Edmunds.com | Inside Line | Auto Observer Your Account | Help | Directory
You are here:
![[F]](http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com/media/townhall/webxicons/site.gif){kind=small}
Forums
Automotive News & Views Are gas prices fueling your pain? 
10042 messages, Last post on Jul 12, 2008 at 3:07 PM
You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires
| http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/20080610_Scooter_envy__70_miles_per_- gallon_.html | |
|
Replying to: gagrice (Jun 07, 2008 5:54 am) For myself I have spent 40 year running the rat race and I plan to slow down and smell the roses. As long as I am obeying the speed limits, I do not think I should be penalized for doing this. I have driven since I was 15 --- I am a good driver who has driven high speeds for many years, access the on-ramps correctly, and try to be a courteous driver. But that does not seem to count for much these days. Even getting someone to lower their bright lights seems impossible, I find.http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com/media/townhall/webxi- cons/emotorcons/emo_sick.gif sick
|
|
|
|
|
I hate to ruin all the fear mongering coming from the press, but I can't help but question the assumption of exponential consumption of oil by other countries. You have to keep in mind that many of those foreign countries are in a state of industrialization and are spurring that growth upon the back of their government. That extra burden is in the form of sizeable subsidies for fuel in those countries. As some of you may know, those subsidies are indeed large and must be costing those governments a great deal annually, most of which they'll be hard pressed to recoup. My point is that, eventually, something has to give. They can't keep offering generous prices for gasoline in the face of the cost of crude these days. Eventually, they'll buckle or change their program to something realistic before that occurs. When this happen, theoretically, it should have a noticeable impact on the cost of oil as it is traded worldwide. Of course, it may not...but then we'd know that if there's no tangible change, someone somewhere must be pulling some strings.
|
|
|
Replying to: fedora (Jun 10, 2008 11:52 am) |
|
|
Replying to: tedebear (Jun 10, 2008 11:36 am) I entertain myself by visiting the local auto auction from time to time. They get quite a few neons. And almost invariably, said Neons belong to the smoking section (i.e. they are spewing smoke in a manner inconsistent with a fully functional car). In addition, I have a friend whose neon broke down so many times it's not even funny. It finally underwent terminal failure a month ago... Looking at Consumer reports, apparently the reliability improved a lot in later years, but I would still not showcase a neon as a good example of a fuel-efficient American car. |
|
|
Replying to: mattandi (Jun 10, 2008 8:08 am) I'm not sure I see it as surprise. Maybe more a case of denial. Maybe more a case of bribery. Car makers bribe law makers not to require any advancement in technology (they'd never do it on their own) by keeping the CAFE standards stagnant for 20 years. That way, they keep churning out the same gas-guzzling junk every year, artificially boosting their stock prices, so the execs can cash out rich. When gas prices spike and their business crashes, the new execs blame everyone but themselves, fire tens of thousands of people, then bail out with golden parachutes. Then, when they're finally on the verge of going out of business, Congress bails them out with our money. God Bless America. |
|
|
|
|
Replying to: phinneas519 (Jun 10, 2008 12:26 pm) Google news Asian Fuel Subsidies Ahh scanning the news stories is an article by Forbes saying exactly what I was talking about in regards to China and India. Forbes article
|
|
|
Replying to: phinneas519 (Jun 10, 2008 12:26 pm) It's all a matter of cost/benefit. If the subsidies they provide cost less than the increased revenue growth from the taxes collected on the booming economies then yes, they can and will continue to subsidize fuel prices. And last I checked, China won't let us look at their books to verify this stuff. But their economy is humming along pretty nicely, now isn't it?
|
|
|
|
|
Replying to: british_rover (Jun 10, 2008 1:07 pm) |
|
|
Replying to: bpizzuti (Jun 10, 2008 1:12 pm) Precisely because China won't let us look at the books, we don't really know if the "official" statistics on how its economy is performing are accurate. Several economists have said that China is greatly overstating its economic performance.
|
|
You are here:
Forums
Automotive News & Views Are gas prices fueling your pain?
New? Join Now!
Forum Tools
Search Forums
Browse by Vehicle
Browse by Board
Browse by Topic
Today's Chats
