We have come so far and flown so high that it is nearly inconceivable we may have gone right beyond our areas of normal expansive and progressive interest. Flight. Ever since I was a child I have loved flight. Any kind of flying machine, or person who operated a flying machine, was of great and endearing interest to me. My father was in the military, which allowed our family to fly from duty station to duty station across the land and over oceans. And I loved it all, from the aluminum framed web seats, to the loud piston engines of mixed dependabilty...and even the boxed chicken lunches, which were commonly distributed. Although planes were not on time or always able to take off due to weather or mechanical problems, it was okay. Airports had few services and little in the way of entertainment while we waited, interminably, to fly.
But we waited and we waited willingly. We loved to fly, and we loved all the preparation that went into the process. We loved the unseen 'John Wayne' pilots, and we loved the stewardesses in their wonderfully stylish attire. We loved the big aluminum monsters that flew us through the air. Most of us knew them all, by airline, model description put out by the airline, and even the manufacturer.
So what the hell happened? United is losing money...again. The rest are losing money, or making little, while they shrink the number and length of their flights. And that is all over the world. The airlines are all complaining about falling revenue and passenger miles. And they are correct. So what happened?
We don't like to fly anymore. We fell out of love. Flying today is a bitter experience of humiliating phony service. It is a series of unending embarrassments, to those who fly economy, and almost intolerable in first class, which is so expensive as to be almost humorous. We have horrid parking at airports and worse intra-airport transportation. Just the act of dropping somebody off or picking them up is to be avoided at almost any cost. Homeland Security is rotten. Rotten attitudes and stupidly rotten procedures. More humiliation. Once aboard an aircraft it is just as bad. Less room for carry-on, if any room at all. Charges for everything. Crammed planes outfitted with ever smaller seats and spaces. Tickets that cannot be changed. Tickets that cannot be returned. Fear of being run through some security system and denied the right to fly. Fear of everything connected to flight or the geographics where it occurs.
We don't like to fly anymore. That is what happened to revenue and passenger miles. We attempt to avoid it. We take a car or a train, but, more and more, we don't go at all. And it is getting worse. With less disposable income, we fly only when we absolutely have to. Our hatred for the experience is obvious to all around us at the airport, making matters all the worse. We hate the security guards, even though we understand their work. We hate the airplane crews even though we know that it is not their fault. We hate the dirty unsafe equipment we see all the time.
And so, we are beginning not to fly. It is the airlines fault. It is our governmental leadership's fault. It is the caving in to vapid stupidity at fault. There are not going to be any 9/11's because no passengers will allow it anymore. Heard of any hijacked airliners lately? Me neither. But I think it is maybe too late for the current airlines to recover. Flight will have to change. We won't accept it the way it is. We will kill it off, by not going. Then something will replace it. Like cars. I noticed, the other day, that I was standing at a Borders bookstore magazine rack in the automobile section. I have always bought automobile magazines. I looked and then bought nothing. My love affair with that method of transportation is dying too. I used to love to read about powerful sports cars, the faster the better. Now I think they are a joke. I do not want to pay for gas to support a 500 horsepower engine. An engine that will spend all of its time idling in traffic, or in the very very unlikely event that I can drive fast at all, idling by the side of the road as the ever-more aggressive highway patrols write me expensive tickets, accompanied by idiotic morality tales about safety.
And the other car stuff is boring. Oh, I know we gotta have the hybreds and the electrics. It is for the good and economy of all, not to mention, green of all. But those cars are boring. You just can't read very far into an article about a Prius. So the cars are going to go too. We are driving less. We are driving less for the same reason we are flying less...because we don't like to do it anymore. We are so simple to figure out, if you take the time and trouble to study us...the people...the fabric of the culture. We work because we have to, and because we believe in work as a part of our foundation of worth. We play because we want to. We'll continue to drive the trucks and cars for work, and fly for work, but we won't do those things for fun anymore. Unless there is just no other way to get there, and then we may not go at all.
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Hemi’s, Mopar’s, Chevy, Ford, Roush, Shelby, Challenger, Mustang, Camaro, Corvette, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Aston martin, Porche, Bentley, Lexus, Acura, and other cars; sorry if I didn’t list them, will soon be dead. Obama has issued a mandate that forces auto manufacturers to create fuel efficient cars. Well most won’t be affected because they are foreign cars but U.S. made vehicles must meet the stringent 35.5 mpg limit on passenger vehicles. What does this mean to you, you ask? You won’t be able to have those Shelby GT500’s or Camaros that pump out 500+ horsepower anymorel. You can’t even get a decent luxury v6 that makes more than 300 horsepower. For example, I owned a 2003 honda civic ex; 5 speed manual. If I slowed down and went speed limit I might get close to 40 mpg. Not to mention it was a coupe. Small, compact, fuel efficient, aerodynamic cars will be our future. Car guys weep along with me as we see super cars slowly go by the wayside. I don’t want a Prius. I don’t want a Insight. Both of which are good cars by the way. But don’t fret, there is still hope. There are sports cars that use fuel cells and diesel hybrid technology out there. Not to mention Tessla has an all electric sports car. What I’m trying to say here is, the old ways have died. The new ways are just arriving. It is still too early to see what the future would be like, but I definitely know there won’t be any more 6.0 liter v8’s coming outta the good ole’ U. S. of A. American Muscle, meet green. Being a big car guy myself, trust me I LOVE CARS, it’s sad to see that is going away. But for the greater good. Just go buy a classic, fix it up, pass it on to your kids, and keep it in the family like it was your family jewels.
Might be something we will drive in the future. World's smallest car.
PC Childs, commented some gibberish on my site that almost threw me into a frenzy. OMG did he not read the post? Is he just babbling away at me? Wait, did he almost call me an idiot? Well the point is, everything he said didn’t make any sense at all if you read my entire post. I’m sad that muscle cars will be going away just because I enjoy a nice American made muscle car. Most car guys would agree with me. But this pansy drives a 1986 VW with a 1.6 liter engine and he has the nerve to say I know nothing about cars. He’s the idiot for blasting me about new technology when hes in a 1986 car! Mercedes has a fuel cell sports car, Tessla has an all electric sports car, Honda has three concept fuel cell cars and electric sports cars and thats just some of the auto makers in the hybrid sports car arena. Mercedes has an hybrid suv that drove across Africa!! Never heard about that did you PC Child. There are motorcycle makers in California that are making all electric motorcycles. Even if you didn’t want a sports car or motorcycle, I can hypermile my 3.0 V6 coupe up to 45 mpg. So take your little 1986 1.6 liter engine that gets 50 mpg with old technology, and I’ll get my 2003 3.0 V6 with 45 mpg car and I’ll laugh at you in my luxury car all the way to the gas station. Oh by the way I give props to VW for making a 250 Mpg vehicle. It’s not as new as his spiffy as his 1986 VW but well, decide for yourself. Take a look and comment which car you would like to take.
Here’s some stats about the new VW Extreme 1.0 Liter car. The VW 1-Liter, developed in a wind tunnel, has a very narrow and very flat body configuration that necessitated tandem seating for the two occupants. Measuring in at 4.1 feet wide, 11.4 feet long, and just over 3 feet tall, the car features an amazing drag coefficient of just 0.159…even more wind-cheating than the slippery GM EV1 electric car’s 0.19 Cd. With its 235 mpg fuel economy, it can travel 400 miles on its 1.7 gallon fuel tank…all the while achieving a 75 mph top speed.
PC Child’s 1986 Golf is a POS. You guys comment and vote please. FYI this post was in response to my Car Culture Post Here.
Living in Texas, I guess my hybrid Toyota Prius with the Nascar stickers on one side and the "Texans for Obama" sticker on the other can be confusing to people. But I love fast cars and look on it as saving gas for Nascar.... and supporting the best new President we will have had in decades!
Come on, Obama - it would be great to advertising at a Nascar race!
You know, even though I have serious policy disagreements with her, such as Iraq and the Kyl-Lieberman amendment, I do have a fair amount of respect for Hillary Clinton.
But d**n she really needs to do something to keep her surrogates in check, because they are not helping. Are you at all familiar with the cliche "with friends like these, who need enemies?"
