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SUV's and Big Cars with Choice of Fuel, Not Small Cars Without Choice, Is What's Good for America (Originally Published April 23, 2009)


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GIST: New cars and truck must be built with the buyer’s choices of mobility fuels…we believe that vehicle buyers must be offered the option to own and operate vehicles that will run on every, and all if they choose, approved and supported fuel option…and then and only then can the marketplace truly choose the winners.
Marc Rauch and Bob Gordon Co-founders of The Auto Channel

Originally Published April 23, 2009

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By Bob Gordon
President and Co-publisher
The Auto Channel

Originally Published April 23, 2009

I have just returned from three days at the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Institute meeting held in Orlando. Three days with lots of people who believe that we need to change the way we have been doing things for the past 100 years.

During the presentations, expositions and networking times I absorbed and listened and here is what went from my mind to my fingers, let me know what you think, bgordon@theautochannel.com

Save The Economy and Our Planet! Eliminate Miles Per Gallon (MPG) Create Cost Per Mile (CPM)

How can the elimination of the old fashioned self-serving three letter abbreviation “MPG” help save our country's economy, improve the world’s environment; help the good guys make the bad guys non-starters and allow the free market to solve our economic problems while empowering motorists to drive happily into the sunset in a vehicle that is both big enough for their practical needs and powerful enough for their emotional needs...how indeed?

As consummate capitalists we believe in the marketplace, BUT today the marketplace cannot be expected to decide which alt fuel will win out because there is no choice!

It is now time for the new U.S. administration to think big and flex its mandate to begin the leveling of the mobility fuels playing field for all of its citizens.

It is our vision that alternative fuel choices must include ALL of them, before any final marketplace choices can be made…or maybe offering a smorgasbord of alt fuels will serve the future’s motorists better.

New cars and truck must be built with the buyer’s choices of mobility fuels…we believe that vehicle buyers must be offered the option to own and operate vehicles that will run on every, and all if they choose, approved and supported fuel option…and then and only then can the marketplace truly choose the winners.

Why it is that today consumers have so many more choices of bottled water while having no real choices as to what is a pivotal decision that drivers make every week.

Ok so what about MPG?

MPG is a metaphor for “isn’t gasoline great” a mindset that has allowed big oil to control our freedom to be mobile...no matter what the MPG improvement we believe that what it stand for is bad for children and other living creatures...MPG and oil are three letter words that go together like trans-fats and heart attacks; cancer and toxic wastes; fast foods and obesity; DDT and species elimination.

Any MPG improvement pronouncement should be equated with a trumpeting of “how much less are you beating your children now”.

We need to change the MPG mindset into a CPM (Cost Per Mile) mindset which we believe better reflects a motoring reality...we should eliminate references and deification of MPG, just as we must eliminate imported oil based fuels as our primary mobility energy source.

We believe that in an oil free future every driver’s refueling events will be made with conscious choices….the weekly fill-up fuel will be determined by each driver determining their vehicle’s calculated CPM rating using each available fuel’s cost at that exact moment, along with considering the type of driving they will be doing that week, and which fuel makes their vehicle “drive better”…it will be their choice.

Using Internet technology companies can establish and maintain Personal Carbon Usage Accounts, that will allow motorists who choose to reduce their carbon footprint to benefit monetarily by trading or selling their unused carbon allotment in real time…it will be their choice.

At that point in the future all approved mobility fuels will be ubiquitous...Gas Stations will become CPM Refueling and Recharging Stations, required by law to provide customers with access to approved and taxed fuels.

Liquid fuel pumps must change from just vending 3 octane levels of gasoline plus diesel, to offering an infinite blend of Gasoline, Ethanol, Propane, LNG, and liquid Hydrogen

Gaseous fuel pumps must vend CNG, Hydrogen, Methane and other formerly exotic concoctions that will power tomorrow’s vehicles.

Every Refueling Island must offer Recharge connections for every Electric Vehicle technology, and compressors for Air Powered vehicles.

And each station must offer battery change out for customers of Project Better Place and its competitors.

In a new sensible world, alternative fuel choices will include ALL of them…in the future cars and truck will be built with its buyer’s choice of power plant(s)…some vehicle buyers will want their vehicles to run on every approved and supported fuel available…then and only then can the marketplace choose a winner.

In this future, vehicle buyers will have the choice and will be in control...their budget and their practical and emotional needs will determine which vehicle and which fuel they will favor...flex fuel combinations will be offered that reduce CPM, while maximizing performance...what an idea...and a non MPG world is the place to start...

Big Cars with Choice, Not Small Cars With No Choice, Is What's Good for America.