TGural Posted March 1, 2008 Report Share Posted March 1, 2008 Don't let the polititians take your eye off the what's really happening...I don't have the exact facts and figures with the current oil prices, but the Government's taxes are generating 3 times the amount that the oil companies are making per gallon. I believe last year the government made 21cents per gallon; Oil companies 7cents per gallon. So the government has an invested interest in selling gasoline at higher prices. Hmmm...wonder if that has anything to do with the governement regulating the car industry, when it comes to not allowing them to sell cars with better fuel economy? Hmmm...wonder why the government regulates what drilling can be done it our country? Hmmm...wonder why the States don't have enough federal funds to fix the Interstate roads and bridges? Hmmm...wonder why we are having to pay tolls for new roads to be built? Hmmm...There's billions and billions of dollars being made in taxes...wonder where it's going? Does anyone know? I haven't been able to find out exactly where it's going. But I do know a good porition of the oil companie's revenues go back to investors and working folks retirement accounts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dano36 Posted March 1, 2008 Report Share Posted March 1, 2008 You obviously have been doing your homework and I have been watching this trend now since last year. And the government has the nerve to want to increase the gas tax. I believe it was Rush Limbaugh (I'm not a fan of his) that said why do people put all the blame on oil companies when they make billions when the government in the same period collects over a trillion in gas taxes. Wonder where that infrastructure is going. Next time you see them building one of those nature trails just be aware that those funds come out of the highway funding. And this has been going on long before the current administration was on board. We just never noticed it because gas was cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProTree Posted March 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2008 monday morning and oils already at 103.40 a barrell and climbing-geez Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Posted March 3, 2008 Report Share Posted March 3, 2008 I'm wondering why some need a 6 mpg semi or a 7 mpg 2-ton to get those short track cars to the local track. Guess a 3/4 ton and an open trailer aint cool enough. Â LOL! That's a good one! Â Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tps48 Posted March 3, 2008 Report Share Posted March 3, 2008 My solution is to take in more money. I raised my prices by 10% last year and this week I used the race car trailer to haul scrap iron. Scrap steel is up to $8 per 100#. 2 trips earned me over $800 last week. This was just junk laying around the shop. Looks like I have 2 more trailer loads to haul this week. Scap iron = gas, race money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lenny66 Posted March 3, 2008 Report Share Posted March 3, 2008 My solution is to take in more money. I raised my prices by 10% last year and this week I used the race car trailer to haul scrap iron. Scrap steel is up to $8 per 100#. 2 trips earned me over $800 last week. This was just junk laying around the shop. Looks like I have 2 more trailer loads to haul this week. Scap iron = gas, race money. Where are you taking this scrap??? I need some extra $$$ for racing too. Lenny66 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiTech Posted March 3, 2008 Report Share Posted March 3, 2008 My solution is to take in more money. I raised my prices by 10% last year and this week I used the race car trailer to haul scrap iron. Scrap steel is up to $8 per 100#. 2 trips earned me over $800 last week. This was just junk laying around the shop. Looks like I have 2 more trailer loads to haul this week. Scap iron = gas, race money. what did it cost in the first place to be able to collect the scrap ..good investment lol .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neon14 Posted March 4, 2008 Report Share Posted March 4, 2008 I have got alittle over 500 bucks in the last few months from the scrap yard. The most I got in one haul was $212 and that was just in the bed of my truck, it was pretty dang loaded down. Steel is about $125 a ton and aluminim is about 55 to 60 cents a pound here in corpus at the metal recycling yard. I have a trash can in my shop just for aluminim, it adds up quick, and I dont mean beer cans. There is alot of aluminim parts in a car nowdays if you take the time to take it apart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiTech Posted March 4, 2008 Report Share Posted March 4, 2008 must have come out of that neon .it was felt really light pushing you onto the scales .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfrebel Posted March 4, 2008 Report Share Posted March 4, 2008 Don't let the polititians take your eye off the what's really happening...I don't have the exact facts and figures with the current oil prices, but the Government's taxes are generating 3 times the amount that the oil companies are making per gallon. I believe last year the government made 21cents per gallon; Oil companies 7cents per gallon. So the government has an invested interest in selling gasoline at higher prices. Hmmm...wonder if that has anything to do with the governement regulating the car industry, when it comes to not allowing them to sell cars with better fuel economy? Hmmm...wonder why the government regulates what drilling can be done it our country? Hmmm...wonder why the States don't have enough federal funds to fix the Interstate roads and bridges? Hmmm...wonder why we are having to pay tolls for new roads to be built? Hmmm...There's billions and billions of dollars being made in taxes...wonder where it's going? Does anyone know? I haven't been able to find out exactly where it's going. But I do know a good porition of the oil companie's revenues go back to investors and working folks retirement accounts. Â the government does not take in more taxes as the price of gas goes up, it is a set amount whether we are all paying $1.50 at the pump or $3.50 at the pump Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tqj3 Posted March 4, 2008 Report Share Posted March 4, 2008 How is the government not allowing car makers to sell cars that get better economy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiTech Posted March 4, 2008 Report Share Posted March 4, 2008 (edited) How is the government not allowing car makers to sell cars that get better economy? most are invested in oil . most money they collect is tied to oil ..remember this country is run on oil ..get the picture ..they say money is the source of all evel ...wrong oil .. Edited March 4, 2008 by oldtimer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tqj3 Posted March 4, 2008 Report Share Posted March 4, 2008 Oldtimer-It's "the love of money is the root of all evil." How is the government keeping the auto makers from selling fuel-efficient cars? Last time I drove by a new car lot, the sucker was filled with fuel-efficient cars... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REBELRACER Posted March 4, 2008 Report Share Posted March 4, 2008 maybe the gas price increase is a secret ploy by the governement to get us to buy those hybrid cars. if they keep raising the price, more and more people will end up buying a hybrid. kind of like how they will eventually force everyone wanting to watch tv to buy an hdtv. lmao Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiTech Posted March 4, 2008 Report Share Posted March 4, 2008 (edited) Oldtimer-It's "the love of money is the root of all evil." How is the government keeping the auto makers from selling fuel-efficient cars? Last time I drove by a new car lot, the sucker was filled with fuel-efficient cars... ... ...tecknoligy has been around way back from the 70.s where they can get 100 miles per gallon plus ... oil companys dont want that , nore does the goverment want it .....tax dallors lost . just one exsample ..there is millions of other ways the cookie crumbles ..jmo Edited March 4, 2008 by oldtimer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tqj3 Posted March 4, 2008 Report Share Posted March 4, 2008 While none of those "100 mile per gallon" cars ever panned out, you could build a car that gets that kind of mileage, but it wouldn't pss the emissions regs, wouldn't pass the safety regs, and you wouldn't want to drive it. The point is, why complain because they don't build 100 mpg cars when few people are even buying 35 mpg cars? The automakers are suffering not because they don't make fuel efficient cars, they are suffering because no one is buying anything, relatively speaking. Those who feel they can't live without a pickup or an SUV aren't buying anything and they sure aren't buying fuel efficiency. Mostly, they are waiting for gas prices to fall (good luck) or at least stabilize so they can buy another gas hog. Fuel-efficient cars have been on the market for years, and if you want more fuel efficiency, vote for it by buying a fuel-efficient car or truck. Just how big a car or truck do you need to haul your 200-pound self back and forth to work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REBELRACER Posted March 4, 2008 Report Share Posted March 4, 2008 but you just cant look cool in a yaris. lol. if you look at the top selling most fuel efficient vehicles, they are all foriegn makes. can the united states auto makers not build a car that is fuel efficient like the foreign cars? with the technology we have today and the amount of money spent on funding it, if they wanted to find a solution to this problem, they would have found it. but it is all based on money and were the biggest chunks go to. same with cancer, diabeties and other diseases. they have probably found a cure, but releasing it will cause many people to lose billions of dollars and they cant have that. you gotta love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiTech Posted March 4, 2008 Report Share Posted March 4, 2008 but you just cant look cool in a yaris. lol. if you look at the top selling most fuel efficient vehicles, they are all foriegn makes. can the united states auto makers not build a car that is fuel efficient like the foreign cars? with the technology we have today and the amount of money spent on funding it, if they wanted to find a solution to this problem, they would have found it. but it is all based on money and were the biggest chunks go to. same with cancer, diabeties and other diseases. they have probably found a cure, but releasing it will cause many people to lose billions of dollars and they cant have that. you gotta love it. reb you have made my point ....omg we think alike .sometimes ..bad really bad ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tqj3 Posted March 4, 2008 Report Share Posted March 4, 2008 Pretty cynical, RebRacer. Seriously, the American automakers can and do build fuel-efficient cars. General Motors is building a lot of stuff that gets 30 mpg or more, but there's never been any real demand, demand as in "Here's my money, I want one." We're just like Congress. We can say we want something, or want to solve a problem, but if we don't fund it, we're lying. Back in the 1950s (yes, 1950s) the U. S. automakers did a national survey and found that nearly half the buyers said they would buy smaller, more fuel-efficent cars if "Detroit" built them; 47 percent, as I recall. So the domestic automakers designed and built smaller, more fuel-efficient cars. Did they get half the market? Not even close. We kept right on walking past the fuel-efficient stuff to buy the biggest V8 we could get. Even during the oil crisis in 1973 and 1974, while we were facing long lines and shortages of fuel, the big Chevrolet remained the top-selling car in America. Manufacturers were forced to put rebates on small cars to sell them, even in the midst of what we call an oil crisis. But they didn't have to put rebates on the big cars, and didn't. Faced with that, if you were running an American car company, would you be rushing to build more fuel-efficient cars? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marc200mph Posted March 4, 2008 Report Share Posted March 4, 2008 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dano36 Posted March 5, 2008 Report Share Posted March 5, 2008 the government does not take in more taxes as the price of gas goes up, it is a set amount whether we are all paying $1.50 at the pump or $3.50 at the pump You are very right about that but the fact that the government is taking in about three times over what oil company profits are is a fact. Has nothing to do with the price at the pump. Its been this way for a long time now and for some odd reason the highway fund seems to be lagging way behind the road detoriation. Think maybe it could be that everytime you go past a highway construction project that there are far more white hats out there looking things over than the actual number of people working. Just about any government project is top heavy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TGural Posted March 5, 2008 Report Share Posted March 5, 2008 How is the government not allowing car makers to sell cars that get better economy? Hearing this directly from several car dealers...but not from the American car makers though. Who knows what the truth is anymore. Never thought it would happen, but we just purchased our first foriegn car, buying an 05 VW Passat diesel getting 40-45mpg. The Passat is still made in Germany...the US Jetta is made in Mexico. VW hasn't been able to sell diesels since 05 because of emissions, thanks mainly to CA. The newer diesels are very clean now. There's a Mazda5 diesel that gets 50+mpg...but cannot buy it in the US-same deal-government regs. Just heard on the news that American car manufacturers are suffering declines in car sales last year...believe it was 13%. Here's another recent story http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/c...,1,648586.story I could be wrong, but would think these gas prices are causing more folks to look for cars with better mpg, and the best one's aren't found on the American car lots. Believe the US has the technology for better mpg...consumers have been asking, but not getting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tqj3 Posted March 5, 2008 Report Share Posted March 5, 2008 I remember when car dealers first had people asking about radial tires, wanting to have the bias-ply standard-equipment tires swapped out for radial tires, which would have left the dealers with a ton of bias-ply tires they didn't want or need. So they told customers their new cars couldn't be fitted with radial tires, because "the suspensions weren't designed for them." Of course, when the manufacturers began offering radial tires, they had to deal with this little problem, so many new cars suddenly had badges reading "radial-tuned suspension." Dealers sell what they can make money on, and right now the margin of profit in small cars isn't very high. There's no real reason for that, of course. After all, it doesn't cost any less to build a small car or any more to build a large one. Doesn't sound right, I know, but it's true. So they want to sell what they have, and what they can make money on. And they don't always tell the truth, particularly if they can shift the blame onto someone else. This is a consumer society. What we are willing to pay for, we get. What we need isn't important. You can go broke trying to supply people with what they need, but you can make a fortune selling them what they want. Don't believe it? Do politicians stay in office by telling you the truth, or by telling you what you want to hear? You want the government to keep fuel prices low? What do you think they've been doing for the last fifty years? Now it's out of their hands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neon14 Posted March 5, 2008 Report Share Posted March 5, 2008 My first car was an 81 plymouth horizon tc3, it got everybit of 45 mpg on the highway if I remember right. My wifes 97 dodge neon wont get 30 mpg no mater how hard you try. What the crap! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1-Crew Posted March 5, 2008 Report Share Posted March 5, 2008 Went to the track Saturday, then to an errand in Austin, then back to the track, then home, then back to the track for the banquet, then back home, then work, then home. Filled up today on the way back to work. 339 miles, 9.54 gal. New best for the beater car - 35.5MPG. (1995 Toyota Tercel, 309,000 miles, $500 purchase price). Got the truck ready for when I need it, 40 gallons of filtered waste veggie oil @ $1.75/gal., 16 mpg average on either straight diesel or veggie.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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