Gasoline costs, or what we can do about it (from a friend at F.S.U.)
If one more person who regularly commutes 20+ miles, alone, in a 3000lb, 8+ passenger, 10- MPG vehicle complains to me about the price of gas -- and all of their screw-ball conspiracy theories thereby associated -- I'm going to tell them where to stick it!
For those who failed mathematics: supply and demand are by definition, NOT mutually exclusive. We can be swimming in oil, it can be raining gasoline, but if demand is high, then prices will be high. PERIOD!
In a market economy, just because you have plenty of something, that doesn't mean it's cheap. It just means suppliers won't run out. Prices go down when demand goes down and that won't happen until the people who drive Duelies, massive SUV's, full-size vans, and luxury cars as everyday commuters -- jack-rabbit, pedal-to-the-metal, stop-n-go, rush-hour-lane-dancing, and NASCAR-style blocking all the way -- get something a bit more fuel efficient and learn to drive like civilized human beings -- not road-crazed refugees from Mad Max. I'm not suggesting we all cram ourselves into Yugo's but, how about something that gets 20MPG or better? and, learn an accelerator/brake position between full-stop and floored. You've got to be reasonable, here.
Either that or, better yet, just quit complaining about the price of gas and do something about it -- use less!
Sorry. Rant mode off. I'm sure everyone here drives sensibly and has a vehicle appropriate to their daily needs.
From a good friend (Geoffrey, the cruel conservitive,) who is a professor at F.S.U., and I think well worth posting!
Tom Ford
N0. 131
For those who failed mathematics: supply and demand are by definition, NOT mutually exclusive. We can be swimming in oil, it can be raining gasoline, but if demand is high, then prices will be high. PERIOD!
In a market economy, just because you have plenty of something, that doesn't mean it's cheap. It just means suppliers won't run out. Prices go down when demand goes down and that won't happen until the people who drive Duelies, massive SUV's, full-size vans, and luxury cars as everyday commuters -- jack-rabbit, pedal-to-the-metal, stop-n-go, rush-hour-lane-dancing, and NASCAR-style blocking all the way -- get something a bit more fuel efficient and learn to drive like civilized human beings -- not road-crazed refugees from Mad Max. I'm not suggesting we all cram ourselves into Yugo's but, how about something that gets 20MPG or better? and, learn an accelerator/brake position between full-stop and floored. You've got to be reasonable, here.
Either that or, better yet, just quit complaining about the price of gas and do something about it -- use less!
Sorry. Rant mode off. I'm sure everyone here drives sensibly and has a vehicle appropriate to their daily needs.
From a good friend (Geoffrey, the cruel conservitive,) who is a professor at F.S.U., and I think well worth posting!
Tom Ford
N0. 131
posted by Crestwood Independent at 18:57
4 Comments:
Thank you for posting this. I totally agree. Why do these suburbanites need their gas-hogging trucks, vans and suv's, even the supposed 'mini' versions? These tall vehicles obstruct the view of people in your average passenger vehicle. I understand a farmer in the country needing a pick-up truck, but it's silly to see all these people trapsing to and from work and to the grocery store in these ridiculous vehicles. We should all make an effort to conserve our resources, and hopefully instead of complaining about the gas prices, these folks will re-evaulate the needs of their families and look at more sensible vehicles.
Tom,
Excellent post!
Maybe a follow-up on alternative fuel cars would be appropriate at this point.
Don't most alternative fuel and battery operated vehicles cost around $35-40,000 ? What American made vehicles can boast fuel economy?
Is the American car market supplying vehicles that are fuel efficient? Or must we buy from overseas?
How much fuel do HUGE cargo ships burn when delivering these fuel efficient cars?
These are serious questions for serious times.
And does our government really sponsor alternative fuel studies or is it just a word game?
Some interesting thoughts on the subject would be appreciated.
Please cut and paste the below link to your browser for a list of the most to least fuel effecient cars on the market today, and whats coming in the future,
http://www.edmunds.com/fueleconomy/?mktcat=fueleconomy&kw=fuel+efficient+car&mktid=ga377582
Tom Ford
More information for you.
Tom
Topic: Oil/Gas
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Expert: Bob Von Rhee
Date: 3/19/2005
Subject: Fuel economy
Question
Current technology exists which would enable auto manufacturers to make automobiles with better fuel econonmy, yet there are no mandates to apply this technology. Knowing that dependency on foreign oil is a contentious issue, and that drilling in ANWR is a contentious issue, and that emission pollution is also an issue, what is preventing U.S. commerce from moving in the direction of improved fuel effiency in combustion engines?
Get the answer below
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Answer
Heather. This is really outside my expertise, but since the answer may be a matter of "facts" and also a matter of "opinion" I will share some thoughts with you. You may take them for what they're worth - my opinion.
Improving fuel efficiency in internal combustion engines costs money. Research and development cost money. You mention that "current technology exists which would enable auto manufacturers to make automobiles with better fuel economy..." Technology also costs money - although it has a habit of becoming cheaper over time.
Here's a fact. Good economies run on abundant and cheap energy. Another fact, is that one's standard of living can be directly correlated to the per capita amount of energy consumption. The higher the standard of living, the higher the per capita energy consumption.
For decades, the United State's economy has been the envy of the world. One reason for this was that our country was blessed with an abundance of petroleum and natural gas resources. These were extensively exploited in the first half of the 20th century. As you know, oil and gas are a non-renewable resource. Once you find it and produce it, nature will not make any more - at least in a time frame that is meaningful to human beings. Since the 1950's I believe, we have been importing oil and refined products because our population and economy kept growing, but our domestic supplies of oil and gas were so exploited that we could not produce enough. Today, we import approximately 60% of the country's daily needs of crude oil and some refined products. Plus, with the recent economic growth of China and SE Asia in general, demand for oil has risen dramatically in the last few years, so now there truely is less and less "excess production capacity" in oil exporting countries.
I believe that since we have had relatively cheap oil (most folks think of this in terms of the price of a gallon of gasoline) for so long - many generations now - , that people in the US believe it is our right to have cheap and abundant energy. If you were to look at what the price of gasoline should be today if it were only adjusted for inflation since 1970, you'd be amazed at how LOW today's actual price is!
Similarly, since the 19th century when a man's horse was his ticket to independence, today our cars are our ticket to independence. Except for a few cities (and air travel), we are not a nation of mass transportation users. Nowadays, everyone - Mom, Dad, daughter, son, all have a car. And today, this car is very more likely to have all the "power" options available.
Think of all the devices you use on a daily basis that consume energy. Include in your list anything that runs on batteries, especially rechargeable. Don't forget, it takes energy to manufacture a battery, and much of the US electricity is generated from oil or natural gas.
Anyway, what's this have to do with the lack of better gasoline efficiency in an internal combustion engine you ask???? It's my opinion that Car Makers want to sell cars. It's my opinion that politicians want to get re-elected. It's my opinion, that if cars became too expensive, fewer people would buy them. The current technology that you mentioned (I am unaware of what it is) may well be very expensive currently. So, if one car manufacturer were to install it, they'd have to charge more for their cars - and then they might sell less cars - so why would they do that? OK, let's get the government to "mandate" it right now! The car manufacturers would again have to raise prices, but since every one was raising prices, the culprit for increased cost would now be your Congressman(woman) or Senator! Many people would not like that. Perhaps a politician would not get re-elected.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I don't think that we'll see much dramatic improvement in gasoline efficiency in autos, until most Americans demand it - and come to terms with the fact that the price of a gallon of gasoline may be just now getting to it's real value considering global demand. So far, Americans have taken the recent increase in gasoline in stride - no real changes in vacation miles, or car purchases, etc.
I DO think the day will come, when Americans wake up and realize that it is in our best interests to try and conserve energy. ALL kinds of energy. No matter, how we slice it, oil and gas continue to provide the major portion of our energy needs in this country. As with many capitalistic societies, I think it will be $$$ that finally changes people's minds. We will simply reach a point where it's too expensive to consume the amounts of energy we currently do AND we'll have to conserve.
So I think the answer to your question is complex. You asked "What is preventing US commerce from moving in the direction of improved fuel efficiency in combustion engines.?" I guess what I'm saying is that it's a combination of our society and our collective expectations, our economy - based on companies earning a profit, our political system, and our position in the global oil markets - to name a few.
Thanks for the question. I don't know if my opinion was of any help, but you are wise to consider that we probably all should try and consume less and less energy rather than more and more.
Hope this helps.
Bob VR
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