I think it speaks more to the coming decline in car sales in the Western world that a major car manufacturer thinks that the only way to sell their cars is to make them seem as efficient as bicycles. Just like when Hip Hop first started riling everyone up, and now you see tacky, embarrassing politicians trying to be down with the people shaking hands with Jay-Z and others. If you can't beat 'em, co-opt 'em : )

Yeah, in marketing it's called the product life cycle, and after 'maturity' comes 'decline' :).

One of the specific pieces of propaganda that's been pushed in the U.S. since the 1940's, is that
1.) It is your God-given right to own and operate a car - and in fact, it's what you really want, too
2.) Roads and petrol have no source, they just exist, and appear magically to serve your needs
3.) Anyone who says otherwise to 1 or 2 is either poor (and therefore not worth notice, because you want to be rich), mentally unstable, or un-American (we could also write a book on all the "un-American" propaganda, besides automobiles)

It reminds me of that piece of history, when Japanese soldiers stuck on these islands had to be told that the war was over. You dig? :)

I have a funny feeling America is going to be fighting the losing battle to prolong the dominance of the automobile until it collapses them. After all, they epitomize American Freedom!

America is great at staging and prolonging wars (military, political, social) which don't really exist, and most people just go along with whatever the prevailing trend is, believing all the way that they are doing justice against the bad guy.

"To exchange one orthodoxy for another is not necessarily an advance. The enemy is the gramophone mind, whether or not one agrees with the record that is being played at the moment." -George Orwell

(that quote could easily refer to the recent presidential election in the U.S. as well...)

Meh. I don't know weather the fact that in almost every car ad you now see a bike somewhere in the background (or in this case the foreground) is a source of extreme annoyance, something to find funny, or evidence that riding a bike is becoming normal, and car makers are jumping on a bandwagon.

Some day I may figure all this out, and have something useful to add . . .

don't forget all kinds of stores, from clothing to pharmacy, seen it all. Hypocrites :).

cars are soooo 20th century

it shouldn't get any weirder...my readers quoting me :)

quoting you? oh dear! good thing you have this thing under a CC licence ;)

indeed :)

@Steven: I agree that the concept is simple, but recall one person asking (in a car forum) quite seriously whether a car going up a hill really uses more fuel than going downhill; after all, the engine RPMs and the speed don't change (?!). I think one of the better responses explaining this "conundrum" was by way of the bicycle: when going up a hill, you either reduce your speed or increase your exertion, but you're not going to reduce your exertion and increase your speed, not going uphill. When put in energy terms we relate to physically, the point becomes much clearer!

I've seen those kinds of discussions, too, Brent. I have to bite my tongue and move along. Tough, but healthy :).

Ha, regarding that commercial: That's kind of why the Toyota Prius has two motors: An electric one that operates on demand and from stops, and then the fuel engine starts when more power is needed. So, to recap (lol), the Prius car's fuel engine turns off when the car stops.

I find it interesting how the ad designers chose to use a bicycle to visualize the process. I don't think the concept is too difficult to understand that they had to choose a simple machine to demonstrate the "technology."

you're way too mild & forgiving, Steven :)

Man, I feel like I could write a book on propaganda. Of course George Orwell and Czeslaw Milosz probably did a better job than I could :)

Once you start thinking about doublethink though, it's amazing how much you see it pop up...

So much for those laws prohibiting propaganda...societies continue to lower the bar on just about anything...including education (media literacy, anyone) and ...ignorance :)