The Answer to high Gas Prices.....

by ThiChi 159 Replies latest social current

• 

  Simon

  There is a certain irony in an American telling someone that they shouldn't claim that their country is better

  After all, "America is the greatest country" seems to be some sort of mantra to many.

  The fact is I was responding to an attack that someone else made first so get your facts right.
• 

  dubla

  simon-

  After all, "America is the greatest country" seems to be some sort of mantra to many.

  youve never heard me say that, nice try.

  The fact is I was responding to an attack that someone else made first so get your facts right.

  ive already acknowleded that...you really do read and respond selectively. again you use the two wrongs make a right defense.....like i said before, way to take the high road.

  aa
• 

  Simon

  Just found this ... don't you feel a bit silly complaining about "$2 a gallon" ?!

  
• 

  ThiChi

  ""Keep Gas prices high - force (market forces - use extra Federal Tax if necessary) "" Sounds like Kerry's mantra......Please no more taxes....

  Simon:

  your chart reaffirms my belief why I am glad we are not like Europe. That is what has made the US a success in the world. I hope it continues.....(Oh, its 2.35 a gallon not 2.00......)

  Bring it down, so we can drive around.......hehe
• 

  Crazy151drinker

  Just found this ... don't you feel a bit silly complaining about "$2 a gallon" ?!

  Simon,

  How far do you drive? How often do you drive?

  We dont have subways, our bus system SUCKS and we are spread all over the place.

  It takes me 4 hours to get to LA. In 4 hours I could drive around England 6 times

  Uk Total Area 244,820 sq km
  US Total Area 9,629,091 sq km

  Only a 9.3+ Million sq Km Diference no biggie......

  To be fair though I'll just use California since I live here.....

  California 410,000 km²
• 

  Dan-O

  don't you feel a bit silly complaining about "$2 a gallon"

  No, not in the least ... even now that regular unleaded has dropped to $1.97 a gallon. The prices were 30% lower here a year ago. And if I want to jump in the Wayback Machine, gasoline was $.93 per gallon when I moved to this city less than 10 years ago.

  I'm hoping that this week's retreat from peak oil prices on the commodity markets is the beginning of a long-term trend.
• 

  donkey

  Simon,

  Thanks for the chart - it is very interesting. I looked at it and though to myself:

  Too bad the countries of Europe are so mismanaged else they would realize they have been suckered by their governments and been overpaying for gas for eons. it also says alot for the citizens who just accept it like sheep being led to the slaughter.

  Donkey
• 

  Daga

  WASHINGTON, May 5 /PRNewswire/ -- If SUVs were students and their owners were parents, "Mom and Dad" would be very pleased with today's report card from the federal government on SUV crashworthiness.

  Crash test results from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) show high "grades" for 2004 SUVs in side and frontal crashes for both drivers and passengers.

  Today's high safety scores for frontal and side crashes come on the heels of very safe rollover scores released earlier this year.

  In side-impact crashes, perfect scores were achieved: Five out of five points were earned for both side-impact and side-impact rear passengers for all 11 SUVs for which test results were released. Regarding frontal crashes, the 12 SUVs for which results were released earned an overall high C, with four SUVs earning "As," and two earning "Bs" and the rest earning "Cs." A "straight B" cumulative side and frontal "grade" was earned by the 2004 SUVs tested by NHTSA, which range in size from a Dodge Durango to a Toyota RAV-4.

  With regard to rollovers, in February, NHTSA reported that 9 SUVs or extended-cab pickups out of 22 tested earned 4 out of 5 stars in the agency's new rollover resistance test. Another 9 SUVs/extended cab pickups earned 3 stars.

  NHTSA test results are available at http://www.safercar.gov/.
• 

  Daga

  Occupant Safety

  Myth: SUVs are less safe for their occupants than passenger cars mainly because of their higher rollover rate. WRONG!

  Facts:

  • SUVs do have a higher center of gravity than passenger cars and therefore can roll over more easily. However, rollover crashes are relatively rare when compared to all other types of crashes ? less than 3% of crashes.
  • SUVs are twice as protective of their occupants compared with the average passenger car in frontal, rear and side-impact crashes, which make up 97% of all crashes.
  • More people die in car rollovers than SUV rollovers. Historically, less than 25% of rollover deaths are in SUVs.
  • Can all vehicle occupants improve their odds even further? Absolutely. Last year 72% of people killed in fatal rollover crashes, in various vehicle models, were not using their safety belts. The government estimates that 75% of those non-belt users would be alive today had they simply buckled up.
  • Every 2% increase in safety belt use would save 600 lives a year in the U.S.

  Road Safety

  Myth: SUVs, because of their greater size and weight, cause more harm to the occupants of the passenger cars they strike in a collision.

  Fact:

  • The laws of physics clearly show that larger, heavier vehicles provide better crash protection to their occupants. At the same time, bigger vehicles do more damage when they collide with smaller vehicles. However, only about 5% of occupant deaths in small cars occur in crashes with SUVs, while 61% of small car fatalities occur in single-vehicle crashes (against trees, poles, bridge abutments, etc.) or crashes with other cars. There is no SUV ?safety crisis.?

  Fuel Economy

  Myth: SUVs are gas-guzzlers and are contributing to our reliance on oil from the Mid-East. Absurd!

  Facts:

  • Since the mid-1970s, the fuel economy of SUVs and light trucks has improved by nearly 60%.
  • In fact, today?s SUVs are 50% more efficient than cars were a generation ago.
  • When the term ?gas-guzzler? was coined, it referred to cars that got about 10 miles per gallon or less. By comparison, today?s SUVs are relatively fuel efficient for the jobs they perform.
  • We will continue to import oil from the Middle East as long as it continues to be cheaper than other sources.

  Greater Cargo Space

  Myth: Most people don?t really need big SUVs.

  Facts:

  • Americans buy vehicles that meet their maximum needs. Most can?t afford to buy purpose-specific vehicles.
  • SUV owners who may commute alone during the workweek may be hauling a soccer team, boat, home improvement materials or supplies for a local charity during the weekend.
  • About half of the respondents in a scientific R.L. Polk poll use their SUV regularly to haul bulky items that just won?t fit into cars.
  • Today, less than 6% of passenger cars can tow more than 2,100 pounds, so Americans rely on SUVs and other light trucks to tow almost 24 million boats, ATVs, horse trailers, RVs, snowmobiles and off-road motorcycles.

  Emissions

  Myth: SUVs pollute more than cars.

  Facts:

  • Many SUVs today already meet the same stringent federal tailpipe emissions standards as cars. Beginning in the 2004 model year, those same strict standards are being phased in over the next few years to apply to the remainder of the largest SUVs (up to 8,500 pounds). So regulations have already dealt with this.
  • The emissions from a new midsize SUV are cleaner than those of the average passenger car built just three years ago.
  • A 2004 Ford Explorer driven from Washington, DC to Los Angeles and back pollutes less than a 1968 Ford Fairlane driven one way from Washington, DC to Baltimore.

  Myth: SUVs emit more global warming pollution than passenger cars.

  Facts:

  • When people make this claim they are referring to carbon dioxide CO2 (not deadly carbon monoxide). Contrary to what environmental lobbyists have labeled CO2, it is not a pollutant according to the EPA. Plants breathe CO2 and ?exhale? oxygen for us humans and other living creatures. Some just believe the planet is getting too much of it from us humans. So it?s important to view this argument in its proper context ? it?s not a clean air, smog issue.
  • It is true that the amount of CO2 a vehicle emits is directly related to the amount of fuel used. But those concerned about global warming should be comforted to know that ALL the cars and light trucks in the U.S. make up only about 2% of all man-made greenhouse gasses worldwide. So, even if everyone switched from SUVs to cars, the potential effect on global climate change would be virtually nonexistent.
• 

  Daga

  "A USA Today analysis of previously unpublished fatality statistics discovers that 46,000 people have died because of a 1970s-era push for greater fuel efficiency that has led to smaller cars."

  About all that liberal ranting about those dangerous SUVs, USA Today notes:

  Myth: Small cars have a high death rate because they get hit by those big sport-utility vehicles all over the roads.

  Fact: In 1997, according to the latest-available government data, 56% of small-car fatalities involved only small cars: 46% from single-car crashes, 10% from small cars running into each other. Just 1% of small-car deaths in 1997 involved collisions with midsize and large SUVs -- 136 out of 12,144 total small-car deaths that year." [Statistically, given the number of SUVs on the road, one might have expected them to be involved in more accidents

  Why I Drive An SUV

  1. It IS nice to have enough room to carry the luggage, presents, kids and snow gear on a long trip.

  2. It IS nice to expect that you can handle the snow levels on the mountain passes (of which there are three or four, depending on the route you choose to attempt).

  3. It IS nice to have the room for people to travel comfortably over very long periods, especially for the kids.

  4. It IS nice to be able to offer to buy my parents' church's piano to help them out, and pull a trailer back through the snow and on the open highway at speeds greater than 45mph.

  5. It IS nice to be able to take my parents four-wheeling in the desert through some open country they always have wanted to see, even if the side panels did get scratched by the ocotillo plants.

  6. It IS worth the extra cost of gasoline for these features, especially in that over the 2,500 miles, at an average cost of $1.75/gallon and an average mpg of 17, the cost was $257. Compared to a little car with none of the benefits but twice the mpg, the $124 was worth every penny.

  7. The one option Ford needs to add is a front-end-car-flipper, which would be useful on the mountain passes to move the little cars that get stuck halfway up because of their drivers' misbegotten belief that if they just spin the wheels fast enough, they can get their car up and over the pass. I'm sure they got good rpm/gallon, but their mpg must have been even lower than my truck. I suspect that the fact that they drove an economical car was somehow related to their not owning chains