Question: I see this in nearly all post apocalyptic movies, and in spades in the Book of Eli. The dystopian world they live in is so devoid of necessities that things like chapstick and even water are extremely valuable. OK, fair enough. 30 years ago a nuclear war destroyed society. So how is it that in this world of extreme scarcity, that they are able to keep multiple vehicles running? Beyond gasoline, a car requires a working battery and multiple other fluids, not to mention parts.
Answer: Scavenge and cannibalize from all the derelict cars, and loot abandoned stores?
Corrected entry: Didn't anyone else notice that his eyes were perfectly fine and brown? If he was blind the whole time (and in the end his eyes were white), why are his eyes brown when we takes off his shades and looks out the window and look up at the sun? Doesn't make sense.
Correction: This is a question, not a mistake. They never say how he became blind. If his blindness was caused by a severed optic nerve, for example, there would be no change in the eye's external appearance. Many blind people don't have deformity or discoloration on their eyes.
The issue was not addressed as to why his eye color changed from brown to white even though he is blind at the start of the movie.
He is not blind at the start of the movie.
Correction: He is blind but in the novel for which the movie is based, our hero is blind but given sight to carry out the mission.
Answer: Like you said, society collapsed so the survivors scrounge for food, water, basic needs. Vehicles, their parts, and oil are not basic needs however and are only required when new, primitive, societies start up again. Sure individuals might use a vehicle, but plenty of cars lying around to use until they rust and then you go on to the next. But, these societies can, though crudely, create parts and collect fluids, based on their needs, from whatever they can scavenge. The technology and knowledge is still there, as is the skill to keep cars running. They'd go great lengths to keep them operational, sometimes moreso than food production.
lionhead
I can appreciate your answer, but 30-year-old gasoline? It just doesn't work. But then it dawned on me that an engine can run on other substances, like grain alcohol. Probably still hard to come by, but nowhere as difficult to create as gasoline would be. So, yep, you're right. Thanks.
applejackson