Are you annoyed with the high gas prices?

jimmie jam said:
no more pissed than i was in 1975 when gas doubled to .59 a gallon. but you could also buy a nice new car for $4,000+-. if you live long enough you will see the average car cost $50,000+ and a gallon of fuel $10+. it's called reality.:cry:
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I agree... cost is a relative thing that escapes most people who don't look at the bigger picture. Welcome to the 21st century...
 
kpounds said:
According to this Baptist minister's book who had access to the high-ups at Oil Co's in Alaska, the whole oil crisis and high prices are a complete crock! He says that as the USA stands NOW...we can achieve energy independence for ourselves within 5 years. Interestingly, he does not blame the Oil Co's for the situation we're in. Its a 20 chapter book and available free to read online.



The Energy Non-Crisis by Lindsey Williams



First paragraph of chapter 1:

The Great Oil Deception



There is no true energy crisis. There never has been an energy crisis . . . except as it has been produced by the Federal government for the purpose of controlling the American people. That's a rather dramatic statement to make, isn't it? But you see, at one time I too thought there was an energy crisis. After all, that was what I had been told by the news media and by the Federal government. I thought we were running out of crude oil and natural gas. Then I heard, I saw, and I experienced what I am about to write. I soon came to realize that there is no energy crisis. There is no need for America to go cold or for gas to be rationed. We shall verify these statements as we provide the facts for you. You might be surprised to find that we will also show why the price of gas will remain high, and in fact will go higher than it is now.
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The Federal gov? No way. It is not as if Bush and Chenney have any investments in the oil industry. :bat
 
By mid summer folks will remember how to ride bikes and walk again. Welcome back to the 30's, it's going to be a rude awaking for a lot of folks.

Funny when I was a teenager and saw 60+yr old folks walking to the nearest convenient store with the grandchildren thinking man there nuts it's too hot. I can see myself on the same path extremely humbled.
 
I am at the point where I am even considering selling my 1996 Honda VFR 750 for a smaller bike to get an extra 5-10mpg. Kawasaki just revamped their baby Ninja, the 250R and it not only has improved styling and performance over past models, it will average 50MPG and a new one can be had for $3500 which I know I can easily get for my 1996 VFR 750.



The Mustang is killing me on my daily commute, I average 20MPG and that works out to $15 per day for me. The VFR has 4 carbs and keeping them synched is a pia and it has been averaging 40MPG. As much as I love my VFR, the little Ninja is looking really attractive at this point for my daily commute.



2008 Kawasaki Ninja 250R Review



2008 Kawasaki Ninja 250R - First Ride - MotorcycleUSA.com



2008_Kawasaki_250R_43.jpg
 
rjstaaf said:
The Mustang is killing me on my daily commute, I average 20MPG and that works out to $15 per day for me. The VFR has 4 carbs and keeping them synched is a pia and it has been averaging 40MPG. As much as I love my VFR, the little Ninja is looking really attractive at this point for my daily commute.





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Never sell a VFR :aww: you will regret it. :cry:
 
Gears said:
Never sell a VFR :aww: you will regret it. :cry:
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Right now what I really need is an efficient bike for commuting. My commute is an hour each way and like I said in my previous post it is costing me $15 a day. I have been thinking about selling the VFR for a while now.



One of the problems I am having is finding parts. The bike is 12 years old and Honda is starting to discontinue a lot of the parts needed to keep up the maintenance. One example I ran into recently is radiator hoses, they do not make them anymore. I managed to find some on eBay but I am hearing from others that there are other parts that will not be available and the list is growing.



This is my second 4th Gen VFR and as much as I love the bike I just cannot afford to be sentimental about it anymore. I need every mpg I can get at this point. Everything about the 250R will be cheaper than the VFR from maintenance to insurance.



I am getting to the point in my life where I want a more upright, comfortable riding position anyway. My son is starting to show some interest in riding with me and I am thinking that one of these days I will probably get a Honda ST1300 for more comfy 2 up riding.



ST1300.jpg
 
Based on the number of views and responses this is definitely a hot topic. I personally am not angry, however, it is definitely increasing my costs of doing business. I use the mileage deduction and it is not necessarily adjusted as soon as the price of gas spikes. The high gas prices are partly our own faults. What I mean is the United States love for big SUV's, trucks, and high performance sports cars. We as a country, consume more oil than any other country by far. Combine this with China and India's surging demand, and a dwindling supply, and you have rising prices. It is like anything else though, when the price rises, smart people economize. That means buying more fuel efficient cars, and driving less. It is funny to me how this only happens when the price gets to a certain point. It should happen all the time. We have it very good here in the U.S because of all the subsidies our government gives the oil companies. Europe's prices are nearly twice that of ours, and they have for years driven fuel efficient cars and used scooters and bikes when possible.
 
paradigm said:
i can understand the complaints when it comes from businesses, etc that take a considerable hit due to rising gas prices. what i personally have no sympathy for are the people that complain about the costs when they chose to purchase huge SUVs and trucks that use them for nothing more than standard transportation. now, i'm not a tree hugging environmentalist...just a realist. my Z gets pretty bad MPG in town...as in 18-20 (28-30 on the highway), but i knew that going into it...and i also don't complain about it.



when i hear soccermoms or guys at work complain about their F-250 or Denali fuel costs, i just laugh and shake my head. seriously...how wasteful and ridiculous can they be when they NEVER haul anything in them more than groceries? they deserve to pay up for that excess. "oh, i deserve to drive it"...."i'm entitled to it". yes, you are "entitled"...sure...but you're going to start paying a LOT more now.



again, this does not apply to the people that actually NEED a large vehicle...just the ones that got them for show. time to start paying up.



/rant
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Exactly! Me and my wife have made life choices that somewhat insulate us from the rising gas prices, on a personal level.

-I bust my butt so my wife can stay at home with my 3 kids, no commuting for her.

-we made sure we had no debt before the kids came (except mortgage).

-we bought a house near our schools, 1 mile round trip.

-I live near my job, by choice. 17 miles round trip.

-I bought a $5k Miata for work and running errands.

-I keep my vehicles tuned up and well maintained.

-paid cash for our used Japanese vehicles, not easy, but important to us.

-"hypermiling" when possible.



So, due to a few decisions we've made in our lives, the cost of gas really doesn't matter to us that much, in our personal finances. Between the two of us, we drive maybe an average of 12-15 miles a day. Obviously, the rising cost of gas effects us in many other areas, just like it does everyone else.



I live in Alabama, one of the poorest states in America, and it drives me nuts to hear co-workers complain about how much it costs to drive their Ford Expedition 70 miles ONE WAY to work. All the while living in a trailer, while their good-ole boy husbands work down at the mill thats 2 minutes from the house making his wife drive off to downtown Birmingham for a night shift because he's too lazy to go to school, get a good job and take care of his family.



At the end of 6 years, they will have spent TENS OF THOUSANDS of dollars keeping that truck on the road, between initial cost, interest, gas, depreciation, tires, oil and general maintainence, hell, they really couldn't afford that vehicle if the gas was free!



Wow, sorry that turned into a mini-rant.



I just pisses me off to hear about these people around here (Alabama) complaining about gas prices when their entire financial picture is crap, like, if it weren't for gas being $3.75 a gallon they'd be millionaires! right.
 
It's going to be very bad in the summer months when gas might be around 5 bucks for reg. gallon of gas and food and everything else goes up too. This yr no vacation here. Wife just moved home to work and i'll be saving around 200.00 per month on gas.
 
zoomzoom mazda5 said:
It's going to be very bad in the summer months when gas might be around 5 bucks for reg. gallon of gas and food and everything else goes up too.
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sad but true... :(
 
The technology is here. Check out this Mini Cooper, why not just upsize everything and apply it to commercial vehicles? They need to apply this same concept to commercial vehicles. It obviously can be done. Who here wouldnt mind atleast 30-40 mpg out of their vans?



Electric Mini: 0-60 in 4 Seconds: It Has Motors In Its Wheels : TreeHugger



As far as making it affordable, they need to build a couple test mules. Put up the facts and figures, start a pre-order list, buy the van shells from one of the big 3 (ford, chevy, dodge, or whoever really) who want to be a part of this revolution in the commercial industry, and call it a day. I see 10k units being sold easy, especially with all of the gov't tax breaks, grant programs, and special loan programs for hybrid vehicles.



Bring down the cost of transporting goods and services and the price of everything will fall. The more it costs to move things around, the more it will cost on the shelves. Expenses are always passed on to the consumer in some shape or form.
 
zoomzoom mazda5 said:
It's going to be very bad in the summer months when gas might be around 5 bucks for reg. gallon of gas and food and everything else goes up too. This yr no vacation here. Wife just moved home to work and i'll be saving around 200.00 per month on gas.
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Is it really going to hit around $5 this summer? Damn! I need to start watching the news, and stop detailing :chuckle:
 
I just thought about it... if we get hit with another Hurricane here in FL, were are going down hill!



I remember there was shortage of premium gas in 2005 when Katrina hit, and I had to settle for regular.
 
Its not the cost of gas people should be worried about, in correlation its the cost of goods (consumables like food etc) that are going to keep going up. Grocery bills will kill middle class.
 
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