B. Carfree

There were a couple of comments made in this video that just jump out, like "I think it's important to not let anybody else do your thinking for you" and, "I'm not totally against cars. I'm against the way they're used. I'm against people using a car for a three-quarter mile trip to get a bag of groceries."

Enjoy.

I-Like-To-Bike

Good thing for Tim that there are some customers for his knives who really think they need custom made artisan knives and are willing to pay the price. Just like some people who buy other products.

Sedona certainly is a beautiful place to live.

Walter S

Are those selling us SUVs "doing our thinking for us"? Seems to me they're doing what anybody does when selling any product whatsoever. They advertise how great it will be and generate as many yes-buying decisions as possible. It's the way the economy works.

Are SUVs not the convenient family vehicles we've been led to believe?

He thought that after 911 we would use less oil and drive smaller cars. Not sure why he thought that. A wacko in Afghanistan organizes a terrorist strike and america gives up cars? Think again.

Ekdog

Do you see any problems associated with millions of people driving SUVs?

kickstart

I see problems associated with millions of people doing anything.

Walter S

Does that include breathing?

I-Like-To-Bike

Doesn't that cause nasty CO[SUB]2[/SUB] that we've been hearing so much about?

wolfchild

Not at all, I don't see any problems with SUVs.

rossiny

I think he was referring to the fact that we have never changed any behavior in our use of oil. In the late 70s we had an oil embargo from OPEC. I was a boy and I remember the panic of cars lining up for gas. I remember my aunt drove one of those little ford Maverick . I think it was a four cylinder ,, then after that past we went to seeing Cadillac coupe deville with 500 cu. in. engines so what he was saying in my opinion was that we are just along the same path.

Ekdog

I didn't ask you.

kickstart

Depends on how many just ate garlic.......

loky1179

I'd say they are the main source of our problems. The ones not breathing may occupy some real estate, but they are generally a pretty quiet, undemanding bunch.

kickstart

But they could be recycled to further reduce their footprint.......

B. Carfree

Well, he was correct in thinking that Americans would drive less after 9/11. Starting in 2004 we saw decreased per person miles driven every year for nearly a decade. Even the total miles driven declined starting in 2006. Not only did we drive fewer miles, we were generally driving more fuel efficient cars, so the oil consumption went down.

Frankly, I'm not sure why anyone wouldn't be aware of this in hindsight, but I suspect it may have something to do with the total penetration of the fossil fuel production/use industries here. I believe that has something to do with allowing other people to do your thinking for you.

Dahon.Steve

Thanks for creating this post B. Carfree.

I have a theory why the new generation of kids entering the work force are driving less. I read the other day that millions are dropping cable television and the cutting cord. Young adults are streaming television shows skipping hours of automobile commercials that condition them to become motorist for life. I've said this before that once I stopped watching television, the need to buy a new or used car completely disappeared.

The cable companies and broadcast local stations are fighting against having their shows and channels streamed on the internet. As a result, they continue to lose millions of new viewers each year in particular, young car buying adults. I believe this is having a huge effect on new car sales among other things.

Machka 

What does watching TV have to do with the need to buy a car?

When I was car free, I watched TV just about every evening and never needed to buy a car.

Ekdog

Did you miss the rest of the paragraph you snipped that quotation from, the part where Steve explains very clearly why he thinks watching TV and "needing" a car are related?

Ekdog

When was that? Back in '60s?

wolfchild

I disagree that TV commercials and other forms of advertising have anything to do with it. Marketing and advertising never worked for me and it has zero influence on my decisions to purchase things. I purchase things based upon my personal needs and not because of some TV commercial or ad.

Ekdog

Right! The automobile industry is throwing away all of those billions on ads that have no effect whatsoever on sales. You two ought to apply for positions as executives with one of the big car companies. You could save them a lot of dough with your sage advice and make a bundle for yourselves while you're at it.

[TABLE="class: topFacts, width: 753"]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]
[TD="align: right"][/TD]
[TD="class: last, align: right"][/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

[TABLE="class: topFacts, width: 753"]
[TR]
[TH="bgcolor: #F7F8F9"]Advertising[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: #F7F8F9, align: right"]Values[/TH]
[TH="class: last, bgcolor: #F7F8F9, align: right"]Statistic[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]General Motors Company's advertising spending in the U.S.[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]$3.12bn[/TD]
[TD="class: last, align: right"]Details →[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Ford Motor Company's advertsing in the U.S.[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]$2.47bn[/TD]
[TD="class: last, align: right"]Details →[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Radio advertising expenditure of car manufacturers and car dealers in the U.S.[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]$199.2m[/TD]
[TD="class: last, align: right"]Details →[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

chewybrian 

I suspect that there is more effect from the reduced need to drive to accomplish tasks than from reduced exposure to advertising.

If it costs less to order from Amazon and have something delivered to your house than driving to the mall to get it, then slightly decreased driving should result. Even if you shop at the mall, you may do research on-line, reducing hunting trips to the stores prior to making a purchase. More people are working from home, and communicating or playing games on-line rather than in person.

However...
It is nonsense to say that advertising has little effect, or that "I am immune". It certainly has effect on people too young to see through it. As you get older, its effect may be diminished, but never eliminated.

You see two products on the shelf; same price, identical intended uses, ingredients, etc. You pick one--why?



You may choose the off brand if it a nickel less, but most won't. The real world demand curves for these two products are going to be very different, even if they are nearly identical in taste. The difference is largely attributable to advertising.

I-Like-To-Bike

No matter how much money is spent on advertising feminine hygiene products it won't create an iota of demand for such products with the slice of the population with no need for such products. Nor will it create such a need. Nor did advertising create the need for the segment of the population who know if they need such products.

People know if they need or want a motorized vehicle; LCF characters who think otherwise are only fooling themselves.

I-Like-To-Bike

Advertising may affect the choice in which of the two similar products is purchased, it didn't create the demand for the product.

chewybrian 

That is a very poor and contrived comparison, and your conclusion is quite obviously wrong.

Of course, I will not be convinced to buy dentures or eyeglasses, a colostomy bag or an iron lung unless I need them. A car, however, is not needed in this way. There are substitutes available, like: the bus, train, a bike, or a good pair of shoes.

You can make your case about whether the demand for driving is highly elastic or not. Yet, it is a mathematical certainty that a demand curve exists. Raise the price high enough, and people will begin to choose alternatives.

chewybrian 

No, it's both. The degree to which it affects either is up for debate, though.