Rethinking the Role of the Automobile

In 1987, a record 126,000 automobiles rolled off assembly lines each working day, and close to 400 million vehicles are used on the world's roads today. Prior to the 1970s the automobile's utility and sustainability were hardly questioned. A decade of oil price increases and worries about future fuel availability slowed automobile use somewhat, but in the 1980s improved energy efficiency and additional oil supplies combined to bring fuel prices down. This document calls for a fundamental rethinking of the role automobiles should play. It contains sections entitled: (1) "Whither the Automotive Age?" (2) "Depending More on Oil, Searching for Alternatives"; (3) "Enhancing Fuel Efficiency"; (4) "Reducing Emissions"; and (5) "Reshaping Transportation." (TW)