"We can rebuild... we have the technology..."

God Loves The 1974 VW Dasher:

Look. We have the technology. We have the brainpower. We could, if there were any real incentive to do so, if the government had done its job and if they had pushed forth with anything resembling social responsibility, and if the populace had been educated enough to care, we could easily have fast sexy well-built cars that get 100 mpg, right now, today, cars that give off nearly zero emissions, and we could be giving the finger to Saudi Arabia and we might not be losing a brutal war in Iraq and thousands of undereducated U.S. soldiers wouldn't be dead and we might, in fact, be headed toward a much greener, lighter, less warlike future than the one BushCo has mapped out for us. An oversimplification? Maybe. But not by much.

So why don't we do it? Why are we still so grossly dependent on oil? Why does every car on the road suck down gas like Dick Cheney sucks life force? Why did we, in fact, go in the opposite direction and embrace bloated and imbecilic SUVs over elegant, efficient cars? Simple: Because there has been exactly zero pressure on Big Auto to change. Because your government does not care. Because profits matter more than social responsibility. Because when supply is plentiful and oil prices are low, we simply don't give a damn. Just ask any Hummer owner.