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Blogs by Donelle M. Knudsen
Where Have All the Hummers Gone?
9/18/2010 5:05:57 AM
Our landscape is in for a change.
It occurred to me recently that I hadn’t seen as many BIG Hummers on the road as I did a couple of years ago. Where have they gone? Are they languishing in garages or on used car lots, victims of GM’s takeover, higher gas prices, and the sluggish economy? I’ll admit I’ve never understood why the average driver would want to own a vehicle fashioned after the military Hummer designed for combat situations.
But times have changed and the public has responded by buying smaller, more fuel efficient vehicles. Ironically, my husband and I have owned small cars all along, starting with a 1968 VW Beetle. However, four years ago we bought a mid-size SUV to replace our aging second car. We needed a vehicle in which we could haul larger items and ride more comfortably on long road trips.
I like the choices the consumer has in vehicles today. When I was growing up, most of our neighbors drove sedans or station wagons; few families had two cars. I used to dream my dad would buy a “muscle” car; something cool and unquestionably sportier than our practical station wagon.
Recently I heard of the idea to actually assign a grade to new vehicles: A,B,C,D, etc. based on the vehicle’s efficiency, i.e. carbon footprint on the environment. Don’t cars already have stickers with all the necessary fuel efficiency information? By grading cars, will extreme environmentalists try to “guilt” us into driving expensive hybrids or cars that can’t fit the needs of our family?
I see that the time is approaching when our freedom of choice and the concept of taking personal responsibility will evaporate. And this will affect how we purchase durable goods, consume food, heat our homes, spend our money, and even dispose of our garbage. Some U.S. cities, including Boise, Idaho, have installed microchips in garbage and recycling cans to track consumers’ disposal habits. Fines or mandatory recycle classes will be levied for those who don’t meet the recycling standards. And this will be done in the guise of living for the “greater good.”
Are the “hummers” in our lives going to become extinct? I wonder.
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More Blogs by Donelle M. Knudsen
• Cliffhangers . . . - Saturday, September 08, 2012
• Technology Brings Peace of Mind - Monday, September 03, 2012
• A Conference For All - Thursday, May 24, 2012
• To Live Well and Prosper - Monday, February 27, 2012
• Friends - Monday, January 23, 2012
• Dickens of a Writer - Friday, January 13, 2012
• So Far, December is Warmer Than Springtime - Thursday, December 29, 2011
• Get Ready, Set, Go - Thursday, November 24, 2011
• Coffee is My Friend - Friday, November 18, 2011
• How Much Will You Invest to Win? - Thursday, November 17, 2011
• Star Wars and The Wizard of Oz - Sunday, August 28, 2011
• Throw Your Heart At The Sky - Sunday, July 24, 2011
• In Memory - Monday, May 30, 2011
• Book Signings and More - Sunday, May 15, 2011
• Through the Tunnel of Love - Friday, April 29, 2011
• Grandparents - Sunday, April 03, 2011
• Finding the Heat - Sunday, March 06, 2011
• Slivers, Part II - Tuesday, February 15, 2011
• Slivers - Sunday, December 05, 2010
• Where Have All the Hummers Gone? - Saturday, September 18, 2010
• Don't Blink - Tuesday, July 13, 2010
• The Color of Love - Friday, June 25, 2010
• New Life - Thursday, April 29, 2010
• Gray on Grey - Thursday, February 25, 2010
• Chrysalis - Wednesday, January 13, 2010
• All That Glitters - Wednesday, December 16, 2009
• The Art of Connecting is Alive and Well - Monday, November 16, 2009
• Waiting for Inspiration? - Saturday, August 22, 2009
• Saying Goodbye to A Friend - Wednesday, July 22, 2009
• Sands of Time - Thursday, June 11, 2009
• Take a Walk in Someone Else's Shoes - Thursday, June 04, 2009
• Ready for a Straight Stretch of Road - Thursday, May 21, 2009
• Serendipity - Saturday, March 14, 2009
• Looking Forward - Wednesday, January 07, 2009
• Down Memory Lane - Tuesday, December 09, 2008
• What's Important to Me - Wednesday, November 12, 2008
• Standard Time Returns - Saturday, November 01, 2008
• Rested, Recouperated and Ready for Action - Wednesday, October 29, 2008
• Ready for Some Good News? - Wednesday, October 15, 2008
• Enough is Enough - Wednesday, October 08, 2008
• Season of Change - Tuesday, September 30, 2008
• Visit New York City in the Autumn and Don't Miss the Broadway Plays - Friday, September 05, 2008
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• Eureka or That Aha Moment - Tuesday, August 05, 2008
• Off to the Agent - Sunday, August 03, 2008
• A Promise to Remember - Thursday, July 31, 2008
• Time in a Bottle - Friday, July 25, 2008
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