Hope gas goes to $20 a gallon

[oilman_15106]

Maybe, just maybe then all the idiot teenage drivers will be off the roads. The first decent day of the year, sunny no real wind and 63f to get a ride in and the cars full of teenagers shouting foul things and throwing stuff out the windows are in full force to ruin your ride.

It has been a long time since I was a teenager and I can never remember shouting at cyclists or throwing things at them?

[Hobartlemagne]

Nothing in the history of the world has been proven to stop obnoxious teenagers.

[wobblyoldgeezer]

Best part of $13 in UK already. $1.50 here in Bahrain. Obnoxious teenagers both places. Rudeness seems to be pretty price-inelastic

[Retro Grouch]

I don't get mad, I get even. Those are the people who are paying for our Social Security benefits. If you bicycle and stay fit the odds are you're going to live and recieve benefits for a longer period.

When you get the opportunity be sure to tell them. :) :)

[maddmaxx]

I don't get mad, I get even. Those are the people who are paying for our Social Security benefits. If you bicycle and stay fit the odds are you're going to live and recieve benefits for a longer period.

When you get the opportunity be sure to tell them. :) :)

:roflmao2:

[KrisPistofferson]

Nothing in the history of the world has been proven to stop obnoxious teenagers.Yeah, plus they always seem to be right on the cutting edge of loathsome trends. I didn't even like teenagers when I was a teenager.

[n4zou]

I don't get mad, I get even. Those are the people who are paying for our Social Security benefits. If you bicycle and stay fit the odds are you're going to live and recieve benefits for a longer period.

When you get the opportunity be sure to tell them. :) :)
I've already collected far more SSD benefits than I ever paid in and at 52 I should be able to get even more.:thumb:

[Bill Kapaun]

So, food prices aren't high enough already?

[Artkansas]

Maybe, just maybe then all the idiot teenage drivers will be off the roads. The first decent day of the year, sunny no real wind and 63f to get a ride in and the cars full of teenagers shouting foul things and throwing stuff out the windows are in full force to ruin your ride.

Remember, they will decide which retirement home you go into. ;)



"Almost everything that is great has been done by youth." Benjamin Disraeli

[Tom Bombadil]

Saw a report from a well respected oil industry analyst the other day which predicted that US gas prices will hit $5 within 18 months. And possibly $6 within 3 years.

Also saw a press release from Volkswagen about a new compact car they will be releasing in Europe soon, which will get 72 mpg (U.S. gallons) off of diesel fuel. With lower CO2 emissions than a Toyota Prius hybrid.

As to higher food prices, the U.S. trucking industry is striking back by lowering their truck's maximum cruising speeds. One company restricting theirs to 63, another down to 60. One of the companies has over 10,000 trucks and says that the move will lower their annual fuel costs by over $15 million, due to increase fuel economy.

[Johnny_Monkey]

Best part of $13 in UK already. $1.50 here in Bahrain. Obnoxious teenagers both places. Rudeness seems to be pretty price-inelastic

I don't think it's quite that expensive in the UK yet.

[zoste]

I don't think it's quite that expensive in the UK yet.

Not sure of the exact conversion, but it's 111.1p per liter. Which works out to about $8.25 per US gallon.

[mrbill]

I drove to Southern Illinois from Chicago metro area & back. Majority of trucks were doing 60, a few 55. I drove under 60 & increased my mileage by 15 -20% (as opposed to former speeds of 70-75. It was well worth a little more time. I'm riding my bike to work almost every day & sometimes for errands around town. Hoping to make it a habit :).

[bac]

Maybe, just maybe then all the idiot teenage drivers will be off the roads.

Stereotype much?

... Brad

[The Weak Link]

At these prices I'm going to start dumping Evian into my tank.

[Artkansas]

At these prices I'm going to start dumping Evian into my tank.

Spell Evian backwards... ;)

[rustiewood@comc]

just remember diesel is 50-60 cents higher than gas ,if gas gets to 6 bucks a gallon, this country will economically go belly up. personally i think the oil bubble will bust before that.sending those dang speculators to the poor house.

[Tom Bombadil]

Oil analysts don't expect the oil bubble to burst at all. The USA is but one country buying oil, there are many other customers. Several are now predicting that oil will reach $200/barrel within 18-24 months. That $120 right now is a bargain that we may never see again.

But our price could come down if our dollar gets stronger.

[bkaapcke]

Having just today gotten back from Germany, I'll tell you that the future of cars is way smaller. They have more small car configurations than I've ever seen in one place. Many look like they will suit you just right. I am rethinking our configuration. Saw a lot of smart cars for two of four, and lots of other doable mini cars. Lot of nicely restored orig. mini coopers were out there.. bk

[Tom Bombadil]

Here are some pics of the upcoming Volkswagen Polo BlueMotion, that is achieving 72 mpg in tests. Small, but not tiny like the Smart Car.

http://www.autobloggreen.com/photos/vw-polo-bluemotion/

[Rober]

I'm fine with 10 bucks a gallon - even $20. Americans only seem to listen to what's good for them when there is a big price-tag attached to it. But, then again, what's this war costing and who's listening? I give up.

[byte_speed]

Maybe, just maybe then all the idiot teenage drivers will be off the roads. The first decent day of the year, sunny no real wind and 63f to get a ride in and the cars full of teenagers shouting foul things and throwing stuff out the windows are in full force to ruin your ride.

It has been a long time since I was a teenager and I can never remember shouting at cyclists or throwing things at them?Even though my memory isn't what it used to be, I CAN still remember throwing stuff. We never threw stuff at cyclists, only because there weren't any.

I figure whatever I get is just the karmic chickens coming home to roost.

[RoMad]

Once during my misspent youth I was in the back seat of my friends 69 chevelle making out with my girlfriend as my buddy was driving about 60 mph down a country road. Suddenly he slammed on the brakes, throwing us on the floor. When I got up and looked around we were passing a man on a funny looking english bike about 2 feet out in the road. My friend came to a stop and I rolled down the window and stuck my head out to yell at the old fool on the bike as he was coming toward us. Just as I got my head out the window the old guy reached behind him and pulled out a small gun and shot it up in the air. The next thing I know I am back on the floor, this time under the girl and my buddy was seriously burning rubber as we sped away. That was the last time I ever even thought about yelling at a cyclist. Like the OP said, stupid teens. I wonder where they get it?

[John E]

Get used to it, gang. The oil producers have figured out the Peak Oil thing, and my friend who accurately predicted today's $120/barrel crude price a year ago is now predicting $200 a year from now. Cheap oil has been a dangerous drug addition for American society, and I fully welcome the smack of reality that $5 and $6 / gallon gasoline will bring. (It's $9 currently in Norway.)

One candidate for my next car, the diesel VW Jetta Sportwagen, is coming out in a few months, with a 50mpg highway rating. I am also waiting to see whether we'll be able to get a diesel Audi A4 wagon stateside. I am hoping to see a lot more small sporty station wagons and a lot fewer oversized SUVs in the coming years. I am also hoping to see far more freight shipped via rail instead of on trucks. We were warned in 1973 and again in 1979 with "gas crises," so I have no sympathy whatsoever for anyone who is complaining about the price of gasoline now. The current situation has been remarkably easy to predict for the last three decades, but most people preferred to keep their eyes closed and their ears plugged. Every car I have bought since 1988 has had a 4-cylinder engine.

[genec]

So, food prices aren't high enough already?

Fortunately teenagers tend to eat a lot more then 50+ers.

[cyclinfool]

I feel sorry for those living on or near the poverty line - earning near minimum wage, no health insurance and no access to public transportation to get to work. We have options - they don't.

[Kerlenbach]

Here's another thing to consider. Our military has become largely an oil-protection service, and a good chunk of the taxes we pay supports the military. If we were not so dependent on oil from unstable parts of the world, and so in need of assuring our continued access to the oil through military force, we could well be paying lower taxes (or at least not borrowing so much to create a spectacular deficit). You can add another dollar or two to a gallon of gas in hidden costs made up in taxes.

[Feathers]

expensive fuel doesn't help anything. increased delivery costs drives price of EVERYTHING higher.

[Tom Bombadil]

One candidate for my next car, the diesel VW Jetta Sportwagen, is coming out in a few months, with a 50mpg highway rating.

Told my wife yesterday that this was #1 on my list for our next car.

Problem is, they are only going to ship something like 2000-3000 of them to the USA over the next year.

[guybierhaus]

I'm holding out for this car.

Air-Powered Car Coming to U.S. in 2009 to 2010 at Sub-$18,000, Could Hit 1000-Mile Range. Web page here: http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/new_cars/4251491.html

Just wonder what the air compressor looks like to pump it back up. Or maybe it carries a long hose?

[dauphin]

Yeah, plus they always seem to be right on the cutting edge of loathsome trends. I didn't even like teenagers when I was a teenager.

neither did I!

[oilman_15106]

Before you jump on the deisel bandwagon consider this: deisel is $4.39 a gallon here is PA with the nations highest deisel taxes and gas is $3.69 so with a 19% difference in price you better get that much more mileage to make it worthwhile. The European deisel thing started for only one reason, to avoid the high taxes on gasoline while getting from point a to b. Not to save the earth.

I figure there is no cure for rude teenagers. Guess the middle finger salute will have to do until I come up with a better way to deal with it.

[Johnny_Monkey]

Before you jump on the deisel bandwagon consider this: deisel is $4.39 a gallon here is PA with the nations highest deisel taxes and gas is $3.69 so with a 19% difference in price you better get that much more mileage to make it worthwhile. The European deisel thing started for only one reason, to avoid the high taxes on gasoline while getting from point a to b. Not to save the earth.

I figure there is no cure for rude teenagers. Guess the middle finger salute will have to do until I come up with a better way to deal with it.

Diesel is more expensive than petrol here.

[Retro Grouch]

I figure there is no cure for rude teenagers. Guess the middle finger salute will have to do until I come up with a better way to deal with it.

Well consider this: All that obnoxious stuff they do is designed to grab your attention and piss you off. When you flip them the bird, you reward them by letting them know they were successful.

I think it's better to outsmart them which, fortunately, isn't difficult. Ignore them, do nothing, and they'll slink away.

[Tom Bombadil]

If I pay $4.39/gal for diesel and get 50 mpg, then that's 8.78 cents per mile.

If I pay $3.69/gal for gas and get 30 mpg, then that's 12.3 cents per mile.

Bring on the turbo diesels!

[Monoborracho]

Get used to it, gang. The oil producers have figured out the Peak Oil thing, and my friend who accurately predicted today's $120/barrel crude price a year ago is now predicting $200 a year from now. Cheap oil has been a dangerous drug addition for American society, and I fully welcome the smack of reality that $5 and $6 / gallon gasoline will bring. (It's $9 currently in Norway.)

Did you friend also predict the drop to $9.00 per barrel or so back in 1998? If he did, he's a wizard.

[rustiewood@comc]

I'm fine with 10 bucks a gallon - even $20. Americans only seem to listen to what's good for them when there is a big price-tag attached to it. But, then again, what's this war costing and who's listening? I give up.

it,s the price of diesel you should be concerned about,it RUNS this country!everthing in this country moves by truck like your food! there will be another oil bust.i got a brother whos in the oil business in texas,they know it,s gonna happen, just dont know when.speculators are the reason for the high price!

[MikeLD]

I don't think it's quite that expensive in the UK yet.

I was just in the UK last week ... it was a pound and 20 pence a liter ... works out to about 9 bucks a US gallon.

[Retro Grouch]

Our military has become largely an oil-protection service.

Uh - So what was the price of crude oil before the Iraq invasion?

[cyclinfool]

I believe Diesel is a good short term solution. It has not been popular in the past because of the smell, the lack of acceleration and the polution. Most if not all of these problems have been fixed with the latest generation. Biodiesel as a fuel is much better than ethanol as it takes much less energy to make - ethanol (E85) is close to a looser. Diesel costs more for two primary reasons, there is less production capacity and road taxes are higher - the states know they can hit up diesel trucks on fuel taxes to pay for the roads, there are not enough to vote them out of office vs the gasoline drivers. We need to fix this too. Diesel fuel has more BTU/gallon than gasoline and diesel engines are more efficient due to higher compression and higher burn temperatures. It could easily reduce fuel consumption in this country if we switched over. It would not solve the problem but it would help.

[malkin]

Since the 1970s I've been looking forward to the day when bikes can take over the freeways!

[cccorlew]

Back in the old days when..... Hey you kids, get off my lawn.

I have more problems with old folks who can't drive worth beans and cell-phone-starbucks moms than I do with kids.

[Bill Kapaun]

.... Diesel costs more for two primary reasons, there is less production capacity and road taxes are higher - the states know they can hit up diesel trucks on fuel taxes to pay for the roads.....

TOTAL BULL!
Trucks with PUC permits do not pay state fuel tax!
No permit and it's the same tax/gal as gasoline.

[Closed Office]

I saw the tail end of on of the Discovery channel's 10 best lists, and this one was about tanks. It had the Abrahams tank at #2 which surprised me, and I decided to watch and see what was #1 now. It turned out that the small negative about the tank is that it uses a jet engine for power that takes 8 gallons of fuel to start and leaves it vulnerable to a heat seeking weapon up the rear stove pipe, although there was no suggestion that this has ever happened.

The #1 tank in their opinion was the German Leopard, which uses a common industrial engine. Common because it is good and easy to repair. It has been my experience that when efficiency is a concern, things tend to work out better. I think efficiency might even be one of those rare things, like understanding, that doesn't have a negative down side.

[aqua4her]

Here's another thing to consider. Our military has become largely an oil-protection service, and a good chunk of the taxes we pay supports the military. If we were not so dependent on oil from unstable parts of the world, and so in need of assuring our continued access to the oil through military force, we could well be paying lower taxes (or at least not borrowing so much to create a spectacular deficit). You can add another dollar or two to a gallon of gas in hidden costs made up in taxes.

She said with a smile on her face, "Thanks! Those taxes also paid for my new bike."

[maddmaxx]

She said with a smile on her face, "Thanks! Those taxes also paid for my new bike."

The government taketh.........and the government giveth away.........for a relatively minor handling charge...............:roflmao2:

[The Historian]

Yeah, plus they always seem to be right on the cutting edge of loathsome trends. I didn't even like teenagers when I was a teenager.

+1. But then again, to paraphrase Ambrose Bierce, even when I was alone I was in bad company.

[oilman_15106]

TOTAL BULL!
Trucks with PUC permits do not pay state fuel tax!
No permit and it's the same tax/gal as gasoline.

Not true at all. Trucks with multistate registration pay state taxes prorated on the mileage traveled in those states. Trucks like mine which are registered to run in only one state pay it all when the fuel is purchased.

[rustiewood@comc]

Not true at all. Trucks with multistate registration pay state taxes prorated on the mileage traveled in those states. Trucks like mine which are registered to run in only one state pay it all when the fuel is purchased.

federal tax is higher on diesel than gas,also the 2007 emission standers have a lot to with high diesel prices, because 90% of the sulfur has to be taken out. which now makes it more expensive, because it has to be processed more.the 2007 emission standards, were the beginning of high gas fuel prices!

[cyclinfool]

TOTAL BULL!
Trucks with PUC permits do not pay state fuel tax!
No permit and it's the same tax/gal as gasoline.

Hate to dispute you but...
A quote from the Energy Information Administration:

Until several years ago, the average price of diesel fuel was usually lower than the average price of gasoline. In some winters when the demand for distillate heating oil was high, the price of diesel fuel rose above the gasoline price. Since September 2004, the price of diesel fuel has been generally higher than the price of regular gasoline all year round for several reasons. Worldwide demand for diesel fuel and other distillate fuel oils has been increasing steadily, with strong demand in China, Europe, and the U.S., putting more pressure on the tight global refining capacity. In the U.S., the transition to low-sulfur diesel fuel has affected diesel fuel production and distribution costs. Also, the Federal excise tax on diesel fuel is 6 cents higher per gallon (24.4 cents per gallon) than the tax on gasoline.

Also check out the following on State fues taxes: http://www.api.org/aboutoilgas/gasoline/upload/State-Motor-Fuel-Tax-Rates.pdf In many states (not all) the Fuel tax is higher for Diesel and the combined state and federal tax is higher every where.

I stick by my thesis that converting to diesel will help give us a quick reduction in the growing demand for fuel but to make it viable we need to fix the tax issue and the refineing and distribution issue. We also need more biodiesel production from waste products such as spent cooking oils (BTW - there is a lot of info on running diesel cars on straight Veg oil - it's a good way to ruin a perfectly good engine and is against the law in many states, Biodiesel is a much better alternative).

Don't get me started on electric cars, hydrogen and hybrids - man what cruel jokes.