At Earthgarage we tend to be proponents of diesel because more energy is stored in one gallon of the fuel than in gasoline (which means you get better mileage). However, some question whether diesel really is better than gasoline - edmunds.com. Diesel has a poor reputation in the United States (it's dirty, diesel engines are loud etc.) but many countries around the world rely heavily on diesel as a primary transportation fuel. The problem with diesel in the United States is that it costs more than gasoline, there are very few options for diesel cars, and those cars are much more expensive than gasoline powered cars. Furthermore, gasoline cars are closing the gap in efficiency. If you will get the same mileage in a gasoline car, why would you spend more money to purchase a diesel car and then pay more for fuel?
On the other hand, maybe we should be paying more for fuel so that people are more likely to change their driving habits. When money is involved, people tend to wake up an pay attention. I have a sneaking suspicion that we will all be waking up sooner rather than later - nytimes.com. Let's hope so.
Monday, June 7, 2010
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Earthgarage Moneysaver
It's called supply and demand. Why would you create an artificial tax on one fuel simply to get people to use another fuel? The most immediate result would be a lack of supply of diesel cars. Thus a continued lack of demand. People would only change if the marginal price difference between the two options was substantially different. The notion of "price fixing" to bring the normal status quo in the economy to a screeching halt because you think the alternative is better is nonsense. It always leads to surplus' or shortages.
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