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AAA was reporting RUG at $3.92 in California today. Just 8 more cents for you lucky devils in California.
I wonder what we win?
When the oil prices drop then we should see the same fast drop tomorrow morning. But an economist pointed out that gas companies are slow to lower prices and fast to raise them on the gasoline they already have in the tank. They have made huge profits with that disconnect.
How do we make the point to get the commodity prices to work both ways?
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Oil prices are $50 higher than a year ago yet gasoline prices are only about 50 cents higher. If an $8 increase in the price of oil results in a 30 cent increase in gasoline prices shouldn't we be paying about $1.90 more than last year?
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I do payroll in my real phoney baloney job and I once got a wage assignment letter from a payday loan store. Reading over the paperwork the APR was just under 600%, they borrowed $500 and was supposed to pay back over $1,400 in just 6 months. Unreal :sick:
FYI our reply to wage assignments is for our lawyer to send them a letter basically saying "No, go pound sand".
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/home_top_left_story/20080502_Economy_great_-_for_- pawnshops.html
It's not complicated at all. Oil goes up, gas goes up. Oil goes down, gas goes...up.
If that was really the case then the price of gas relative to the price of oil would be increasing. For the past year the exact opposite has been true.
Gas prices have dropped from 3.57 to 3.46 in the past 3 days where I live.
As for full electric cars that need to be charged up. What sense does it make to burn coal 75 milke away to generate electricity to heat up power lines to charge your car.
BTW solar panels work very well in areas which are mostly sunny. Imagine the size of the solar panels needed to generate enough electricity to charge a car in Wisconsin, for example. Maybe they could cut down all the trees and fill their lots with all the solar panels they need to charge their all electric cars.
Manufacturing solar panels will consume expensive fossil fuels.
But mortgage rates have dropped, significantly, since this same time last year. So have most other lines of credit with variable rates.
Since the middle of last year, the variable interest rate, on my HELOC (Home Equity Linen of Credit) has dropped from 9.99% to 6.5%. Our other variable rate lines of credit have done the same thing. Not that it's making us use it and spend, but I'm just pointing out that it is reducing the interest rates. My other credit union has lowered interest rates on mortgages, vehicle loans, etc. I don't know if it's stimulating people to spend, but the rates are definitely down.
It depends on the vehicle and if you are buying an aftermarket cap specifically made for your vehicle or a generic "one size fits all" (which you should avoid). I put one on my '03 Avalanche (aftermarket) and I only had the engine light come on once in 2 years (Onstar verified, remotely, that it was the vapor recovery system that triggered the light). I made sure I tightened the cap with a few extra clicks each time, and, as they predicted, the engine light went off within the next day. Haven't had a problem since. I did keep the original cap, though, just in case I need it again.
The easiest solution, if you have the means, is keep your vehicle in your garage. I know it's not possible for everyone, but the benefits are many above and beyond the security. In our cold climate, I never have to let the truck sit and idle for 10 or 15 minutes before I leave in the morning like my neighors do (even when there is no ice to thaw off the windshield, they do it for comfort). Just think how much gas that wastes. They have garages, but have so much junk in them, they can't even use them for their cars. So they idle their vehicles for extended period of time before they leave and then wonder why their gas mileage is so horrible.
But on the flip side, I have a money market/savings account with Emigrant Direct, that had been paying something like 5.5%. It's down to 2.75% now, and will probably drop further. I don't mess around with CD's, but I hear they're not paying nearly as well these days either.
So you win some, you lose some, I guess.
I just checked my credit union's website, and it looks like car loans and mortgages have indeed fallen a bit. Not as drastically as my HELOC, but I guess they've dropped 1-1.5%. I think credit card APRs are still pretty high though, as they seem to change their terms on a whim in a neverending effort to bilk more money out of their cardholders.
I haven't tried to apply for any credit lately, but I have heard that it's a LOT harder to get a mortgage, car loan, etc these days, even with good credit. One problem, I've heard, is that the banks are putting a lot of their money into safer bets like T-bills, so there's just less money available to be doled out for mortgages and car loans and such.
As for the economy in general though, I don't think these rate drops are going to help the people who are already in over their heads. Many of them are too far gone already. If you're behind in your mortgage or car payment, your credit score is being affected and it's a safe bet they're NOT going to let you refinance to a lower rate!
How did a locking gas cap cause gas to leak out and get on the floor?
I washed it off as best I could, but figured the damage had been done. Luckily though, after a few days, that plastic returned to its original shape.
Coal is undeniably the worst source of electricity that you'd want to be recharging your electric vehicle with. However from an energy independence perspective it still makes sense since the US has plenty of coal.
Manufacturing solar panels will consume expensive fossil fuels.
I don't know how much energy it takes to produce a solar panel. Common sense dictates that if a solar panel sells for $500 it must have taken less than $500 worth of energy to produce otherwise the manufacturer would be selling it at a loss. And this solar panel will eventually generate enough electricity to offset its cost. The logical conclusion is that the solar panel will, over its lifetime, generate more energy than was used in its production.
solar panel price drop
I think you need to ask Homer Simpson. He is familiar with nucular fuel.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nucular
For a nuclear car you would just drag the fuel (plutonium) and motor behind you at a safe distance. No need for shielding.
I think they may be overstating this a bit. Gold and Silver hit all time highs and many people are selling while it is high. Though using a pawn shop always seemed the worst place to sell anything. I've been broke and never considered pawning anything of value at 10 cents on the dollar value.
Camry Hybrid sales up 40 percent over last year.
Prius a record April sales of 21,757 - up 53.8% (that is an annual rate of over 240K)
Yaris were up 45.9%.
Tundra sales down 13.2%
And they said people would not react to $4 a gallon gasoline.
Just a few months ago the dingbat economist for Chrysler said Americans would not change until gasoline hit $13 a gallon. Right! Chrysler sales fell 23.5% last month. So not only was the guy wrong, he wasn't even close. Maybe his slide ruler broke. :P
I'm also not looking to open up more credit lines, so a credit crunch pretty much means nothing to me. Any big-ticket items, I'll pay cash.
I agree, some people are so buried, rate drops are like using a defribrillator on somebody who's been dead for three months.
Even if plutonium wasn't radioactive, it is one of the deadliest poisons known as far as how little it takes to kill you.
Dragging your reactor behind you would stop tailgating.
Where would all the spent fuel be stored. ? How would it be transported ?
Do you think Jim Press will fire that guy? I have not seen a big difference in the way people drive. I can believe they are not buying big vehicles. That has happened every time there is a big spike in gas prices.
Ya know, I'd like to believe that is so but I swear you could have a big sign on the back of your car announcing that your car is nuclear powered and that hitting it would destroy life for a ten mile radius and some clown would still be riding your bumper trying to get a better look at the sign.
WOW... Talk about taking advantage of someones disadvantage... Where do I sign up? I will let people barrow at that kind of interest rate all day long, that would be a good business. Its ridiculous, but so are people and it looks proven to work so that might be something to look into for a future investment.
If you went to the link I provided you'd have read how solar panels have actually gotten more expensive over the past few years due to rapidly increasing demand and a shortage of silicon. The article went on to say that manufacturing capacity has finally caught up and we should start seeing some significant price drops in the coming years.
When clouds cover the sun, light levels are reduced. This does not shut down power production, however. If there is enough light to cast a shadow, in spite of the clouds, your solar panels should operate at about half of their full capacity. Thicker cloud cover will reduce operations further. Eventually, with heavy cloud cover, solar panels will produce very little useful power.
when gas is at say, $100 per barrel, speculator A bought a contract of 10 mil barrels. Knowing that the US$ is tanking due to the agressive interest rate cuts and the economy in a sputter, oil is going nowhere but up. Subsequently oil does go up to $105 per barrel in a short time, so speculator A unloads the contract for say at $104.75 and you do the math how much short term profit speculator A made. Since the US$ keeps tanking, many many speculators join in the game and drive up the prices of oil higher than what they're suppose to be.
Now, let's guess who are the speculators. I will start with George S.
I have a V8 with low miles on it but some other cars with little 3.8L engines that I use for longer trips. At the current rate of acquiring mileage, I'll be just breaking in the V8 when hydrogen fuel powers 50% of all cars.
I am lucky to be getting 24 mpg from a smaller $2500 V6 pickup truck I got with 88,000 miles on it. Thats with outside parking in 5 degree weather. A round trip to work was still under $5 with the peak in gas prices. The $15k I saved by not getting a new 29 mpg Fusion will never be even dented by the dollar a day difference in gas costs. I just won't have the smoother quieter ride of a new car, but it is the pay later option than still works. The car for sale on the bulletin board, a '02 Civic with 93k miles for $9900? The full coverage insurance it needs will eat the gas savings. I didn't get full coverage on the truck with 88k miles on it and it cost $4-5k more than the Civic did new.
I thought I had diverted y'all from all the HELOC talk but I guess not (I would have grumbled sooner buy my ISP going dark for 14 hours didn't help any :shades: ). Let's try to relate the posts to gas prices as much as possible please.
Don't get me stated on nuke cars - they are already sending radioactive sand from Kuwait to SW Idaho to store here - I can just imagine what a 10 square mile radioactive car salvage yard in the desert would look like.
Hypermiling has hit Fox News and NPR is offering gas tips. More Gas 'n' dash stories out there too. Nothing earth shattering you didn't already know.
Maybe some salesmen for those spike-barriers the rental car parking lots use, could make some $.
Americans rushed to swap their thirsty trucks and SUVs for fuel-efficient cars in April, making the month a turning point for the industry’s biggest segment shift in memory.
The stampede to cars left in the dust a Detroit Three that simply weren’t ready for its magnitude because of their reliance on truck-based vehicles, while it lifted Japanese automakers whose traditional strength has remained in small cars.
As U.S. consumers definitively reacted to $3.50-a-gallon gasoline, passenger cars outsold truck-based vehicles for the first time in at least 20 years. The move comprised a shift of six percentage points for the industry compared with last April, to 54 percent car sales.
Did the Big 3 wake up late to the party or what?
Regards,
OW
Why store it? it's one of the densest materials on the planet. Use it for shielding.
I don't know where you read this but it is entirely WRONG. Chrysler overall sales actually increased last month from the same period last year. GM, Ford, and even Toyota sales were down from a year ago.
Looks like the dingbat economist wasn't so wrong after all.
April Auto Sales
Because it is nasty stuff and it makes a big boom. :shades:
What I am getting is that the big 3 got hammered, Toyota gained in cars but lost in trucks and Honda had a gain.
No, but there is always hope.
"I have not seen a big difference in the way people drive."
About the same here in town. On the interstate trucks were 65 mph or less. Cars were sticking to 75 mph or less. None were doing 80+.
" I can believe they are not buying big vehicles. That has happened every time there is a big spike in gas prices."
Funny how that works. Should gas back down to $2.50 or so, we can probably expect people to drift back toward big iron..
http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/may2008/bw2008051_578734.htm
"Chrysler LLC said it sold 147,751 units, down 23 percent from 193,104 a year ago."
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080501/BIZ/805010458/1148/AU- TO01
The delawareonline link talks about "DaimlerChrysler's overall sales increased to 213,999 from 211,365, due to an increase at its Chrysler Group." Which does not jive with the other news reports. Clear as mud. :confuse:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysler
That might have something to do with the discrepancy. The Friday, May 2, 2008 date at the top of the article is the only date I noticed.
Why don't we have these? Probably because we deem it 1) unsafe? 2) not environmentally pure enough? and 3) people still want a 5,000 lb truck with all sorts of room, comfort and power.
http://www.made-in-china.com/showroom/sgmwexport/product-detailefYmEFnMTJTb/Chin- a-Wuling-Single-Cab-Pick-Up-Truck-797cc-Engine-.html
If we really want to reduce fuel usage, other countries already are. You just need to give up somethings.
I didn't mean that there were locks on the lid itself; rather that there is a lever on the inside that opens the fuel door remotely. My '87 Corolla FX has it, my 2002 Civic has it, and I had a 2003 CR-V that had it.
Yup, here is what you give up with that vehicle:
Payload is 1100 lbs - including the two passengers.
No towing capability.
.79 liter engine
The truck bed is 7 ft X 4.4 ft X 30 inches, but considering the max weight I don't suppose you could carry any more than that anyway.
Max speed is 63 MPH - don't try and take this one on the freeway to get to a job site!
Don't get into an accident with this thing - there is a reason that Euro emissions are listed, but Euro crash ratings are not listed.
For the business purposes of a pickup (NOT transportation, but small business that needs the load / towing capabilities), it would not suffice in most instances.