Good for you, you can sit in your pool, surrounded by other people who's vacations are now cut off because of the rising gas prices.
Time to tell the Oil Cartels what we're willing to pay for gasoline, not just simply accept the horrid increases because someone has a bad cold in Sierra Leone, or an Arab Sheik's 5th concubine developed a hang-nail.
Worse still, Dick Chaney wants more retirement funds in his pension!
The only way to show a business that you are sick and tired of paying their high prices is to not buy their products, or buy a whole lot less. A great start is to find transportation that gets a lot better mileage. Six years ago I was looking at new cars and many of the dealerships were high on selling trucks. People were buying them ( and still are atm, selling 2:1 over Toyota Camry's in the US ) like crazy. Meanwhile I had decided on a econobox. I do a lot of driving, as I lived far from work. Buses weren't a viable option because of the enormous amount of time it would add to my commute.
There area lot of people out there enjoying certain vehicles just as commuter cars that aren't really suited for just commuting. They certainly could look into better commuting choices for automobiles. Going into a gas station and listening to an H2 owner whine about fuel prices seems idiotic. People had to know this was going to happen sooner or later.
So there are ways to stick it to the Oil barons. Buy less of their product. We could drive less or use more efficient transport. Consolidate our shopping trips, walk to the convenience store instead of that 1 or 2 minute drive ( if that is an option..) Just don't expect prices to drop any time soon, as India and China are developing faster than many have expected and their fuel requirements are rising exponentially. Those are two enormously populated countries... I cannot fathom how much oil they're looking to buy.
<blockquote><cite>Posted By: Sputnik</cite>I bought a Honda Accord a couple of years ago. Gets 650-800 km per 50L fill.
No need for expensive hybrids at the moment... just drive something sensible.</blockquote>
Hybrids haven't become all that sensible yet when you compare them to their gas counterparts. I bought a civic a few years back and they had a hybrid version at the same time. There was a $11k price difference between the model I bought and the hybrid. The mileage difference might have been about 4-5mpg difference around town. That $11k difference would have taken a very long time to make up in fuel savings. :)
Right Sput and north, thats the problem with hybrids, the cost difference easily pays for the consummption a normal vehicle would use.
best deal so far for Citry commuting. hyundai at 9995.00. I still think the Smart Car should be priced sub -10K. its ridiculous, as oil goes higher, these cars get more expensive.
<blockquote><cite>Posted By: Northlands</cite>That $11k difference would have taken a very long time to make up in fuel savings. :)</blockquote>Some would factor in the environmental savings as well...
<blockquote><cite>Posted By: smjpilot</cite><blockquote><cite>Posted By: Northlands</cite>That $11k difference would have taken a very long time to make up in fuel savings. :)</blockquote>Some would factor in the environmental savings as well...</blockquote>
Definitely they would. It did make me feel better that my model of civic was still rated an ULEV ( ultra low emissions vehicle )though. I can imagine if one was going from a mid 70's car to a hybrid that they'd be feeling pretty good about themselves in all sorts of ways!
Seems that OPEC isn't interested in controlling the prices of oil, they're letting anyone at all gouge the public to their heart's content. Time to bring down the BIG OIL companies, like Exxon, why last year were they able to post a $40.7 BILLION profit? Just the one company!! The bosses sure can't take it all with them into their next reality! So why are they being so danged greedy?
<blockquote><cite>Posted By: Monominto</cite>Seems that OPEC isn't interested in controlling the prices of oil, they're letting anyone at all gouge the public to their heart's content. Time to bring down the BIG OIL companies, like Exxon, why last year were they able to post a $40.7 BILLION profit? Just the one company!! The bosses sure can't take it all with them into their next reality! So why are they being so danged greedy?</blockquote>
Probably because their job is to work in the best interests of the shareholders, the people who actually own the company.
Does that give even the shareholders the right to make the lower-income earners stop going on vacations? Going to the lake for the weekend? Driving out to another city to see the parents/grandparents?
Time for the shareholders to get a grip on the reality of being a blue-collar worker!!
Perhaps government can get involved by cutting subsidies to the oil companie and redirecting that money into alternatives. That sounds like a reasonable move to me. <p>
"Higher fuel efficiency standards might help too. "
heheheh... oh man thats a lark
every time both the USA and Canada governments demand better fuel efficiency the vehicle manufacturers fight back, resist, demand subsidies to help them with that, then eventually "help" the governments come to the conclusion that the time frame they suggest is just not doable...
...Only 74 of the 656 cars on the market would meet 2011 California standards, while only 38 of 399 light-duty trucks would meet the same test, said Mark Nantais, Toronto-based president of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association, which represents Canada's domestic auto makers. ....
....Instead, Nantais suggested Manitoba fall in line with a federal pledge to adopt a different North America-wide standard by 2011.
If Manitoba doesn't do that, auto makers won't make cars specifically for the California/Manitoba standard, and therefore will only ship here the small percentage of vehicles that qualify, Nantais said. ....
<blockquote><cite>Posted By: Monominto</cite>Time for the shareholders to get a grip on the reality of being a blue-collar worker!!</blockquote> Time to buy shares in Exxon!
<blockquote><cite>Posted By: Freethinker</cite>Just curious, what has everyone done to try to reduce their dependency on fossil fuels?</blockquote> I can't do anything more, other than cut down on meat and grow an organic garden.