$3.66/gal and 21.7mpg city

[Tagkat]

There are multiple problems stemming from gov't
1) Dollar is weak and going to get weaker
2) We have an oil president and vice president so no push for more efficient vehicles. Why is it you cannot buy an american car fully loaded with a 4cyl? But you can get a Toyota or Honda w/leather gps etc with a 4 cyl! Or why can you get a loaded hybrid but the american version is stripped down i.e. Saturn Aura.
3) Most jobs were shipped offshore those jobs aren't going to come back.
4) Credit is almost nonexistent for mortgages now if you have a slightly blemished credit kiss getting a new mortgage goodbye.
5) Peoples wealth in there homes have vanished, the home is no longer your safest investment.
6) The war with Iraq is costing us billions how are we going to pay for that? Printing more money. Reagan spent Prussia into bankruptcy looks like we are headed on the same track.

Unfortunately the US standard of living is going to change, gas is always going to be high it's never going back to what it was last year, everything produced from corn is going to go up which is almost everything. Insurance will continue to go up. So something has to give unfortunately the only place to give is the way we live.

Hope I'm wrong.

 

[LENNY127]

supply and demand guys, less and less oil every year = more and more money to pay, get used to it , it will only get worse.......unless of course we go "liberate" some more countries.

 

[Tagkat]

There isn't less oil there isn't enough refining capacity.

 

[1sty]

Get one of these
80 mpg+
http://www.suzukicycles.com/Products/GZ250K8

 

[Tagkat]

Or this
http://spyder.brp.com/
or this
http://www.arielatom.com/

 

[1sty]

Hope I'm wrong.

If it makes you feel better, I disagree with everything you said, at least at some part of it.

Gas is a free market traded item, WE are moving it up and up by speculations of a weak dollar and of limited supply. The "idea" of a shortage is driving prices, not a real shortage. We are limiting refinary capacity per EPA regulations with many others(they can make a lot more).

We have for decades decided that we need family sedans that can do 0-60 in under 7 seconds, have AWD or 4wd and have 12" ground clearance (SUV) and seat 7 people when there are only 1-3 to actually occupy that vehicle
We have decided that we need 4000sq foot house for a family of 3. We have decided to move 20,30, even 50 miles from where we work so that we waste a ba-jesus of gas.
We have created this problem for ourselves by allowing the costs of oil to supplement our misbehavior.


Cars don't have good gas millage becuase we as a society by power/dollar not MPG/dollar. If we did the VW TDIs would be ALOT more popular. So this is what manufacturers produce. The government has to FORCE us to change this...which is sad, and I greatly disagree with.

 

[Tagkat]

You are agreeing with me. As I said our standard of living is going to have to change.

 

[1sty]

You are agreeing with me. As I said our standard of living is going to have to change.

In theory yes to both, the cuase I would argue with.

People only change once their wallet runs so low that they no longer have a choice. Another reason for the real problems. People bought houses they could not afford and now they are in tens of thousands of dollars in debt. As they should be for being a moron. As a young man of 27...I say good to housing marking crumbling. Things were so over priced that a couple starting out after college will likely never be able to purchase a decent home.
I call it a correction. Housing prices are just going to where they should be. Lenders are no longer being dumb.
Just another cycle, happens every so often. Move some mutual funds and hold on...its going to be fun!!!(drive2)

 

[08cosmic3]

We can't drill in Alaska, Might upset the man eating polar bears, Eastern Gulf upset the yachters, Coast of California, upset the hippies. Can't build anymore refineries, upset the enviromental Activist. Yet we blame BIG buisness. Big buisness is GOOD. They provide jobs, I work for a big buisness. We have to stop bashing big buisness, it only sends them overseas. Haliburton is no longer based in Texas. Bashed them into going to Dubai or somewhere over there. Everytime we get large sucessful companies employing tens of thousand americans, some politician turns the company into the latest "Boogieman" to drum up support for his or her socialist ideas.
Cars like ours will be history soon so lets enjoy them while we can still afford to drive them. Sorry for the rant, but I feel beter now.

Scott.

 

[MS3077]

I'm now severely depressed after reading this thread...
I think I will kill myself now (eekfu)

 

[Silver Ecstasy]

I'm now severely depressed after reading this thread...
I think I will kill myself now (eekfu)

Agreed.

I'm still in complete disbelief that things are this "bad". Who would have known things would get this out of control. Someone needs to step up and fix things, fast.

What I also don't understand is...oil was like $95 a barrell and gas was still feasible. Now it's $10+ more and gas sky rockets. Thats the part that makes me skeptical from time to time. Those investors are ruling our demise.

I hope I can make it to be sucessful some day, because our parents can't even seem to "make it" with the way things are. I don't know how we are if they can't. No schooling or degree can fix this.

 

[VermZ06]

I think Big Business is a problem, but only when all these jobs that Americans should be doing are being sent overseas to India, China, etc...It's great for those countries because we're helping to support their people and hence their economy, but at the same time its working Americans who are being hurt because of a lack of employment. Instead of stimulating the economy by putting the cash in the pockets of US citizens with jobs, it's going into the pockets of everybody else who in turn end up stimulating their own economy.

The United States used to be an industrial powerhouse. Once we got involved in War War II we were manufacturing like crazy...everything...cars, planes, boats, munitions, food, TV's, radios, the list goes on and on. Once the war started and hundreds of thousands of working men went overseas and we didn't ask India to help us fill those empty spots to produce goods...the jobs stayed in house and women took over what the men were doing. The point is that the U.S. was vested in the U.S. which led to economic prosperity after the War.

We need to start manufacturing more U.S.A. made products and stop printing money that's not backed by anything. We need other countries to start investing their money in us instead of us investing into them and then maybe our dollar will rebound...the war has not helped things at all either...maybe if we weren't so focused on the rest of the world and started worrying about things at home we'd be in a better position...hmmm maybe isolationism wasn't such a bad thing?

Also has anyone heard that we're actually going to be asking Russia for help because our space shuttles are being retired and we'll have a five year gap before we get new technology? That'll be more money we'll be giving to another foreign country as well as giving them space superiority...it's a shame

 

[Tagkat]

I think Big Business is a problem, but only when all these jobs that Americans should be doing are being sent overseas to India, China, etc...It's great for those countries because we're helping to support their people and hence their economy, but at the same time its working Americans who are being hurt because of a lack of employment. Instead of stimulating the economy by putting the cash in the pockets of US citizens with jobs, it's going into the pockets of everybody else who in turn end up stimulating their own economy.

The United States used to be an industrial powerhouse. Once we got involved in War War II we were manufacturing like crazy...everything...cars, planes, boats, munitions, food, TV's, radios, the list goes on and on. Once the war started and hundreds of thousands of working men went overseas and we didn't ask India to help us fill those empty spots to produce goods...the jobs stayed in house and women took over what the men were doing. The point is that the U.S. was vested in the U.S. which led to economic prosperity after the War.

We need to start manufacturing more U.S.A. made products and stop printing money that's not backed by anything. We need other countries to start investing their money in us instead of us investing into them and then maybe our dollar will rebound...the war has not helped things at all either...maybe if we weren't so focused on the rest of the world and started worrying about things at home we'd be in a better position...hmmm maybe isolationism wasn't such a bad thing?

Also has anyone heard that we're actually going to be asking Russia for help because our space shuttles are being retired and we'll have a five year gap before we get new technology? That'll be more money we'll be giving to another foreign country as well as giving them space superiority...it's a shame

This is a good point but what do you think will happen to prices when it's starting to be made domestically? Those cheap tv's, radios, calculators, etc are no longer cheap. I'm a firm believer that these illegal aliens and outsourcing jobs is done to keep inflation numbers down. It is impossible to bring jobs back without a major economic impact.

 

[VermZ06]

This is a good point but what do you think will happen to prices when it's starting to be made domestically? Those cheap tv's, radios, calculators, etc are no longer cheap. I'm a firm believer that these illegal aliens and outsourcing jobs is done to keep inflation numbers down. It is impossible to bring jobs back without a major economic impact.

I think you're correct about the prices of products going up, but now since gas prices are so high it probably wouldn't as big of a difference as it used to be. Transportation costs are so high and wages aren't increasing so the gap is most likely closing slightly...Illegal Aliens keep costs of certain things low...like manual labor and certain food industries but that's about it. They kill the economy because nothing they make gets taxed back to uncle sam and the country ends up losing out unless they end up spending all of their earnings in the U.S. and we all know that's not happening or else those illegals would be more welcome than they are right now. But yeah the Illegal Immigrant problem is a major, major problem all in itself...

 

[08cosmic3]

agreed

I hope I can make it to be sucessful some day, because our parents can't even seem to "make it" with the way things are. I don't know how we are if they can't. No schooling or degree can fix this.

You can be sucessful. This is still the land of opportunity, as long as we don't run all the buisnesses out of this country. We have to have jobs. Some would say that these companies polute and treat there employees badly but running them out only sends them to countrys were they can polute even more and pay their employess less. When the politicians "do something about it" only makes it worst. We are here now in part because of politicians.

Drill in ANWAR and eastern Gulf.

Build refineries.

Conserve the best we can.

Stop turning our food into fuel. Corn into fuel is very inefficent. Now we are paying more for our food as well as our fuel. Politicians, "doing something"

Move closer to your work. My wife and I live within 3 miles of our jobs.

Use CF light bulbs in your house.

Turn the thermostate down and put on a sweat shirt.

Oh, And only go joy riding in the 3 on days that end with y

WE WILL BE FINE. WE ARE AMERICA.

Scott.

 

[Tagkat]

I'm Indian (Asian) I can tell you products going up would be considerable they cannot avoid passing on the difference of costs of manufacturing overseas and domestic. Jobs that were in the US can be done for 1/2 to 3/4's less overseas and this is almost everything we rely on a daily basis. From your underwear to the food you eat. Alot of fruits and vegetables are imported. I'm not sure exactly where we went away from being self sufficient. But without major intervention from the govt I think it would be impossible to get back to self reliance.

From the Above post...

There was an article in the new awhile back that alot of the senators and governors have stakes in ethanol production. I'm trying to find it now.

 

[08cosmic3]

I'm Indian (Asian) I can tell you products going up would be considerable they cannot avoid passing on the difference of costs of manufacturing overseas and domestic. Jobs that were in the US can be done for 1/2 to 3/4's less overseas and this is almost everything we rely on a daily basis. From your underwear to the food you eat. Alot of fruits and vegetables are imported. I'm not sure exactly where we went away from being self sufficient. But without major intervention from the govt I think it would be impossible to get back to self reliance.

Major Government Intervention. WOW. What kind of intervention?

 

[VermZ06]

I'm Indian (Asian) I can tell you products going up would be considerable they cannot avoid passing on the difference of costs of manufacturing overseas and domestic. Jobs that were in the US can be done for 1/2 to 3/4's less overseas and this is almost everything we rely on a daily basis. From your underwear to the food you eat. Alot of fruits and vegetables are imported. I'm not sure exactly where we went away from being self sufficient. But without major intervention from the govt I think it would be impossible to get back to self reliance.

Once Diesel gets to $6.00+ a gallon I'm sure that will be intervention enough...

 

[Tagkat]

Hard to say this would have to be something very delicate without throwing us in a depression, some kind of curbs on imports, easing of refining capabilities, immigrant control, etc.

Citibank is partly owned by the Chinese and Middle east now, interesting eh? The list goes on and on. I was talking to a guy today that works at the Chrysler plant making Dodge Trucks and Vans. He was saying that it's cheaper to produce in Canada since they don't have to pay overtime. As long as there is unemployment noone gets overtime, now I don't know if that true maybe someone from Canada can chime in. And they outsourced their diesel engine production to Mexico.

 

[MP3Performance]

In theory yes to both, the cuase I would argue with.

People only change once their wallet runs so low that they no longer have a choice. Another reason for the real problems. People bought houses they could not afford and now they are in tens of thousands of dollars in debt. As they should be for being a moron. As a young man of 27...I say good to housing marking crumbling. Things were so over priced that a couple starting out after college will likely never be able to purchase a decent home.
I call it a correction. Housing prices are just going to where they should be. Lenders are no longer being dumb.
Just another cycle, happens every so often. Move some mutual funds and hold on...its going to be fun!!!(drive2)

I am happy to see someone that I can agree with (drinks). There has been been a lot of "were all doomed" speculation going around lately, and frankly I'm just sick of people crying all the time. If people actually use facts and real data, together with some kind of economic education (something above elementary grade education, think more college econ class or such) you begin to realize this is a cyclical process. But I don't want to go off on a tangent about this, since this thread is about gas prices.

Now back on topic, the last time I filled up my MP3 with a full tank of 93 octance it cost me $50.xx. I remember when about 5-7 years ago you could almost fill up your F-350 for that much.