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Just_ziptab
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 22, 2007 - 11:10 pm: | 
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Something ain't right! Years ago when I was married and poor, gas price was not a hardship or an issue. We still went where we needed to go. Now(and single).......I ride the Buell to work and save over $100.00 a month on fuel costs. It costs as much to ride the Buell to work at 50+ mpg .........as it did a year ago to drive the S-10 at 22+ mpg. I go only where I have to go and ride the bicycle local if I don't need to haul anything. There isn't a vehicle out there that is "bottom line cost effective" to trade up to.....that will get me to work in the Winter. I have to drive the truck,no matter what the price of gas is. There is no way around that unless the price of gas gets into the realm of $12.00 a gallon. At that,the new vehicle loan payment and fuel cost for the month would have to be $500.00 or less to break even...... to be within my current fuel costs and no loan payment. I walked or rode my bicycle to work for 20 years, simply because I will not start a motor vehicle to drive three blocks. That job disappeared and I now have to work out of town to keep all the " simple conveiniences of enjoying life" that I had work hard for. A local job,if I could find one would mean giving up the DSL,the $34.00 a month cell phone,the $37.00 a month dish TV,several memberships to clubs and groups and a handful of subscriptions to magazines and papers...not to mention donations to "causes". Pretty easy to have those things, even if they aren't the full,high dollar package. A local paycheck would mean the end to those. I'm pretty "green" and thrifty, but fuel prices still suck for the average worker that "has to" commute and doesn't have disposable income. |
Roadrunr
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 - 12:40 am: |
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Guess the demand for my X1 has risen cause the price is at an all time low? |
Billybob
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 - 02:08 am: |
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we are to stupid to build new refineries and drill more wells the chinese are going to start drilling off the coast of cuba 80% of the alaska oil is going to china thats our oil bush has no balls |
Ducxl
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 - 05:57 am: |
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Get an house/apartment within 5 miles of your job and trade your gas guzzler for a Chevy Aveo - or ride your bike to work.
Problem solved.
Yup... |
Mikej
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 - 08:23 am: |
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"and ride the bicycle local if I don't need to haul anything."
http://www.bobtrailers.com/trailers/trailer.php?pr oduct_id=10
They work good. Rated for 70 pound carrying capacity.
(Message edited by mikej on May 23, 2007) |
Naustin
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 - 09:34 am: |
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Just_ziptab - I hear you, and its obvious that you do everything you can to conserve and be responsible with both your cash and your fuel use.
But, why not move somewhere else so that you can live close to your job again? You get your bike serviced in Waterloo so you must not be too far from there anyway - I'm sure you could find a decent job there and a nice place to live within 5 miles. It might take some time, maybe even a year if the job market is tight, but you'd be better off? |
Ryker77
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 - 12:47 pm: |
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How many people with low paying jobs may as well just quit and go on State aid because 1/2 or more of their weekly paycheck goes to put fuel in their cars to get to work? (that's no BS either. Just ash Mike aka Coolice about his experience hearing that while on a service call)
Don't neglect the effect of 15-20 Millions insurgents who will get amnesty and snuck into the 700 page bill- allows them to bring over family members. |
Ryker77
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 - 01:00 pm: |
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Get an house/apartment within 5 miles of your job and trade your gas guzzler for a Chevy Aveo - or ride your bike to work.
Problem solved.
Not at all. Everybody is neglecting the WHOLE aspect of increased oil prices. Since most everything you consume or use requires transportion - the increased fuel cost will be SPREAD out. Those 90.00 tires will now cost you 95.00. Those new riding pants bought off ebay will now cost MORE to get shipped. The more money spent on fuel (WASTED money) is LESS money placed into the local economy. Then employeers will have to cut hours or jobs - less money in the local economy. BAD TRENDS.
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Many vacation places will suffer!
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While I get a good kick out of my 45mpg VW TDI that gets me 700 miles to the tank! I also fully understand the TRUE effects this will have.
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living location
Yes people should plan and choose where they live and work, in order to conserve fuel. However with a Marriage or Family life you have two jobs to plan around. NOT that easy to do. My wifes job is very limited. - Within a 45 mile radius she is the only Radation therapy tech (cancer treatment). If she had not taken the job then her patients would have to drive 45 miles every day for treatment. Most are elderly and poor. ---- Choices. She could have taken a job in a area that was better for me as well. But the pay difference, bonus, and health insurance cost was nothing compared to fuel for me to commute. ---
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Job demands
I see the fuel prices greatly effected job supply and job demand. 6 months ago the consumer might have taken that job and commuted the 30 minutes. Now I'd guess that many people are choosing different jobs or some jobs are going unfilled. Employeers might have to pay more to recruit or retain employees - this too will be PASSED along to the consumer. |
Rocketsprink
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 - 03:52 pm: |
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$3.61 today for regular unleaded. I still say BS. |
Ryker77
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 - 04:06 pm: |
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It's now cheaper for me to drive my car than ride my Buell.
Diesel 3.10 a gallon gets me 45-46mpg
PUG 3.59 a gallon gets me 42-44mpg plus octane booster. |
Naustin
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 - 04:33 pm: |
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Since most everything you consume or use requires transportation - the increased fuel cost will be SPREAD out.
Good reason to buy locally grown and produced products. Get your apples and eggs and meat from a farmers market rather than at the Big box grocery store. Then you don't have to pay for the transportation costs.
If oil goes up high enough, maybe they'll start building TVs and toasters in America again, rather than ship them here from china. Maybe Wal-Puke will lose its competitive advantage because shipping cost will be to high, and mom and pop general stores selling regionally produced goods will start to resurrect our rural downtowns.
I'm all for higher oil prices. Necessity is the mother of invention, and increased shipping costs could make local industries using local resources more viable. |
Rocketsprink
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 - 05:20 pm: |
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Oil pricers aren't higher. Gas prices are. Oil is not at it's highest $$ amount. BUT gas is.
Still can't figure out how you all seem to think it's a good thing. But, hey, to each his own. |
Just_ziptab
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 - 07:31 pm: |
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"But, why not move somewhere else so that you can live close to your job again? You get your bike serviced in Waterloo so you must not be too far from there anyway - I'm sure you could find a decent job there and a nice place to live within 5 miles." Waterloo is 60 miles away and I do my own work, cept for TPS resets and warranty. Kind of hard to move away when that's not my style(moving again and again). I have a place and a community to call home permanently. This is the results of burning wood for heat, for 30 years in my old house and being single and thrifty for the most part.....plus taking 15% interest on Cd's back in the late 70's early 80's. Click: http://img115.imageshack.us/img115/3536/dsc01188sd 4.jpg and click: http://img369.imageshack.us/img369/9092/house12107 001rv0.jpg No easy way to walk away from friends and all the commitment of building a new house with myself doing ALL of it except the finished shell.........just to get a job that doesn't require a commute. |
Court
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 - 08:06 pm: |
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Oil prices, I think, hit a record high yesterday. If not, they are the highest that have recently been and will soon eclipse the record, we're overdue.
Incidence. I think that plays a huge role.
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Rocketsprink
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 - 08:45 pm: |
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Nope. Not the highest price for oil. Worse last year. The fun is just getting started.
Can't believe (yeah right) that the price shot up again today being so close to one of the busiest travel holidays of the year!
BTW, not trying to bust anyone chops, just my observations.
http://www.wtrg.com/daily/crudeoilprice.html
(Message edited by rocketsprink on May 23, 2007) |
Naustin
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 - 09:08 pm: |
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Just_ziptap - nice house! Looks like you have a nice little spread too.
Maybe you should just work from home. |
Ryker77
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 - 09:37 pm: |
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Good reason to buy locally grown and produced products. Get your apples and eggs and meat from a farmers market rather than at the Big box grocery store. Then you don't have to pay for the transportation costs.
If oil goes up high enough, maybe they'll start building TVs and toasters in America again, rather than ship them here from china. Maybe Wal-Puke will lose its competitive advantage because shipping cost will be to high, and mom and pop general stores selling regionally produced goods will start to resurrect our rural downtowns.
I'm all for higher oil prices. Necessity is the mother of invention, and increased shipping costs could make local industries using local resources more viable.
I agree with the thought of change. It will take time for changes to take place.. And be costly for some. Hopefully people will adapt.
But I do like to eat Apples year round.. Also Buell is not made in my state nor is any motorcycle part I'd might need. Nor is any car part I might need (VW). Food is but a small part of what is transported in the US.
Even if they build TV and Toaster in the US. Those would still need to be transported to reach the market. The supplies needed to build such items also would need to be transported.
----
I once worked part time at a office supply store. They sold floor mats there were made in the SAME town. Yet those mats had to be shipped to central warehouse distribution then get shipped back up to the retail store. WASTE. |
Just_ziptab
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 - 10:41 pm: |
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"Maybe you should just work from home." Hey yah! I'll drill an oil well in the back yard.....  |
Swampy
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 - 10:53 pm: |
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My first time to chime in here....
The year, 1978, fuel price went from .35 cents a gallon to a wopping .50 cents. I called my wife from work to beg her to load one of the empty 55 gallon drums into the back of the 1 ton Chevy van and fill it with gas(she didn't thankfully). I bought a Chevy Chevette Scooter, I think it had a 1.4 liter and a 4 speed, used for $1800. The car to have was one of the Dodge import little thingys that was supposed to get 60 mpg and was selling for over $6800, thats when you could get a Monte Carlo for $3500.
Remember riding local bus lines? .25 cents Keego Harbor to Detroit, to study at the Detroit Public Library. It was mostly privately owned companies. They were all put out of business because of the fuel cost increases. (Now almost all transit bus lines are operated by public agencies, remember, I'm from the government, I'm here to help?)
Fast forward to two years ago when I could fill up the Sporty and both Blasts with premium for $9.
Thanks for the memory...... |
Just_ziptab
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 - 11:36 pm: |
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Swampy- I worked as a pump jockey 1972/1973. At that time(here)gas was 35 cents in 73. In 74 it shot up to 50/52 cents at the Phillips 66 station. We were known to be a cent higher, but had full service!People were so outraged that they would drive to the next town to save a cent. My boss gave me 3 gallons a day "allowance" to drive to work. I had to drive around at night to get rid of it in my 850 Fiat convertible that got 36 mpg. Man, those were the days........60 mile round trip to work and I didn't have to buy gas. I think in the long haul from here on out, gas will be a burden to the working saps that "have to" commute. I may just have to find a little POS sports jobbie that I can pay cash for.... to use as a work car in the winter. |
Blake
| | Posted on Thursday, May 24, 2007 - 02:21 am: |
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GASOLINE PRICES SURGE WITH STRAINS ON REFINING CAPACITY...
Isn't a bottle of drinking water still more expensive than an equal amount of gasoline? |
Buellinachinashop
| | Posted on Thursday, May 24, 2007 - 09:02 am: |
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It is, so's a bottle of booze, but a bottle of Southern Comfort isn't going to pull my boat 300 miles to the lake, it'll just make it funner once I get there. |
Ratbuell
| | Posted on Thursday, May 24, 2007 - 09:19 am: |
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Ride all year like I do. I ponied up the bucks for the HD heated jacket liner, heated gloves, and dual thermostat. Got a pigtail on both Buells and on the FLHP - 10* weather and I'm nice and toasty. Only thing that stops me is accumulated snow on the highway...and that's why there's a Wrangler in the barn with a battery tender on it!
I do agree on the gas vs. diesel debate, though. My wife drives locally to work and we have an 05 Cummins and an 05 Hemi Magnum R/T for her. MPG is a wash from one to the other (yes, really - multidisplacement DOES work), she nets about 22 in either one driving thru town. We price regular unleaded vs. diesel every week or so. Right now diesel is about .35/gal cheaper, so she's in the truck. Seems "wasteful" to be driving a 3/4 ton crew cab 4x4 to work...but the numbers are what they are.
Maybe things will get better when we get the TEXAS OIL GUY out of the white house.... |
Ryker77
| | Posted on Thursday, May 24, 2007 - 01:29 pm: |
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Court, your right about the bottle of water.
To make a point:
Last night news clip. Father was unable to vist his daughter (living with ex) becuase of high fuel prices. YET HE WAS DRIVING A SUV and had bought a big gulp soda to drink. While he was obese.
To cheap to buy gas to visit his daughter who was a mere 2.5hr drive away. But was able to buy a soda and keep his fat ass FAT. |
Buellinachinashop
| | Posted on Thursday, May 24, 2007 - 01:35 pm: |
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We hear this surge in prices is because the refineries cant produce enough gas. Maybe Big Oil needs to re-invest their billions into more refineries? OH, WAIT..that would mean they'd increase supply and the price would drop...or would it? What a freaking mess. |
Blake
| | Posted on Thursday, May 24, 2007 - 07:49 pm: |
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Hey Court, you may have just been viciously insulted. |
Court
| | Posted on Friday, May 25, 2007 - 06:25 am: |
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Nah . . . I've waited years to figure out what the hell to do with a degree in Economics.
My day has arrived!
 |
Mikej
| | Posted on Friday, May 25, 2007 - 08:11 am: |
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Let's see, a BigGulp soda costs between $0.89 and $1.29, which equates to about a third of a gallon of gas currently. The typical SUV gets maybe 15mpg, so a third of 15 miles is 5 miles. His daughter lives 2.5 hours away, assuming that's based on a 50mph average speed that puts her 125 miles away. Round trip would be 250 miles. 250 miles divided by 15mpg gives us 16.67 gallons of gas, times that by $3.50 a gallon and you get $58.345, or $58.34 to round the cents down. Not knowing the dad's situation, and not trying to justify his decision, but $58 is a fair chunk of change, so I wonder if the daughter's mom offered to meet the dad half-way. Nah, that wouldn't be news worthy.
There's always more to the story, but if it were me I'd have hopped on the bike to go visit the daughter, or hopped on the bicycle and met her half way, but since I don't have a daughter the point is moot.
Sometimes the news isn't really news. |
Honu
| | Posted on Friday, May 25, 2007 - 08:49 am: |
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Buellinachinashop, Reinvestment is happening. Three plus years from engineering to completion. This constuction isn't cheap either.
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Court
| | Posted on Friday, May 25, 2007 - 09:28 am: |
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Americans are such cute folks . . . AAA just this morning is reporting that more folks are complaining, as gas . . live on the TODAY SHOW . . was boosted $0.07 to $3.50 a gallon for regular . . whining more.
Guess what?
A record number of Americans are traveling for the holiday.
These are the same folks who were going to quit smoking when cigarettes got to $5.00 a pack and are smoking more at $8.00.
Go to your McConnell Econ 101 book and reread the section on ELASTICITY OF DEMAND.
I ran 3 miles in the park across from the house this morning and have a 1:00pm tee time.
I'll drive again next Tuesday. |
Buellinachinashop
| | Posted on Friday, May 25, 2007 - 03:11 pm: |
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"This constuction isn't cheap either."
They can afford it I think.
When gas jumps .10-.20 cents a day on a whim, I believe we have something to whine about.
The people who are really hurting in all this mess is the station owners.....I applaud this guy from mequon, wi.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/05/25/gasprice.protest. ap/index.html |
Diablobrian
| | Posted on Friday, May 25, 2007 - 04:10 pm: |
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And, according to the article, the smaller independent stations are starting to close their
gas pumps. Doesn't that once again re-enforcing the oil companies' corporate control of
the price of a gallon of gas?
That being the case, who foots the bill for the executive's 6 figure bonus checks and the
companies' record profits for how many consecutive years?
Oh yeah, the people that are scrambling to live pay check to paycheck that can't afford
a newer, more economical car, and can't take time off work to look for a job closer to
home. |
Buellinachinashop
| | Posted on Friday, May 25, 2007 - 04:20 pm: |
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Oil/Gas is beginning to look like the ENRON California energy scam. |
Naustin
| | Posted on Friday, May 25, 2007 - 04:50 pm: |
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Let's see. I had to run an errand for work today. 40 miles round trip - and I'll get paid 0.485 per mile, so that's $19.40.
I paid 3.32/gallon for non-oxy 92 octane fuel today and the last tank of fuel, I got 49mpg. So it only cost me $2.71 to drive the 40 miles.
I MADE $16.68 on top of the clock just riding my bike, AND I got to go for a bike ride in the middle of work.
Life is good, Gas prices are fine, and I don't know what everyone is bitching about...
(Message edited by naustin on May 25, 2007) |
Buellinachinashop
| | Posted on Friday, May 25, 2007 - 04:53 pm: |
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Naustin, I agree, we're on a bike board and complaining about gas? I can't imagine what the guys on the Ford F-150 enthusiasts board are doing!
They're probably discussing ways to install foot pedals and a chain.
(Message edited by buellinachinashop on May 25, 2007) |
Ducxl
| | Posted on Friday, May 25, 2007 - 05:15 pm: |
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That being the case, who foots the bill for the executive's 6 figure bonus checks and the
companies' record profits for how many consecutive years?
correction,SEVEN,Figures.And just what does one person need with a multi-million dollar BONUS? WTF! THAT makes communism attractive.Those are absurd and could be spread amongst the blue collar laborers "living from paycheck to paycheck".
http://www.aflcio.org/corporatewatch/paywatch/retirementsecurity/case_exxon.cfm
They're probably discussing ways to install foot pedals and a chain.
My bicycles are in great working order
(Message edited by Ducxl on May 25, 2007) |
Rainman
| | Posted on Friday, May 25, 2007 - 05:45 pm: |
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"I learned that where you end all depends on where you start," Everlast. |
Court
| | Posted on Monday, June 11, 2007 - 05:42 pm: |
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GOOD NEWS . . . gas prices taking their largest tumble since January! . . . probably cause I filled the truck yesterday. . . . and not one soul has thanked ROAD THING!
We asked him to lower them, he did. How cool is that???
:")
RT . . need us to send food money?
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