Not having a television certainly has its disadvantages: I never know what I'm supposed to buy, I don't know what to think, I don't know what my body is supposed to look like and I miss out on fantastic commercials like the ones put out by General Motors.

Well, that's why I send my thanks to the high and mighty for James Kunstler, who is a great read when you want to know where the world is really headed.

During the Iowa caucus, of which I was only able to read a transcript, I missed out on the essential elements, specifically, the commercials, the only righteous indicator of where this consumerist society is going.

Most egregious was a commercial from GM , which threw about their weight as a member of the “Detroit Three” (no longer the Big Three thanks to hybrids from Toyota) showing how their future prospects would save our bleak future from absolute catastrophe by advancing one of the least advanceable technologies: hydrogen.

But, all the facts aside, this commercial had what Kunstler described as an Obama-esque man standing in a field of flowers with children playing about a hydrogen powered sedan. Heart warming, isn't it?

Don't fall for it...

As was demonstrated in my last article , the energy needed to convert electricity to hydrogen energy is much more than needed than to be converted to electricity from the grid to support plug in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV's, and I apologize for not explaining that acronym last time.)

And aren't PHEV's far fetched? Not really.

In 1905 Porsche's crème de la crème was an in-wheel hybrid car.

With 0-25 mph times at 10 seconds (three times faster than contemporary cars of the time), it was blazingly fast for its era. But, low gas prices kept this one in the stable with the rest of the antiquated horses of the time.

And now, the inventors of the “people's car,” Volkswagen, have pushed an amazingly simple, efficient and road-going vehicle.

Back in 2001 they first introduced their simple “1-liter car.” Looking more like a space landing craft than a road-going vehicle, the idea of a vehicle that could achieve 235 mpg was a bit more of a joke than a plausible alternative.

But just like the hybrid of 1905, the 1-liter car now has its place in this work. Abandoned in 2005, it has been rejuvenated and set for limited production for 2010 as the most fuel efficient car.

And, I'm sure you're wondering... how can this car achieve such fantastic range?

To start with, it only has a 1-liter, single cylinder diesel engine that produces approximately 8.5 hp at 4,000 rpm. But with its astonishingly light 639 lb body, the power to ratio it produces is a very lively drive.

And now, according to Bloomberg, we have GM throwing out their newest V-8 concoction due to the current crisis with energy and their biggest consumers giving up on gas guzzlers.

Sign of the times, my friends.

And as this progresses, the rest of the world will be driving extremely efficient cars , while we're sitting by the sidelines in archaic behemoths.

Fingers crossed for change.

Keep your hopes in the future but your sense in the present...

Ciao,

Field