is there (power) so, what's the problem? Yes, battery technology is not there yet, but there's been plenty of time to develop it. Electric cars are not new; they've been around since the 1890s. If auto maker would have invested in battery technologies even as late as the energy crisis of the 1970s, batteries wouldn't be an issue. I think the bigger issue is changing peoples attitude about electrics. Everyone expects EVs to be as fast as sports cars and drive for 12 hours on a charge. The reality is that most people travel 25-40 miles to work and in most big cities, at speeds of 45mph or less. These are perfect conditions for electric cars.
I think the technology is there now for EVs. The problem is that no major automakers want to take the leap because of the financial risk due to the uncertainty of people's reception of the EVs. If people embraced the EV and accepted it as the standard mode of transport, then the supply and demand will come into effect and battery technology would flourish and prices would go down and everyone could breathe a little easier. That's all for now.