Wendy and I just returned from visiting friends in Norway. Talk about sticker shock!! Gas costs between $10 and $11 per gallon. (By the way, Norway is the third largest oil producer, but what they do with this money is another story.)
A Toyota Yaris that sells for $11,350 in the US costs $43,720 in Norway. The RAV-4 sells for $21,250 here and $74,600 in Norway. While the weak dollar accounts for some of this price difference, taxes designed to discourage car ownership explains most of the difference. And these taxes are working!!
The socialists who control the parliament and the government are proud that these taxes have resulted in one of the lowest car ownership levels in the world. And yet public transportation is expensive. We paid $38 per person for a one-way bus ride from Bergen 60 miles south to the island of Stord where our friends live.
It would be nice to know what the socialists in the parliament and the government drive.
