$140 Oil going to $170

[jwight]

Even though I've contributed to it, this thread is far enough off the original topic now that we either need to separate out the "social" comments or get the discussion back onto the price of oil. We thank you for your support.

[bottlerocket]

Sssooooo.....ummmm......how about that price of oil huh?

[jwight]

Yep, pretty high...

[Big Panda]

ok now..................uh, guess i'll start by saying that gas prices here in Central Indiana are UP to $4.15 for reg unleaded and $4.25 for Premium. but i'm thinking somethings up because at $4.15, one station on my way home had lines you wouldn't believe.

good thing no ones bought my Toyota yet. it gets about 10 MPGs better than my Jeep Compass. of course, if i had my SMART, that would be 10-15 MPGs MORE than the Toyota.

at $4.25, the smart almost pays for itself! well, that's what i told the wife anyway in order to get one. that and they offer a '52" mower deck' as an option.

HEY, it could happen.........

[Red_fortwo]

Jeepster, you jest about the Smart paying for itself. I have 7000 miles on my Passion at better than 35 mpg means I've burned less than 200 gallons of gas, averaging $4.00/gallon for $800. Driving the '03 Wrangler I had before it at 15 mpg would have taken 467 gallons. Even at a lower average fuel cost of regular unleaded, say $3.85/gallon, it would come out to be $1797, a difference of $997, or 1/15 of the purchase price of the car. Since this was a 6-month period, you could say the car pays for itself just in gas savings in 7.5 years or 105,000 miles.

[deltadart]

How my wife just saved a bundle of money. Because of the flood here in Cedar Rapids Iowa the University of Iowa Hospital sent a van here to transport people to work. She quickly found out there were 3 other people that worked her 3pm-11pm shift. Her gas bill went from $200 a month to $50 and she's driving the car 15,000 less miles per year.

[Smartical]

Most of the gas stations around here have 89 octane Ethanol.

Somewhere I read the Smart needs 91 octane.

I saw it the other day and priced it and its $.20+/gal.

So how does that stack up to other cars and their mpg for cost / mile when they can use 88 or 89 octane at the lower price?

[Smartfor2guy]

Originally Posted by bottlerocket

Sssooooo.....ummmm......how about that price of oil huh?

[Red_fortwo]

Okay, here's the radical idea: Let's say a state (likely a coastal one) wants to build a refinery. One of our biggest problems is not being able to refine enough crude to meet our demands. To license your gas or diesel-burning auto in the state, you are required to sign an affidavit in support of the refinery's construction. If you drive an electric car, you are exempt (except for the affidavit in support of the new power plant you would need to sign). You don't want the refinery, you don't get the right to burn the gas. Anyone protesting the construction of a new electric power plant immediately has their power turned off at their home/apartment. I am not infringing on your free speech rights and you are not infringing on the rights of the utility companies to refuse to serve you as a customer. Thoughts?

[vwW12]

Originally Posted by Red_fortwo

To license your gas or diesel-burning auto in the state, you are required to sign an affidavit in support of the refinery's construction

He he. Great proposal. Would expose all of the self-righteous greenie hypocrites out there, though. For instance, Al Gore, who gets driven around in SUVs and private jets.

Therefore, I'm afraid this sensible proposal has zero chances.