I have a 01 2 door explorer. It does not get great gas mileage but I have found ways to improve it. I coast every where now. When I get about 1/2 mile from a stop sign I let off the gas. I drive slower now and now instead of getting 18-20 MPG, I get anywhere from 21-23.

You cannot seriously believe that. It's simple supply and demand. The scarcer the resource/product, the higher the price is because of the rarity. Think of a rare car. If there are 45 of that car, it's worth a lot. If 20 of them are destroyed leaving 25, it's worth even more. When you have cars that get terrible gas mileage and have huge tanks, they consume more fuel rapidly, dwindling the supply and increasing the need. That drives prices upward. I'm not going to get involved any further on whether you should or should not drive an SUV, but supply and demand dictates that the large amound of SUVs driven does drive prices up.

So what you are saying is that last week when gas shot up 30 cents per gallon the the supply had just dwindled 10% overnight? There is a lot more to the price of oil than supply and demand.

So what you are saying is that last week when gas shot up 30 cents per gallon the the supply had just dwindled 10% overnight? There is a lot more to the price of oil than supply and demand.

 

:thumb:

I'm sorry, but the price of gas is just as expensive for me as it is for everyone else. I don't need someone telling me that what I'm driving is wrong. I find it no worse than trying to guilt trip someone into their beliefs. Some people try to act like they have all the answers, when in reality they don't.

 

I just find it comical that people act like gas prices are a big deal. It's a trivial matter that isn't worth my time worrying about. I just don't care that someone thinks me driving an SUV affects them because it doesn't.

 

Sooooo...the economy and the effect of oil prices on all other goods and services is a trivial matter??? WOW...what and obtuse way of viewing the world you live in.

 

The price of oil directly effects gas prices which in turn indirectly effects the price of everything we buy at the cost of transporting these items to consumer outlets goes up and is then offset by higher prices for all of us.

 

The price of oil also directly effects the cost of many of the products we buy as the byproducts of the refining process are used in the production of plastics and many, many other everyday items.

 

The price of oil directly effects the amount of road paving and repairs that our tax dollars pay for every year. Asphalt is another byproduct of the refining process and as the price goes up, our tax dollars are able to buy less. This means fewer road improvements which means more wear and tear on our vehicles...especially tires.

 

Hey...the price of oil also effects the cost of those tires, but I don't know why I worry about such a trivial matter...

Its a shame I dont live in a location similar to NYC or Chicago where everything is within walking distance, Id trade in my 4-cylinder for a mongoose in a heartbeat and save hundreds.

I love my Hemi

^I believe that the gas companies don't really need a reason to raise prices, they do it because they want to. Enough said.

 

Im with you devilman. There is supply and demand out there but the supply is plentiful enough. There is no shortage of fuel out there.

The supply is unable to keep up with increased demand as China and it's 1 billion+ people become more dependent on oil. Most projections show the Chinese passing the US as the world's largest consumer of crude oil in the near future. Oil is not an infinite or renewable resource, so what supply there is will not be there forever.

 

If we want to lower the overall cost of living and increase national security, our nation MUST find an alternative fuel source whether it be ethanol, biodiesel, solar, wind, geothermal, something else or (more likely) a combination.

So what you are saying is that last week when gas shot up 30 cents per gallon the the supply had just dwindled 10% overnight? There is a lot more to the price of oil than supply and demand.

 

Did I say that? Of course there are other factors. But what I replied to was the statement that:

 

What does the type of vehicle drive have to do with the price of gas? Nothing!!

 

It does have something to do with it, and simple supply and demand tells you that. Case in point, a large factor in the jump of gas prices was forseen. They're driving a lot more in China and the demand increased sharply. Hence less supply, hence......

 

I'm not even saying how much it makes it jump. For all we know it could be pennies. But it does and any economist who looks at the factors will tell you so.

In the '70s, BP was promoting the Alaskan pipeline as our means of ending our dependence on foreign oil. Later, it was said that America has enough oil to be self sufficient, but it was too costly to produce at $20.00 per barrel.

 

Wouldn't it be nice to actually have a definitive goal to shoot for?

Your extremely high rate of consumption drives up the cost for me, who uses very little and doesn't deserve to be punished for others' gluttony.

I would rather blame, the corporate conglomerations and their own greed, rather than my $40 per week, I put into my SUV.

 

Supply and demand, have a balance but not at the expense, of gluttony. My stockbroker once told me, "pigs get fat but hogs get slaughtered"....The billion dollar corporations, are eventually headed for the slaughter house.

Here's an out-of-the-box way of making it happen:

 

Write your Senators and Congressmen and demand that a law be passed stipulating all SUVs are required to be painted brown and come equipped with wood paneling on the sides, just like '70s-era station wagons. That's all SUVs are anyway is glorified station wagons — I'd bet 90 percent of the SUVs in the US are used as nothing more than a child transport, and that no 4WD feature is ever engaged on them.

 

Do us a favor, SUV owners. Check your vanity and trade out that gas-hog for something way more practical, like a mini-van or a station wagon.

 

 

No thanks. I'm a fairly young single man, and there is nothing else I would rather drive. After having my first SUV, I'll never drive a car again, for a lot more reasons than vanity.

No thanks. I'm a fairly young single man, and there is nothing else I would rather drive. After having my first SUV, I'll never drive a car again, for a lot more reasons than vanity.

 

:creepy:

I'm sure 50 mpg is nice but gas mileage is the last thing you would be worried about if you got in a wreck with a pickup truck or a full size car even. Man I would hate to see what a Prius would look like if for some reason I had to slam on my brakes and it smashed into my trailer hitch. Not to mention they are hard to see I have came close to runnin right over the back of about 5 or 6 of em. You can keep your little Toyota Echos and all your other futuristic looking golf cart sized cars, cause I'll keep gettin 10 mpg in my F150 all day long.

Here's an out-of-the-box way of making it happen:

 

Write your Senators and Congressmen and demand that a law be passed stipulating all SUVs are required to be painted brown and come equipped with wood paneling on the sides, just like '70s-era station wagons. That's all SUVs are anyway is glorified station wagons — I'd bet 90 percent of the SUVs in the US are used as nothing more than a child transport, and that no 4WD feature is ever engaged on them.

 

Do us a favor, SUV owners. Check your vanity and trade out that gas-hog for something way more practical, like a mini-van or a station wagon.

 

 

I guess we should empty all the Lakes and Rivers of all the speed boats, house boats and wave runners too???

 

Just imagine how cheap gas would be then!!! We could all drive SUV's.:flame: