This is off topic for this forum but I believe it is non the less important to all automobile owners. Where does your gas come from

They want to find out just how much we are willing to pay.

Sorry, the info on that site is totally bogus. It's an OLD hoax email chain letter from 2002.
http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl-boycott-oil.htm

http://www.snopes.com/politics/gasoline/saudigas.asp

This post has been edited by NovaResource: May 7 2008, 11:43 AM

Well crap! I didn't know about the chain letter. Good catch NovaResource. I apologize for the post. :blush:

I know it is mostly about supply and demand but I'm still p.oed and I still think they want to find out just how much we are willing to pay for a gallon of gas.

This post has been edited by campoly: May 7 2008, 12:21 PM

I have to agree with NovaSupply. As it turns out, only about 8% of oil we use comes from the Middle East.

One of the best things we could do for ourselves as Americans is to contact our Congressmen and Senators and insist that they vote to allow more drilling in Alaska and also in the new field in South Dakota (said to have hundreds of years of oil available). We should tell our environmentalist friends that modern drilling methods are very earth-friendly (especially compared to decades ago) and oil will always be necessary for our economy.

One of the downsides to the increased ethanol content of our gasoline is that it actually contains less total energy for combustion per gallon than 100% gasoline (with the normal detergent additives). That is one reason our older car began to get reduced mileage than in previous years. We kept the car well maintained and always drove conservatively, but our mileage went down by about 8.3% when the ethanol amount in gasoline was increased. That is also one reason the new EPA mileage figures were revised along with greater consideration of how most people drive.

Our oil companies are not the only problem. Oil commodity traders run up the price of oil per barrel every time there is a problem in the Mid-East or Africa due to political turmoil. Remember that most of us actually have a stake in our oil companies through our retirement annuity programs. Nearly all of us actually are getting some monetary benefit from the investments in oil companies made through those programs. Most people do not realize this. Don't believe all the hype about the "Evil Oil Corporations" that you hear in the news media, movies and in some Internet blogs. Be skeptical!

In the meantime, keep your tires properly inflated, drive conservatively whenever possible. Try to reduce the number of trips you make (especially shopping trips) by combining several errands into one trip.

Enjoy your Azera! :)

Joe

The majority for the rise in cost of crude is because of the falling of our dollar... and the reason for that is way beyond the scope of this forum and VERY political :excl: I remember when the Euro was over 3 per $1, now it's about .6.

Having said that, I have to asked if the price of crude is giving us pain, why has it not given Exxon-Mobil some pain and why the record profits? Ya think that secret closed door "Energy Policy" meeting Cheney had with the oil company CEOs had something to do with it? Or maybe the Presidents father is in the oil business. :alien: But that's another political football.

In the past, from the perspective of the oil companies how would you stand knowing Americans were paying $2-3 a gallon for bottled water... you know water... that stuff that falls out of the sky for FREE and they're only paying $1.75 for gasoline? What would you do as a CEO?

As for ethanol, it cost more from an energy perspective to produce a gallon of it than to just burn a gallon of gas. Ask any moonshiner what you need to do to make alcohol from corn... does the word still come to mind. :auto: Other countries that use ethanol make it mostly from sugar... and it's much easier and cheaper to make.

And why in Gods name would we take our food and make fuel to run our cars with it... DUH? All we did was not only increase the price of our gas, but also raised the price of anything that comes from corn. :puzzled:

There are many reasons some ligit some not for the price of gas but IMHO drilling more holes in pristine places that will never be the same so we can drive our 11MPG SUVs is not the answer. :(


Remember our OIL is located in: Alaska, California, Coastal Florida, Coastal Louisiana, Kansas, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Texas.

Our DIPSTICKS are located in Washington , DC !

This post has been edited by raw6464: May 7 2008, 08:39 PM

Somehow, I do not feel consoled??? :mellow:

The Civic is looking better & better.

Regular just hit 3.79 here today.

Bwaaa ha ha! Good one m8. Nahhhh... what are you saying? It's our divine right as Americans to have SUVs. I'm pretty sure it's even in the Bible... somewhere in the back... "Hummers for everybody!"

See, THESE people get it:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080505/ts_al...overtyenergyoil


:innocent:

andy... more likely it may soon be Vespas for everybody :460:

This post has been edited by raw6464: May 7 2008, 08:38 PM

Discussing the price of gasoline and the reasons for it, is almost like discussing Religion. Take 10 people discussing these subjects and you will get 11 different opinions. This also applies to Jewish philosophers, but that is a story for another time. :)


There probably isn't much the average consumer can do about the price of fuel. Europe has been dealing with this problem since the late 50s. I was over there at that time and felt it personally. it was not much fun.

We have only recently begun feeling the pinch because of a number of reasons, none of which have to do with Cheney, Bush, Clinton or Exxon, necessarily. These people and organizations are only doing what the rest of us would do in the same situation. Make Money Fool!! And most of us are happy to oblige. Afterall, we really don't want to have to tighten our belts, do we?

IMHO, it all has to do with our gluttony for fuel. Very few of us are willing to do the things it takes to really, and I mean REALLY conserve. It is very hard to do. Oh, I know that once in a while it isn't a problem, but what about the little trips we take because we really want something when it could have waited for a few days when other chores were planned anyway? I am guilty of this all too often myself.

Joe, as you have said to me, and I certainly concur, in order to conserve fuel, increase the PSI in our tires. I have been doing this for years. I typically run about 4 PSI over recommended.

I also agree with you regarding the elimination of unnecessary trips. You and I can really appreciate this since we live in a rural area. It is not easy to do this and it sometimes takes a lot of will power.

And last but not least (As a Matter of Fact, Probably the Most Important Reason for our High Oil Prices, as you have already said), OIL COMMODITY TRADERS!!! The wealth of the traders control how the rest of us live. The wealthy control the poor and always have . Does " Nothing New Under The Sun" ring a bell?

All of the above statements are striclty the opinons of the author and should not be held against him in ths forum. Does this take care of the caviat?

By the way, not only do I inflate my tires 4 psi over recommended, but I also have started driving 75 mph on the interstate instead of my usual 80 mph and no longer do jack rabbit starts when I am in the city. I also start slowing down long before the red light or stop sign so as to not brake hard at the last minute. The drivers behind me don't appreciate this very much, but that is a personal problem, on their part. :amen:

As Exxon, or should I say, Enco, used to say, "Happy Motoring", and don't forget to "put a tiger in your tank". :grin:

David <><


This post has been edited by david-paul-1: May 8 2008, 02:25 PM

David;

I noticed that you are running 4 lbs. over the 30 lbs. the factory sticker states on the Azera. How long have you been doing this? Have you noticed any change in wear patterns of your tires (especially the front tires)? :unsure:

We started running 32 lbs. recently. I discovered no deterioration of ride quality and actually improved the cornering stability. I know that at some pressure the tires would begin to wear more in the middle of the tread. I just don't know at what pressure that problem would develop.

We made a recent trip to/from Plano today and I reset the average fuel economy reading. I drove 55 down US 75 to the location and then back up the Dallas N. Tollway to US 380 then back up Hwy 289 to Gunter near where we live. Going down US 75 I saw mpg figures from 31 to 33.8. On the way back after some short trip driving the average mpg. dropped to 29.2 which is still not bad. :clap:

Joe

Joe,

After 16,000 miles, my Azera tires are wearing evenly. All four of them. I also run 4 psi over on my 07 Santa Fe. Like you, I have found that both of my vehicles do not have degraded ride comfort and both of them handle much better.

I rotate tires every 6,000 or so miles. That probably helps with all four wearing the same.

Even my Cobra was run with 4 psi over. Of course, with 420 HP and the fact that I really enjoyed hearing the supercharger sing, the tiire slip was worse with the harder tires, not to mention the gas mileage. :whistling:

Fortunately, loss of traction is not necessarily a problem with the Hyundais when the tires are over inflated a bit.

Your gas mileage sounds great. Susan and I had to run errands in Tucson today so did a lot of highway and city driving. We live approximately 50 miles south of Tucson so quite a few city and highway miles were recorded.

I decided to try an experiment today before we left. Slow starts and long coasts, in anticipation of red lights and 70 mph on the Interstate. As a result, I got 28.1 mpg with the mixed driving. Of course, I have a 3.3 engine but the AC was running at all times.

My wife drove some of the time in Tucson and she tends to be heavier footed and faster stopping than I am. That may have cost us a mile or to in the total MPG.

We have to take into consideration the fact that she is just a kid (53 years old) :P while I am a mature adult at 66 years of age. :innocent:

David <><

This post has been edited by david-paul-1: May 9 2008, 12:50 AM

According to my database the average American work commute is 44 miles round trip. At an average work commute mpg for an Azera thats 2.5 gallons per day. At $4 per the daily cost per commuter is $10. That's $230 per month. Add a second commuter or soccer mom and the cost doubles to $460 per month for weekday duties and add at least 100 miles together for the weekend or 433 miles for a month or 25 more gallons or another $100. Thats a total of $560. Per month.

Few of the people who worked in my company could afford a budget item such as that as it equals both typical car payments. And that's for an Azera not a Oldsmobile. The problem is upon us and it ain't going away. As Pogo said "we have met the enemy and he is us"

The problem now is only a minority of driver's pay cash at the pump so they won't see the cost for a month! Wait'll June gets here to really hear the reaction to near $4 a gal gasoline. Americans are now lined up to pay the cost of 14 mpg SUV's, trucks, and minivans. A lot of the reason the USD is devaluing is we are buying far more than we sell internationally. Supply & Demand principles.

Thanks to India and mostly China building their car fleets at a rate nearly twice our annual sales their increasingly bidding on available crude no matter where it comes from (if crude goes for $120/barrel in the mideast surely you don't think Texas crude is less valuable) means gasoline prices aren't going to decrease but steadily increase with spikes and dips. The proposed "holidaying' are mickey mouse efforts and you notice state taxes, usually nearly twice federal taxes, aren't even on the table.You may suffer but not government. Remember our offshore purchasing set China up at the price of many American jobs. (trading $15/hr jobs for more $10/hr jobs is not an improvement).

Now here's the kicker: considering how little Muslims think of women, what do you think will happen if Hilliary is our figurehead against OPEC Muslims?
Gets you squirming, doesn't it. Maybe that's why ol' Rush wants Hilliary to be the Democratic candidate. He knows Republicans are likely to win in that contest. Maybe our closet Muslim is a wiser choice. Maybe not.
Let the fur fly.

This post has been edited by mahout: May 9 2008, 12:46 PM