Oil at a bubble?

[WriterDom]

http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/28/markets/oil_prices/index.htm

The U.S. Department of Transportation said Monday Americans drove 11 billion miles less in March 2008 than a year earlier, marking the first time estimated March travel on public roads fell since 1979. That 4.3% decline is the sharpest year-on-year drop for any month in the history of the agency's reporting, which dates back to 1942.

11 billion miles less in one month. And that was March when gas was cheaper.
And think about all the people dumping their gas guzzlers. It's hard for lots to stock the Prius. Honda is coming out with 3 new hybrids next year that are less than 2000 dollars more than conventional.

I don't like the high prices now but it's about the only thing that will change our behavior.

 

[midwestyankee]

http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/28/markets/oil_prices/index.htm

The U.S. Department of Transportation said Monday Americans drove 11 billion miles less in March 2008 than a year earlier, marking the first time estimated March travel on public roads fell since 1979. That 4.3% decline is the sharpest year-on-year drop for any month in the history of the agency's reporting, which dates back to 1942.

11 billion miles less in one month. And that was March when gas was cheaper.
And think about all the people dumping their gas guzzlers. It's hard for lots to stock the Prius. Honda is coming out with 3 new hybrids next year that are less than 2000 dollars more than conventional.

I don't like the high prices now but it's about the only thing that will change our behavior.

Agreed. I'm sure a few people are buying a Prius for the same look-at-me motivations that had them considering a Hummer a few years back but for most it's a matter of conserving a scarce natural resource: their own money.

I'll be looking at replacing my car in a year or two and the wifely one is growing tired of the minivan. We'll no doubt look for a hybrid for her but I'm leaning toward a diesel that will run efficiently on biodiesel fuel. I'm fairly confident that at some point plug-in electric motor-driven cars will have the battery range and torque to be full replacements for today's gas-powered cars but that's several years away. In the meantime, if I can use a little less fossil fuel by burning up excess soybean oil, all the better.

 

[Netzach]

It's always been one of the only things to change behavior. Alternatives, like a train you can take to get somewhere are the missing piece of the puzzle.

Who knows, though, as crap-ass as Amtrak was since it went regulated, its ridership is up. A lot of people are tired of sitting in traffic.

 

[Netzach]

I'm not an ethanol fan, but I'm not one to finger wave at anyone. I just think it's one of the worst scams ever.

 

[WriterDom]

I'm not an ethanol fan, but I'm not one to finger wave at anyone. I just think it's one of the worst scams ever.

The concept is ok. But using corn is fucking insane. I have heard we're a few years out from figuring out alternatives and can once again feed our livestock and a starving world with corn.


The Volt is coming

Nissan is coming out with one in 2012 that will go 75 mph and has a range of 100 miles.

 

[midwestyankee]

The concept is ok. But using corn is fucking insane. I have heard we're a few years out from figuring out alternatives and can once again feed our livestock and a starving world with corn.


The Volt is coming

Nissan is coming out with one in 2012 that will go 75 mph and has a range of 100 miles.

I do too much medium-distance travel to consider an electric car with anything less than a seven or eight-hour range at highway speeds. The Tesla is a great looking car and will have a much better range than most others on or coming to the market soon. But I'm not willing to drop 100G on a two-seater that would be completely impractical for driving more than three hours at a time.

 

[Homburg]

Honda is coming out with 3 new hybrids next year that are less than 2000 dollars more than conventional.

This is the only way these things will work well. If the entry price is too much higher than normal, no real savings will be realised.

Then again, I've held forth at length about my issues with the Prius, and other early hybrids. I don't dislike them, but I don't care for them, as they are not the answer that so many people tout them to be.

-----

I'm not an ethanol fan, but I'm not one to finger wave at anyone. I just think it's one of the worst scams ever.

Just a little bit.

-----

The interesting thing I'm seeing is a profusion of scooters. Little single cylinder jobbies that are all over the place right now. They're a damned good idea for around-town motoring when you aren't carrying packages.

I drive for a living, and have to carry gear with me, so a car is the only way to really go. Electrics are utterly impractical for the reasons MWY stated, and hybrids just won't work in fleet settings yet. That said, I have looked at the Smart and thought that it could very easily work in my situation. That said, Mother Corporate does not allow me to pick my own cars. Hell, if it did, I'd be driving a diesel.

 

[cherokee_dove]

Why a diesel? Diesel fuel is running 50 to 60 cents more a gallon than gasoline, in my area at least. It was at 4.59 today, and gas at 4.09 per.

 

[BiaTcHiNFiRe]

Right, i feel noobish.

Ya all should just speak czech!

 

[midwestyankee]

Why a diesel? Diesel fuel is running 50 to 60 cents more a gallon than gasoline, in my area at least. It was at 4.59 today, and gas at 4.09 per.

I have two reasons for thinking about switching to diesel for my next car. First there is the possibility of using a renewable biodiesel fuel. Over time this could dramatically reduce the amount of fossil fuel that I consume. Second, most diesel engines are more fuel-efficient than comparably powered gas engines. It's common for diesel-powered cars the size of a VW Jetta to get well over 40 mpg on the highway and even more with consistent and sensible driving. This more than makes up for the higher price at the pump.

 

[catalina_francisco]

The interesting thing I'm seeing is a profusion of scooters. Little single cylinder jobbies that are all over the place right now. They're a damned good idea for around-town motoring when you aren't carrying packages.

Scooters and bicycles abound here, along with the little 1 seater cars (if you could class them as such) and 2 seater cars for the disabled. All, bicycles especially, have a range of products you can use to cart shopping and for bicycles, larger articles. LOL, I love checking out the bicycles as they are ingenious. Some fold up so they can be carried onto a train/bus or into the office and stored under your desk...some have trailers either for carting things or children (with hood and rain cover for children), some have a little seat on the handlebars for babies and toddlers and other seats for the back of the bike and older children, and then there are the huge range of baskets, panniers and saddlebags you can buy. They are not meant just for the short journeys either with quite a lot of people using them for intercity travel without the use of a train or bus as part of the journey. It is not unusual for adults to have never driven a car in their life...F was one of them until after we married.

Catalina

 

[catalina_francisco]

I have two reasons for thinking about switching to diesel for my next car. First there is the possibility of using a renewable biodiesel fuel. Over time this could dramatically reduce the amount of fossil fuel that I consume. Second, most diesel engines are more fuel-efficient than comparably powered gas engines. It's common for diesel-powered cars the size of a VW Jetta to get well over 40 mpg on the highway and even more with consistent and sensible driving. This more than makes up for the higher price at the pump.

And in The Netherlands, diesel is cheaper than gasoline.

Catalina

 

[WriterDom]

http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/steo/pub/gifs/Fig5.gif

Here we see our projected drop in consumption doesn't make a dent in the world demand. Lots of people are tired of walking.

 

[cherokee_dove]

I have two reasons for thinking about switching to diesel for my next car. First there is the possibility of using a renewable biodiesel fuel. Over time this could dramatically reduce the amount of fossil fuel that I consume. Second, most diesel engines are more fuel-efficient than comparably powered gas engines. It's common for diesel-powered cars the size of a VW Jetta to get well over 40 mpg on the highway and even more with consistent and sensible driving. This more than makes up for the higher price at the pump.

Ok, i understand Your point.

Was just asking because i know long haul truckers are severely up in arms right now because of the extreme prices. And we are seeing their price hikes showing up through higher priced food and just about anything they have to transport. Its a never ending cycle.

 

[Homburg]

Scooters and bicycles abound here, along with the little 1 seater cars (if you could class them as such) and 2 seater cars for the disabled. All, bicycles especially, have a range of products you can use to cart shopping and for bicycles, larger articles. LOL, I love checking out the bicycles as they are ingenious. Some fold up so they can be carried onto a train/bus or into the office and stored under your desk...some have trailers either for carting things or children (with hood and rain cover for children), some have a little seat on the handlebars for babies and toddlers and other seats for the back of the bike and older children, and then there are the huge range of baskets, panniers and saddlebags you can buy. They are not meant just for the short journeys either with quite a lot of people using them for intercity travel without the use of a train or bus as part of the journey. It is not unusual for adults to have never driven a car in their life...F was one of them until after we married.

Catalina

I'm personally a bike nut. When I have local trips, I bike, and I bike for fun and fitness. I have two Trek's, my wonderful old Peugeot Crazy Horse, some random null-brand crap bike, and this really amazing old Steyr 3-speed with a gorgeous old Sturmey-Archer hub.

The Steyr is a gem, with an ingenious frame, incredible steel quality, and the afore-mentioned top-notch British 3-spd rear hub. The Peugeot is my dear old friend. I bought it with odd-job money as a young teenager, and it was big money back then. It was the first major production mountain bike made, and a damned keen ride. I've tossed the junky old shifters (that were pretty damned cutting edge at the time) in favour of making it into a single-speed with a flip-flop rear hub, mounted with fixed sprocket on one side a nd a free-wheeling unit on the other. And she's still a cool old ride, though I need to straighten her frame from one too many slides into a tree.

 

[Breaker_Morant]

Who Killed the Electric Car?

http://www.chevrolet.com/electriccar/articles/index.jsp?id=2

 

[Breaker_Morant]

It's always been one of the only things to change behavior. Alternatives, like a train you can take to get somewhere are the missing piece of the puzzle.

Who knows, though, as crap-ass as Amtrak was since it went regulated, its ridership is up. A lot of people are tired of sitting in traffic.

The reason Amtrak's service is so bad is that with the exception of the Northeast Corridor, Amtrak is using someone else's tracks to get from point A to point B. The Class A railroads ( Union Pacific, BNSF, CSX, etc) own the tracks that the passenger trains are using and therefore are of secondary priority.

In the Northeast, where Amtrak does own its own trackage, Amtrak does very well - service, amenities and timeliness.

Over the years there has been a resurrgance of "light" or commuter rail. Unfortunately its expensive to set up the infra-structure and like all big projects there has to be a political will to see it through.

 

[BiBunny]

When I say anything about the price of fuel, people are like "Well, just ride your horses, hee-hee." For God's sake, don't think horse travel is any cheaper. With the ethanol scam, it costs nearly as much to feed a horse as it does to put gas in a car. Between hay (which is ungodly) and feed ($15 per 50-lb. bag, up from more like $10 this time last year) and the rising cost of shoeing bills because of the distance the farrier has to travel and therefore buy gas, I may have to get rid of some of mine.

 

[faeriefire]

There are some places where you just have to drive. Certain locations, certain jobs. When I'm away at school the car stays at home. Public transit is a beautiful thing. And the bike gets me around town and is great exercise. But when I go home it would take at least 3 hours of hard biking one way to get to work. For moi the gas prices suck! Without the financial freedom to buy a newer car, living in an area that is in the middle of nowhere, paying the exorbitant gas price is a necessary evil. Yeah, I could quit working. Wake up at 2am to ride in to work. I could make the tradeoff of not buying gas and move into a place near my job. Either way the person getting screwed...well, let's just say it's not the gas company or the car delearship People like moi who have to choose between earning money + driving or being stuck without a job are a big part of the reason the gas companies feel so safe gouging their customers. And it irritates me because on a financial or large economic scale in the long run everyone gets hurt. Yeah, some people high on the totem pole will be filthy rich, but in the process the economy and about agazillion individuals end up pinching pennies to make up the difference.

 

[caela]

Hmmmm...the talk of Amtrak have me actually checking if there was a station still near where my mom lives and I was surprised to find that there is! There used to be one right in town that closed down but it turns out there's one the next town over (only about 15 minutes from her place) so if I got an early train from my place to hers I could just catch the bus from the station to near her place and it wouldn't be as expensive as I thought!

Right now it would actually be comparable to what I would spend in gas (though at the rate prices are going up that won't be true long...it'll be cheaper) but it would save me time through construction zones, miles on the truck I can't afford to trade in for something newer (thank god it's a small truck) and just the overall hassle of driving.

Yay for finding an affordable way to get home the next time I am planning a visit ahead of time instead of just last minute!

 

[WriterDom]

I'm personally a bike nut. When I have local trips, I bike, and I bike for fun and fitness. I have two Trek's,

Do you have a Navigator? I like mine. Big and sturdy.

 

[Homburg]

Do you have a Navigator? I like mine. Big and sturdy.

I've an old Trek 800. Steel-framed, and un-dampened. It was an orphan, and I am going to rebuild it for a buddy. My ride is a Trek 4300, bought specifically because of the sturdiness of the components. I'm a big boy, and taking an MTB what ain't tough down a trail would involve too much chance of me walking home.

My ride, AKA The Banana Bike
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v472/moonduck/training%20stuff/4300_yellowcharcoal.jpg

The Navigator is a good bike. I needed something more trail-capable, and really needed a particular series of components. The rear hub and sprocket stack were a major concern of mine, as that was the most likely failure point. The 4300 turned out to be the way to go, even if it did cost a bit more coin than what I'd originally intended. I've gotten my money's worth out it, much as I'm sure you've gotten your money's worth out of your 'gator. Trek makes decent bikes.

 

[Somme]

http://greatdepression2006.blogspot.com/2008/05/crude-oil-bubble-trouble.html#links?ref=patrick.net

 

[popcorn2721]

I'm not an ethanol fan, but I'm not one to finger wave at anyone. I just think it's one of the worst scams ever.

you are very right...it is a scam. You can follow the money too.

 

[Homburg]

http://greatdepression2006.blogspot.com/2008/05/crude-oil-bubble-trouble.html#links?ref=patrick.net

Interesting post.