gas prices

[n8terry]

According to last issue of National Geographic---

China's import of oil has swelled over sixfold in the past decade.

China is expected to have more cars than the US by 2025.

Number of Chinese car owners surveyed who paid for vehicles with cash 96%.

A Chinese factory worker would need to work 6 months to earn the cost of a Thomas the Tank Engine train set.

This is my take on the subject of gas prices--

I remember in the 70's folks wanted the government to do something, so the speed limit was lowered to 55. How many of you remember all the bitching that went on over that, expecially the truckers?

We citizens are spoiled and the government goes out of its way to support us in the way we have become accustomed. Our stimulus check is in the
mail.

 

[Goose]

To a certain extent, we have only ourselves to blame.

The car I commute with will get 28-30 mpg on the road, but every day I see the same people commuting with humongous SUV's and oversized pickups that were bought as ego trips and only get maybe 15 mpg. Those are the same people who complain the loudest about the price of gasoline.

In reality, they're probably upside-down on their loans and can't get rid of the vehicle. Imagine if all these people began driving passenger cars that would get 30 mpg. Consumption would drop drastically and so would price at the pump.

Simple law of supply and demand.

 

[trucker40]

Theres no shortage right now.The answer is cronies.Its a plain simple case of corruption.Some of these crooks have enough money to air condition Hell.So they bought enough of our "Government"to make it not do anything that we elected them to do so they could steal all they can from us,and starve 2 billion people to death.Once they have stolen all they think they can get from you,what do you think they will do to you?The next "shortage"will be food,already is.

 

[Dave from MN]

As the years go by, so does the progress of eliminating the middle class, by eliminating the middleclass jobs and making many more dependant on assistance, and short term, break many with high fuel cost and an addiction to credit, those that have the millions will own everything but our soul.

 

[buickanddeere]

Pssst, Trucker40. They are all out there to get you. Better make a hat from Aluminum foil so the government can't read your mind and know what you are up to next.
Ever since you wrote that "Fat & Sassy" line in a response a few weeks ago. It show the classic southern poverty mentality that some of you suffer from.
Ever take a look at your public school grad class pictures or the class picture you should have graduated out of high school from? How many of those students have done well? What was different about their upbringing and yours, nothing? You just chose to be poor by what you did and didn't do in your past.
Will you ever admit your $$$ bind is your fault and not somebody else's?

 

[Anonymous-0]

Goose, I agree with what you say, But for some of us. A truck is a necesity, & yes I have a Ford Explorer which I need 4-wheel drive in the winter were I live, I can't see spending money for a third, vehicle & insurance to gain a few more miles, I try to save where I can, Now its up to Detroit. to make more effeceint(sp) vehicles, They are only 10 years behind the times. Dave F.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Goose, I agree with what you say, But for some of us. A truck is a necesity, & yes I have a Ford Explorer which I need 4-wheel drive in the winter were I live, I can't see spending money for a third, vehicle & insurance to gain a few more miles, I try to save where I can, Now its up to Detroit. to make more effeceint(sp) vehicles, They are only 10 years behind the times. Dave F.

 

[Dandy Don]

Hey Buck and beer, how about leaving out the Southern stuff. Ye ol possum.

Don

 

[buickanddeere]

Pardon to the Southerns who do work hard and work smart. It was'nt intended as a blanket statement. There is something about the south on average being poorer than the North per capita.
The other thing that gets under my skin is country music and ministers talking about how good it is to be poor and righteous. And how evil the rich folk are.
There is that "us and them"/"poor vs. rich" frame of mind. And people blaming somebody else because they don't have upper middle class income/luxuries on lower middle class work.

 

[JDemaris]

If you can't justify the expense of a third vehicle to get better fuel mileage - seems buying a new one from Detroit would never be cost-effective either.

Detroit tries to predict what consumers want and will spend money on . . . and up to now - high fuel mileage utilitarian cars did not sell well.
GM and Ford spent a small fortune recently getting ready to sell smaller rigs with small European style turbo-diesels. Now - with diesel being a lot more than gas - the public probably won't buy very many.

We only have two drivers in our household - me and my wife. We MUST have 4WD or AWD most of the time - otherwise we'd never get home on any winter day, and even in the summer - a 2WD won't make it up our steep dirt mountain road after a heavy rain. We have a smal farm and need vehicles for towing, hauling stuff, etc. besides just for transportation. We keep six vehicles on the road at any given time and switch around a lot. Each one costs $300 per year for insurance, so it's not a huge expense. I know people that pay that much per year for just one rig. I just took all my full-size diesel trucks off the road but one. Also put two 2WD diesel cars on the road which we won't be able to use on real wet days. But - my wife's 91 Volks Jetta diesel gets 38 MPG "around town" and 48-51 MPG on the highway. My 81 Chevy Chevette diesel gets 36 MPG - 45 MPG. My wife's little Geo 4WD Tracker with a gas engine gets 30 MPG driving back and forth to work on steep mountain roads. My 85 Isuzu 4WD diesel mini-truck gets 28-30 MPG in all driving. My 92 Dodge 4WD ex-cab Cummins diesel truck gets 21 MPG down the highway empty and 18 MPG with a camper on it. And, our 98 Dodge AWD Grand Caravan gets 21 MPG on the highway. We are often using the van in place of the Dodge truck and camper for long trips when we can get away with it. We need room for two adults, one kid, one dog, and lots of extra gear - and also must have AWD or 4WD for most trips - so a small car won't work. We just keep on watching fuel prices and pick what we drive based on the prices. One advantage to having so many is . . . if one breaks and needs work - we just hop into something else and fix it later. No hurry. And - they're all pretty easy to work on - except maybe the Dodge Caravan.

I miss driving my Ford F250 with the 7.3 turbo diesel - it the nicest driving truck I've ever owned - but - it's a fuel hog. So, for the moment, it's sitting with no plates on it. I've been trying to decide if I should sell it in a down market for diesels - or keep it and see if anything changes.
That's the way we do things. Not for everybody for sure. But, works great for us. Winter comes and we put three Subarus on the road - two 4WDs and one AWD. Winter beaters that stop . . . and go anywhere and get 23-32 MPG doing it.
If tomorrow - somebody came out with a 4WD that had some room in it, and got 35 - 40 MPG on the highway - it would probably also cost over $30,000. Seems if I bought one, I couldn't live long enough for the fuel savings to come close to paying for the change.

 

[kendak]

consumption drops & they just cut back on production...fuel prices are never going back down...you can forget that...Kent

 

[Anonymous-0]

hay bucktooth and Chuck. First I think your full of it and second you present yourself as being all high and mighty which your not. I have a few wealthy family members and if there is one thing I learned and was told is this, you don't get rich by hanging around poor people.So if you were all that you would be spending you time making your next million, not on here wasting your time with all us poor people. Proof, when was the last time you seen Donald nnalert or Bill Gates respond on this site? I guess the only other thing I learned about the rich is they would stab their own mother in the back to make a buck which is why I guess I will never be rich.But in the end your not buying your way into heaven. That's one thing you will have to do like the rest of us.

 

[RandyB(MI)]

The biggest difference between the "rich" and everybody else is the same as the difference between a "criminal" and a straight. ONE HAS A CONSCIENCE AND ONE DON'T!!

 

[buickanddeere]

b-maniac & dw
Why are you two and Trucker40 so proud of being poor? Have you bought into that poverty thinking?
So you are saying the poor are getting into heaven and the rich are going to hell?
And all the rich are rich because they lie cheat and steal?
That line of thinking easily justifies being lazy, complacent and blaming others for your plight.
Odd how per capita. The mid and upper middle classes commit fewer crimes than the poor. And churches, charities and missionaries are are not supported by the lower middle class. It's the mid to upper middle class donations, that's who.
Why,because the same discipline, work ethic, morals and delayed gratification which makes financial success. Also makes for solid reliable moral responsible citizens.
Then again you don't want to hear how getting a job after grade 12 graduation. Or getting a "job" after dropping out of high school. Then going nowhere. It would just hurt too much to look in the mirror and blame yourself for where you are?
Maybe I care enough to maybe prod a few people off their complaining butts and out to success?
A wise old saying has been on my mind when listening to some of you. " never argue with a fool, people may not know the difference".

 

[Anonymous-0]

J.D Right now all of my vehicles are paid for I wouldn't get anything out of them on trade in. I still have a few good years left in them. Yes when it becomes time to replace them. He#@ yes I'll be looking for vehicles that get better mileage, Right now the Ford F350 only gets driven when needed maybe twice a month, Unfortunely I have to used the Ford Explorer daily, but its useage is cut back considerably, although We been eyeing a used Subaru (which we'll probably end up buying) Everything we have is paid for I don't want to go in debt. I'll just wait intill I can pay out right for a newer vehicle. Dave F.

 

[Anonymous-0]

J.D Right now all of my vehicles are paid for I wouldn't get anything out of them on trade in. I still have a few good years left in them. Yes when it becomes time to replace them. He#@ yes I'll be looking for vehicles that get better mileage, Right now the Ford F350 only gets driven when needed maybe twice a month, Unfortunely I have to used the Ford Explorer daily, but its useage is cut back considerably, although We been eyeing a used Subaru (which we'll probably end up buying) Everything we have is paid for I don't want to go in debt. I'll just wait intill I can pay out right for a newer vehicle. Dave F.

 

[JDemaris]

We are the same way in regard to debt. I've never had a car loan in my life and prefer to keep it that way. And, even with using cash - I'd never consider a new vehicle. It makes no sense to me as long as I can fix my own and drive older rigs. Now - if we had a drastic change in technology - e.g. gas or diesel no longer allowed or available - and we had to drive hydrogen powered vehicles or nothing? Well, then I'd have to think on it a bit.

But for now - I can buy a house or two for the price of many new trucks. I prefer to buy the houses - and drive older cars and trucks.

From what I see - there is nothing new on the market that offers as good as fuel mileage I get now. Even with Subarus - they've gone down-hill a bit. Much of that because they keep installing bigger engines with more power. We recently junked our 1989 Subaru 4WD Justy and it always got better than 30 MPG. My 1985 Subaru Loyale 4WD wagon with a 1.8 gets 33 MPG on the highway and it does not have fuel injection. My wife's 95 AWD two-door Impreza with the 2.2 gets 24 MPG on the highway. I recently drove an almost new Forester with a 2.5 and it got 23 MPG on the one trip I took.
I was just looking at the test specs for all the newest Subarus and the best one gets 26 MPG whereas most get 23-25 MPG highway. Not very impressive.

 

[RandyB(MI)]

Never said I was "poor"!Also never said ALL rich people were crooks either.First of all let me define my idea of rich. Rich , to me is , a person who is a millionare by age 40. I doubt even you are rich. Also I will stand by the fact that 80% of them got there by ill gotten gains. I , as you , applaud the other "honest" hard/smart working 20% and they are also the "silent" 20% that you would never know were rich. It's the 80% that got there off the backs of a trusting population that believed they were getting what they paid for , no more no less. A good example would be the fact that you will NEVER meet an honest car dealer , they all went broke trying to compete in a corrupt "play the game or else" bussiness and 80% of the "bussinesses" play the same games. Mortgage lenders , car salesman/financers , insurance companies/claims adjusters/wrecker services , lawyers , doctors , therapists , marketing executives , investment companies , auto/truck repair fascilities etc etc. And let me explain my definition of dishonest/corrupt/crooked. Any person or bussiness who outright lies , lies through ommission,falsifies doccuments , intentionally uses misleading and/or leading verbage or print , fails to disclose all pertinent information in a service or sale , adopts standard operational policies that are not in the best interest of a customer etc,etc. I can pick out the most honest car dealer in our town (I know him personnally)and he is still guilty of 50% of the above infractions. 80% of the "rich" are guilty of some or all of the above and it is very easy to prove because they are so casual about it that they think ALL the public will buy their lies. I am not poor but definately not rich and I have worked my *ss off for every dollar and applaud any body that is rich by the same means. Unfortunately that 20% is a dying breed and the other 80% is just getting better at what they do and they know we don't have the resources to enforce the existing laws they are breaking. It seems that this day and age you can either be a doormat or an a-hole , there is no in-between. I refuse to be a doormat.

 

[buickanddeere]

B-maniac

Maybe you should re-write that last sentence. You inadvertently left yourself wide open for a less than flattering reply.
I do agree to some degree to a portion of what you said.
No I'm not rich, just a bottom of the food chain peon trades person & hobby farmer who occasionally takes a temporary foreman's position during outages.
I did post around here at the end of April when cranky about how much the government had skimmed off and wastes from my paycheque to that date.