Gas will be $4.00 a gallon by Monday 9-05…

[Rob]

When grilled further on (Sun, 04 Sep 2005 20:57:53 -0400),
"(PeteCresswell)" <[email protected]> confessed:

> Per Chuck:
> >That doesn't explain needing 4WD or a SUV. There are plenty of big
> >*cars* out there that will get *double* the mileage of an SUV.
> >
> If there's anything out there that gets 30 mph and has enough leg room/head
room
> I'd be grateful if somebody could name it. Actually, 25 mph would be pretty
> good....
>

Try the Honda Accord Hybrid. Fits 3 car seats in the back, with room to spare
in the front. I'm 6'5", 230lbs, and it fits great.

Cheers,
Rob

 

[(PeteCresswell)]

Per Chuck:
>That doesn't explain needing 4WD or a SUV. There are plenty of big
>*cars* out there that will get *double* the mileage of an SUV.

Double my Suburban's mileage would be 30 mpg.

I tried everything I could find six years ago and reluctantly chose the SUV
route as the only game in town. Chrysler's Town and Country sedan was
close.... as was Chevy's full sized wagon... but they were each about as
humongous as the 'burb and each had significant ergonomic shortcomings.

If there's anything out there that gets 30 mph and has enough leg room/head room
I'd be grateful if somebody could name it. Actually, 25 mph would be pretty
good....

Shopping time may be coming up soon. I've already tried a few minivans. The
headroom on some is ok, but the legroom has been impossible on the few I've
tried. Those center consoles really mess things up. It's like the designers
have decided that people get insecure if there's too much room inside the cab.
One possible player is Freightliner/Dodge's Sprinter Van....but that one only
gets about 22 mpg and lacks certain niceties like a tilt steering wheel.
--
PeteCresswell

 

[Phil, Squid-in-Training]

Jasper Janssen wrote:
> On Sun, 04 Sep 2005 12:31:19 -0700, Mark Janeba
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>> Jasper Janssen wrote:
>>> OPEC is also not by a long shot the only
>>> oil production that matters any more. Russia, Venezuela, the North
>>> Sea offshore, yes, even the US, nowadays add up to a significant
>>> counterweight for OPEC.
>>
>> For what it's worth, Venezuela is one of the five *founding members*
>> of OPEC. (Surprised me too, when I looked it up). OPEC isn't just
>> Arab countries.
>
> Yeah, but AFAICT Venezuela is also one of the most eager to break away
> from the cartel and a primary cause of the near-dissolution OPEC has
> undergone. They had common ground back then, as oil-producing
> countries, but nowadays the arab nations identify themselves more
> with the being arab than with the oil, and Venezuela's best interests
> aren't served much by OPEC any more.
>
>
> Jasper

Venezuelan (as in gas in Venezuela) gas-petrol is (was) $0.17/gal.

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

 

[Phil, Squid-in-Training]

> If there's anything out there that gets 30 mph and has enough leg
> room/head room I'd be grateful if somebody could name it. Actually,
> 25 mph would be pretty good....

Hmm... Pete it sounds like that road bike you were contemplating would fit
the 25 *mph* bill pretty nicely. Plus it has pretty good headroom, too.

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

 

[(PeteCresswell)]

Per Paul Cassel:
>Test drive a new Beetle. I'm not tall and don't like VW's at all, but my
>try of one indicated to me a lot of head / leg room.

You've reminded me. Long time ago, somebody, somewhere (Car Talk?) opined that
Beetles had the most headroom/access-egress room of any car built.

I had a Beetle sunroof when I was a kid. Actually had a '58 Chevy, and my dad
bought the Beetle for my mom to drive.

She refused - "too small" - so she wound up driving the Chevy and I inherited
the Beetle.

I paid some VW shop to weld an 8" extension on the steering post, hack sawed the
seat brackets to move the driver's seat back about 10", put a suicide knob on
the steering wheel, put an extended 8-ball thingie on the shift post and drove
it happily for quite a few years.

Considerably more room and fun to drive than anything I've owned since -
including the 'burb. Used to *love* driving that thing around at night in 6-10
inches of new falling snow.
--
PeteCresswell

 

[Chuck]

On 2005-09-05, (PeteCresswell) <[email protected]> wrote:
> Per Chuck:
>>That doesn't explain needing 4WD or a SUV. There are plenty of big
>>*cars* out there that will get *double* the mileage of an SUV.
>
> Double my Suburban's mileage would be 30 mpg.
>
> I tried everything I could find six years ago and reluctantly chose the SUV
> route as the only game in town. Chrysler's Town and Country sedan was
> close.... as was Chevy's full sized wagon... but they were each about as
> humongous as the 'burb and each had significant ergonomic shortcomings.
>
> If there's anything out there that gets 30 mph and has enough leg room/head room
> I'd be grateful if somebody could name it. Actually, 25 mph would be pretty
> good....
>
> Shopping time may be coming up soon. I've already tried a few minivans. The
> headroom on some is ok, but the legroom has been impossible on the few I've
> tried. Those center consoles really mess things up. It's like the designers
> have decided that people get insecure if there's too much room inside the cab.
> One possible player is Freightliner/Dodge's Sprinter Van....but that one only
> gets about 22 mpg and lacks certain niceties like a tilt steering wheel.

Good luck. We're shopping too. We have 2 4runners and a truck. I have to
have the truck for work, but I can't justify playing in the sand dunes
in my 4runner when gas is the much. It's not that we can't afford it,
it's just the point of the whole thing. Insurance policies are up the
12th and the wife and I will go from insuring 4 vehicles to 2.

Of course, once snowboarding season starts, I'll have to whip out the
rust bucket s-10 Jimmy, which is a hog, unless I find the right station
wagon.

 

[Chuck]

On 2005-09-05, (PeteCresswell) <[email protected]> wrote:
> Per Paul Cassel:
>>Test drive a new Beetle. I'm not tall and don't like VW's at all, but my
>>try of one indicated to me a lot of head / leg room.
>
> You've reminded me. Long time ago, somebody, somewhere (Car Talk?) opined that
> Beetles had the most headroom/access-egress room of any car built.
>
> I had a Beetle sunroof when I was a kid. Actually had a '58 Chevy, and my dad
> bought the Beetle for my mom to drive.
>
> She refused - "too small" - so she wound up driving the Chevy and I inherited
> the Beetle.
>
> I paid some VW shop to weld an 8" extension on the steering post, hack sawed the
> seat brackets to move the driver's seat back about 10", put a suicide knob on
> the steering wheel, put an extended 8-ball thingie on the shift post and drove
> it happily for quite a few years.
>
> Considerably more room and fun to drive than anything I've owned since -
> including the 'burb. Used to *love* driving that thing around at night in 6-10
> inches of new falling snow.

Those things would take a beating. I had 2 beetles and 1 Karman Ghia
convertable as a kid. They were fun on the trails too, until you break a
tailpipe. I never went as far as adding headers. Ever have a Borg-Warner
gas heater backfire?

 

[Lars Lehtonen]

According to Jasper Janssen <[email protected]>:

>Yeah, but AFAICT Venezuela is also one of the most eager to break away
>from the cartel and a primary cause of the near-dissolution OPEC has
>undergone. They had common ground back then, as oil-producing countries,

Internet says:

In early 1986, Saudi Arabia discontinued selling its oil
at official prices and switched to a market-based pricing
system called netback pricing--that guaranteed purchasers
a certain refining margin. In doing so, Saudi Arabia
recaptured a significant market share from the rest of
OPEC. The sharp rise in crude oil supplies precipitated
the crash of spot prices from an average of US$28 per
barrel in 1985 to US$14 per barrel in 1986.
<http://countrystudies.us/saudi-arabia/41.htm>

Perhaps the weekend Miami jetset kleptocrats that ran Venezuela in the
80s were willing to cheat on their quotas, but it was the Saudis who
broke OPEC. Chavez ran on a platform that specifically dictates using
petroleum as a cudgel against US intervention.

>nowadays the arab nations identify themselves more with the being arab
>than with the oil, and Venezuela's best interests aren't served much by
>OPEC any more.

This doesn't explain OPEC's continued HQ-residence in Vienna, or
the complete inability of the Arab nation to use "the oil weapon" to
advance non-energy policy at any time after 1973.

---
Lars Lehtonen

 

[Qui si parla Campagnolo]

[email protected] wrote:
> On 4 Sep 2005 13:20:15 -0700, "Qui si parla Campagnolo"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >
> >[email protected] wrote:
> >> On 4 Sep 2005 06:08:42 -0700, "Qui si parla Campagnolo"
> >> <[email protected]> wrote:
> >>
> >> >
> >> >(PeteCresswell) wrote:
> >> >> Per Llatikcuf:
> >> >> >Nobody needs a 2 ton SUV that gets 10 miles a gallon!!!
> >> >>
> >> >> Actually, more like 4 tons/14 mpg.
> >> >>
> >> >> But some people do need such things - some for load carrying capacity... but
> >> >> some large people just for egnomics/safety.
> >> >>
> >> >> Sit in your own car. Now slide the seat forward until your shins are pressed
> >> >> against the dashboard hard enough to be a little sore right away and raise the
> >> >> seat until your head is leaving a grease spot in the headliner.
> >> >>
> >> >> That's precisely my situation sitting in my wife's Chevy Lumina with the seat
> >> >> all the way down and back.
> >> >>
> >> >> Now, bearing in mind that your body will still slam about eight inches forward
> >> >> against the seat belts and six inches upward in a minor collision, tell me how
> >> >> safe you feel.
> >> >> --
> >> >> PeteCresswell
> >> >
> >> >And enjoy paying for it and wonder why the Feds or the auto industry
> >> >didn't see the writing on the wall and produce a large vehicle, just
> >> >for you big guys, that actually was fuel efficient. Thank Mr 'Dubya'for
> >> >staying in the pocket of big oil and big auto, and now the auto
> >> >industry is gonna get slammed cuz all they produce is 14mpg vehicles.
> >> >
> >> >Short sighted hardly sums it all up. They 'could' have produced a
> >> >efficient, big SUV, but ya 'gotta have a hemi!!!"
> >>
> >> Dear Peter,
> >>
> >> And enjoy paying for all those extra gears and wonder why
> >> the Feds or the bike industry didn't see the writing on the
> >> wall and produce a large bicycle, just for you big guys,
> >> that actually had just three hub gears. Thank Mr 'Dubya' for
> >> staying in the pocket of big Campagnolo and big Shimano, and
> >> now the bike industry is gonna get slammed cuz all they
> >> produce is 14+ gear vehicles.
> >>
> >> Short sighted hardly sums it all up. They 'could' have
> >> produced a 3-gear, efficient, commuter bike, but ya 'gotta
> >> have a 20-gear carbon-fiber wonder!!!'
> >>
> >> (With hand-made wheels, too!)
> >>
> >> Carl Fogel
> >
> >Cute, but when gas is not only expensive AND not available, I can still
> >get to work on my 20 gear carbon fiber wonder......
>
> Dear Peter,
>
> Thank heavens Mr. 'Dubya' forced the bicycle industry to
> provide what you prefer by approving laws passed by the
> legislature mandating 32-spoke wheels!
>
> Of course, if gas is not available, many people who come to
> your shop for hand-made bicycle wheels may be wondering why
> shipments to every business in Boulder have stopped.
>
> When do you predict that gas will be unavailable in Boulder,
> Colorado?
>
> Carl Fogel

I guess this has drifted to the realm of absolutes and some more
denial. Remember the fuel shortage in the 70s? I was on cruise in the
Med onboard CV-62. Not much fuel to fly, not much ND for the CV. Makes
for a pretty long cruise.

Shortages will make it tough for everybody and maybe, just maybe, the
US economy will begin to shift a wee bit toward a more responsible
path.

The two of you that point to how oil shortages will affect everybody
and will hurt the economy smack me of 'how dare you predict problems'
school of thought, as if it really won't get that bad....we'll see. Not
you, Carl or me or anybody else's 'opinion' matters, it will happen w/o
us and will happen to us. I'm glad I have a bike shop rather than a car
repair place. I woulkd rather predict doom and gloom, and be surprised
than think it'll be ok, and then see how bad it is.

 

[Sock Puppet]

On 5-Sep-2005, Chuck <[email protected]> wrote:

> I bet these gas prices will have auto industries
> changing in a hurry here. The hurry part scares me. I expect to see alot
> of Pinto, Vega, Maverick, quality cars being wheeled out in the next few
> years.

It was **** like this from "Detroit" that allowed the Japanese manufactures
to establish themselves in the US market.

--
Sock Puppet

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http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----

 

[Sock Puppet]

On 5-Sep-2005, "Qui si parla Campagnolo" <[email protected]> wrote:

> Shortages will make it tough for everybody and maybe, just maybe, the
> US economy will begin to shift a wee bit toward a more responsible
> path.

Maybe we will elect some politicians that actually care about US workers and
will have policies to rebuild the manufacturing base that brought prosperity
to this country and created the middle class that the "new republicans" have
been destroying.

Heck, a US based company (SRAM?) could manufacture components here and give
Campy and Shimano some real competition in the quality market.

--
Sock Puppet

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[Sock Puppet]

On 5-Sep-2005, Lars Lehtonen <[email protected]> wrote:

> This doesn't explain OPEC's continued HQ-residence in Vienna, or
> the complete inability of the Arab nation to use "the oil weapon" to
> advance non-energy policy at any time after 1973.

shrub would bomb any country that dared to withhold oil from god fearing,
christian, american SUV drivers.

--
Sock Puppet

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[Vee]

ReptilesBlade wrote:

> I just wanted to put the word out as best I could to help as many people as I
> could avoid getting taken by surprise.

Yeah, right. http://www.gasbuddy.com/ says the world didn't end today,
as you would have us believe. Hysterics and terrorism have awfully
similar results... this is a time for signs that say "Don't Panic",
written in large, friendly letters.

-Vee

 

[Sock Puppet]

On 5-Sep-2005, "Vee" <[email protected]> wrote:

> Yeah, right. http://www.gasbuddy.com/ says the world didn't end today,
> as you would have us believe. Hysterics and terrorism have awfully
> similar results... this is a time for signs that say "Don't Panic",
> written in large, friendly letters.

DON'T FORGET YOUR TOWEL!

--
Sock Puppet

 

[Llatikcuf]

Chuck wrote:
>
> I get 45 mile a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

I like peanut butter sandwiches, have one every morning before I go to
class. I would consider this to be a clean fuel.

-n

--

Llatikcuf-at-gmail-dot-com

Eat the meek!

 

[Paul Cassel]

(PeteCresswell) wrote:

>
> I paid some VW shop to weld an 8" extension on the steering post, hack sawed the
> seat brackets to move the driver's seat back about 10", put a suicide knob on
> the steering wheel, put an extended 8-ball thingie on the shift post and drove
> it happily for quite a few years.
>
Good grief! How the heck tall are you - 250 cm? I want to see a pic of
your 72 cm bike <g>.

 

[[email protected]]

On 5 Sep 2005 05:58:10 -0700, "Qui si parla Campagnolo"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
>[email protected] wrote:
>> On 4 Sep 2005 13:20:15 -0700, "Qui si parla Campagnolo"
>> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>> >
>> >[email protected] wrote:
>> >> On 4 Sep 2005 06:08:42 -0700, "Qui si parla Campagnolo"
>> >> <[email protected]> wrote:
>> >>
>> >> >
>> >> >(PeteCresswell) wrote:
>> >> >> Per Llatikcuf:
>> >> >> >Nobody needs a 2 ton SUV that gets 10 miles a gallon!!!
>> >> >>
>> >> >> Actually, more like 4 tons/14 mpg.
>> >> >>
>> >> >> But some people do need such things - some for load carrying capacity... but
>> >> >> some large people just for egnomics/safety.
>> >> >>
>> >> >> Sit in your own car. Now slide the seat forward until your shins are pressed
>> >> >> against the dashboard hard enough to be a little sore right away and raise the
>> >> >> seat until your head is leaving a grease spot in the headliner.
>> >> >>
>> >> >> That's precisely my situation sitting in my wife's Chevy Lumina with the seat
>> >> >> all the way down and back.
>> >> >>
>> >> >> Now, bearing in mind that your body will still slam about eight inches forward
>> >> >> against the seat belts and six inches upward in a minor collision, tell me how
>> >> >> safe you feel.
>> >> >> --
>> >> >> PeteCresswell
>> >> >
>> >> >And enjoy paying for it and wonder why the Feds or the auto industry
>> >> >didn't see the writing on the wall and produce a large vehicle, just
>> >> >for you big guys, that actually was fuel efficient. Thank Mr 'Dubya'for
>> >> >staying in the pocket of big oil and big auto, and now the auto
>> >> >industry is gonna get slammed cuz all they produce is 14mpg vehicles.
>> >> >
>> >> >Short sighted hardly sums it all up. They 'could' have produced a
>> >> >efficient, big SUV, but ya 'gotta have a hemi!!!"
>> >>
>> >> Dear Peter,
>> >>
>> >> And enjoy paying for all those extra gears and wonder why
>> >> the Feds or the bike industry didn't see the writing on the
>> >> wall and produce a large bicycle, just for you big guys,
>> >> that actually had just three hub gears. Thank Mr 'Dubya' for
>> >> staying in the pocket of big Campagnolo and big Shimano, and
>> >> now the bike industry is gonna get slammed cuz all they
>> >> produce is 14+ gear vehicles.
>> >>
>> >> Short sighted hardly sums it all up. They 'could' have
>> >> produced a 3-gear, efficient, commuter bike, but ya 'gotta
>> >> have a 20-gear carbon-fiber wonder!!!'
>> >>
>> >> (With hand-made wheels, too!)
>> >>
>> >> Carl Fogel
>> >
>> >Cute, but when gas is not only expensive AND not available, I can still
>> >get to work on my 20 gear carbon fiber wonder......
>>
>> Dear Peter,
>>
>> Thank heavens Mr. 'Dubya' forced the bicycle industry to
>> provide what you prefer by approving laws passed by the
>> legislature mandating 32-spoke wheels!
>>
>> Of course, if gas is not available, many people who come to
>> your shop for hand-made bicycle wheels may be wondering why
>> shipments to every business in Boulder have stopped.
>>
>> When do you predict that gas will be unavailable in Boulder,
>> Colorado?
>>
>> Carl Fogel
>
>I guess this has drifted to the realm of absolutes and some more
>denial. Remember the fuel shortage in the 70s? I was on cruise in the
>Med onboard CV-62. Not much fuel to fly, not much ND for the CV. Makes
>for a pretty long cruise.
>
>Shortages will make it tough for everybody and maybe, just maybe, the
>US economy will begin to shift a wee bit toward a more responsible
>path.
>
>The two of you that point to how oil shortages will affect everybody
>and will hurt the economy smack me of 'how dare you predict problems'
>school of thought, as if it really won't get that bad....we'll see. Not
>you, Carl or me or anybody else's 'opinion' matters, it will happen w/o
>us and will happen to us. I'm glad I have a bike shop rather than a car
>repair place. I woulkd rather predict doom and gloom, and be surprised
>than think it'll be ok, and then see how bad it is.

Dear Peter,

Er, so you're predicting a fuel shortage aboard U.S.
aircraft carriers in the 1970's?

Carl Fogel

 

[Threeducks]

Vee wrote:
> ReptilesBlade wrote:
>
>
>>I just wanted to put the word out as best I could to help as many people as I
>>could avoid getting taken by surprise.
>
>
> Yeah, right. http://www.gasbuddy.com/ says the world didn't end today,
> as you would have us believe. Hysterics and terrorism have awfully
> similar results... this is a time for signs that say "Don't Panic",
> written in large, friendly letters.
>
> -Vee
>
Yup. Gas prices in Detroit have been dropping for the last two days and
it doesn't take much effort to find regular at $2.79/gal.

 

[[email protected]]

ReptilesBlade wrote:
> This is very reliable information I got from the person who runs my local
> Mobil station. Keep in mind this information is coming from St. Louis
> Missouri.
>
> By this coming Monday (in two days) gas everywhere (as in nation wide) will
> be $4.00 a gallon for regular unleaded. Within two weeks after that it will
> be $5.00 a gallon.

[snip]

Dear RB,

Like most of the predictions, this one has proved to be mistaken.

This is as near as I can get to Pueblo, Colorado:

http://www.coloradospringsgasprices.com

At 5:52 p.m. Monday, regular gas was selling for $3.09 at several of
the higher (and more typical) prices in Colorado Springs. In the Denver
area, $3.09 to $3.19.

Note that actual times may go back 72 hours, so be cautious.

You can check prices across the U.S. here to see if the sky is falling:

http://www.gasbuddy.com/

In Seattle, $2.75 to $3.49 (a single high priced station).

In New York City, $3.19 to $3.79 (getting closer to $4, but then it's
New York City, not exactly known for low prices).

In Los Angeles, $2.75 to $3.29.

In Chicago, $2.86 to 3.44.

In Dallas, $2.78 to $3.29.

Somehow, I doubt that gas will rise to $5 nationwide in two weeks by
Monday, September 19th.

A surprising number of rec.bicycles.tech posters seem to lose their
heads whenever their dislike of cars is involved.

Carl Fogel

 

[Michael Press]

In article <[email protected]>,
"Sock Puppet" <[email protected]> wrote:

> Maybe we will elect some politicians that actually care about US workers and
> will have policies to rebuild the manufacturing base that brought prosperity
> to this country and created the middle class that the "new republicans" have
> been destroying.

And the Easter Bunny, and Santa Claus, and the Tooth
Fairy, ...

--
Michael Press