Oil Prices and you

[Geezer38]

The Peak Oil debate goes on, we all agree that the situation is getting worse as time goes on, what are you going to do about it when you can no longer afford to drive?

[Geezer38]

No doubt in my mind, fuel prices will continue to escalate as we run out of cheap oil and eventually, maybe in the next year or so, be unable to afford fuel. This is a subject that I've been thinking about for a long time and I do have a plan. I've driven my own cars for over 50 years now and I drive a lot, mainly because we live in the country.

Our plan is to sell out now and move right downtown in a small town up the road. That town has good public transportation and I'll use it. Those buses run on diesel now but could easily run on bio-fuels, or, with different engines, natural gas, or propane. Battery technology is advancing again, so we may even see electric buses in a few years.

We are getting older and a few years ago, my wife developed a disability that severly limits her walking distance. A friend had a good four-wheel electric scooter that he wanted to sell very reasonably, so I bought it. We can plug it in at night and she can go up to 25 Km @ up to 7 KMH. Perfect for getting out to the store or wherever.

I ride a bicycle and walk for exercise. Apparently, it's good for me.

[Ms Digabit]

Due to the high rising cost of the car i used to own (petrol,road tax ,mot,running repairs etc) we found it was cheaper if we moved into the town centre, therefore i now walk to work and walk into town to shop etc. i find it very convenient, however i do pine the loss of wheels occasionally for daytrips with the family
The public transport in uk is not cheap nor is it reliable or easily accessible at the times when i need to be in work,or return home at night, especially on a sunday/bank holidays, so that is not an option at the moment.

[Geezer38]

I ran across a fascinating message board yesterday http://www.greenhybrid.com

These people all own hybrid cars and love to talk about them. They are also nuts. They refer to themselves as hyper milage people and constantly work to improve their milage ratings. They appear to range from 46 MPG up the 93 MPG. I don't believe high fuel prices deter them from driving.

[Zan de Man]

I have a standard diesel Saab and I can get nearly 46 mpg.

[Fredfredson]

I've just received an electric assisted bike that I'm going to use for commuting now that the weather is warming.

I can get about 15 miles on a charge.

When out for a test ride today I was able to go up hills, that my daughter on her 24 speed mtn bike couldn't get up, without breaking a sweat. :yay

F
:pooter

[sir digalot]

looked at the used price of a prius today, and got sticker shock...

the only alternative to getting a cheaper car to run, of course, is to ear nexponentially more money to be able to keep a big engined guzzler running...

although at the moment that seems a pipe dream, i am sure pretty soon the cards will break and I will get a job that i actually am worth.

then it is 6.0 litre mustang time :lol

screw the environment, screw the cost... and screw any sad SOB who wants to burn my ass off in a hybrid :lol

actually i miss a smaller more efficient car, but as ms digabit says in the UK they have alot more to worry about then just fuel, the MOT can be a killer on an older car... at least out here you can be running pretty much a seat on bent wheels and the only thing that matters is that candy floss comes out the exhaust pipe...

tho i must admit city prices can be expensive, we not only pay more tax on fuel but have a city sticker and also the obligatory plates to re leicense too... all in all sticker and plates is over $150 a year on top of insurance ans rising fuel costs, and don;t even get me started on maintenance, especially if you choose to take it to a wrench-retard.... they cahrge the earth and do a shite job and over price ALL The components...

[Geezer38]

Governments react very sloooowly in a crisis, but after the oil crisis in the 70's, the Canadian government started subsidizing the cost of automotive propane and the conversion of gasoline engines to burn propane. I think this program started in the 80's and continued for some years but I think it has been discontinued since. A lot of people did switch over to propane (which is made from natural gas) and besides being much less expensive to run, it ran much cleaner, oil needed changing less often and engines lasted much longer. Converted engines did have a bit less power, but with those big V-8 engines, it was barely noticeable.

So, conversion to propane is definitely feasible, practical, and we have huge supplies of natural gas. If necessary, we can run all automobiles on propane.

A couple of years ago, my wife was pretty badly stove up with degenerative disc disease and was unable to walk very far. She doesn't drive and I was away from home in camp half the time. I bought her a four-wheel electric scooter (used) from a friend and she used that to get around with. It has a range of 22 KM, and a top speed of 6 KM; very handy in malls as well as occasional trips to the Post Office and back (4
KM). When she gets home, she just plugs it in and an on-board battery charger tops up the batteries.

I'm hoping in a few years, to be able to buy an automobile that will travel at highway speeds and have good range. The big holdup is lagging battery technology, but that is starting to catch up, so I'm optimistic. I believe Volvo has now developed a concept sports car that is all-electric, very fast, and has good range too. I suppose eventually some version of it will make it into production.

I dream of the day when we can go on a 10,000 KM trip as we did last year in our new all-electric automobile, travel deserted back country roads with perfect confidence, stop at a fast food restaurant for lunch, plug my car in for 45 minutes to recharge, pay my electric bill with a debit card, and drive on. That night, I'll plug in at the motel, and again, pay for my charge with a debit card.

[potter]

"looked at the used price of a prius today, and got sticker shock... "


I would have asked for a new price instead of a used price.

[Elipson]

I always walk, or if I am to travel to see the family, I take the train. Never really need a car much...

[potter]

I always walk, or if I am to travel to see the family, I take the train. Never really need a car much...

It would be great if we could do that around here. Unfortunately our infrastructure is built on the assumption of everyone having and desiring to use an automobile, and cheap energy. They have things so spread out around here you really need a car. Bicycles can be used but are dangerous as people driving don't watch out for them and roads are narrow, and public trasit here is virtually non existant. Many place cannot be reached by walking or bike because the infrastructure was not made for those methods.

You might say we've painted ourselves into a corner.

[Geezer38]

Yes, I agree, a lot of places in North America are like that, about the best we can do right now is to buy a highly fuel efficient auto. Quite a number are on the market now, new and used. Getting 35MPG is a whole lot better than 22MPG when it's time to refuel. Zan mentioned he was getting nearly 46 MPG on his diesel Saab but I think he is using Imperial gallons (160 OZ) as opposed to U.S. gallons (128 OZ). so his U.S. MPG would be 36 or 37 MPG.

[penultima thule]

I deplore the absence of the option:

Annexe another oil rich tin pot country in the name of democracy.

I'd Go Anywhere To Fight For Oil To Lubricate the Red White & Blue (http://cdbaby.com/mp3lofi/lyonsdana5-08.m3u)
by Dana Lyons
lyrics (http://www.danalyons.com/lyrics/lyrics_for_public/lubricate.html)

[potter]

I deplore the absence of the option:

Annexe another oil rich tin pot country in the name of democracy.

I'd Go Anywhere To Fight For Oil To Lubricate the Red White & Blue (http://cdbaby.com/mp3lofi/lyonsdana5-08.m3u)
by Dana Lyons
lyrics (http://www.danalyons.com/lyrics/lyrics_for_public/lubricate.html)

Is this the republican "fight" song??

[Diemos3211]

I'll buy a diesel vehicle. There's a bio-diesel filling station about a mile from my house.

[sir digalot]

i want a bullshit powered car.... then i will move to the capitol of any state in the country...

though methane is still a very viable alternative, despite all the crap they say about how hard it is to collect needing this that and the other...

boston manages just fine at one of their waste plants, which traps the methane then burns it to partially power the plant, and virtually all cars can easily be converted to run on the methane, it has, andcan be done..

and talk about renewable.... geez, just give everyone baked beans and vindaloo if we are running low... we will have so much we will not know what to do with it :lol

[Geezer38]

I live way out in the country, so if I want anything at all except booze, I have to drive to town, 40 minutes south or an hour north. Fortunately, I drive a Honda, so I get reasonably good milage but as soon as we can sell, we plan to move to town. That will reduce my driving substantially, and my fuel bill.

We hope to live within the core district that is well serviced with bus transportation. My wife has an electric scooter(four wheels) and I have a good mountain bike with lots of low gears.

I expect within the next few years, we will not only be plagued by high fuel prices, but I would also expect to see fuel rationing as the crisis deepens. Remember the WW2 ration cards? No, I suppose not, but we will probably have ration books full of ration stamps and will only be allowed to purchase very limited quantities of fuel. I expect to make a killing bootlegging ration stamps. It should be a nice supplement for my old age pension. Perhaps I can convert the wife's electric scooter to a small cab?

[sir digalot]

i also rememebr huge gas bags on the top of cars to powerthem from natural gas and methane. :lol

[Geezer38]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Sounds good to me! I'm pretty sure my gut could fill a pretty big gas bag in just about any 24 four hour period, less if I' not being careful about what I eat. I think I've mentioned to the wife that I don't expect to die silently, but to go out in an incandescent cloud of flaming gas!#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#A few years ago, I recall reading an article that blamed the widespead cattle raising industries for global warming and they presented figures claiming that the cattle of the world exude thousands of tons of methane gas that is the major contributor to global warming. I don't belive a word of it, I think it's old people, they don't call us old farts for nothing!#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[silverkitty39]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Noone wants to push a shopping cart with all their worldly possessions? Sounded pretty good to me, but then what do I know.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[Jayne B]

Most of my worldly possessions are books - and I'd need a string of shopping carts a half-mile long!

[Geezer38]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Sorry Jane; you are just not what we look for in bag ladies. Next!#ed_op#IMG src="/Forum/richedit/smileys/1.gif"#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#