First Assignment: Due on Jan 30

Do some independent research on the following questions and write a reasonably balanced and well synthesized summary of the issues.

All about Transportation

1. Research some of the programs currently underway on Advanced Battery Technology. What are some of the projected power and storage capacities and how will these new technologies help in the development of electric/battery powered cars?

2. What are some of the current and future developments that the various automakers (see especially Honda) are engaged in with respect to the development of hybrid vehicles. For this model year, 2006, what hybrid models can consumers purchase and how does the price compare to similar non-hybrid vehicles.

3. Research and report on some of that factors that contribute to the volatility of the price of gasoline that the consumer pays. Why does the consumer pay more for gasoline on the West coast than in other regions of the country?

4. A simple math exercise, but worth doing. Fill in the entries in the following table. Assume the typical annual mileage driven is 15,000 miles. Compute the annual costs to drive this for each combination of MPG and dollars per gallon.

Now find the median household income for a typical american family. Given this median income, at what price point do you think the price of gasoline is "too high".