Why? Hybrids barely get better gas mileage than their non-hybrid equivalents, and add roughly $10k to the initial cost of the vehicle. ROI is almost impossible. AND the batteries are extremely toxic hazardous waste that require replacement every 10 years.Originally posted by: chowmein
everyone lets all buy hybrids!
True, and that's why I am personally thrilled as gas prices go up and people driving urban tanks whine about them. It's like a person hitting themselves with a stick whining about the nails stuck to the end of it. Stop hitting yourself and the nails don't matter quite as much!Originally posted by: dmcowen674
Originally posted by: Skoorb
Well, they have no leg to stand on bitching about it while they drive a vehicle that gets 17 mpg, but to their defense people in Europe typically have much less need for driving a vast number of miles. The geography in the US is such that many of us rely on cars to a greater extent, and it's unavoidable, so at $2/gallon many americans will spend more on gas than fins at $6/gallon.Originally posted by: Mardeth
It was pretty funny to see some american being interviewed, bitchning about oil prices while its 5-6$ here.
The geography in the US is such that many of us rely on cars to a greater extent, and it's unavoidable
All the more reason to get and drive Economical vehicles that get could get 40 mpg but no, rich lard a$$ Americans have to make and drive monster SUVs that get 12 mpg or less. Way to go :thumbsup:
Yes, it's true. Admittedly there is some hyperbole in all my threads about oil. In truth I'm torn about a $3/gallon. I can't pretend there wouldn't be real benefits to teaching people about finite resources and what it means to expend them, but it would negatively affect the economy, though I don't know how much.Skoorb, didn't you just make a very good post yesterday about how the prices of commodities don't have momentum? (as momentum doesn't apply) Because you seem to be contradicting yourself here. The price of gas and oil is not going up, it has gone up. That it has gone up does not necessarily mean that it will continue going up.
Yeah hybrids basically still suck right now from a costs point of view. If we really cared enough we'd be driving diesels, or cars that don't move 3800 lbs of weight to 60 miles per hour in six seconds.Originally posted by: Vic
Why? Hybrids barely get better gas mileage than their non-hybrid equivalents, and add roughly $10k to the initial cost of the vehicle. ROI is almost impossible. AND the batteries are extremely toxic hazardous waste that require replacement every 10 years.Originally posted by: chowmein
everyone lets all buy hybrids!
Originally posted by: blahblah99
Don't worry, in 20 years we won't even have to worry about gas prices anymore.. cause there won't be any oil left!
Hydrogen- and biodiesel-powered ICE's are the future as far as I'm concerned. Renewable less-polluting fuels using cost-effective existing technologies. IMO we should be pushing hard for these real alternatives instead of the expensive band-aid fix that is hybrid technology (at this time). Hybrids of the future will be great, especially when hydrogen fuel cell and vastly improved battery technologies finally mature, but that's a ways down the road.Originally posted by: Skoorb
Yeah hybrids basically still suck right now from a costs point of view. If we really cared enough we'd be driving diesels, or cars that don't move 3800 lbs of weight to 60 miles per hour in six seconds.Originally posted by: Vic
Why? Hybrids barely get better gas mileage than their non-hybrid equivalents, and add roughly $10k to the initial cost of the vehicle. ROI is almost impossible. AND the batteries are extremely toxic hazardous waste that require replacement every 10 years.Originally posted by: chowmein
everyone lets all buy hybrids!
Face it, adjusted for IQ, you're preaching to bunch of two year olds!Originally posted by: Mwilding
This just in: Gas is just about as cheap as it has ever been when you adjust for inflation...
If that's accurate, it's quite interesting.Originally posted by: Ornery
Face it, adjusted for IQ, you're preaching to bunch of two year olds!Originally posted by: Mwilding
This just in: Gas is just about as cheap as it has ever been when you adjust for inflation...
Originally posted by: So
Originally posted by: DaWhim
Originally posted by: slick230
Yeah, the gas for my aircraft carrier is going to really put a dent in my wallet.
(since the last 2 posts seem to be about one-upmanship)
sound dumb, they are powered by nuclear.
edit: oh wait, i am not sure.![]()
All the carriers currently active in the US fleet are (the last oil feuled one was decomissioned in the last 2 years).
In any case their escorts still rely on diesel!Originally posted by: tontod
Originally posted by: So
Originally posted by: DaWhim
Originally posted by: slick230
Yeah, the gas for my aircraft carrier is going to really put a dent in my wallet.
(since the last 2 posts seem to be about one-upmanship)
sound dumb, they are powered by nuclear.
edit: oh wait, i am not sure.![]()
All the carriers currently active in the US fleet are (the last oil feuled one was decomissioned in the last 2 years).
Not quite, the USS Kitty Hawk stationed in Japan is powered by diesel, the USS Kennedy is also the same, though I've been reading that they might mothball the USS Kennedy.
Originally posted by: Ornery
In 1959 - 1969 the Chevy Impala was the best selling car in America. It got about 14MPG and nobody complained about that, even though they were paying the equivilent of $2.00 per gallon, and an even bigger chunk of their monthy budget!
SKY-HIGH GAS PRICES? NOT REALLY
- Sure, the $2.03 being charged at the pump today *seems* high. But in actual financial terms, it's a lot less onerous than the $1.25 a gallon motorists were paying in 1980 -- a whopping $2.80 when translated into 2004 dollars. (Adjusted the other way, today's $2.03 pump price is equal to less than 90 cents in 1980 dollars.) When it comes to historical price comparisons, nominal dollar amounts signify little. It is the inflation-adjusted price that tells you whether the true cost of a product has increased, decreased, or stayed the same.
There's also the question of affordability. Adjusted for inflation, gasoline prices today are roughly where they were in the 1950s -- but per-capita real income then was no more than half of what it is today. Which means that for a typical driver 50 years ago, gasoline was really twice as expensive -- in terms of the bite it took out of his budget -- as it is now. Only in the shallow sense of nominal pump price is gasoline today "setting record after record." In reality, it is much cheaper than it used to be.
Well, it is ruining some of our funOriginally posted by: Mwilding
pssst... never let the facts get in the way of a good rant!
Well... that informative article leaves out some key points. It lies the best way possible, i.e. it tells nothing but the truth while leaving key parts of the truth out. Like how the relative cost of housing and cars has gone way up since the 50s, taxes are considerably higher, there are new expenses like cable TV, etc., and people have a greater expectation of more disposable income now than then.Originally posted by: Mwilding
pssst... never let the facts get in the way of a good rant!Originally posted by: Ornery
In 1959 - 1969 the Chevy Impala was the best selling car in America. It got about 14MPG and nobody complained about that, even though they were paying the equivilent of $2.00 per gallon, and an even bigger chunk of their monthy budget!
SKY-HIGH GAS PRICES? NOT REALLY
- Sure, the $2.03 being charged at the pump today *seems* high. But in actual financial terms, it's a lot less onerous than the $1.25 a gallon motorists were paying in 1980 -- a whopping $2.80 when translated into 2004 dollars. (Adjusted the other way, today's $2.03 pump price is equal to less than 90 cents in 1980 dollars.) When it comes to historical price comparisons, nominal dollar amounts signify little. It is the inflation-adjusted price that tells you whether the true cost of a product has increased, decreased, or stayed the same.
There's also the question of affordability. Adjusted for inflation, gasoline prices today are roughly where they were in the 1950s -- but per-capita real income then was no more than half of what it is today. Which means that for a typical driver 50 years ago, gasoline was really twice as expensive -- in terms of the bite it took out of his budget -- as it is now. Only in the shallow sense of nominal pump price is gasoline today "setting record after record." In reality, it is much cheaper than it used to be.
In America, consumers now spend an average of $1.94 for a gallon for regular fuel. In Britain, that price is $5.66, making it some of the world's most expensive gas.
For years, British governments have repeatedly raised gas taxes, often over the rate of inflation, with several goals in mind: reducing the number of drivers, improving the environment and raising revenue.
Today, about 75 percent of the price at the pump is tax, compared to an average of about 22 percent in the United States in August. In Britain, where new cars are often expensive, drivers also must pay a heavy sales tax when they buy one, and an annual fee for a driver's permit. On top of that, insurance for drivers is mandatory.
Originally posted by: Noirish
With China predicted to use at least 50% of the world petroleum production, I won't be surprised if we think $3 is cheap in a couple years. Maybe it'll keep more people off the road and make the environment better.
Of course not. Way to miss the point. You bring up the relative price of gas compared to inflation, I merely point out how changing spending habits can still make relatively low gas prices still sting.Originally posted by: Ornery
Therefore real gasoline prices should decline to compensate for our new spending habits? :roll:
By the free market of course, and not by the system of collusion we have now.How do YOU suggest the price for oil and gasoline be set, and by whom?
