[flash]

i don't understand what that means

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[Cloud9...68]

He's facetiously saying that gas has gotten so expensive he's contemplating carrying the car on his back instead of driving it.



It's interesting how in the search for better fuel economy, many manufacturers are starting to offer 7-speed, and even 8-speed transmissions (always automatics, though). The magazines who have road tested them say it's hard to know which gear you're in.



$9/gal of gas is just nuts. Not only does it produce a significant hardship on the populace (not everyone can take public transportation everywhere), but it raises shipping costs, hits the airline industry (and consequently hotels, restaurants, and everyone associated with travel and entertainment), and just overall hurts the economy. And for what? To "encourage" the conversion to some inferior fuel? I pray that we don't follow in Europe and Japan's footsteps in this lunacy. But we desperately need to rebuild much of our infrastructure, which is probably going to mean higher gas taxes, so it may be inevitable.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[flash]

lol - we're already running the inferior fuel - it's just cheaper than the alternatives for us, not better



increasing transportation costs will drive more localized industry and commerce - that will be very good for middle america, and the US in general, as it will mean less importing of goods - our economy has suffered the most as a direct result of importing more than we export - we've all seen the negative impact of the big box store and what it did to local business - returning to utilizing our own local goods rather than imports will only serve to bolster our own infrastructure and encourage business - high fuel and transportation costs will force that



i'm all for high fuel costs and taking away some of the privileges too many over entitled people have gotten too used to - we've gotten fat and lazy as a nation - we did fine for a very long time without being able to get in the car and go wherever we wanted to whenever we wanted to, and rather stayed more at home - we can stand to return to that mindset some



the other upside is that the air here is already getting better as a result of the decrease in traffic, and it has been a lot easier for me to get around

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[Rap]

Bob with all due respect, unless manufacturing can be accomplished here in a cost competitive fashion that just sounds like a look back to the good old days which may or may not have been that good. Remember blue laws? Can't say I would like to go back to those days. I agree we do not export enough besides services but cost will rule. Unless of course there is an import embargo which prevents goods from entering this country. Then the problems are much more difficult than import/export issues. The good old days of 25 cents for gas are childhood memories.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[DaveN]

Remember Bob there are two sides to every coin (except David Blaines <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/smile.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />. I too believe that higher fuel cost will stimulate local economies. But, from the other side of the coin, I am tired of buying lower priced bulk Calfornia produce when I should be buying local. Higher gas prices may produce a real drop in your economy as we start to support our own producers - as it should be IMHO.

I would happily pay 50% for a product that says "Made in Canada" and I'm sure most of you (should) feel the same about American products.



Now that's OT.



Oh yea, I would like a taller 6th too <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/biggrin.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[Cloud9...68]

I don't know... Lots of people say they will pay more for locally-produced goods, but more often than not, people make their purchase decisions based on what they can afford. I'm probably in the minority here, but I personally thing free trade is a good thing. When you start tinkering with the free flow of goods through tariffs, artificially high cost of transportation of goods, and the like, all kinds of bad things start to happen. Now, I'll quickly add that keeping the prices of exports low by manipulating ones' currency is every bit as abhorrent as restricting imports by slapping tariffs on them, so as usual, there's no easy solution, nor is there one without major side effects. So much easier to tinker with ones' 968 (unless you're working on that wretched sunroof - a PhD in macroeconomics won't help you one bit there )

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[Rap]

Small farmers are a minority here and we lose more everyday. Agribusiness is big busines and is supported by Washingtons tax policies. I live in an area where there are farmers markets in the summertime that sell local produce. Economies of scale prevent them from producing enough for everyone. Because I am lazy I go to the big supermarket to buy. Why? One stop shopping with the largest choice. Hard to turn that around in a consumers mind. And that sunroof needs two people so you don't ding the heck out of your car. Other than that, thank and pray for our men and woman in the services, and have a Happy Memorial Day all!

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[Cloud9...68]

Lol - I wasn't referring to removing the sunroof (a painful enough task in itself), I was talking about trying to fix it. Mine is possessed, probably a lost cause. I'm stuck using whatever work-arounds I can to get the thing unlocked or locked, as the case may be. I've found dead chickens and Caribbean-inspired chants help some...

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[flash]

obviously i'm in the minority, but frankly i think we should ban all imports of everything until we have a zero debt self sustaining economy - screw those who are too lazy to work for what they get - line them up and shoot them - screw welfare - screw free handouts - let's get back to post WW2 where people actually put in a day's work for their bread - that's how the parks got built in the bay area and i think it was a better solution than we have now



we are where we are because we let it get this way - time to pay the piper



i'd love to see gas get up to 6, 7 or even 10 dollars a gallon - those that can't afford don't need to drive - they will find other ways to get where they need to go, just like we all did 100 years ago before cars - it may suck for a while, but ultimately it will be better

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[tamathumper]

What is playing out in America has played out countless times before, in civilizations going back many thousands of years.



Any populace which incorporates a monetary system based on the collection of interest (usury) runs a predetermined course. The creation of- and velocity of- money cannot be sustained without increasingly extreme measures (emancipation, higher and higher rates of immigration, declaration of wars) to spur borrowing and circulation.



Having overextended the cycle by a few decades due to some very extreme manipulations, I'm concerned that the adjustment this time will be even harsher than in the past.



Uruguay is looking more and more like a great retirement destination.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[Rap]

I am in total agreement that people need to work and stop sucking off the system. With the number of things that need to be repaired in the US a WPA would be great .unions would do their best to prevent. Of course Roosevelt hired a union chief to run and make the WPA work. Not sure we have that type of visionary these days. If your outtake is greater than your intake your upkeep will be your downfall. That was drilled into me as a kid. Clinton , and I am not a dem, made people get off welfare in the 90's and it worked plus it transformed the entitled into working functioning tax paying members of society. I agree we have a painful adjustment coming especially when hard conversation about finances becomes demonized to throwing Granny off a cliff!

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[lbpesq]

The richest 400 people in America possess more of the wealth than the poorest 150 million. You can fiddle all you want with the price of gas, import export ratio, or anything else, but as long as this huge chasm remains, there will be problems. As for the sunroof, I have no problems with the one on my cab. <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/wink.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />



Bill

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[Chris Vais]

I'm sure that I have made this observation before on this forum, but some things bear repeating. This country became the most powerful in the world because we have been blessed with abundant resources, a stable government, an educated population. There was a time in this country when we were the envy or the world for our manufacturing ability, abundant agricultural output and inventiveness. Not so much any more, but I believe that it can be turned around. The question is whether or not the people with the foresight and leadership skills to lead the way will be willing to run for elective office and whether or not the voters will support them.



Would $9.00 a gallon gas be detrimental for a while, yes, but we have the capacity in this country to produce alternative fuels. I'm working on an alternative fuels project and we will determine whether it can be commercialized. If it fails there are others just as promising. I'm also working on the California High Speed Rail project. The idea of traveling by train from the Bay Area to LA in 2.5 hours is appealing. It will be expensive to accomplish, but worth it in the long run. As it is now the rolling stock will likely be manufactured overseas and the steel, for the rails will likely come from China. It doesn't have to. The best commercial aircraft are built in this country. We can certainly design build competitive high speed trains, if we put our minds to it and our tax dollars behind it. We can go back to the industrial heartland of this country and build new steel mills and manufacturing plants to build the components. Just think what could have been accomplished if the billions of dollars that have been poured into the two wars we are fighting had been instead invested in rebuilding this country.



I'm proud to be an American and I'm proud to be a Veteran on this Memorial Day. I also believe that this country's best days are still ahead of us even if we end up paying more for fuel. Hopefully we will all be burning some form of the green fuel that I'm helping to perfect, and it won't cost $9.00 a gallon!! Until that happens thank God for a 6 speed transmission.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[Langley968]

WOW! I should use my 6th gear more often, since just the "talk" about it seems to make the end users here into economic "experts"! <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/laugh.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />



I hardly ever use 6th, since there is no "wide open" roads around here, and certainly not ones that I am "allowed" to go 100 MPH + on... That 6th gear must be an autobahn feature... <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/sad.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> Would have loved to have had my 968 and it's 6th gear back in March when I was chugging along on the autobahn in a rented Hyundai (! - yes in Germany - go figure) at 130 KMH... <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/mad.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[DaveN]

We need higher gas prices considering we produced almost 31 Gigatonnes of C02 last year which is close to the slated world limit of 34 GT for 2020! C02 is on the rise, so much for saving the ecosystems et al. <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/sad.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />



Way OT again.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[Cloud9...68]

Interesting discussion, and it's great to see how such a controversial topic can be discussed so respectfully, as it should be, because there really aren't any absolute answers, just decisions with their own trade-offs.



My personal take is that I just don't see how in our modern world any country, even one as blessed as the United States with the characteristics Chris outlines, can truly prosper as a self-contained unit. Yes, we have a large quantity of natural resources, but not nearly enough to fuel our various industries, many of which would simply whither and die, and all their jobs with them, if you took away the resources and products they rely on from other countries. A few examples of materials we import 100% of are Columbian, Fluorspar, Graphite, Mica, Quartz crystal, rare earths, Rubidium, Thallium, and Thorium. I, like most, had no clue what these materials are used in until I looked it up, but they are critical to American industries such as steelmaking, lubrication, jet engines, combustion equipment, paint, cement, paints, glass, abrasives, etc., etc.





Another example is oil. Yes, we have huge quantities of it in the US, enough to be nearly "self-sufficient," but extracting it would come at a large environmental and safety cost (and I'm the farthest thing from a tree hugger), which is a big part of why we're importing so much of it. It would be great if we could come up with a competitive alternative, and I wish Chris and his company all the best, but people have been trying for decades without any luck. Gasoline is a near-miraculous material, so you're going up against Usain Bolt in the 100 meters, I'm afraid.



Yes, we have lots of systemic problems, but isolating ourselves from the rest of the world economically isn't the answer.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[lbpesq]

Chris, any chance that alternative fuels project is a combination auto fuel/wine? Kind of like "New Shimmer" on the old SNL which was both a floor wax and a desert topping? lol.



One thing that might help on various fronts is legalized cannabis. Stop throwing billions down the toilet on a failed "war on some drugs" and a prison industrial complex, and allow American farmers to cultivate industrial hemp which can provide food, fuel, paper, fiber, etc., and pull CO2 out of the atmosphere to boot!



Bill

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[Rap]

I treat your children and grandchildren everyday for addiction. Guess what most of them smoke? Not oil. Legalization of pot regardless of all the rationalizations comes with steep longterm costs. No amount of money saved, jobs produced, reduction of co2 ,money produced or taxes derived can override this cost. Don't mean to be dramatic but this is the reality I look at everyday.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[Cloud9...68]

Wow, how far off topic can we go? Very predictable - every time a topic that even hints at gas mileage comes up at a time when gas prices are high, a rambling, far-ranging, and very interesting discussion ensues.



Rap, even though I'm maybe one of, oh, five or six people of my generation who never, even once, tried an illegal drug, not even pot (never had any interest, basically), I've often thought we should put an end to the costly insanity of the drug war by legalizing not only marijuana, but all drugs. As a professional in the field, do you really believe legalization would increase drug use? I've heard that that hasn't happened in places where they've done it. In fact, I've heard it has had the opposite effect by removing much of the thrill of doing something "bad." But I don't work in the field, so I defer to your expertise. Thanks.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[lbpesq]

And I bet all of those addicted kids started with milk, so we obviously have to outlaw milk! Any review of the science, (NOT the politics), reveals that the gateway theory has been completely debunked other than the fact that, due to criminalization, the "store" where one obtains cannabis is the same store that sells cocaine, meth, etc. In Amsterdam, where they have deliberately separated cannabis from the "hard drugs", teen use of those hard drugs has steadily declined. Similarly in California, where the medical cannabis laws have arguably resulted in de facto legalization, teen use of drugs, including cannabis, has declined. Furthermore, with regulation, it would make it more difficult for kids to obtain drugs. Currently, it's easier for a 12 year old to get a bag of weed than a bottle of Jack Daniels. No one has to show ID to get the weed. And the argument that legalization will result in increased use relies an an assumption that there are a lot of people out there who want to use drugs but are refraining from doing so because they are illegal. In my experience, (and I've been involved in drug law for 25+ years both as a lawyer and an activist), just about anyone who wants to use drugs is already doing so. If drugs were legalized, crime would go down 50% overnight. The junkie that breaks into your home and steals your TV wouldn't be doing so if they could get their fix for $.50. Similarly, we wouldn't have 14 years olds shooting it out with Uzis if, instead of making $500 on their corner, they could only make $5. Remember, when alcohol prohibition was repealed, the Mafia got out of the beer business. We live in a country that has 5% of the world's population, and 25% of the world's prison population. We imprison more per capita than any other nation. The "war on some drugs" is necessary to feed this beast and it's bankrupting us. It it really wise to spend all this money on a failed program while cutting budgets for schools, arts, libraries, roads and other infrastructure? Wouldn't it be great to have brand new high speed roads where we could all use our sixth gear! (As he gets back on point) <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/wink.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.