Cars
Wonks Anonymous is in love with an SUV and he must confess it even if he wakes up tomorrow and finds his membership in the vast liberal conspiracy revoked.
Although he does not own one, he finds the Nissan Xterra irresistible. Lots of power, high suspension and a sturdy truck body make this a perfect vehicle for jeep trails.
Not only are jeep trails a lot of fun but there are many places in the West that you simply cannot get to without using them, a thing that Wonks Anonymous and his spouse discovered to their dismay on their first visit to Death Valley.
And Wonks Anonymous would add, as a matter of general principle, that cars are extremely handy and using them is fun. It is a shame that they produce so much C02 and generate income for various silly people.
And Wonks Anonymous feels that we might do something about this, other than his usual grinchy proposals like carbon taxes. He seems to recall that John McCain had a nice idea during the campaign. He recalls that he spoke slightingly of it during the heat of the campaign. He is sorry for his partisan zeal.
We need to start a national contest for the best new ideas in automotive technology. We need ideas that increase fuel efficiency but still produce a car that does not make you feel that you are riding a roller skate. There should be a fair number of prizes, not just one big prize and the contest should last about one year.
The competition should be open to any gear head, not just people from the auto companies or engineers with venture capital backing. This means that we should also offer free technical advice and evaluation for the duration of the contest. Wonks Anonymous would suggest that Lawrence Berkeley Lab - the place that the new Energy Secretary came from - would be the perfect institution to provide advice and judging.
They would need to hire more engineers and maybe we could rehabilitate a few financial engineers from Wall Street in the process. Nuclear weapons designers from Livermore might also be given the opportunity to be useful to society.
The spending would stimulate the economy and the ideas would improve our competitiveness. We might even turn it into a year long reality TV Show and pay part of the expenses with advertising revenue.
This one is for you Dave.
Although he does not own one, he finds the Nissan Xterra irresistible. Lots of power, high suspension and a sturdy truck body make this a perfect vehicle for jeep trails.
Not only are jeep trails a lot of fun but there are many places in the West that you simply cannot get to without using them, a thing that Wonks Anonymous and his spouse discovered to their dismay on their first visit to Death Valley.
And Wonks Anonymous would add, as a matter of general principle, that cars are extremely handy and using them is fun. It is a shame that they produce so much C02 and generate income for various silly people.
And Wonks Anonymous feels that we might do something about this, other than his usual grinchy proposals like carbon taxes. He seems to recall that John McCain had a nice idea during the campaign. He recalls that he spoke slightingly of it during the heat of the campaign. He is sorry for his partisan zeal.
We need to start a national contest for the best new ideas in automotive technology. We need ideas that increase fuel efficiency but still produce a car that does not make you feel that you are riding a roller skate. There should be a fair number of prizes, not just one big prize and the contest should last about one year.
The competition should be open to any gear head, not just people from the auto companies or engineers with venture capital backing. This means that we should also offer free technical advice and evaluation for the duration of the contest. Wonks Anonymous would suggest that Lawrence Berkeley Lab - the place that the new Energy Secretary came from - would be the perfect institution to provide advice and judging.
They would need to hire more engineers and maybe we could rehabilitate a few financial engineers from Wall Street in the process. Nuclear weapons designers from Livermore might also be given the opportunity to be useful to society.
The spending would stimulate the economy and the ideas would improve our competitiveness. We might even turn it into a year long reality TV Show and pay part of the expenses with advertising revenue.
This one is for you Dave.
Here's a little different slant on a national contest to invent a revolutionary automotive engine. Contest entries should exceed target standards for power, efficiency, and reliability--that is, be able to produce X horsepower and achieve Y MPG on regular gas over Z operational lifetime.
The contest could have different levels--one engine for a commuter vehicle, one for a light truck/SUV, one for delivery vehicles, one for tractor trailers, etc.
Winnow the applicants down to a handful of finalists for testing under rigorous and transparent conditions. The winner receives an enormous cash prize from the U. S. government, which by contest rules would own the patent. The government will then place the revolutionary design in the Public Domain, available to any automaker for free. Any company, large or small, could manufacture the motor or its parts. Any mechanic could learn to repair the motor.
To free marketeers who object to the public domain paradigm, I would counter that you've had years to come up with the design yourselves. The larger issue is, what happens if this contest business if a success? What happens if we have another contest to, let's say, design safe, efficient, environmentally friendly open source nuclear reactors?
In any case, now that we're in the business of openly throwing several billion dollars no strings attached at every bank in America, can't we shave off a billion to award to a gear head or a consortium of gear heads who come up with the motor that saves the planet--and also allows us to ramble all over Death Valley with a clear conscience.
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