OT: Gas Prices!!!

[rutledgek]

Public transportation is another thing that won't develop until economics necessitates. If gas prices stay high we could see a change in the way towns and cities develop. Instead of suburban sprawl leading to 30-40 mile commutes, people will develop in areas and public transportation will be feasible. If you look at a map of the UK you will notice that there are large towns with good public transportation with lots of open space around the towns. Where in the US you have development everywhere. This makes public transportation difficult to orchestrate and plan and expensive.

 

[Wilafur]

hehe, rutledgek beat me to it. simon, your plan sounds good in theory but you ned to undesrstand that its a tit for tat scenario. if big oil loses their favorable tax position, guess who will shoulder this? yep, the consumer.

 

[Wilafur]

good news, they are extending the lightrail from downtownish to culver city. however, it won't be completed till around 2010.

 

[jeffrey_ropp]

NicoleC - Nice to know someone else knows about the Red Cars. People dont seem to realize that Los Angeles once had the BEST public transportation system in the world. The automobile, tire and rubber, and oil industries manipulated the governing process and conspired to decomission the system in favor of...you guessed it....freeway construction.

Little known fact: Many of the original rails are actually still buried in the center medians of some streets.

 

[JE]

i say we start walking our fat-american-asses around town. yeah we dont have a good subway system. but when i went to europe in february i spent a total of about $2-4 dollars on transpotation a day to go between 20-100 miles a day on buses/subways/trains. oh yeah I WALKED ABOUT 10 MILES A DAY. my calves got big and i felt great!

but i guess not everyone lives less then a mile away to the grocery store/work/and local fish store like me. so i guess it wont work for most people.

 

[Wilafur]

naw, we socal folks are a bunch of lazy tards.

 

[rutledgek]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7303970#post7303970 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jjb81speed
but i guess not everyone lives less then a mile away to the grocery store/work/and local fish store like me. so i guess it wont work for most people.

Bingo - My wife and I each work 25 miles in opposite directions. The nearest grocery store is 10 miles, the nearest LFS is 30. It is getting to the point where shipping is no longer keeping me away from ordering my good online.

 

[fish_who?]

Just a heads up guys do your research before buying those expensive hybrids last I checked only 3 of them allowed you to drive in the carpool lane with a single rider.

The NGV station near my office is about 2.32/gallon and from talking to a few taxi drivers they only get 2-300mi/tank in their crown vics. That is not that bad since you can drive in the carpool lane with a single rider and it is less than gasoline, but they are somewhat hard to find. The filling device you get for your house takes quite a long time to fill up the car (something like 11hrs) on top of the 2k for it.

Volkswagen TDI Cars: 40-45MPG Diesel <--- Can run BioDiesel
From my research, you can not buy a new TDI in CA. Emission laws in Ca prevent the dealers from selling them. Trucks that have diesel are considered commercial vehicles, so they can sell them in Ca. I have heard you can buy a used one though. Go figure.

I got tired of it too and bought a 90 CRX in addition to my other cars. I have been getting 33+MPG, which beats 11.2 in my Dodge. Assuming prices continue to go up, I keep driving 68+mi per day and I don't have to fork out cash to put into the car (it's a Honda), my ROI should be pretty quick.

 

[NicoleC]

Little known fact: Many of the original rails are actually still buried in the center medians of some streets.

Most of the "new" lines they are running for MetroLink follow the same Red Car routes. My local station in Orange is in the same spot the Red Car station was.

I had a VW Golf TDI a few years ago that I bought in CA. I think it was a 2000 model. Gas mileage was really, really good, but not as good as the new models. Unfortunately, diesel purchases in-town are often higher than gas, but not so out on the highway where the trucker's reign.

 

[JE]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7304059#post7304059 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rutledgek
Bingo - My wife and I each work 25 miles in opposite directions. The nearest grocery store is 10 miles, the nearest LFS is 30. It is getting to the point where shipping is no longer keeping me away from ordering my good online.

wow!! :eek1: 25 miles is a sucky commute in socal.

 

[Wilafur]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7304059#post7304059 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rutledgek
Bingo - My wife and I each work 25 miles in opposite directions. The nearest grocery store is 10 miles, the nearest LFS is 30. It is getting to the point where shipping is no longer keeping me away from ordering my good online.

no one forced you to live in the boonies. :lol:

 

[GinaSofia]

Re: Re: OT: Gas Prices!!!

Re: Re: OT: Gas Prices!!!

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7303646#post7303646 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by reefpeep2004
When people stop buying SUV's that are completely unnecessary for driving in a metropolitan area of 15 million people? Ditto for large pickups, 4 wheel drive, and Hummers :lol:

believe it or not,there are still people who actually NEED trucks and 4wd for work and for hobbies.

 

[cthetoy]

How high do you think gas prices will go? I'm thinking (hoping) not more than $4.00 during the summer. Thats the next psychological price point

 

[d0cdave]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7303378#post7303378 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by raskal311
The Yaris is $11-13g vs. $20+ for some of the cars you listed. Thatââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s the selling point of the Yaris..... You want a car that will pay for itself.

The cars I listed I can actually fit in If you are over 6', Yaris will be like a geo metro. The Civic is just barely big enough for me.

I see your point about pricing tho. I got the Civic because it was the cheapest option at the time ($30k for a Prius in '04). Plus I got these cool carpool stickers that let me commute in the carpool lane.

 

[SteveOhh]

Here's the solution...............Plain & Simple!!!

Make any product refined from crude oil a utility...............then it will be governed & regulated............

The major suppliers may whine & cry for a few weeks, but with the USA being far & away thier biggest customer, they will learn to deal with it. Believe me they will not say, ok we're not gonna sell you any oil.

Another plan..............all Americans should get together & boycott one oil company. Do not buy any gas from that company until they lower thier prices by 50%. I can almost guarantee that within 2 weeks, the boycotted companies prices will be cut in half. Once one company cuts thier prices & gets most of the business from consumers, others will follow.

Now if we can just get our "friends" in Washington to buy in on this....................wait a minute, I almost forgot................thier ties are on so tight, it's cutting off flow of blood to the brain.... :eek2:

Steve

 

[NicoleC]

I'm thinking (hoping) not more than $4.00 during the summer.

Every summer when gas prices go up, the various public agencies weigh in on how high they think they will go. This year they have been already way off the mark -- a few weeks ago they were saying gas prices could rise as highas $3.50 this summer. Ha!

Seriously, I'm betting on $4.79 the week before Labor Day, and $5.00 starting at 3pm that Friday afternoon. Will anybody still pile in the car for a family road trip to the Grand Canyon at those prices? I hope I'm wrong.

The next idiot politician that says he thinks a $100 rebate will "fix" the problem deserves to be kicked in the keister.

With gas prices going up, so does the cost of food and everything else. Fresh organic fruits and veggies at Farmer's Markets this summer will probably be cheaper than the sale prices ar the grocery stores. (At least anywhere there are still small farmers, like No Cal and even So Cal, especially down San Diego way.)

I did ask my boss today how high gas prices have to go before we shut down the office and set up a virtual office. She's all for it -- but she has to convince HER boss.

 

[Wilafur]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7305227#post7305227 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SteveOhh
Another plan..............all Americans should get together & boycott one oil company. Do not buy any gas from that company until they lower thier prices by 50%. I can almost guarantee that within 2 weeks, the boycotted companies prices will be cut in half. Once one company cuts thier prices & gets most of the business from consumers, others will follow.

yeah that worked wonders when the supermarket workers were on strike.

a boycott ain't gonna work bud.

 

[reefpeep2004]

Re: Re: Re: OT: Gas Prices!!!

Re: Re: Re: OT: Gas Prices!!!

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7304510#post7304510 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by GinaSofia
believe it or not,there are still people who actually NEED trucks and 4wd for work and for hobbies.

Sure, but NONE of the folks I work with here at Boeing need a Hummer or an Escalade. The majority of the gas guzzlers are not based on need, but want :rollface:

Personally I don't care what folks want to spend their money on, but I do find it humerous when they freak out over gas prices. BTW, I drive a Scion and fill up once a month.

 

[SteveOhh]

A boycott will work if everybody stands behind it. How long would Exxon survive if they sold no gas for an extended period of time. It would force companies to lower thier prices. Problem is getting everyone to commit to the boycott. A lot of Americans can't be troubled by boycotting............they feel it takes too much time to goto the next station, it's not gonna do any good, etc. Meanwhile the oil companies are laughing all the way to the bank.

BTW..............California...............the only state where people ***** about paying $3 a gallon for gas, but will pay $5 for a 24 oz cup of coffee............... :eek2:

During the supermarket strike, you still had consumers buying groceries from the stores that had striking workers. Again, lazy Californians that can't be "troubled" by a strike...........

 

[Wilafur]

the key word is everyone. do you honestly believe that everyone will boycott gasoline for weeks? not to sound like a broken record but it ain't gonna happen.

anyways the price we pay for gas pales in comparison to the majority of the world. imagine paying $3-4 per liter. thats roughly $11-15 per gallon