Here's a great slide show of some oldies but goodies that have been given an admirable title, Too Tough To Die.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Best Cars for Long Road Trips - MSN Autos
Best Cars for Long Road Trips - MSN Autos
Being with the family for long stretches requires comfort. What happened to the Family Summer Road Trip? Oh Yes, gas prices soared out of control thanks to greedy speculators and refiners.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Drivers adjust lifestyles to gas prices | Tulsa World
Drivers adjust lifestyles to gas prices | Tulsa World
I wish I could adjust my lifestyle to flow with the pump prices. But impossible. My lifestyle is about transporting those who need it where they want to go, not where I want to go. Not that I'm complaining, cause I'm not. Everyday is an adventure. Just some adventures are more exciting then others.
I'm often asked how I like doing what I do. I always respond with, " Most days I love it. But like any job there are days when I just wish I hadn't gotten out of bed." And it's true. This is my job. And as with any job there are good days and bad days. So, if I could change my lifestyle what I would do is eliminate the bad days.
I wish I could adjust my lifestyle to flow with the pump prices. But impossible. My lifestyle is about transporting those who need it where they want to go, not where I want to go. Not that I'm complaining, cause I'm not. Everyday is an adventure. Just some adventures are more exciting then others.
I'm often asked how I like doing what I do. I always respond with, " Most days I love it. But like any job there are days when I just wish I hadn't gotten out of bed." And it's true. This is my job. And as with any job there are good days and bad days. So, if I could change my lifestyle what I would do is eliminate the bad days.
GasBuddy's weekly gasoline outlook - Gasbuddy Gas Prices
GasBuddy's weekly gasoline outlook - Gasbuddy Gas Prices
I repost these comments because they make sense and where already out there when I went to put in my 2 cents. This way I got 4 cents worth of common sense and still have mine to add for better than a nickels worth. The more common sense the better I believe.
What about my 2 cents? Well, I am an advocate for finding and stoning all the greedy bastards of the world. It's one thing to be smart enough to earn a honest dollar off your fellow mankind. A whole other to actually take advantage of a situation to put a dishonest dollar in your pocket. Which is what I believe the corporate bastards at the big oil companies have been doing for the last few years. Instead of helping fellow Americans by holding prices down for as long as they can, they have jumped at every chance to raise prices and keep them up. Putting billions in the coffers. Thereby putting BIG bonuses into their hands. Greedy Bastards plain and simple.
"The BIG OIL MONOPOLY has been raking in BILLION's. The highest profit margin of all time. More than any company in the US, all based on fake made up speculations or any other excuse they think will fly. There is no honest reason gas is still over a dollar a gallon more than it was a year ago, none other than greed. And they wonder why we think of them as greedy parasitic bastards. The economy was hurting before the BIG OIL greed mongers saw this as an opportunity to gouge us again. And buy doing so this time, has done more harm to the US economy than ever before. Its time the government does what they were elected to do and protect the American people from the grip they have on us. We need to "LIMIT" the amount of profit they can make on made up speculative reasons. They need to be forced to prove the reason for a price hike like other utilities. We buy gas for what it cost us today, not what we think its going to or might cost us next month because we think OPEC might slow production or whatever."posted by padlocks2 and agreed with by me.
"This is the way the stations price their gasoline in my area ( northern Indiana) When the price of oil goes up they raise their prices to include the gas they already purchased when oil was at the lower price. But when oil goes down they wait to lower their gas price until that cheaper gas price gets to them. They all do it that way and they usually stick together!!!!"posted by mlambo and agreed with by me.
I repost these comments because they make sense and where already out there when I went to put in my 2 cents. This way I got 4 cents worth of common sense and still have mine to add for better than a nickels worth. The more common sense the better I believe.
What about my 2 cents? Well, I am an advocate for finding and stoning all the greedy bastards of the world. It's one thing to be smart enough to earn a honest dollar off your fellow mankind. A whole other to actually take advantage of a situation to put a dishonest dollar in your pocket. Which is what I believe the corporate bastards at the big oil companies have been doing for the last few years. Instead of helping fellow Americans by holding prices down for as long as they can, they have jumped at every chance to raise prices and keep them up. Putting billions in the coffers. Thereby putting BIG bonuses into their hands. Greedy Bastards plain and simple.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
White House lowers 2025 CAFE target
http://green.autoblog.com/2011/07/26/report-white-house-lowers-2025-cafe-target-to-54-5-mpg/
These kind of numbers just seem so unreasonable to me. I drive a Dodge Caravan mini-van currently that I'm told should be getting 17 city and 24 highway. Not even close.
Alright, if I'm on the open freeway,using the cruise and keeping my RPMs right @2000 I can get near the 24 mpg promised (of course the speed limit is 70 and I'm doing @62). City really doesn't come close. Most of the time I average around 12 to 14 mpg. I do all the tricks. Easy acceleration, don't dash from red light to red light, and keep engine well maintained. To get anywhere near a number like 54.5 is just unfathomable to me.
And as the article explains this is after lowering the number from 62. Of course the automakers have lobbying groups that are pushing hard to get this number even lower. They even realize that these kind of numbers are near impossible. That's asking for a 5% increase every year according to the article.
The Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) are regulations in the United States, first enacted by US Congress in 1975,[1] and intended to improve the average fuel economy of cars and light trucks (trucks, vans and sport utility vehicles) sold in the US in the wake of the 1973 Arab Oil Embargo.
These kind of numbers just seem so unreasonable to me. I drive a Dodge Caravan mini-van currently that I'm told should be getting 17 city and 24 highway. Not even close.
Alright, if I'm on the open freeway,using the cruise and keeping my RPMs right @2000 I can get near the 24 mpg promised (of course the speed limit is 70 and I'm doing @62). City really doesn't come close. Most of the time I average around 12 to 14 mpg. I do all the tricks. Easy acceleration, don't dash from red light to red light, and keep engine well maintained. To get anywhere near a number like 54.5 is just unfathomable to me.
And as the article explains this is after lowering the number from 62. Of course the automakers have lobbying groups that are pushing hard to get this number even lower. They even realize that these kind of numbers are near impossible. That's asking for a 5% increase every year according to the article.
The Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) are regulations in the United States, first enacted by US Congress in 1975,[1] and intended to improve the average fuel economy of cars and light trucks (trucks, vans and sport utility vehicles) sold in the US in the wake of the 1973 Arab Oil Embargo.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
$1 gas price rise cuts SUV value 13%, ups 'econobox' 10% - Drive On: A conversation about the cars and trucks we drive - USATODAY.com
$1 gas price rise cuts SUV value 13%, ups 'econobox' 10% - Drive On: A conversation about the cars and trucks we drive - USATODAY.com
Where do us mini-van drivers stand? Not that it truly matters cause I manage to get the most use out of a vehicle before trading it in as automobile possible. Seriously.
The mileage on one of my retired vehicles is always well into the 300,000 mark. Granted I take excellent care of it. I maintain a clean interior, don't allow back seat smoking, and car washes every couple of days. Under the hood I try to do oil changes right at or just under 4000 miles but sometimes I miss the mark. Tires are rotated regular. Replaced as needed. Anything else that goes wrong is always replaced with new parts, no second hand refurbished or salvaged parts. Can't afford a second break down time loss.
So when I do a trade-in I get high marks for condition, but that's offset by low marks for high mileage. I get about fair condition market value the way it is now. My concern on this matter is for more of the everyday casual driver. If they maintained their vehicle like me, but had the much lower mileage how would they fair in resale? That's why reading such articles is so enlightening.
Where do us mini-van drivers stand? Not that it truly matters cause I manage to get the most use out of a vehicle before trading it in as automobile possible. Seriously.
The mileage on one of my retired vehicles is always well into the 300,000 mark. Granted I take excellent care of it. I maintain a clean interior, don't allow back seat smoking, and car washes every couple of days. Under the hood I try to do oil changes right at or just under 4000 miles but sometimes I miss the mark. Tires are rotated regular. Replaced as needed. Anything else that goes wrong is always replaced with new parts, no second hand refurbished or salvaged parts. Can't afford a second break down time loss.
So when I do a trade-in I get high marks for condition, but that's offset by low marks for high mileage. I get about fair condition market value the way it is now. My concern on this matter is for more of the everyday casual driver. If they maintained their vehicle like me, but had the much lower mileage how would they fair in resale? That's why reading such articles is so enlightening.
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