Jesus Christ

[Supermick]

[Roos]

I miss the days of my horse and buggy.

[david austin]

nigerian rebel issues
russian output (largest non-opec producer) is lower than last year
devalued currency
big banks and hedge funds are riding the wave (and we all know they are the true string pullers)
opec refusing to pump more supply


in the most simplistic forms its a pure supply/demand issue but at the moment there are so many other economic factors at work that we really are just in a perfect storm for high prices.

its nobodys fault and everybodys fault at the same time. thats the problem with having a finite resource be what powers our everyday lives.

[SeanSparks]

I really don't like having a WRX right now.

-Sean

[MACK]

I love my Z

I get around 26mpg highway and around 18 city

not too bad for a sports car

[PETA]

Originally Posted by SeanSparks

I really don't like having a WRX right now.

-Sean

Jetta Sean... better mpg... espeically when you live way the hell out in BFE

[SeanSparks]

Originally Posted by xian

Jetta Sean... better mpg... espeically when you live way the hell out in BFE

We're talking buying a Prius right now. Mer's car is a 40 year old VW bug, and we share mine for almost everything. We need a second car anyway, and the money we'd save on gas alone would pay the monthly on a new Prius.

-Sean

[jaesun]

I'm sporting the ever cool 1997 Ford Taurus...this mean chick-magnet gets a cool 16-20mpg.

[zcwilly]

Originally Posted by jaesun

Sounds to me like our own governement is putting pump to pooper too and then passing the blame that should be shared.

I say have local and federal government cut taxes on gas during peak seasons to help out if they're not going to do anything else about it.

www.johnmccain.com

John McCain Believes We Should Institute A Summer Gas Tax Holiday. Hard-working American families are suffering from higher gasoline prices. John McCain calls on Congress to suspend the 18.4 cent federal gas tax and 24.4 cent diesel tax from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

[jaesun]

Originally Posted by zcwilly

www.johnmccain.com

Already read up on it man.

It will help a little but I think there needs to be a serious reform i.e. drilling some of our own until we can find a better renewable resource. But that will never happen. There are so many regulations and limiting laws set in place by our own government that it is impossible to build or remodel any of our refineries to drill on US soils. We have oil out the wazoo but we can't touch it until that one day in the future when oil isn't a commodity anymore. Then its useless.

Aren't these smart cars around $14k? I would love to have one if it wasn't a two-seater. Not enough space for growing families, and I want a kid in the next few years.

[e-brake]

Originally Posted by xian

I think we'd pay the same whether GW or Gore was in office... I think the biggest factor is increased demand in Asia (then bottled necked refining capacity and the deflated dollar - not sure in which order)

So then you think that us invading Iraq when they were responsible for 1/3 of the OPEC supply and disrupting that supply for 5 years solid has been a good thing for oil prices? Today Iraq oil production is only 20% of what it was before we went in. Do you think that doing a 1/2 ass job in Afghanistan was a smart move when 1/2 of Russia's oil production needs to move through that country to make it on tankers for the rest of the world to use. We pulled our troops out to send them to Iraq and now Afghanistan is not secure enough for the Russians to ship oil across it, so we eliminated all oil supplies from the southern 1/2 of the only non OPEC supplier to the US.

Do you really think that the deflated dollar has nothing to do with the largest deficit in US history, the most spending in US history, and the least qualified FED chairman in US history? (Not to mention the crooks Bush placed in the world bank)

Seriously if you think that Bush is in no way responsible for what we are paying at the pumps today then you are living under a rock. Not only do I think we would be paying less if Al Gore was in office, I think any buffoon in office would have put us in a better place....even a total fuckup like Jimmy Carter would have been smarter about this mess than Bush.

[e-brake]

Originally Posted by jaesun

Already read up on it man.

It will help a little but I think there needs to be a serious reform i.e. drilling some of our own until we can find a better renewable resource. But that will never happen. There are so many regulations and limiting laws set in place by our own government that it is impossible to build or remodel any of our refineries to drill on US soils. We have oil out the wazoo but we can't touch it until that one day in the future when oil isn't a commodity anymore. Then its useless.

Thats not entirely true anymore, the EPA has relaxed the regulations that was blocking the building of new refineries. They also relaxed the laws that was preventing oil companies from refining gas in Mexico and shipping it across the border. Three years later now and there are 0 plans by any of the oil companies to build refineries, and BP is the only company that has started importing gas from Mexican refineries. Fact is the US conglomerates like Exxon have no incentive to build new refineries, if they build new refineries and raise production levels then the price of gas will fall and they wont make as much money per gallon. When Exxon and Mobil merged a few years back they actually shut down one of the big refineries in Texas city by Houston.

[e-brake]

Originally Posted by zcwilly

www.johnmccain.com

Even if you drop the .18 a gallon Federal tax we will still be paying record prices over $3 a gallon, and the federal highway system thats already in disrepair will be that much worse off without those funds. Doesnt anyone remember the bridge that collapsed on I-35 last year because they didnt have enough money to repair it in time.......sounds like a great plan to cut off the primary source of revenue to keep our roads safe.

[Nick]

Originally Posted by -m-

Yeah, people, or at least more people than usual, are starving in third world countries like Haiti now because the cost of fuel is too high for them to get any food to their ports.

also the use of corn for ethanol.