LOL! My point exactly on the last thread. Wait till they try to throw a ladder rack and a unit of plywood on one of these roller-skates. Or haul a family of 6 and a 4 horse trailer 600 miles.
City folks live in an entirely different world, it seems. They must think this stuff just happens with fairy dust or something...
Well, yes, sorta.
As my life is presently configured, I could live entirely without a car, and once did so for about five years (aside from an occasional rental). I rode my bike a lot, and didn't have kids. I want a car now -- I like to roll around a bit on the weekends, cart the kids to soccer and skating, and wouldn't want to lug the groceries home on foot.
But even including those applications, I average probably 20-30 miles a week for "baseline" driving. That's mostly dropping off and picking up the kids at school; for my own part, I walk and take metro to work. (When the girls are older, they can walk too.) I have only one regular trip (kid's soccer) over 2 miles. With a plug-in hybrid, my gasoline usage would drop to near zero except for vacations and occasional weekend road trips, which account for the great bulk of my mileage.
70% of Americans live in major metro areas and a fair number have driving profiles not unlike mine. Even more could/would if people got more sensible about living closer to their work. Multiply me by several tens of millions of these folks, and we can kick OPEC where it hurts.
I agree that people who need big vehicles and/or who have to drive -- e.g. people in rural areas and people with serious hauling needs -- shouldn't be hamstrung by government edict. But we still shouldn't dismiss the enormous reduction in gasoline usage that hybrids will make possible once the price point is right.