According to the national Commission on Energy Policy:
70% of the 21 million barrels of oil consumed in the USA each day goes to transportation with the bulk of that used by individual drivers.
The USA average total fuel efficiency has been stuck at 24 MPG since the 1980's. Also since that time average vehichle weight has gone up by 25% and average horsepower has doubled!
Europe's current average fuel economy is currently 44 MPG and is targeted to reach 48 by 2012. (Yes, Europe is much more diesel friendly which accounts for much of the difference.)
IMO as smart owners at least we are bucking the trends and on the right side of the ledger.
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.
EIA: NO GASOLINE OR OIL PRICE RELIEF UNTIL WINTER 2009. The average price of
regular gasoline is expected to remain greater than $4 per gallon until the fourth quarter of 2009,
according to the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration (EIA). The EIA's Short-Term
Energy Outlook," released Tuesday, noted that crude oil spot prices reached $145 per barrel on July 3,
and crude oil prices are now projected to average $127 per barrel in 2008 and $133 per barrel in 2009.
Despite the higher prices, world oil consumption continues to grow, while production increases have
fallen short of expectations. Although Saudi Arabia plans to increase its production by 300,000 barrels per
day in July, that move is also limiting the remaining surplus production capacity to about 1.2 million
barrels per day, and that surplus capacity is all located in Saudi Arabia. To place these numbers in
context, the world produced about 84.6 million barrels of oil per day in 2007.
With crude oil prices staying high, the EIA now projects that the average price for regular-grade gasoline
will stay well above $4 per gallon for the rest of the year, causing the average for 2008 to end up at $3.84
per gallon, an increase of more than a dollar per gallon above last year's price. That trend will continue in
2009, with an average price of $4.06 per gallon for regular gasoline. Diesel fuel prices also will stay
elevated, averaging $4.35 per gallon in 2008 and $4.48 per gallon in 2009. According to the American
Automobile Association (AAA), regular gasoline and diesel fuel were at a record average prices of $4.108
and $4.807 per gallon on Tuesday, respectively.
While the nation is currently focused on the high price of motor fuels, by this winter the focus may well
change to electricity and heating fuels. The EIA noted that the sustained high prices for petroleum, along
with other factors, are pushing up the spot price of natural gas. The spot price is projected to average
$11.86 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf) in 2008 and $11.62 per Mcf in 2009, a 65 percent increase over the
$7.17 per Mcf average spot price in 2007. Utilities and gas distribution companies tend to sign long-term
contracts for natural gas, so spot prices are not necessarily reflected immediately in the prices paid by
businesses and homeowners, but they do indicate the trend in prices. The trend is already apparent in the
electricity market, where prices are projected to increase 5.2 percent in 2008 and 9.8 percent in 2009.
Isn't it fun that the world is now basically begging the Arabs to increase production by 300,000 barrels a day, when we could be extracting an extra million barrels of U.S. oil from U.S. lands and creating U.S. jobs?
According to the national Commission on Energy Policy:
70% of the 21 million barrels of oil consumed in the USA each day goes to transportation with the bulk of that used by individual drivers.
Europe's current average fuel economy is currently 44 MPG and is targeted to reach 48 by 2012. (Yes, Europe is much more diesel friendly which accounts for much of the difference.)
IMO as smart owners at least we are bucking the trends and on the right side of the ledger.
Couple things. I don't think that anywhere near 70% of our daily usage is going to individual drivers, I think the actual stat is closer to 40%,
The US DOES use nearly 70% of the daily consumption of oil for TRANSPORTATION and GASOLINE is the highest one, but then diesel and jet fuel are second and third. Transportation has been about 2/3 of oil use and Gas has been 2/3 of that.
Second question is the average fuel economy in Europe. Granted, they use a HECK of a lot for diesel than we do (and that is currently the only way to get these numbers), nearly 80% of cars in Germany a few years ago were diesel, but that still doesn't get an AVERAGE over 40MPG. I'd like to see some of these stats that support these numbers. I know some of the volksys can get 50-60mpg, GOLF and POLO models. But, that is maybe 3-4 of 30 models in a line.
?
btw, I think that oil will be 100-110$ by years end.
btw, I think that oil will be 100-110$ by years end.
Courtesy of the election-year "October Surprise":
Step 1: Identify 1 or 2 major concerns of the voting public
Step 2: In the year leading up to the November election, do anything possible to freak out the voting public on those issues.
Step 3: Miraculously solve the problem by inventing the Internet or doing something that could have been done in March.
Step 4: Profit! (i.e. win the election)
Don't believe me? Research the term "October Surprise" and see what the patterns are.
it seems that China and India will have to modify their energy subsidy plans in the coming year or so. The reason? It's too expensive to keep subsidizing low pump prices...in other words, high market prices are leading to considerations of policy change...
also, the dollar has risen slightly...and the euro is begining to be seen as "overvalued"...the euro seems overvalued by about 30% (hmmmm, about the same percentage as the dollar has dropped over the last 1.5 years)...i wonder what will happen to fuel prices once the yuan gets properly pegged?
it looks like US interest rates may be rising somewhat soon: to help ward of increasing inflation/stagflation/recession worries. should help to bolster the dollar somewhat in world markets (?)
offshore drilling in the US will be ramping up shortly...but, unfortunately, the increased drilling will not affect pricing for some time. Same story for any near-future Saudi production increases.
...seems that about @ 200,000 bbl/d of production is being cut from the world market by Brazil due to strikes...but only for a few weeks...
looks like world oil consumption is running at 83m bbl/d...world production seems to be running at about 81m bbl/d...
China already started changing their subsidy program a few weeks ago, india is currently working on their plan now to change soon. Meaning, weeks or months at most.
Oil dipped below $104 a barrel briefly today, so those analysts may be right. What's worrying is, as oil prices have dropped, you can almost feel the momentum to conserve and develop alternative energy sources dropping also. This has the potential to play out the way things did in the 1980s and 90s after the oil embargo of the 70s.
The AutoGuide.com network consists of the largest network of enthusiast-owned enthusiast-operated automotive communities.
AutoGuide.com provides the latest car reviews, auto show coverage, new car prices, and automotive news. The AutoGuide network operates more than 100 automotive forums where our users consult peers for shopping information and advice, and share opinions as a community.
1976 Rover Mini
2003 Chevrolet Corvette Z06
2007 Mercedes-Benz E320 Bluetec (SOLD)
2009 smart Passion (Gone)
2011 smart Passion
Today
Linear Mode
