SpeedRacer 1 #1 May 6, 2008 http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2008/05/06/frustrated_owners_try_to_unload_their_guzzlers/ I guess all the Oil Wars weren't enough. It took high fuel prices to finally slap some sense into people. Speed Racer -------------------------------------------------- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lawrocket 3 #2 May 6, 2008 Indeed! And if oil prices hit $150.00 per barrel later this year (which many think and many hope - it's why they are buying up oil at this price) then they'll REALLY want to be rid of them. My wife is hotter than your wife. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quade 3 #3 May 6, 2008 Trying to figure out the cross over point where my cool ride becomes the uncool one and the (currently) uncool one becomes not only socially acceptable, but cool.quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 2,400 #4 May 6, 2008 >And if oil prices hit $150.00 per barrel later this year . . . Hit $122 today. Goldman-Sachs forecasts $150-$200 within two years. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
downwardspiral 0 #5 May 6, 2008 I don't think it will ever crossover unless you get something like this.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamaha_YZF600R www.FourWheelerHB.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kelpdiver 2 #6 May 6, 2008 I found this line funny: "While it weighs in at a hefty 417 lb (189 kg) dry" Only this decade would anything in the 400s be called hefty, even in the 600 class. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
downwardspiral 0 #7 May 6, 2008 When I bought my 600r back in Nov 02 the R6 was 375 pounds dry and felt like a minibike when I sat on it. The 600r could match it in speed up to 100 mph, was $1000 cheaper, and just felt right when I sat on it. The current R6 is 366 pounds dry and MSRPs at $10,000 which is way overpriced for a 599cc but they sell like hotcakes for some reason. I'll keep my 600r. www.FourWheelerHB.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jm951 0 #8 May 6, 2008 How many sheets of plywood or drywall can you carry on it? In all the angst over higher and higher fuel prices, what about truckers, farmers and construction types who rely on the "gas guzzlers"? It won't be funny when the truck charge for a plumber, or electrician, or appliance service hits $150 before he even takes a look at your problem. How about UPS Ground quadrupling in cost and for one close to home, how much will jump tickets rise? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PLFXpert 0 #9 May 6, 2008 It cost me $81 (regular) to fill up from gas light to eff this past weekend--which is $6 more than it cost me a little while ago--and $10 more than that when I bought her originally. I go through an average of 2 tanks/month. If I couldn't have afforded $32 more a month when I bought her, I'd have had no business buying her.Paint me in a corner, but my color comes back. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SpeedRacer 1 #10 May 6, 2008 There will be more fuel left over for them if every fat-assed suburbanite decided he doesn't need to drive around in a motorized living room every day. Speed Racer -------------------------------------------------- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jm951 0 #11 May 6, 2008 I'm a contractor and have to use my truck on a daily basis and believe me, I'm not going to absorb the extra fuel cost and neither will anybody I know in the same line of work. As for the fat arses who drive Yukons- I referee high level club soccer. You'd be amazed at the number of SUVs the size of a small ship that pull up to the match and only one player gets out followed by the soccer parent. Said SUV is usually large enough to carry most of the team. There's quite a bit of whining going on over on the soccer boards about the cost of fuel to get to the travel matches. You'd think they never heard of car pooling. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 2,400 #12 May 7, 2008 > How many sheets of plywood or drywall can you carry on it? Dozens. http://www.veggiediesel.com/Page2/VegetableOilConversionKit.html http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Dodge-Ram-3500-CREW-CAB-4X4-05-RAM3500-SLT-CREWCAB-DUALLY-4X4-5-9-CUMMINS-HO-DIESEL_W0QQitemZ130218668469QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item130218668469& Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
faulknerwn 36 #13 May 7, 2008 Yeah I know. I hear people talk about needing SUVs - but growing up my family had 2 kids and 1 car - a Chevette! We managed fine... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
downwardspiral 0 #14 May 7, 2008 hahah we had one of those. Then my dad "made it" and was able to purchase a 1981 Toyota Corola station wagon.www.FourWheelerHB.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kelpdiver 2 #15 May 7, 2008 QuoteHow many sheets of plywood or drywall can you carry on it? In all the angst over higher and higher fuel prices, what about truckers, farmers and construction types who rely on the "gas guzzlers"? It won't be funny when the truck charge for a plumber, or electrician, or appliance service hits $150 before he even takes a look at your problem. How about UPS Ground quadrupling in cost and for one close to home, how much will jump tickets rise? There will be, umm, adjustments. Some easy, some painful. UPS and Fedex will actually be among the first to change to vehicles better suited for their task. UPS has already unveiled hybrid and CNG based trucks, Fedex started converting to hybrids 5 years ago. If UPS really wants to cut costs, they need to allow shippers an option to send directly to the pickup facility, rather than insisting on making a failed delivery attempt to my apartment first. Labor costs exceed fuel, but they'd save on both going this route. Or thinking next gen - they can charge per delivery attempt after 1 (none). Onsite repairman may become more local in their range. The city of San Francisco is only 7 miles across - the worst drive for someone local is still less than a gallon of gas. But that person may have no interest in taking calls for someone in Fremont 40 miles away. In truth, though, the awful traffic already discouraged that. Costs overall will of course increase, but the amount of oil consumed per unit of GDP has dropped considerable over the past 30 years since the last oil shock. It's not as big a piece of the cost pie as it used to be. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DrewEckhardt 0 #16 May 7, 2008 QuoteHow many sheets of plywood or drywall can you carry on it? The question is irrelevant, since Home Depot will rent me a pickup for $19.99. That's way cheaper than what I'd spend on gas if I always drove a pickup or even liability coverage on an old beater I kept around for the few times I needed it. Quote In all the angst over higher and higher fuel prices, what about truckers, farmers and construction types who rely on the "gas guzzlers"? Some combintion of them making less money, increased prices, and/or government subsidies which we or our children pay for in increased taxes. Quote It won't be funny when the truck charge for a plumber, or electrician, or appliance service hits $150 before he even takes a look at your problem. People in rural areas are going to suffer, although even at $10 a gallon and 10 MPG it's not going to be that bad. In places with higher population densities service guys don't cross county lines. Quote How about UPS Ground quadrupling in cost and for one close to home, how much will jump tickets rise? A full Twin Otter burns as little as 1 gallon per jumper. One flown less efficiently may burn 1.5 gallons. Jet-A is $4-$5 a gallon now, you can do the math. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LongWayToFall 0 #17 May 7, 2008 First off, veggy oil reduces engine life significantly, probably by 50% or more. Second, a 2005 dodge ram has a very high tech pump, the VP44. This pump does not like to see anything except diesel #2, because of very very tight tolerances. If you were determined to run veg, and wanted a full size truck, the earlier dodge ram with the inline P-pump (available in the 12v motor up until 1998.5) would be able to handle it much better. However, to replace this motor is expensive (10k+), it would be better to find a truck with cheap engines available to it, such as the Chevy 6.2 or 6.5, or maybe Ford 7.3 NA. These all have manual pumps that will hold up as long as anything. So, in short, veg is not the answer. Possibly for some, but nothing wide scale. Also, privately owned diesels make up a small portion of fuel consumption. what we need is an alternative for gasoline engines, and not ethanol, and not hydrogen. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shaark 0 #18 May 7, 2008 It's really pretty simple. If you can afford a big SUV you can afford the gas, no matter what it costs. And if you can afford all that, you can afford to own shares in oil companies, so you can get the kick-back of dividends and share price increase. At least a wash, and maybe profit. And it will pay to burn up finite oil at an excessive rate because it will put poorer people off the road, and definitely stop poor nations using what could be enjoyed in the developed world. Result: more oil for those who can afford to pay. And less traffic on the roads, so there is a fuel saving. (Stop and go is a real killer on fuel economy.) Now if we could just get out of Iraq we could use the military to get rid of Chavez. I mean, who does he think he is, wanting to keep most of the profits for his country? Pure chance that his country sits on huge deposits of oil. It doesn't mean it belongs to them. The oil companies can't be pushed aside. They have the ears of our politicians. And they can pay them off well. Our oil companies. Remember, you own shares in them, don't you? (I presume you own shares in many of the military-industrial corporations, also. Don't miss out.) And it's a whole lot closer than Iraq. Nice climate, too. Good place for a vacation home. And if we can stop the locals from getting a share of the oil, we can have affordable wages. I'm sure they would be happy at maybe $1/hr. Maybe less. Damn it. I don't know what to do about jump prices. Maybe we can get a government subsidy for fuel. Oh, I forgot. I own oil company shares. Well, actually, I meant to buy some a while ago, but I didn't, and now I can't afford to. Guess I better get a tandem rating. Or base. Got to be some decent antennae within walking distance ------- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
georgerussia 0 #19 May 7, 2008 Quote It cost me $81 (regular) to fill up from gas light to eff this past weekend--which is $6 more than it cost me a little while ago--and $10 more than that when I bought her originally. For me it's $90 now and $68 8 months ago. I usually spend 3 tanks a month; no big deal. Even if gas prices increase to $12/gal it won't come even close to average Bay Area mortgage payment anyway.* Don't pray for me if you wanna help - just send me a check. * Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bfilarsky 0 #20 May 7, 2008 Quotenot ethanol, and not hydrogen. Now I know that ethanol is a ridiculous idea for powering anything, and I know that hydrogen is merely a storage medium for energy, rather than a source of energy, but why do you say not hydrogen? It seems to me, the best way to work energy is to get more nuclear power, invest money in fusion, and get hydrogen powered stuff out there. I'm honestly not all that knowledgeable about the pros and cons of all that, but it seems reasonable. Is there something I'm missing about hydrogen? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andrewwhyte 1 #21 May 7, 2008 Hydrogen was originally touted as a solution for local pollution, not energy issues. One problem with hydrogen is spillage. if we move to a hydrogen based transportation system we will have a global free hydrogen problem within fifty years. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jcd11235 0 #22 May 7, 2008 QuoteHydrogen was originally touted as a solution for local pollution, not energy issues. One problem with hydrogen is spillage. if we move to a hydrogen based transportation system we will have a global free hydrogen problem within fifty years. Could you clarify that? Problem as in shortage? If I remember my physics correctly, hydrogen's average velocity is too high for it to be contained by the earth's atmosphere, which is why it is only found on earth naturally when bonded to heavier atoms.Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ElJosh 0 #23 May 7, 2008 HAHA it's a good thing that I just took the 4 cylnder out of my focus and I am now in the process of putting a 351 Winsor in it.Good bye good fuel economy! Thats ok though because I also own a Vespa GTS 250ie. ~El Josh AKA Ruby DS #149 Yes I only have 3 jumps...it's the magic number dude. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DrewEckhardt 0 #24 May 7, 2008 Quote HAHA it's a good thing that I just took the 4 cylnder out of my focus and I am now in the process of putting a 351 Winsor in it.Good bye good fuel economy! Thats ok though because I also own a Vespa GTS 250ie. ~El Josh AKA Ruby Fuel economy is largely a function of aerodynamics (frontal area and Cd) and how much weight you're hauling to the tops of hills. FJ40 Land Cruisers seem to get about 15-16 highway MPG regardless of whether you have a 238 cubic inch 6 cylinder Toyota F motor (a metrified Chevy Stovebolt Six) or 350-400 cubic inch small block in there. While you won't do as well as stock, you're going to do a lot better than if you were driving a full sized SUV with a smaller motor. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rookie120 0 #25 May 7, 2008 QuoteI don't think it will ever crossover unless you get something like this.... Thats what I just bought 2 weeks ago. I got the R1 though. It still cost me $14 to fill a damn bike!If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
