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Originally Posted by pan6467
YES, if enough people demand it. I have no problem with the government requiring companies to work on bettering society, sometimes that is needed. Companies sometimes need government to regulate them, in fact pat of the problem we are in the condition we are in economically and societally is less regulation on what companies do and more laws against the people. The balance today favors big business and the rich and not the everyday people that make this country great.
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I'm all for regulating the companies, but I doubt GM would like a law that all cars have to be hybrids by 2011. The Chevron-Texaco large battery patents don't expire until 2015 or something to make anything but lead-acid economical. The government could set in and force Chevron to either do something with that patent or give it up... so I could buy a 144V NiMH battery pack instead of having to wire up my own.
Which brings me to the next point. How many Americans are going to spend the $4-7k minimum to convert a car to electric and stop using gas, there are a few of us that have or have come up with other modes of transportation like bikes that don't use gas? It isn't happening fast enough, and that is why the government may have to get involved. I don't like the police and I don't like driving 55, but it is better than ignoring the problem and continuing on like nothing is wrong. What happens when gas supplies are half what they are now. I lived in Phoenix in 2003 when the pipe was broken/shutdown and gas supply was cut in half. It was a mess, but people continued to drive everywhere (except for me it seemed, I rode my bike everywhere that month). There were long lines for the stations that did have gas, and prices were about what they are now.
So yeah, government should make the corporations produce better cars (as well as zero fuel cars, if I can convert one in my garage, they can make them), but if the problem doesn't get better, eventually people's consumption will have to be reduced. And I don't see it happening now at $4/gal. I doubt we will see it next year when it doubles to $8/gal.