Gas prices in 2012? At least $4? - Page 19 - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

Frank Lee · 02-26-2012, 05:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamesqf

So why are so many Americans still paying such a large fraction of their incomes for gas? Surely anyone but the terminally ignorant has seen this coming for years - decades if you go back to the Arab oil embargo of the '70s. Is it just that they refuse to deal with reality? And if so, why should I sympathize?

You should see all the terminally ignorant trailer dwellers that seemingly have nothing to do all day and night but drive their mud trucks all over town. I presume the trailer courts weren't their first choice (could be wrong tho') and they are there because of modest budgets... while simultaneously thinking nothing of putting 200 miles/day on in a 9mpg vehicle. Gas must be about 85% of their budgets.

Then again, the rich guys are doing the same thing, except in Yuck Ons and Escapades... cuts across all strata.

user removed · 02-26-2012, 09:28 AM

Last tank for the wife was $3.389 per gallon. Her weekly use is pretty consistent at 7 gallons, she is very good at combining stops in her route to minimise fuel use.

I have been trying some ethanol free fuel to see if the difference is significant. Just picked up $95.13 worth yesterday when I drove 150 miles to a show and the station was on the return route. That's 459 miles on the Maxima in 3 weeks, with 150 of that on the last day. Ride the bikes the rest of the time. My fuel was $3.669 for 91 octane ethanol free. While my mileage increased slightly I don't think it justifies the additional cost. That being said I have about 36 gallons of the ethanol free fuel to use in the future, which should get me about 500 miles in the car and 1200 on the CBR, or 850 on the Vulcan 500. 1700 miles or 1350 depending on which bike I ride.

regards
Mech

user removed · 02-26-2012, 09:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

You should see all the terminally ignorant trailer dwellers that seemingly have nothing to do all day and night but drive their mud trucks all over town. I presume the trailer courts weren't their first choice (could be wrong tho') and they are there because of modest budgets... while simultaneously thinking nothing of putting 200 miles/day on in a 9mpg vehicle. Gas must be about 85% of their budgets.

Then again, the rich guys are doing the same thing, except in Yuck Ons and Escapades... cuts across all strata.

Around here in some areas you can actually see the difference in the number of vehicles and the type on the roads. When gas prices dropped the hogs came out of the sty. Now you see lower traffic volumes, maybe 25% and a larger number of smaller sedans and economy cars. You also see average speeds dropping from the normal 10 MPH over the limit, no matter what it is.

Cute little blonde in a red Jeep blew by me coming back from a show Saturday. She had pole position just about 1 mile before the flashing blue lights popped on behind her. The cop had just passed me while I was doing 55MPH.

I guess as the normal speed of traffic drops with higher fuel prices here, the gendarmes need to be more aggressive in enforcement to put some coin in the coffers. Heck they could ride in my car and fall asleep.

regards
Mech

Ladogaboy · 02-26-2012, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

You should see all the terminally ignorant trailer dwellers that seemingly have nothing to do all day and night but drive their mud trucks all over town. I presume the trailer courts weren't their first choice (could be wrong tho') and they are there because of modest budgets... while simultaneously thinking nothing of putting 200 miles/day on in a 9mpg vehicle. Gas must be about 85% of their budgets.

Then again, the rich guys are doing the same thing, except in Yuck Ons and Escapades... cuts across all strata.

I think this is something Obama got in trouble for mentioning when he stated that some Americans are clinging too tightly to old traditions. Of course, I think he was also talking about shooting beer bottles off of road signs...

Olympiadis · 02-26-2012, 01:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ladogaboy

I think this is something Obama got in trouble for mentioning when he stated that some Americans are clinging too tightly to old traditions. Of course, I think he was also talking about shooting beer bottles off of road signs...

No matter how you look at it, or who says such things, it is very blatantly elitist. It's the same presumptuous mechanisms at play that some people find so offensive about racists/racism.
Same mechanism, - just different selection process when it comes to acceptability or offensiveness.

Ladogaboy · 02-26-2012, 01:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Olympiadis

No matter how you look at it, or who says such things, it is very blatantly elitist. It's the same presumptuous mechanisms at play that some people find so offensive about racists/racism.
Same mechanism, - just different selection process when it comes to acceptability or offensiveness.

While I'll grant you that it wasn't a smart thing to say on a number of levels, I wouldn't classify it in the same category as racism.

Racism focuses on, and associates negativity with, innate, inborn qualities that the individual has no control over. Furthermore, those qualities have little to nothing to do with who that person actually is (which is probably best defined by that person's actions).

What Obama was criticizing was ignorance and a self-perpetuating cycle that keeps people locked in a miserable existence. And this goes on for generations. If I had a dollar for every time I heard someone akin to the people Frank Lee was describing say, "If only I won the Lottery, I'd...", then I wouldn't actually need to win the Lottery.

What I will grant you is that there is a snippet of elitism there, mostly because Obama sees his place as being better than that of the people he was criticizing. But just look at this forum. Everyone here believes that what they are doing is the "right" thing to do and that everyone else should follow suit. The problem is never with stating your opinion; it is refusing to listen to the opinion of others.