From $2.00 gas to $5.00 gas in 4 years

Toyota is non-UAW (paying significantly less - though that's made up for a bit in the difference in not taking out union dues and giving excellent benefits for active workers) and there's currently a bit of consternation as Toyota won't unionize, can't be forced to unionize, and won't carry any seniority or benefits over from union jobs. The UAW, similarly, doesn't want to honor seniority, health, or pension plans for people who are no longer paying into the system prior to their retirement age.

Most UAW workers with 10-15 years at GM or Ford or Chrysler would have to put in 25+ years at Toyota to be eligible for the much smaller retirement package that they offer as well.

I'm not sure how many people are putting in for jobs with Toyota, nor how "smart" it is for them to do so.

That happened when the oil industry realized it cost less to make diesel, but the demand is far less elastic than that for gasoline as the price rises. Goods and commodities need to move, trucks and trains use diesel to move them. Whether or not people switch to smaller cars or stay closer to home, there's still a need for diesel.

The oil co's have diesel consumers over a barrel, no pun intended.

Hi,

Might be a good time to get a bargain then.

Absolutely a great time for a deal. All you have to do is sell your house (assuming it's not in foreclosure) to pay for the fuel.

That was two weeks ago. The Monday evening (26th) it was $1.299/L, and the Tuesday morning it was $1.439.

Yesterday evening it jumped another $0.08/L to $1.519.

$0.22/L (roughly $0.83/gal.) in 14 days...

Hi,

Jokes aside I would be interested in a late model Diesel Suburban, if such a beast exists and if anyone is thinking of downsizing and can't sell their existing monster.


Edit: My mistake, I did a Google after posting and found they aren't making any at the moment and haven't since 2000 :-(. New one expected in 2010 but with current developments who knows if it will make it to the showroom.

No kidding... and pretty soon I'll wonder if GM can even afford to put gas in it to transport it.

Hi,

Yes too bad.

I am embarking on a 1460km road trip tomorrow which will take me through 5 countries. If it all goes according to plan I will only bunker once at about 850km, if the traffic is heavy or the recent European Truck blockades of border crossing as a protest at fuel costs get me the times and consumption will be a whole new number.

I will post back with my costs for what is a fairly normal distance a family would drive here for their holidays from Mid. Europe down to the Mediterranean Coast and back and see how it compares to what it would cost in the US even with the high fuel prices.

You should consider a Ford Excursion with the diesel motor. If you can find a used one with the 7.3 litre Powerstroke you will have a great truck.

maybe you should consider buying a small car, like a smart - that one got a 3 cylinder engine and does 50 miles per gallon

maybe that's the way to save money

seem them here:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6557549/

Hi Guys - especially those of you in the US,

You have my sincere sympathy, but...

We are currently paying $2.60 a LITRE in the UK - or roughly $10.40 a gallon!

A friend from the US rubbed salt into my wounds today by sending me this...

It hurts because under this current government's taxation, draught beer costs between $3.80 and $5 a pint - or $19 to $40 a gallon!

Hi,

Are you suggesting that you would feel safe in one of those in the left hand lane of the A1?

I was once a passenger in a SMART Car, it was from Linate Airport, Milan to Monaco. It was one of the most uncomfortable experiences of my life. It always felt as though it would be blown off the road when other cars flashed past, the all glass roof being a very reassuring thing to be above you if it were to roll over.

BMW mini hybrid or electric

Why do all of these 'econo' cars have to be sooooo small and ugly ??
Why doesn't someone come out with an econo model of the BMW mini Cooper. Nice looking, nice size. I'm 6' 4" and I fit in one comfortably.

I don't think you could keep them on the car lot they would sell so fast.

this post wasn't about comfort - a nice volkswagen lupo does the same - it's just the way to save money

have a look at this:
http://www.isnichwahr.de/r70113118-audi-erobert-amerikanischen-kleinwagenmarkt.html

the audi q7 is one of the biggest suvs we've got in germany - that other rides - they're twice the size of it - somethings going wrong over there doen't it?

in the us you mustn't even got over 90 miles/h - why so big cars?

$250-300 per barrel. WAKE UP America !!!

I went back looking for my original posting forecasting the $100 barrel oil by the end of 07 (missed it by one day!)
HERE:
http://www.yachtforums.com/forums/44257-post56.html
"I'm still betting we will see $100/barrel crude this year when Israel bombs those Iranian nuclear facilities by the end of the year...certainly during Bush's presidency??" 5/28/07

http://www.yachtforums.com/forums/52925-post71.html
and then we reached that $100 figure on 1/02/08

The Perfect Storm, and drinking the kool-aide out of Wash DC
http://www.yachtforums.com/forums/52954-post75.html
_______________________________________________
Now I have a more dire prediction, $250-300 per barrel by end of year 2008

What do you think really caused a one day increase of $11 per barrel last Fri?? I have to believe it was all of this 'saber rattling' about attacking Iran coming out of Wash DC last week during the AIPAC meetings. Both Israel and some US sources basically said it was inevitable.

Imagine what this action will do for oil prices and our economy.

And I imagine that Iran will have a few surprises for our troops in Iraq (like a bomb into the green zone), and will probably sink one or two loaded oil tankers there in the Gulf. What do you think the insurance people will tell the tanker owners about taking there ships into that Gulf....Goodbye middle east oil supply...hello depression around the world.

And this could really happen !!! Israel has said it must do this while Bush is still in office. Israel could start this military action, but they could not sustain it...that will be our role (in the guise of 'protecting' our ally Israel). THIS IS A VERY REAL PROBLEM !!! ...coming soon
______________________________________-
Last week I wrote this email to a few friends and associates:

Lobbying for Iran war, etc
I live here in Washington DC, and currently we are experiencing a TV
ad blitz that subtle lobbies for an action against Iran, and it's not a
'negotiation action', its a military one. If the Iraq war was not
enough for you, here we go again with Iran.

Imagine what this action will do for oil prices and our economy....all
in support of a foreign country.

...some excerpts from this site

http://www.richardsilverstein.com/tikun_olam/2007/01/10/wes-clark-are-you-ever-in-hot-water-with-aipac/

....excerpt....If this war with Iran does go ahead and Joe Q Public starts to
understand what General Oded Tira wrote in ynetnews the last day of
2006, then we’re going to see anti-semitism the likes of which we’ve
never known before.
http://www.ynetnews.com/Ext/Comp/ArticleLayout/CdaArticlePrintPreview/1,2506,L-3346275,00.html


"President Bush lacks the political power to attack Iran. As an
American strike in Iran is essential for our existence, we must help
him pave the way by lobbying the Democratic Party (which is conducting
itself foolishly) and US newspaper editors. We need to do this in order
to turn the Iranian issue to a bipartisan one and unrelated to the Iraq
failure.

We must turn to Hillary Clinton and other potential presidential
candidates in the Democratic Party so that they publicly support
immediate action by Bush against Iran. We should also approach European
countries so that they support American actions in Iran, so that Bush
will not be isolated in the international arena again.”

Israel doesn’t want to use its own nuclear weapons because it will get
wiped out in return. So it plans to use ours and endanger our soldiers
in Iraq in the process. To me, this is absolutely — ABSOLUTELY —
unforgivable.

It will likely make it to the showroom, as the diesel in development for that will have broader application throughout the GM range.

To be fair, the other vehicles in that picture are not SUV's. They're full-size crew cab pickup trucks with caps/shells over the 8' cargo beds, with more in common with european "white vans" than with SUV's in terms of size and intended use.