I took this photo of the Smart Car back in 2005 when I traveled to Paris, France with my daughter. That's Notre Dame in the background. I was fascinated with this car back then as I am fascinated with it today. I'm happy to report that three years since this photo was taken, the Smart Car is finally for sale here in the US.
What took us so long?
The reality of $4 a gallon for gas, with the prospect of $5 plus on the horizon has finally awaken the citizens of America.
This is real folks. We really have a problem. All of America was built on cheap oil. Our cities, our towns, our states, our government, our highways, our businesses, our way of life for the past 265 years was developed and masterminded on cheap commodities.
Times up. Game over. We have to get real.
What fascinated me the most when I was in France was the people. As an observer, I studied them with a profound keeness and sense of awareness I never experienced before. I loved the way they lived and how they utilized every morsel of life. When I traveled to Italy (and England) for the next two years, I found the same European lifestyle there also. The Europeans know how to live. Of course they do. They have been doing it for centuries. They drive fuel efficient cars, maintain energy conscious homes (France is 70% reliant on Nuclear Energy), consume respectful, freshly prepared meals (no fast food) and dress in exquisitely constructed clothes. Their whole infrastructure is reliant on rapid transit. You really don't need to drive a car in Europe. You literally can go anywhere on either a train or a bus.
All of this comes for a price in Europe. 55% to 60% of their income is taxed. There is a 50% tax surcharge on gasoline. Their taxes provide universal health care and other subsidies for their way of life. Their remaining 45% to 40% of net income has to be utilized with extreme care and with careful expenditures. They live small. By that I mean their apartments are small. Their houses are small. In most instances homes are passed down from generation to generation. There is only so much land in Europe. Being able to afford a home is a luxury on the most grandest of scales. Europeans don't trade up a home as easily as we Americans do. Europeans buy a home and stay put. They respect their elders, especially older woman.
As soon as I got back from Paris in 2005, I started changing my life. The first thing I did was sell my gas guzzling SUV and buy a fuel efficient, manual transmission Ford Focus.
