Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum - EcoModder.com - View Single Post - Will Tensions in Iran Send Oil Prices Through the Roof?

user removed · 09-29-2009, 03:22 PM

In 58 years I have seen gas at 12.9 cents a gallon. ten years later (late 60s) bought it at 18.9 cents a gallon.

The oil embargo in the 70s probably saw gas at its highest price based on inflation. One station was selling it at $1.69 back then but when it was the only gas you could get you either walked or paid.

The prices last year really made people think about efficiency.

I drove a Sprite and got 32 MPG when gas was 32 cents a gallon. Had a 63 Valiant that got 29 MPG.

1 cent per mile.

Bought a new 84 Honda CRX 1.5 that averaged 44.5 MPG.

Today, gas here is $2.139 for cheap 10% blend (all that's available within almost 200 miles). That works out to 4 cents a mile compared to one cent a mile in 1968. Factoring in for inflation that's less today than it was 40 years ago.

The summer of 68 I worked full time for the first time in my life and made 65 cents an hour take home pay. That would buy just over 3 gallons of gas.
Last time I worked on my own house I made $100 per hour, which would buy 25 gallons of gas at $4 per gallon.

If you are smart you will plan on it being $5 or more a gallon. If that happens I would buy a motorcycle and aero it out and get over 100 MPG.

The oil exporting countries saw the 10% drop in consumption last year. There was also a 10% reduction in road fatalities. As the world economy collapsed the oil exporters realized they could not drain that much money from the consumers without the consumers reacting in a way that would solve the issue of energy consumption.

We know how to solve the problem of poor efficiency in transportation. Look to Europe and other countries that pay at least twice as much as we do for fuel.

We have no backbone to take the steps to solve the problem, which is why sites like this one exist. Like the Canary in the old diesel submarine, that collapsed when the oxygen levels reached a critical point, we need to understand the critical point is already here.

I drove a car when I was young and crazy that got 10 MPG. I burned 100 gallons of gas a week. It cost me $32, and I was making $13,500 a year.

Today I burn 7 gallons a week. The wife uses about the same in her Nissan Rogue. 15 gallons a week or about 780 per year. We made $60k last year and I am retired, won't see Social Security for another 3 years.

Jammer you bought a new car with an insurance settlement. I would have bought an older car that got the same gas mileage and saved the rest of the settlement for emergencies, like periods of unemployment.

My Echo cost one years depreciation on your new car. The rest of the money is in the bank earning interest (pitiful but better than nothing) that I can use to buy gas.

People make choices every day without looking at the long term picture. My wife and I are fairly financially secure. I have the cash to buy almost any car you can imagine, up to over $200k.

Yet I drive a non air conditioned 2001 Echo that I bought for $3300.

That's how you get ahead and it only requires you to understand the long term cost of driving new cars.

Depreciation
Property taxes
Higher insurance
Credit stress if it was financed

The difference in insurance and property taxes would pay for your fuel. The depreciation amounts to renting the car.

If it's too hot we drive her car or the Insight. I bought the Insight for 10k last December with 34k miles on it. It has warranties on the battery until 2013 and on the major emission components until 2011. I hate to use the AC in the Insight because I just got my average mileage up to 65 per gallon, and AC use cost about 12 MPG. I just dress light when it's hot and it can get pretty hot here in eastern Virginia with terrible humidity.

4 months this year our monthly kilowatt hours have dropped below 1000 per month. I built the house and designed it to be very energy efficient. In most years we have no heat or AC usage in 2 or three months in the spring as well as 2 or 3 in the fall.

I see people every day driving around in large vehicles, most of them are alone. They drive more aggressively because they are in the larger marble.

If you want to succeed in this life become a farmer of net worth. Every year calculate your personal net worth and make sure you increase it by a significant amount annually. Our net worth today is close to 15 times what it was 20 years ago when we got married. We lived on one income and saved the other.

We were paying $1500 per month in interest when we got married. Now we have not paid a cent in interest in 5 years. The only money we have borrowed in the last 15 years was to buy the materials to build a house.

15 years at 1500 per month, that's $270,000 saved by not renting money from a bank, and that's what we have in the bank today.

If a catastrophe hits we can drive the Insight half way acrtoss the country on the gas in the tank and what I can carry in the back. Gas price spikes are inevitable, but your best defense is to plan on them happening. Been doing that for the last 20 years.

regards
Mech

09-29-2009, 03:22 PM	#43 (permalink)
user removed Master EcoModder Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 5,927 Thanks: 877 Thanked 2,024 Times in 1,304 Posts	In 58 years I have seen gas at 12.9 cents a gallon. ten years later (late 60s) bought it at 18.9 cents a gallon. The oil embargo in the 70s probably saw gas at its highest price based on inflation. One station was selling it at $1.69 back then but when it was the only gas you could get you either walked or paid. The prices last year really made people think about efficiency. I drove a Sprite and got 32 MPG when gas was 32 cents a gallon. Had a 63 Valiant that got 29 MPG. 1 cent per mile. Bought a new 84 Honda CRX 1.5 that averaged 44.5 MPG. Today, gas here is $2.139 for cheap 10% blend (all that's available within almost 200 miles). That works out to 4 cents a mile compared to one cent a mile in 1968. Factoring in for inflation that's less today than it was 40 years ago. The summer of 68 I worked full time for the first time in my life and made 65 cents an hour take home pay. That would buy just over 3 gallons of gas. Last time I worked on my own house I made $100 per hour, which would buy 25 gallons of gas at $4 per gallon. If you are smart you will plan on it being $5 or more a gallon. If that happens I would buy a motorcycle and aero it out and get over 100 MPG. The oil exporting countries saw the 10% drop in consumption last year. There was also a 10% reduction in road fatalities. As the world economy collapsed the oil exporters realized they could not drain that much money from the consumers without the consumers reacting in a way that would solve the issue of energy consumption. We know how to solve the problem of poor efficiency in transportation. Look to Europe and other countries that pay at least twice as much as we do for fuel. We have no backbone to take the steps to solve the problem, which is why sites like this one exist. Like the Canary in the old diesel submarine, that collapsed when the oxygen levels reached a critical point, we need to understand the critical point is already here. I drove a car when I was young and crazy that got 10 MPG. I burned 100 gallons of gas a week. It cost me $32, and I was making $13,500 a year. Today I burn 7 gallons a week. The wife uses about the same in her Nissan Rogue. 15 gallons a week or about 780 per year. We made $60k last year and I am retired, won't see Social Security for another 3 years. Jammer you bought a new car with an insurance settlement. I would have bought an older car that got the same gas mileage and saved the rest of the settlement for emergencies, like periods of unemployment. My Echo cost one years depreciation on your new car. The rest of the money is in the bank earning interest (pitiful but better than nothing) that I can use to buy gas. People make choices every day without looking at the long term picture. My wife and I are fairly financially secure. I have the cash to buy almost any car you can imagine, up to over $200k. Yet I drive a non air conditioned 2001 Echo that I bought for $3300. That's how you get ahead and it only requires you to understand the long term cost of driving new cars. Depreciation Property taxes Higher insurance Credit stress if it was financed The difference in insurance and property taxes would pay for your fuel. The depreciation amounts to renting the car. If it's too hot we drive her car or the Insight. I bought the Insight for 10k last December with 34k miles on it. It has warranties on the battery until 2013 and on the major emission components until 2011. I hate to use the AC in the Insight because I just got my average mileage up to 65 per gallon, and AC use cost about 12 MPG. I just dress light when it's hot and it can get pretty hot here in eastern Virginia with terrible humidity. 4 months this year our monthly kilowatt hours have dropped below 1000 per month. I built the house and designed it to be very energy efficient. In most years we have no heat or AC usage in 2 or three months in the spring as well as 2 or 3 in the fall. I see people every day driving around in large vehicles, most of them are alone. They drive more aggressively because they are in the larger marble. If you want to succeed in this life become a farmer of net worth. Every year calculate your personal net worth and make sure you increase it by a significant amount annually. Our net worth today is close to 15 times what it was 20 years ago when we got married. We lived on one income and saved the other. We were paying $1500 per month in interest when we got married. Now we have not paid a cent in interest in 5 years. The only money we have borrowed in the last 15 years was to buy the materials to build a house. 15 years at 1500 per month, that's $270,000 saved by not renting money from a bank, and that's what we have in the bank today. If a catastrophe hits we can drive the Insight half way acrtoss the country on the gas in the tank and what I can carry in the back. Gas price spikes are inevitable, but your best defense is to plan on them happening. Been doing that for the last 20 years. regards Mech Last edited by user removed; 09-29-2009 at 05:38 PM..