$3.66/gal and 21.7mpg city

robin2660

Member
:
2007 Mazdaspeed3
93 octane. This is getting expensive. Say goodbye to inexpensive gas. I'm gonna tune up the bicycle and start planning my trips more, and drive less in general.
 
I am soooooo glad that I only have to drive about 4 miles to work and average less than 5000 miles a year. Gas prices are going to get really crazy. I just hope they stay south of $4/gallon.
 
Its not because crude is more expensive, its because our dollar isn't buying as much of it as in the past. You'll see this problem get worse and worse. I personally think you'll see it peak at ~$4.25-4.50 per gallon. At that point, the fuel prices will so grossly overbear us that our economy will finally crash, and when it does all hell will break loose.

Its a damn shame you can't pay for fuel in gold coins, cuz you'd get a LOT of gas. :)

Oh, and for a short term solution, consider doing everything you can to boost mileage, like an intake (for less pumping losses) and increasing your tire pressure up a bit. Those small things will make a difference of about 1-3 mpg. Efficiency is the key.
 
Well you could have an awd CX7 and get 15.5 mpg. That was my last tank and I drive slooooooooooooooooooow to work to get max mpg... my initial estimate for the tank was 14, so I guess mpg went up?!

I guess since my average daily commute is like 5-10 miles it doesn't really matter all that much, but if I had to travel like 40+ miles roundtrip I definately would not be driving the CX7.
 
Its not because crude is more expensive, its because our dollar isn't buying as much of it as in the past. You'll see this problem get worse and worse. I personally think you'll see it peak at ~$4.25-4.50 per gallon. At that point, the fuel prices will so grossly overbear us that our economy will finally crash, and when it does all hell will break loose.

I agree with this one. We are so screwed right now and it is only gonna get worse, alot worse. I see not end in sight, the dollar will keep dropping and the fuel will keep skyrocketing.
 
Its not because crude is more expensive, its because our dollar isn't buying as much of it as in the past. You'll see this problem get worse and worse. I personally think you'll see it peak at ~$4.25-4.50 per gallon. At that point, the fuel prices will so grossly overbear us that our economy will finally crash, and when it does all hell will break loose.

Its a damn shame you can't pay for fuel in gold coins, cuz you'd get a LOT of gas. :)

I was gonna say this.... but you got it covered I see.

Unfortunately, I drive all day for my job. I put on about 2-3000 miles a month. I do get mileage, but $0.485 per mile isn't looking so good with $4.00+ per gallon gas. ----- that's for the 87 octane, keep in mind.
 
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Reason why the US dollar sucks........................


A $3 trillion war
 
Reason why the US dollar sucks........................


A $3 trillion war

Everybody got so insane about this stupid war on terror they thought that invading Iraq was a good idea. When you think about it by destroying our economy with the war on terror Al quieda really gets the ultimate victory in a way they probly never thought of.
 
I think the biggest problem is the fact that we don't have any mainstream alternative to fuel our cars. We have gasoline and that's pretty much it...save a few E85 stations. Once more alternatives arise like all electric cars, hydrogen fuel cells, and bio diesel you'll see the competion adjust the prices accordingly. At that point it will be an elastic product as oppose to an inelastic one that we see today. IMO the prices are like this because big oil knows the alternative fuels are on their way and this is their attempt to cash in big while they can. There's no lack of oil, they can simply charge higher prices and we have no alternative but to say...welp okay bend us over and do what you will.(bow)
 
Reason why the US dollar sucks........................


A $3 trillion war

This is a start. Then take it up a notch by realizing that our dollar's value is directly controlled by a non-federally controlled organization called the Federal Reserve, who can print money at will (which is what happened to the value of it...reducing interest rates = printing more paper money with no backing), and can AND WILL destroy the dollar's value with one swipe of a pen.

Why do it? Hmm...perhaps we should investigate WHO runs the Federal Reserve. But, hey, I covered this in many threads in Off topic, so its best to leave that out of this thread.

Just know that it is all a ploy (playing with the money supply and thus the value of the dollar destroys the middle and lower class citizens' lives)...and expect it to get worse.
 
I think the biggest problem is the fact that we don't have any mainstream alternative to fuel our cars. We have gasoline and that's pretty much it...save a few E85 stations. Once more alternatives arise like all electric cars, hydrogen fuel cells, and bio diesel you'll see the competion adjust the prices accordingly. At that point it will be an elastic product as oppose to an inelastic one that we see today. IMO the prices are like this because big oil knows the alternative fuels are on their way and this is their attempt to cash in big while they can. There's no lack of oil, they can simply charge higher prices and we have no alternative but to say...welp okay bend us over and do what you will.(bow)

E85 is just raising food prices by increasing demand for corn and little good has come from it's use. If we convereted all the corn in america to E85 it would be only 10% of the fuel needs for our country.
 
from what i've heard Ethanol get you worse gas mileage, burns hotter(worse per performance) and if it wasnt for the goverment funding it would be triple the price
 
from what i've heard Ethanol get you worse gas mileage, burns hotter(worse per performance) and if it wasnt for the goverment funding it would be triple the price

Plus, the current technology uses corn, and corn based ethanol is a boondoggle. Go down to your pantry and you will discover just how much of our food supply is corn based. Also, most of our livestock eats corn as well. The more ethanol we burn, the more expensive food will get. I like food. I'd hate to see it get so expensive that I couldn't afford to buy it.
 
Plus, the current technology uses corn, and corn based ethanol is a boondoggle. Go down to your pantry and you will discover just how much of our food supply is corn based. Also, most of our livestock eats corn as well. The more ethanol we burn, the more expensive food will get. I like food. I'd hate to see it get so expensive that I couldn't afford to buy it.

And bingo was his name-o.

Notice that the price of a box of cereal has doubled in the last three years, and milk is up $1.50 a gallon in the same time frame? That's WELL ahead of inflation, and why BURNING YOUR FOOD FOR FUEL IS A BAD IDEA.
 
Brazil is toted as the lord of ethanol, but they run sugar beets, a crop you can harvest 3-4 times a year, with a much higher sugar content (better ethanol yeild per pound). Corn you get 2, at best 3 times a year, contains less sugars, and requires more energy to process. Best estimates are you put in .75 units of energy for 1 unit of energy in the ethanol. Worst case are 1.1 to 1.
 
and oil companies will continue to post record profits....that is what doesn't make sense to me.

Think of it this way...

Let's say Exxon Mobil demands a measly 10% profit on a barrel of oil

They made $5 per barrel profit back when oil was $50/barrel in 2004 or 2005
Now they will make $10.8 per barrel at $108/barrel

Easy money... but keep in mind the value of the dollar has decreased, so profits are not what they first appear.

Here is an interesting forecast for crude made back in 2005

http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/dec2005/2005-12-12-03.asp

Pay attention to the third paragraph where it states "...not adjusted for inflation..."

Inflation is the silent tax that strips away 3-10% of your worth, your savings, your money every year...

And as fourthmeal stated... it's only gonna get worse. Much worse.
 
I understand how the profit is made, by oil companies maintaining a constant profit margin. I guess what I was getting at is that oil companies could reduce their profit per barrel, aiding in cost reduction for the end user, but still maintain a healthy profit because total consumption is up. Pure greed won't allow this to happen....its just my take on things.

I don't see how inflation effects their profit, since inflation has always been a factor. However I'm not an economist, so maybe I'm missing another factor.
 

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