I don’t think there’s really an excuse for the auto makers. I bought a Prius last year which I could sell for a profit right now. There is a clear market for The Car 2.0. Chevy is coming with the Volt, but really, hybrids are a small step above what Henry Ford designed.

There is plenty of room for innovation and no room for pity. We need cars that are ultra-safe, drive themselves, and are much more efficient. I get 43 mpg. That’s evolutionary. How about 200 mpg, or simply full battery electric? How about Hydrogen? Those are revolutionary, not evolutionary ideas.

Most injurious accidents are caused by speed differential, not raw speed. We’ve seen how efficiently computers can control trains, amusement park rides, inventory control, and other facets of life that have made life incredibly more efficient. There’s no doubt that bulk traffic loads could move better with a computer running things.

I’ll argue any day that the freedom and efficiency by low-occupancy vehicles has been a major key to America’s dominance in the world economy. It isn’t faultless by any means, and there is plenty of room for enterprising people to take it to the next level. Didn’t one of those auto makers give us the line “lead, follow, or get out of the way”? Time to practice what they preach.