OT sort of..what happens with $6.00 gas?

I'll tell you what pisses me off, the $3 gas ****s but what's worse is the quality is worse then last year!
I have a little over an acher of land here, my 5 year old Sears has been tuned up, the blades sharpened, and the oil is changed, its in good condition. The yard is the same as last year. I have a 2 1/2 gal gas can that I usually put 2 gal in. Last year I could mow my lawn two times with those two gallons, and still have some left in the mowers tank. This year I ran out of gas mowing the second time. I do not get the same use from the current gas as I did from the same amount of gas as I did last year.

I think maybe I'll open a bicycle shop, I for see more of a demand for that in the near future. Gene

 

It might legitimize 1/8" mile drags, and short track ovals.

 

I'd move to the top of a hill. At the bottom would be a giant rubber band that would send me back up after I coasted down. The retailers would soon figure out that IF the wanted to get my business they would have locate themselves along this hill. At the speed I would be going they would have to advertise via berma shave signs and have a mail sack set up for picking up phoned in orders. Hills that the future!

 

OK, Let's change this to a TECH thread and see who can tell us how to make our own still!! I know a guy that has one but he drinks all of his product!! That stuff is nasty!!!

 

The top 2 oil companies posted profits for the last quarter, and I cannot remember the names of the 2 companies, but the first one posted a 15 BILLION dollar profit, and the second posted a 10 BILLION dollar profit. Can't tell me they aren't making money off of us poor *******s.

Got me thinking economy in my Dubble A again. I'm building it to drive, not hurt my wallet every time I fill it up. I'll do what I takes, and add a turbo later when I can buy a whole car for the parts. ****-em and their oil. I'll use as little as I can.

 

Lots of loony tunes black helicopter talk here.

Best to try to avoid the paranoid gr***y knoll conspiracy kneejerk and intead look to the global forces behind fuel prices. Check into the cost of fuel in real interest-adjusted terms. It's not as bad as many think.

If you want to walk to your corner store, live in the urban core and deal with the property crime, the noise, and the risk of being shot for accidentally dissing someone or being in a crossfire, well, by all means then, brother, do what you can to get your local and state governments to build obscenely expensive light rail lines in your urban 'communities'. Because they're all about concentrating development in dying urban cores, and not about reducing traffic congestion.

Google antiplanner.

Five dollar gas will not hurt our hobby. It will hurt some involved, sure. But it will just shift the market to those who can still afford it.

If anything, more expensive fuel will shine a brighter light on our throwback vehicles, accentuate the nostalgia value, and make our old cars and trucks all the more valuable. And memorable.

We may be at a crossroads in terms of fuel costs. It may get more expensive to run what we have. But what we are preserving is an integral element of the heritage of America. Just as WWII era warbirds are still flying and reminding us of the USA's might and values, the old American iron we value, preserve and drive amounts to a collective time capsule, and a testament to the values we hold dear. We are the stewards of a heritage that must and will be preserved. As they said of the planes that secured our freedom in WWII, 'Keep 'em Flying'.

Let's keep 'em rolling.

 

Was talking to a friend today, he drives a ratty '80's Ford F-250 with a 460 that gets 10 mpg. He's finally thinking of replacing it. What's his thinking? "They're offering 0% for 60 months on a new F-250". I bet they are! How else could you give away a 15 mpg headache for the next 10 yrs?!

There are still hundreds of guys in this town commuting to work everyday in F-350 CrewCab duallies (PowerStrokes or V-10's), that justify it because they pull a trailer to the lake twice a year, or haul a 5th wheel to the mountains a couple weekends a year. Seems more like a ****-splint to me.

 

What happens for me is I keep driving what I enjoy. Maybe $6 gas will knock these SUV soccer moms down a few notches ! Hell, I'd love to see so many motorcycles that they are commonplace and safe!
I'm more of a car guy than a scooter guy, but thats only out of fear of Tucson traffic. Lets see some dedicated motorcycle only lanes, gov't incentives to buy them, etc..........
...... and I'll still be in my 29 Sedan!

 

I'd switch to two carbs instead of four.

 

Diesels run very well on vegetable oil, particulaly well if it's used oil (you need to filter it ) just mix 98% veg oil and 25 non organic thinner, leave for around a week and stick it in the tank...OK the exhaust smells like what ever has been cooked in the oil but who cares!!

 

and one more thing...Have a mate with a turbo diesel VW golf, it's practically stock apart from the exhaust and it's been chipped....running 50/50 diesel/veg oil he's getting 240bhp and 44mpg.....

 

tingler youve obviously got quite a narrow view of the UK, obvioously you are stating the east/west distances and presuming that everyone here lives within that small piece of our country - for me to get to any shows i normally need to drive for 6/7 hours, because i live up north, wish it was only 2 hours travelling.

the last show i went to i had to pay £200 just for fuel - that £200 equates to nearly $400 today money.... so ill take your $50 to get to any shows any day of the week!!!

 

A little for the driver and a little for the car

 

I don't think that higgher prices will kill the hobby. It may cause some people to drive a little less. More importantly I'd hope to see more towns introduce impoved public transportation. I'm always floored when I go out to San Jose and see their neat little light rail system. I'd love to have that option for my short commute every day.

 

I'm floored that people are talking about public transportation on a hot rod forum!

 

This is not the first time in history that something like this has happened.

When whale oil became too expensive to use in lamps, we went to petro oil. When kerosene got too expensive, we went to natural gas lighting. When the cost of natural gas lights became higher than electricity, we went electric. When horses got too expensive, we found a cheaper alternative - the automobile. The Stone Age didn't end because mankind ran out of stones......

And by expensive, you have to look at the whole economic picture, not just the price of fuel. Price and cost are not the same thing. The time and utility of a device is a cost, too. For example, hay might be cheap, but horses are slower than cars and you spend a lot of time caring for them, preparing to use them, taking care of tack, etc., making the total cost a lot higher than a car. Same thing for public transit. You could give the tickets away and I couldn't ride the bus because it takes too long and my time has value.

So why don't we use something cheaper? Because for now, even at $10/gal, gasoline is economically the best deal out there. Veggie oil is free/cheap only because the demand is low. Bio-diesel is a lot of extra work. Solar cells are pricey. None of it is really cheaper than gasoline in terms of total economic cost. Hell, even bottled water is way too expensive to use as fuel.

When gasoline becomes economically unviable, we'll use something else. It may be bio-diesel, ethanol, hydrogen, or something we' haven't yet invented (Mr Fusion?).

 

amen

 

I can Drive me 63 lincoln around the block 3 times and burn a gallon of gas. but that isnt gonna stop me from driving it.

 

People will eat less,cure the obeasity problem,to buy more gas,and GO.GO,GO.... oh, and locking gas caps are so p***e', I'm ****y trapping my filler neck with explosives...

 

Build a motorcycle...

 

Watch out beware the technological fix, we abandoned the whale oil because there just weren't enough whales. We went to electric lighting because it was better and cheaper. We abandoned coal for oil, and if the materials were there, all electricity would be atomic.
Like the swarm of locusts, there are only so many crops to devour. And just as suddenly it's like the locusts were never there, and the crops are gone too.
I remember rolling blackouts in 30 below weather, fuel jelling solid in back up generators. I always put up a coupla cords of wood, a coupla tons of coal, just because it gets cold here.

 

Our gas is 1/2 or less than what it is in the rest of the world for 4 reasons.
4:Hidden gasoline taxes paying for liberal government services are MUCH higher in Europe and elsewhere.
3:We have the power to vote
2:We have the power to boycott

and when all else fails to get their attention...

1:"A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

This country was founded by people who overthrew their former government over taxes and unfair commerce controls and price fixing. Thre is a 200 year old reason most americans drink coffee instead of tea.

All this means is they'll push prices as far as they think they can, but won't go over the line. You can upset Americans, but you really don't want us united and pissed!

Even in the US almost 1/2 the cost of a gallon of gas is State, Federal and Local taxes. Don't expect the gas companies to take a smaller share of the pie than your government does.

Bottom line is it'll take them a while to get it up to 6 bucks a gallon in this country. It took them from 1973 till now to go from 1 buck a gallon after deregulation to 3 bucks now. My guess is that most of you who've been around that long have seen wages go up more than gas in the long term. I'll drive less and hit fewer events. But I won't be stopped.

 

banger motor would help ease the price I would think.

 

We could kick out about 20 million illegals and reduce consumption by 10 percent across the board in America. The price of everything would come down. Send them home with their weed eaters and leaf blowers too. The wages would go up and we wouldn't be having this conversation. Stop hiring these sons o' *****es and giving them money. DUH!!

If you drive a F-**** something truck with a 500 gazillion cu in motor, to work and the grocery store you need to kick yourself in the balls and then sell it. Get real with what you drive. I constantly see families with a 4x4 dualie one ton truck, a suburban, and usually another large SUV sitting in the driveway. These are the same people *****ing about the high price of gas DUH!!

Another thought, have you ever noticed the number of car lots in your average town? The freeways here are lined with miles of car lots. These lots have 500-600 cars in them, some new and some used. Where are they going? Why do we need a gazillion cars on every corner in town?

Finally, start paying for your gas with cash. Throw away the credit card and pay with the money in your pocket. I'll bet your gas usage drops in half. You don't have to fill up everytime you go to the pump. If everyone would buy a 1/2 tank of gas instead of mindlessly filling up everytime, the oil companies would go into shock. The problem here is everyone wants to ***** about it but no one wants to do anything about it until they have to. There are several things that can be done if you really want too.

 

Actually its only taken from about 1999-2000 to go from around a $1.00 a gallon to $3.00. The rise from here could be quicker than you think.

You guys that think it wouldn't be a big deal or that the price would not slow you down, are either kidding yourselves or you're idiots. I'll
let you decide which.

 

At what point are we better off using the oil that we already produce and that they have started extracting from the oil sands in Canada?

People will always buy what's cheapest. If gasoline is too expensive, we'll move on to the next cheapest option.

 

I don't think I'll get asked so often, "When you gonna put a v-8 in that thing?" 25+ MPG in my two Comets works pretty good for me right now. However, $6.00 per gallons is not gonna stop the v-8 swap I have planned for my 62 S-22. I'm pretty lucky. My wife and daughter would rather forego the $60 Outback bill, and go for a ride in the car, then grill a few burgers when we get home. Gas just touched on $3.00 a gallon in our area. This hit home as I put gas in my wife's newer SUV last night. It has a digital "miles to empty" counter. Ten dollars in the tank showed 32 mile increase. They also put emissions additives in the fuel in our area which seems to make the **** burn faster in the Summer. Go figure, burn it faster right about the time that prices go up. What a crock.

 

Gas in the small town I work in hit 3.13 this week, no matter what anyone says it's got to start hurting the economy big time. I know for me I hate to go places because now I start to think how much it costs to go 50 miles. I ride a motorcycle to work every day I can and for me it helps, I figure that at 50 mile per gallon it's like paying 1.50 a gallon compared to the car. I know I will be going to fewer events this year. I will ride my bike more but in the Northeast it's not always bright and sunny so I can't use it as much as I would like. If we had public transportation I'd use it but living in the rural areas if you want to go to the store it's a 30 mile round trip. I don't think there is any end in sight and I'm afraid most people will just get used to paying the price.

 

I'm seriously considering replacing the flathead in my shoebox with a diesel engine and running it on biodiesel. It's the wave of the future. Fossil fuels are on the way out. Anybody here had any experience with this kind of a project?

 

I agree completely. Problem is that if they have a kid here, the kids are automatically US citizens, and the family is afforded a different residency status. Vietnam and Korean vets will tell you the stories, as will the vets of recent conflicts, about women who are in the last stages of labor crawling through the razor wire surrounding US camps to have their babies on US soil, and thereby making them US citizens.

My credit card is attached to my bank account, so to me, it is the same as paying with cash - I just don't have to go in and deal with the idiot behind the counter. This in NO WAY affects the mileage I drive, nor the fuel I consume.

No, I don't have to fuel up every time I go to the pump, but whenever I do, I figure I'm good for at least 2 weeks of not having to fill up. There is another reason why it is best to fill up whenever you get gas - most cars have electric fuel pumps that are cooled by the fuel in the tank. If you run the tank low enough for long enough, it'll affect the longevity of the pump itself.

I will also fill up every time I get gas because I know pretty much exactly how many miles I'm supposed to get to a tank of gas. I reset the trip odometer every time, and expect to get 450-500 miles out of my 34 gallon tank. If I'm getting less than that, I'm checking out my truck to find out why.

Not to attack your logic here, but how does only half-way filling up the tank hurt the oil companies? You still have to put gas in sooner, and more often, and still give them pretty much the same amount of money. They don't care how often you fill up, because they don't count their profits by the day, but rather by the quarter (90 day cycle). The only one you are bothering with getting half a tank of gas at a time is you.

As I posted previously, with the top 2 oil companies posting a $25 BILLION dollar profit for the last quarter, do you think my filling up halfway is really going to hurt them?

How am I going to lessen the sting with what I'm building? I've just about decided to use the small V6 and 4 speed auto that is in an '89 Cougar parts car in my Dubble A truck. I'm going to run a hood on it, so screw anyone who doesn't like whats under it. I'll be crusing around town in what I'm planning to be a daily driver getting 20MPG and 30MPG on the highway. This way I still get to enjoy whatever I'm planning to do, and do it in a way that gets better mileage than any ohter vehicle I own!