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The EPA had a bunch of dead gas stations around here listed as superfund sites because of leaky tanks. They also offered all sorts of deals to someone who would clean one up. This guy started with one station. They helped him buy it, helped finance cleaning up the site and rebuilding. He put in new tanks and pumps, repaved, built the requisite little convenience store and at first manned the pumps himself. Once that turned into a profitable venture all he had to do was keep repeating the procedure over and over again which is exactly what he did.
His name was all over the county and beyond. At one point he must have sold out because all the stations suddenly got bought up by different folks. He'd made his bundle so he was happy. The one nearest here was bought up by a Mexican couple who have lived here over 30 years. The convenience store has a tiny but quite good Mexican restaurant i it.
I'm in the Hudson valley. You guys in the southern Hudson valley must be too close to that evil big city at the end of the river. They don't trust you.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
Here in NYS, the pumps hustle themselves. No one pays cash because everyone wants cash customers to prepay. So everyone just swipes or uses Speedpass or something. That means the gas part of the business runs without employees for the most part. You only need the register jockey for the kwik-e-mart portion of the business. Really, I consider that to be a separate business unit, and when you allocate things, all of the labor costs really belong there, since that's where they're used. Hence, no labor is needed on the gas sale side, which means you keep more of the profit. Makes a bit more sense that way. You make 30% on the kwik-e-mart sales, which is a higher gross percentage, but it gets eaten into more by expenses.
The public should be outraged at how politics in the US is managed by big business.
to add insult to injury we now have a .51 cent subsidy for every gallon of ethonal produced in the US and all that's doing for us is driving up the cost of food.
The idea by McCain and then Hillary to have a 6 month gas tax holiday is one of the stupidist ideas I've heard come out of Washington in a long time.
I have to disagree with you. Many times people at a gas pump need some assistance, malfunctioning pumps and malfunctioning drivers at times need assistance. You also have to make sure pumps get reset, receipt paper is in the pump, cleaning solution is in those bucket things for people to clean their windows, make sure that the pumping area is cleaned and maintained. There is also paperwork and readings that need to be done after every shift and every day. A lot of the labor costs have to be applied to the pumps.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
What about Toyota?
Or a bunch of other companies that have huge profits?
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
It just keeps getting worse. They are now talking about increasing the Food Stamp program to make up for the subsidy on ethanol. The last Energy bill which is a total disaster mandates increasing ethanol by 4 times the 2005 energy bill. That raises the demand and price of Corn. Which in turn puts pressure on farmers to grow corn rather than Wheat, soybeans etc. In her speeches imploring the Americans to vote for change in 2006 Ms Pelosi said she would LOWER the price of gas if the Democrats had control of Congress. It was at about $2.60 per gallon. I think she lied.
I agree that the oil companies have too much control over the government. Back in the 1990s when the BP was buying ARCO and EXXON bought Mobil their was a lot of resistance to those mergers. We can see they have done nothing to make big oil more efficient and less expensive as their proposals said.
Now they want to give us 18 cents off each gallon of gas. You know the oil companies would suck that up in a minute.
If Congress would remove the 51 cent subsidy off each gallon of ethanol and remove the 53 cent tariff off of Brazilian ethanol we would have less expensive gas and food prices would return to the old levels. As you have said that would not fly with the lobbyist that have paid BIG bucks to their people in Congress to get this corporate welfare put in place.
Welcome to the Forum:
Do you get upset at paying $20 or more per gallon of bottled water at the store? Most of that is sold by Pepsi and Coke. They posted profits twice what Exxon made. That to me is a bigger rip-off. Or how much do you think Microsoft Windows or Office is worth. Microsoft controls 95% or the Worlds operating systems. They posted net profits 4 times what Exxon made. If my mutual funds do not produce as well as Exxon I drop them from my portfolio.
How true, but like buying gasoline, we do have alternatives. All six computers in our house use the free OpenOffice suite instead of MS Office. My most recent PC purchase was a Linux PC ($200). Free is where its at. :shades:
On the gasoline side, we are in agreement that Exxon's profits are not out of line.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/02/business/02auto.html?_r=3&ref=todayspaper&oref- =slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
The Times article is just one of many out there that show people are adjusting to the higher price of gasoline.
"“It’s easily the most dramatic segment shift I have witnessed in the market in my 31 years here,” said George Pipas, chief sales analyst for the Ford Motor Company."
Supply and demand does work. Down the road I can see a lot of people driving SmartForTwo cars in town. Saw my first one here just a few days ago. I could see myself zipping in and out of traffic in one.
BP oil trading comes under scrutiny (Anchorage Daily News)
Makes you wonder what other kind of market manipulation is going on.
The best type of nuclear plant is the Candu nuclear reactor, proven track record to be the safest in the world, uses U 235, made in Canada
BTW, nuclear plants are better and more efficient for the environment than coal fired plants with scrubbers, and will be more of a consideration for the future once we realize oil is not where it is at, that other energy sources will be a necessity. ie. here come the solar satellites, solar panels and wind generators, and maybe some super hydroelectric dams like that found in China.
Did I hear Cold Fusion anyone ??
I'll buy a couple of Mazda5s: great fuel economy, perfect for family transport, ample interior space, excellent handling, have manual transmission, drive better than a sedan, have an impressive tricycle turning ratio, fit on any parking space and actually look decent for a family hauler (even with the dreaded, yet extremely useful sliding doors).
I saw my first one recently also. I don't know if I would want a car that small until some of the big beast SUV's die of old age. I'd hate to get clobbered because some soccer mom was talking on the phone and didn't see me.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
I shave the exterior handles on mine to help the slipstream and save a little on gas.
Ok, joking again, but key fob triggered actuator door openers could get more common. I think I feel a link coming on (but give me a couple of days).
The MAZDA5 with a manual has been on my "tire kick" list for a while now.
BP Solar through Home Depot, see solar estimator and packages at: http://www.southwestpv.com/home_solutions/medium_home_solutions.asp
They have a 2KW/h system for $16000 but according to their calculator I would only save $8 a month in electricity, and $27 in tax, wohoo !!
Does not seem like much. Hopefully the manufacturers will bring down their prices as a need for these systems becomes more important.
Not all states offer incentives to buy this type of system, here in Indiana we get a $2000 federal rebate that is is it !
They are indeed. I know they are sadly infamous by now, but with toddler and tight garage on winter, best thing since slice bread.
No power doors on this one I'm afraid, but they are so light they are not really needed.
And yes, I was not kidding about getting a couple of them
Double Take Pic:
http://www.carspace.com/coolmazda5/Albums/2008_mz5_stormy_blue/mazda5_rides_marc- - h_2008%20002_edited.jpg/photo/v./photo.jpg
You may want one sooner than you think
Some dealers are turning their backs on SUVs
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/5732086.html
Besides, it has a "Tridion" frame.
"Design a safety shell, like a walnut..."
http://www.asmartcar.com/safety.html
I'm sold, their using walnut technology. :surprise:
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
you no different that a mushroom .
The nice lady , Inga , from Sweden tried to inform you of the alternative to the rip off
by the oil companies , auto manufactures and Government agencies , all which glean enormous profits from the World's economy . For her concern and trouble she was kicked off of this forum for " soliciting " . " KILL THE MESSENGERS " !! I ask , wouldn't it be better to keep 80% of the money in the consumer's pocket than in their's ?
BTW , if you think that solar and wind is the solution to our energy needs and that
they're efficient and are non-polluting , think again . The energy to mine , manufacture , distribute and install is more than they'll return in 20+ years and then probably need replacement .
Hydrogen is the answer . It's not energy , just a method of storage and delivery . Then the molecules can be reformulated into the many forms of energy contained in carbon . Instead of only burning 18% of the gasoline , why not burn all of it ? The exhaust will contain only water and oxygen .
But , most people would rather let their politicians make their decisions for them . ROTFLMAO !!
Yeah , and now someone will come in here and post that old worn out adage " If it sounds too good to be true , is must be " . I wonder how many times the Wright Brothers and Nicoli Tesla heard that one ? LMAO !! Or they'll holler " scam " without a lick of research . The truth is like gold , it takes some digging to find it . I canceled my Dish TV and news paper a year ago , got tired of being brainwashed .
What say you ?
James Hanlon
Redding , Ca
OK, I'll bite - what happens to the carbon? Transmutated into something else? This is the type of thing that eliminates any credibility for the HHO set.
Every wondered what your early 90s Honda CRX would look like if it got 95 MPG? The answer, it seems, is along the lines of something that might have come out of a homemade sci-fi flick.
Mike Turner, of Ecomodder fame transformed his old Civic into one damned efficient green machine that manages to get 95 miles to the gallon. Those aerodynamic enhancements to the car's exterior reduce the Civic's drag coefficient from 0.34 to 0.17, according to EcoGeek.
Turner also had a headstart with the CRX, which already gets 50 mpg, straight out of the factory doors, and it doesn't hurt that he considers himself a hypermiler, which involves not slowing for turns, cutting the engine while driving, and do whatever else it takes to squeeze out more miles per gallon.
Source:
http://www.gearlog.com/2008/02/modder_creates_95mpg_honda_civ.php
What I don't pay much attention to are people who go onto internet forum and self-promote their web sites when it's against the rules they agree to when they join up.
Would you not buy a Jeep Wrangler? That's a knockoff of the WW II Jeep and a heck of a lot more GI's died in those, but maybe that's too far gone to be relevent to you.
Where doYOU draw the line?
Didn't Tesla say he could knock down a bridge with a hammer if he hit it just right? And then there's that stuff about a time machine. Just because you are smart in one area doesn't mean you are right in everything.
As for the hydrogen stuff...where do I send my check? Throw in a bottle of snake oil while you're at it.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
It always amazes me how people get sucked into these ponzi schemes, then act so indignant when other people don't buy into it. Let me know when you can buy one at Costco and I will give it a try. There I know I can take it back if it is worthless.
Right.
Humm...how could the futures traders have used this technology? Marty, the flux capacitor!
Watching a History Channel show on the U.S. Military and their UFO projects and flying saucer crafts, blah-blah-blah... and, related to the Tesla project, was it the Manhattan Project. Yes, the Manhattan Project. Ummm...the U.S. Military apparently has the technology to throw a plane of "light" if you will in front of a tank, so that it makes it look like the tank isn't there. And they showed it in action on that History Channel show. Worked like a champ, gentlemen! All you could see was an image of what would have been in the background if the tank wasn't there in that spot.
Where's Linda Moulten-Howe when you need her? Or George Noory? Or...Art Bell?
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
you no different that a mushroom . "
No, if anything you are the one that is in error. If you look at the posting in this forum you will find people use a lot of sources including the main stream media. And what do you read?
"What say you ?"
I think you need to leave the dream world and come a little closer to reality.
Wind energy is now. http://www.awea.org/
Solar is coming.
Hydrogen is a few decades away barring a major tech advance.
Urban myth, it was a way to demagnetize the ship to protect it from magnetic mines.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
I have a 47 mpg average after 23,000 miles in my Civic Hybrid. I know this simple statement of fact will lure all the anti-hybrid crowd out of their collective lair. That's fine. But try to keep the rhetoric fair and honest.
Please spare us the, "one time I got 34 mpg in my friend's Hummer" posts. We've seen 'em all, and we already know that "one time" means nothing. Also, please resist the urge to cite a cheap economy car's highway rating as if "this $13,000 car will get 36 mpg, so it's a better deal."
My 47 mpg average means AVERAGE -- city, highway, rain, snow, winter, summer ..... everything.
Between the $2,100 cash back I got from the IRS for buying a hybrid, and the money I've saved so far on gasoline ($1,000 +), the hybrid has already covered its additional cost relative to an equivalent internal combustion car. And, no, a Hyundai Accent is not equivalent to a Honda Civic.
As a hybrid owner, I actually look forward to filling the gas tank, since I only do it every 2-3 weeks. Those 12.3 gallons take me 600 miles in any direction I choose to go.
And to those who say that hybrids are not fun to drive, I say that I get plenty of enjoyment from mine. It's fun to drive home to see my folks 500 miles away, do it without stopping for gas, and arrive with enough left in the tank to take them out to dinner. It's fun driving down the highway at 65 mph, watching SUVs blow by me at 75 mph, and realizing that they will burn more gas on that one stretch of road than I'll burn all week. It's fun driving to the grocery store and back, and calculating that the round trip cost me 70 cents worth of gasoline.
Keeping my money out of OPEC's pocket (as much as possible) is my kind of fun!
.
Well with that sort of thinking, I guess I should have bought a small trailer instead of the house I'm getting that has a game-room. Because saving a few bucks is the whole goal to life right? A trailer would be perfectly adequate, and if I just get in the right frame of mind it'll be fun?
Because I only have a 5 mile commute, I think I'll focus on what will be my main use of oil - for heating and hot water. The present owner has a new efficient furncae which has kept the oil use to about 800 gal/year. I'll try and cut that in half at least by burning wood from my property. It'll be good exercise too. If I got a hybrid, considering the car needs to warmup in the morning and that requires gas, and that a hybrid AWD which is needed for my driveway doesn't put me into the 40mpg area, I don't think I would save more than 100gal/year.
A hybrid thus would save me little. I'd be better off cutting an extra cord of wood.
And if gas and oil continue to go up I'll continue to invest in those companies, and pay for the fuel that way.
Wonderful world where we can all have fun
Keeping my money out of OPEC's pocket (as much as possible) is my kind of fun!
ya got me on that one... :surprise:
How about: "sending my money overseas (to whatever country manufactures the batteries)". But since many of the people in OPEC have no other real source of income, I guess I look at sending $ to OPEC as "keeping those millions of people from starving".
In all seriousness - if you look into trends you will find a country like Iran is very worried about the future, as they have very little besides their oil-revenue, which isn't going to last too many more decades.
what you are doing is probably the easiest choice that most consumers can make when shopping for their next car. Get a hybrid - it will undoubtedly handel 99% of what you need to accomplish with transportaion.
Hopefully better greener choice will come later on, but for now the hybrid should be on most people's list of cars to considier.
and you didn't even mention the favor you're doing to help miminize green house emmissions.
cudos
That sounds like you have some kind of hybrid model there yourself. Burns rubber AND gas! :P
Not when you also consider the cost premium over a similar sized non-hybrid....A Civic or Prius Hybrid is $23-$25k depending on options. I can get a regular Corolla, Civic, or Elantra for $16-$17k. How long is it going to take me to save $6000 in gas, especially driving 90% highway?
Well, I applaud everyone's efforts to save as much fuel as possible, because I know that only if we all do it (and conserve a real amount like 10% or more) will the oil companies have to reduce gas prices, when you make statements like this I feel compelled to point out that my $13,000 car AVERAGES 41 mpg: city, highway, rain, snow, winter, summer ..... everything.
So people can downsize, or they can go hybrid, or they can cut way back on the driving they do in their existing vehicle. As long as they reduce their fuel use by 1/3 or more from their current rate, I don't care how they do it.
But EVERYONE has to do it....
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
I sat in a Civic hybrid and my head touches the headliner. That is unacceptable. I drove a Prius and my wife hated the looks. The Escape is small and uncomfortable. The Highlander Hybrid cost as much as my plush Sequoia limited. I might reconsider if I drove a lot of miles per year. Remember our other car is a 1990 Lexus LS400 with under 95k miles. We will do our part by driving less and maintain a fairly high level of comfort. Gas at $4, $5, or even $6 would not be much of our budget. We paid $40k in interest last year on home mortgages. Hopefully we can sell our old home and cut that back a bit. Heck my Water, Electric & propane bills are each more than my gas per year.
Fuel costs ten times what it did thirty years ago, while our income has done better than that so what's the problem?
Saw Al Gore hitch hiking - in my rear view mirror.
I think you're talking about the "Philadelphia Experiment". The other one was for the atom bomb. I'd forgot that Tesla was behind that. He got kinda weird later in life.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
The kids on "South Park" were right. Hybrids are the leading cause of SMUG.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
You didn't respond to my note about safety in this vehicle.
And no, people in Europe would not drive this vehicle unless it met Euro safety standards.
I have visited in 3rd world countries for long periods; they drive many, many unsafe vehicles - because life is rather cheap there.
How much is your life worth? How many MPG?