-=> Quoting Pete Snidal to All <=-
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 PS> So, just imagine - a '70's-style "boat" running on a Chevy Sprint
 PS> genset and a mess of batteries.  Presumably, battery technology has
 PS> improved to the point where this is possible.  Better yet, how
 PS> about replacing all those smelly diesel busses, which spend so much
 PS> of their time with the Jimmy belching black smoke as they inch their
 PS> way along through the gridlock, with diesel-electrics, an little
 PS> 2-71 efficiently pumping away, keeping the batteries up for whenever
 PS> it actually has to climb a hill or hit the freeway for a few miles. 
 PS> Just thinking about the fuel saving and the maintenance costs gives
 PS> me a warm fuzzy feeling all over.
        Why not just use electric buses, as are still being used in
Dayton, are being considered for use in several other cities, and were
common in Dallas when I lived there in the 1950s?
        Surely the 1950s are within the purview of the "OLD CARS"
echo.
        There are also electric "light rail vehicles" (LRVs), i.e.
the modern version of the street car, also electric powered.
        Eliminates both the diesel engines and the tremendously costly
(and generally not yet very satisfactory) battery technology, including
the costs in trying to build and dispose of batteries.
        Actually, as many serious commentators and students have noted,
individual automobiles are the most effective (and, all things
considered, the most efficient) for most people, which is why that is
the rational choice for most people.
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