i sold a '98 metro 1 liter last summer for 50% over kelly blue book, i was going to sell it to my brother...my brother realised his mistake later that week and kicks himself now and then.
Just tell your brother you couldn't sell it to him in good conscience knowing that if he ever got into even a moderate accident that he was very likely to suffer sever, if not fatal injuries. That according to the report and the "poor" rating it got in the crash tests. And that was before the standards were made tougher. Everyone talks about the Metro like it's some great thing because it got high gas mileage. But it looks small even compared to the smart. (I've driven by one in my smart). And it's just 30MPH from near-certain death.
Had the smart not faired well in the crash tests, I wouldn't be driving it today. My life (and my loved ones lives) are worth more than saving money on gas.
Absolutely correct; however, it's price at the pump (and out of the wallet) that's being discussed so they're still paying upwards of $8 a gallon to gas up while we're just now getting to $4 a gallon nationwide.
Yes, but in one case you have the right to ***** about gas prices, in the other case, about high taxes.
$4.659 for Chevron Premium as of Monday afternoon June 9th in Long Beach. High taxes are an interesting explanation but it's interesting how we have prices like these at a time when oil companies are making record profits. Still, it's easier on my wallet than a Hemi.
IF gas reaches $4, $5 a gallon or higher in the US, do you think it would cause people to switch from the low millage SUVs to smaller higher mileage cars ... OR do you think that old habits die hard?
Both. People want to switch but no one wants to take one in on a trade. Oh well, live and learn SUV owners
Gas will keep going up as long as a oil man is in the White House. He's gotta keep his buddies happy you know ;)
I'm surprised 'smart' owners are not more informed.
The US is an 'oil producing country'? Well, yes. We produce about 30% of what we consume. The amount we produce is declining. The amount Mexico (one of our leading suppliers) produces is dropping drastically. As is Venezuela. As is Russia, the world's leading producer of petroleum (not exporter, producer). As is the North Sea. As is SAUDI ARABIA and Iran. All are exporting less crude, and in the case of the Saudis and Iran, the crude being exported is declining in quality compared to the past.
World oil production is near or at its peak. Think about that. The world will never see more oil flowing than today. Continual growth in China, India and the Middle East will cause the US and Europe to get an ever decreasing amount of the oil supply and we will pay an ever escalating price for that oil.
This is not rocket science. We give money to China, India and the Middle East. They now have the means to buy oil. We are then competing against them for the very lifeblood of our economy.
$4.00 a gallon is not temporary. It may fluctuate up or down .25 or .50 for awhile, but the trend is ever upward.
cosmart, I went to the site. I understand that a co-writer for the site, although he says he cares for the environment, works for an oil company. IMHO, that taints his opinions.
I am of the opinion that demand and production needs to decrease with the use of alternative energy sources. Oil prices need to stay high to force this trend but not in order to fill the coffers of the oil companies with record profits.
I don't think it's the oil companies who are giving money to China, India or the Middle East. Maybe they should and that would lower taxes.
cosmart, I went to the site. I understand that a co-writer for the site, although he says he cares for the environment, works for an oil company. IMHO, that taints his opinions.
I am of the opinion that demand and production needs to decrease with the use of alternative energy sources. Oil prices need to stay high to force this trend but not in order to fill the coffers of the oil companies with record profits.
I don't think it's the oil companies who are giving money to China, India or the Middle East. Maybe they should and that would lower taxes.
I don't know which oil drum you were looking at, but if you took the time to read the website, it is very balanced. It is really a blogsite with a very diverse set of followers. Most are very, very pessimistic. There are many people, even in the oil industry, who think we have maybe fifteen more years of personal transportation with oil, then it will be severely restricted for use only for industrial, commercial and defense. That is pretty scary.
Oil company profits are basically moot. If we nationalized the oil companies, the price of gas wouldn't change. Private industry controls less than 15% of the world's oil reserves today, the rest are controlled by governments.
We have a serious problem in this country. Our very society relies on cheap oil, and cheap oil is gone forever. At $4.00 a gallon people can cope. At $14.00 a gallon, there has to be some serious restructuring. When oil is unavailable, it whithers and dies.
I'm agree on being pessimistic. I feel that we are reaching the end of using fossil fuels as our main source of energy. We need alternatives. Reading the site, I did like what I read written by most. I'm just concerned about who butters Rapier's bread.
Record profits generated are not from owning crude oil reserves. The big money comes from the production and distribution by oil companies. The fact that oil reserves are mainly owned by entities other than the oil companies shows that real big money is not being made by owning oil in the ground. The Federal Government is a prime example. The Administration wants to practically give away the rights to mine oil. Profit is made by those who exploit those rights. Then they use excuses for record profits like they need to put money into R&D and exploration. The technology companies I've worked with specify in their annual budgets including funding for R&D before the fiscal year even begins. Profit is profit not money to be used as an operating expense.
Cosmart, you and I and the rest of the Smart folk are thinking in the same general (correct) direction.
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