Why is this so important to you?
I, living in Europe and not owning a car, would be happy about higher gas prices (they are way higher in Europe than in the US already). Because I hope this would help to reduce CO2 emissions.
BTW, some conversions for you: My van needs about 21.38 liters per 100 km. The fuel price is about 0.46 Euro/L, in some cases as low as 0.44 Euro/L.
Low fuel cost is hugely important for the economy. High prices create a recession or depression. Fuel affects everything, and recently the price of oil dropped by 25%. Farm goods are affected by tractor fuel prices. Most plastic comes from oil. Our trains mostly run on diesel, so this can affect ticket prices. Normal planes require jet fuel, which is more of the same. Both exports and imports need bunker fuel for ships. Oil is even used to make roads and steel.
So the prices show up everywhere. You might not personally buy any fuel, but the cost of it is in the price of everything you buy.
I guess I can add: I'm thankful that I don't have to depend on non-redundant rail and unionized government workers for my transportation needs.
The engine: 5.4 L (330 cu in) SOHC 2V V8
It looks like this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ford_E-Series_wagon.jpg
Oh, also: I'm thankful I got a chance to buy a 15-passenger van before they were all legislated out of production. I'm thankful mine hasn't failed yet.
I wasn't aware they're no longer in production? I just passed on a 2019 Chevy Express 15 passenger (see above). Also, loads of companies buy the base models from Ford and Chevy then outfit them with up to 15 seats and other amenities for use as passenger transport vans.
So yes, the 2019 Chevy Express 15 passenger van is at least theoretically available. The dealer locator can't find such a vehicle within 250 miles of me, which includes almost the entire state of Florida.
It's unsurprising, because that would be a $250,000 liability for the seller if any subsequent buyer were to use the van for transporting school or daycare children. Nobody is crazy enough to sell these vans new in Florida.
The liability can be avoided by leasing the van and then selling it used. Sure enough, used vans are available. They are white (or rarely black) with gasoline engines and cloth seats. They are all the 2017 model (coming off 2-year leases) with about 40,000 miles of usage.
I dislike Chevy/GMC/Dodge/Chrysler vehicle controls, particularly the parking brake and the windshield wiper controls. Ford engines seem to work fine, gasoline included. I consider the Ford transmissions to be consumable parts like brake rotors, although so far mine is doing fine. The Chevy Express diesel engine is weak compared to the better gasoline engine, even for torque.
Well, thank you for the info. So now: I'm thankful that these vehicles haven't gone entirely extinct.
Federal law requires that states take measures to prevent such usage. Florida did what I explained. An alternative might be to make the usage a criminal offense, or to impose a fine on the driver, or to destroy any vehicle used for that purpose.
I don't see how Illinois can do as you say and still have federal highway funding.
This all came into being after lots of roll-over accidents made the news. I'd much rather the legislation mandate a better suspension and a better center of gravity, or simply some performance criterion to be tested.
Illinois Public Act 97-896 and Public Act 99-888 extended this to include mandatory school activities but only when driven by a driver with a school bus driving permit.
Here's the most important bill: http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/fulltext.asp?Name...