$4 a gallon raises MPG question

[UnaClocker]

Yeah, I agree, gas prices are just barely reaching the level where it's forcing people to change. When it gets to around $8 a gallon, I think it'll finally become rare and unusual to see an SUV on the road, only the truely rich will be driving something like that. If oil hits $200 a barrel, it's quite likely gas will hit 6 or 7 a gallon..

[mmtphoto]

I advocate a set date and time when people just park their cars on major and minor highways with 'mechanical' problems-and hope that thousands, stuck in traffic, park theirs too, with engines off-

I wonder what happened when Karina struck, and hundreds of thousands of cars were taken out of commission for months, why did gas get over $3 a gallon?

What incentive does your federal and state government have to reduce tax on gas when they collect MORE when the price per gallon goes up???

What does your Mayor/state legislator/congressman/senator/governor drive or ride in? You paid for it, and the gas that goes in it and for the vehicles the posse that rides with them travels in-I have no doubt it is a large SUV...they have no incentive to change things, they are owned by energy lobbyists.

My electric bill is always over $200 a month for less than 1200 KWH-it was, until about 2-3 years ago, less than $100 for the same usage. Why did it go from 6 cents to over 14 cents per KWH, especially when PECO generates most of the electric it generates with Limerick, a nuke powerplant? Al Gore, who cries the sky is falling, spends over $1200 a month for electricity in his 20,000 square foot home-does he really care about $4 a gallon gas?

A group of scientists and engineers proposed that if the federal government created a 100 square mile grid of solar panels in the midwest or southwest United States, it could feesibly power every home and business in the country-I'd gladly give my $200 a month towards that, just so PECO could go under...

Face it, until people unify against companies that control energy and the politicians who turn a blind eye to how they abuse the public, you and I are going to pay whatever it takes to try to survive.

[phantomrt]

Its always the government's fault. Who killed the electric car blah blah blah.

[turbokid]

idk... All I know is that When I can't afford to fill the tank on my 4 cylinder lebaron there is something wrong... I mean my brothers got soccer 10 miles away and my grandma is about 15 miles away(they go 2 times a week) and when I can't put gas in the tank cause I have a minimum wage job there is a definite issue with that

[1984Rampage]

Quote:

Originally Posted by turbokid idk... All I know is that When I can't afford to fill the tank on my 4 cylinder lebaron there is something wrong... I mean my brothers got soccer 10 miles away and my grandma is about 15 miles away(they go 2 times a week) and when I can't put gas in the tank cause I have a minimum wage job there is a definite issue with that

Ya, dude definately. Makin $100-$150 a week in highschool barely gives you enough money for gas, food, and play. Let a lone "upgrades" for your car. It blows.

[turbokid]

^amen! I used to be able to drop 20 in the tank and get almost over 3/4's of a tank
I can barely get half now!
movies...gas... movies....gas... DAMN!

[2.5TURBO]

filled up the csx today for just under $50. I said aloud "sweet under 50 bucks" and the lady in her ford escape at the pump behind mind replies with a slight smirk "seriously"
I replied with price on the pump of $49.xx

[crusty shadow]

there are ways to tell old akbar to shove it!
the price is being driven up by speculation and nothing else.
bush visited the saudis last month to ask them to pump more oil to bring the price down. they said no- not because they wana get every last penny, but because no one wants it. they litterally have all their storage tanks full and supertankers sitting off shore completely full. everyone is getting the oil they need right now- there has been no interruption in supply.
the prices are driven up by people in the oil futures markets. they see oil as a good investment because its going up in price, which causes them to buy every bit of oil futures they can. when somthing is in demand, the price goes up because people are willing to pay it. now when there is a weather report about a tropical depression in the atlantic, the traders go nuts cause they see another katrina situation and the price jumps again- for absoloutely no reason. the media isnt helping much either, every time they run a story about energy crisis this hurricane that fighting here there, it sparks a bit of a panic on the markets and price rises again for no reason.
we are overdue for a market correction, many analysts have stated this. the oil isnt worth whats being paid for it. period. but we wont see one until someone takes the appropriate action.
i know of one sure fire way to force a market correction but douchebag bush wont because he wont make as much money ( the ****er owns stock in oil companies)
refuse to pay more than say $65 a barrel for oil. if all the oil companies in the US refused to or were forced to pay no more than say $65 a barrel for oil the price would drop like a rock. we have enough oil resources combined with the strategic reserves to run the country for about 2 months before we'd have to start buying from outside sources again. what do you think would happen to the price if the largest consumer of oil in the world just flat out didnt buy any for 2 months straight? yeah the stuff would drop like a rock. we'd all have to cut way back on driving, i'd even be willing to accept rationing for a while to help the cause. throw in an assasination of hugo chavez just for good measure.( he nationalised venezuela's oil, basically let US companies develop their oil fields and then kicked em out seizing the wells and equipment.)
now this needs to be a 2 pronged attack.
since it will take several years to replace the current fleet of vehicles with whatever technology we decide to go with, whether it be hydrogen, electric or whatever, we need to adapt the current fleet to run on a higher percentage of ethanol.
take a look at Brazil. in the 70's durring the opec embargos the Brazilian military said we need to become energy independant. they produce vast quantities of ethanol using locally grown crops. you cant buy straight gasoline in Brazil- the highest concentration you can get is 50%. but they do a much better job than we do bacause they arent using corn to produce ethanol- they make theirs from sugar cane. you get a LOT more ethanol out of an equal amount of sugar cane vs corn, i think the ratio is like 3-4 times what you get from corn. sugar cane will definately grow with no problems in the southern states. now for the midwest theyd have to grow sugar beets to contend with the shorter growing season and colder weather. not quite as good as sugar cane but still way better than corn. in Brazil they sell ethanol conversion kits fairly cheap like around 200 bucks US, just a piggy back computer that tricks the OE comp into giving the correct air fuel ratio by reading the O2 converting the numbers and feeding the cars comp what it needs to see. in fact, off the coast of Brazil they just had a fairly major oil strike, not gigantic but its large enough that once they have the field developed and pumping the small amount of oil they do need, Brazil will be completely energy independant by 2012 . they are planning to detach themselves from the world oil markets when that happens and set thier own prices. must be nice......
as for biodiesel we already grow plenty of it- soybeans! soybean oil is easily conveerted to biodiesel and they wouldnt have to start growing a whole new crop to meet the demand- we already grow too much ( who the f__k eats tofu anyway?) Russia and western Europe should be doing the same thing- Russia has just as much if not more growing capacity than we do. that would fix 2 problems in one shot over there, supply Europe with renewable fuel, and pull Russia's economy out of the toilet.(they already make a STUPID amount of vodka over there, if theyd quit drinking it and pour in in their tanks theyd be a lot better off)
now keep in mind these are not perfect solutions but they will help ease the pain until we can fully develop new energy technology to replace what we use now.

ok im done with my rant, but it all makes very good sense doesnt it?

i cant wait to start driving my lebaron TI 5 speed. the traveler shows 32-35 MPG durring normal highway driving at 70-75 mph. even in 4th gear flored going up a hill at full boost, it never drops below 14 mpg. my good friend has an S10 blazer and hes very jealous. my S10 2wd 2.2 auto gets around 20 or so on the highway when i dont use the A/C and keep it under 75. another friend of mine just bought a used '05 Hayabusa and its got a trip meter on it like my lebaron. His never shows less than 35 mpg, but he usually does like 120-130 wherever he goes because the cops are no longer allowed to chase bikes in missouri. he didnt even bother to register it.

[turbokid]

I just spent a lot of time reading that. I do agree on your political views but we try to keep politics outa this since that can get ugly really fast.
by the way you should come down for the hpac show in Kansas this weekend

[GLHNSLHT2]

+1 Crusty Shadow! Nicely put.

[capev86]

thats why the 2.5 T2 setup ain't going in my 86 k wagon any time soon.....i'm putting in a 91 2.5 tbi and 3spd auto (with lockup converter) and converting it to mpi with sbec 1 electronics....i already have most of the parts courtesy of two 2.5 T1 motors!

as for my current daily driver - an 89 lesabre 3.8 fwd. it maxes out at like 27mpg. 4 years ago it cost me $25 for 17 gallons, now i spend over $65 a week just driving to work and my gf's house! i'm planning to buy my dad's 97 sable wagon which will get over 30mpg, but i'm really wishing i had a neon acr with a pt 2.4 swap and a 5 speed!

[capev86]

i have a bj's membership and i still can't imagine buying premium gas!

[EvilcowRoland]

My first car was an '87 Daytona Pacifica T1 auto. I drove to high school every day and to my gf's house every day on about $10 a week. I was coasting on fumes a lot of the time and even had to resort to 87 octane on occassion. The boost was kept low too, about 5 psi (straight to manifold). Man, I miss that car sometimes. It ran like crap, but got great mileage. I think it only left me stranded once when I popped a fuse link (O2 hit the exhaust housing). Now $10 barely gets me to the office and back (80 miles round trip).

I definately agree with a lot of what's been said here. While I'm all about the economy and world market being left alone, there comes a time when the needs of the people require the government to step in and take action on their behalf regardless of the established system. And if the government turns a blind eye, that's when people start to take matters into their own hands. Speaking of which, everyone invest in locking gas caps for your cars. Gas theft is on the rise.

[turbokid]

^ GOOD POINT
I went to kansas city Kansas a little while back for my buddy's high school graduation and When I parked it, it had 3/4 of a tank and when I came back it had just under 1/4....
I was not happy. And my baron even has the gas lid you have to open from the inside!
So they were desperate. But I was on the very edge of the parking lot making me a good target I guess

[UnaClocker]

Why the oil boom will eventually bust - Jun. 6, 2008

That's a good article to read about the current price of oil.