[Leica] Re: Small cars

[lrzeitlin at optonline.net (Lawrence Zeitlin)]

<< Question. Did high gas taxes work in European countries to reduce 
their use of gasoline or did their
citizens continue their same consumption and cut back on other expenses 
to
make up for it? >>

Having lived in the UK for some time, I found that the amount of 
driving was about the same as for any comparably congested area in the 
US. But the cars were smaller and much more fuel efficient. 
Recreational boats were less powerful too. I saw few 200 hp outboards, 
mostly 35 and 50 hp models. The car I drove to work every day had only 
a 980 cc engine with just about enough power to pull a greased gumdrop 
out of a baby's mouth. Still it could hit 85 mph on the few roads that 
could handle that speed. The political contingencies were jiggered to 
both reduce fuel consumption and to raise revenue. My car, with it's 
under 1 liter engine was taxed only about half as much as my neighbor's 
not much bigger Volvo.

Interestingly, one neighbor, a professor of economics and a car buff, 
said that UK cars were getting bigger and more powerful after WW2 just 
like in the US. It was not until petrol reached our current equivalent 
of $4 a US gallon that the trend reversed. That's when vehicle design 
changes necessary to curtail consumption began to kick in. It seems 
that we have a way to go yet.

Larry Z