Doug,
The reason for the increase in cars w/ lower fuel efficiency is the increase
in SUV's and pickup trucks. This represents a change in buying habits, not
a change in fuel efficiency. There are two ways to have people buy more
fuel efficient cars. One make the cars/trucks more expensive by either
taxing or raising the cost of the less efficient vehicles or (2) new
technology to improve fuel efficiency. Since everyone is already working on
new technology, the only way to change the consumer's buying habits is
increasing the cost of the vehicles. There are two ways to tax or raise the
cost of less efficient vehicles, one in the initial purchase price, or in
the cost of operating the vehicle.

I wonder why Clinton didn't propose a sur-tax on SUV's or Pickup Trucks
when he was in office?




"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
wrote in message
oups.com...

Dan J.S. wrote:
"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
Regular grade gasoline was $3.05 a gallon yesterday at several docks
in
Annapolis. Diesel was $2.61 to $2.65.

Thanks, Dubya.

If you really believe it's Bush's fault, you lost all credibility you
had.

Bad Policy Fuels High Prices

It should be amusing to see how the automatons defend this, or pretend
they were not aware of it. :-)

wrote in message
oups.com...

Dan J.S. wrote:
"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
Regular grade gasoline was $3.05 a gallon yesterday at several docks in
Annapolis. Diesel was $2.61 to $2.65.

Thanks, Dubya.

If you really believe it's Bush's fault, you lost all credibility you
had.

Bad Policy Fuels High Prices

As millions of Americans hop in their cars for vacation, the average
price for a gallon of gas has spiked to $2.60 -- and many people are
paying more than $3.00 per gallon to fill their tank. While most
everyone is feeling the pinch, "for many lower-income people -- often
those who work in service jobs or are looking for work -- each new bump
up in price means altering daily routines, spending less on clothes and
food, and keeping the kids at home instead of driving them to the pool
or friends' houses." A big part of the problem is that, despite huge
advances in technology, "America's cars and trucks are significantly
less efficient, on average, than they were in the late 1980's," driving
up demand, and the price, for fuel. Meanwhile, the Bush administration
has staunchly resisted efforts to help solve the problem by improving
fuel efficiency standards. Now, all Americans are paying the price.

BUSH ADMINISTRATION CONCEALS FUEL ECONOMY REPORT: In late July, "the
Environmental Protection Agency made an 11th-hour decision...to delay
the planned release of an annual report on fuel economy." The decision
to block the release of the report was made "because it would have come
on the eve of a final vote in Congress on energy legislation." The
study showed that "the average 2004 model car or truck got 20.8 miles
per gallon, about 6 percent less than the 22.1 m.p.g. of the average
new vehicle sold in the late 1980's." Specifically, "the average 2004
model sold by Nissan, Hyundai and Volkswagen was at least a half-mile a
gallon less fuel-efficient than in the previous model year, a sharp
drop." (A report by Environmental Defense provides details for all
major manufacturers.) That wasn't news the Bush administration wanted
public to hear because the bill "largely ignore[d] auto mileage
regulations." Several Senators offered amendments "to strengthen fuel
economy standards for S.U.V.'s, minivans and pickups" but they were all
rejected. Bush signed the energy bill, which gave away billions to the
energy industry, on August 8. Even the administration acknowledges the
bill will do nothing to reduce gas prices.

FAST, FURIOUS AND GAS-GUZZLING: The failure to mandate the production
of more fuel efficient vehicles is a giant missed opportunity. There
have been "leaps in engine technology over the last couple of decades"
that could make cars much more efficient. But in the absence of
stricter efficiency standards, these gains "have been mostly used to
make cars faster." Also, since the early 1980s, "average new vehicle
weight has risen to about 4,000 pounds today, from about 3,200." During
that time "the horsepower of an average engine has roughly doubled over
two decades, trimming four seconds from the time it takes for the
average vehicle to accelerate from zero to 60."

KEEP ON TRUCKING: The key to avoiding fuel efficiency standards is to
classify every new and trendy "crossover" vehicle as a truck. Light
trucks "are held to a lower [average fuel efficiency] standard-20.7
mpg as of model year 2003, compared to 27.5 mpg for cars."
Manufacturers are also moving vehicles that were once classified as
cars to the truck class "to sell more of the large trucks on which
profit margins have been so high." Today "S.U.V.'s and other light-duty
vehicles account for 40 percent of the nation's oil use." With only the
smallest cars remaining in the "car class" there is no pressure to
improve the efficiency of those vehicles either. President Bush and the
Congress had the opportunity to close these loopholes and improve
overall efficiency in the energy bill, but didn't do it. New
regulations set to be released later this month will create up to five
classes of vehicles based on height and width. Dan Becker of the Sierra
Club says the upcoming proposal is "an invitation to game the system."

BUSH PROTECTS MASSIVE LOOPHOLE FOR HUMMERS: In 2003, President Bush
proposed extending "fuel economy regulations to include Hummer H2's and
other huge sport utility vehicles," which are now completely exempt. As
gas prices soar to record levels, the administration has abandoned the
proposal. The exemption applies to vehicles weighing over 8,500 pounds.
When it was created, "vehicles of that weight were generally used for
commercial purposes, but now hundreds of thousands sold each year are
intended for family use." The exemption, along with potential tax
breaks for consumers who purchase them, create "powerful incentives to
produce such vehicles."


By your logic then, all of Europe must have two or three times the bad
leadership that we have. And countries like Venezuela, where gas is 13 cents
a gallon must have the best leadership ever!

Harry has never been in the stock market. When the stock market was
booming, Harry used to read the newspaper to see what stocks had increased
in value. Whenever a stock had jumped up, that suddenly was the stock Harry
had purchased a few years ago. Harry used to say he only made money in the
stock market by buying Shorts on companies which were overvalued. He said
there was too much money to be made by selling US companies short. When
Harry read about the rise in Microsoft stock, he suddenly remembered the
10,000 shares of Microsoft stock he purchased on the first day the stock was
offered.





"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
Tim wrote:
LOL Harry!

And to think, for ol' "Bushie" it was at least 80% clear profit!

you should have bought into Haliburton stock 4yrs ago when you had the
chance!



Sorry, but I have no interest in profiteering from warmongering. I'm
virtually "out" of the stock market these days, and plan to remain out of
it, other than a few blocks of shares in companies I follow for "interest"
reasons. For my purposes, there are better investments.

"Juan Valdez" wrote in message
...
Doug,
The reason for the increase in cars w/ lower fuel efficiency is the
increase
in SUV's and pickup trucks. This represents a change in buying habits,
not
a change in fuel efficiency. There are two ways to have people buy more
fuel efficient cars. One make the cars/trucks more expensive by either
taxing or raising the cost of the less efficient vehicles or (2) new
technology to improve fuel efficiency. Since everyone is already working
on
new technology, the only way to change the consumer's buying habits is
increasing the cost of the vehicles. There are two ways to tax or raise
the
cost of less efficient vehicles, one in the initial purchase price, or in
the cost of operating the vehicle.

I wonder why Clinton didn't propose a sur-tax on SUV's or Pickup Trucks
when he was in office?

How predictable for the liebrals to blame consumer choice on Bush.






"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
wrote in message
oups.com...

Dan J.S. wrote:
"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
Regular grade gasoline was $3.05 a gallon yesterday at several docks
in
Annapolis. Diesel was $2.61 to $2.65.

Thanks, Dubya.

If you really believe it's Bush's fault, you lost all credibility you
had.

Bad Policy Fuels High Prices

It should be amusing to see how the automatons defend this, or pretend
they were not aware of it. :-)

Cuz I like to keep my money here, where it can roll around and spawn more
money for everyone to play with.



"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
"Stanley Barthfarkle" wrote in message
. ..

If Detroit has any decent businesspeople at the reins nowadays, they will
come up with a 50-60 mpg (or more) commuter vehicle. I'd buy one.......

Cars like the Toyota Prius are already in that mpg range. Why wait for
Detroit to get its head out of its ass?

I purchased a fuel efficient SUV because the cost of fuel was low enough
that I did not mind 18 mpg. With the increase in fuel costs and no
realistic change in the future, in fact, it is reasonable to forecast more
increases in the future. I know my next car will be hybrid.

The increase in fuel costs will happen under any president or congress. It
is a world market that is controlling the cost of fuel. Some people in here
either can't seem to comprehend that fact, or prefer to ignore it for
political gain.


"P. Fritz" wrote in message
...

"Juan Valdez" wrote in message
...
Doug,
The reason for the increase in cars w/ lower fuel efficiency is the
increase
in SUV's and pickup trucks. This represents a change in buying habits,
not
a change in fuel efficiency. There are two ways to have people buy more
fuel efficient cars. One make the cars/trucks more expensive by either
taxing or raising the cost of the less efficient vehicles or (2) new
technology to improve fuel efficiency. Since everyone is already working
on
new technology, the only way to change the consumer's buying habits is
increasing the cost of the vehicles. There are two ways to tax or raise
the
cost of less efficient vehicles, one in the initial purchase price, or in
the cost of operating the vehicle.

I wonder why Clinton didn't propose a sur-tax on SUV's or Pickup Trucks
when he was in office?

How predictable for the liebrals to blame consumer choice on Bush.






"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
wrote in message
oups.com...

Dan J.S. wrote:
"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
Regular grade gasoline was $3.05 a gallon yesterday at several
docks
in
Annapolis. Diesel was $2.61 to $2.65.

Thanks, Dubya.

If you really believe it's Bush's fault, you lost all credibility you
had.

Bad Policy Fuels High Prices

It should be amusing to see how the automatons defend this, or pretend
they were not aware of it. :-)

"Juan Valdez" wrote in message
...
I purchased a fuel efficient SUV because the cost of fuel was low enough
that I did not mind 18 mpg. With the increase in fuel costs and no
realistic change in the future, in fact, it is reasonable to forecast more
increases in the future. I know my next car will be hybrid.

Same here.


The increase in fuel costs will happen under any president or congress.
It
is a world market that is controlling the cost of fuel. Some people in
here
either can't seem to comprehend that fact, or prefer to ignore it for
political gain.

I would not be surprised to see more sailboats and Motor/sailers in the
future as well



"P. Fritz" wrote in message
...

"Juan Valdez" wrote in message
...
Doug,
The reason for the increase in cars w/ lower fuel efficiency is the
increase
in SUV's and pickup trucks. This represents a change in buying habits,
not
a change in fuel efficiency. There are two ways to have people buy
more
fuel efficient cars. One make the cars/trucks more expensive by either
taxing or raising the cost of the less efficient vehicles or (2) new
technology to improve fuel efficiency. Since everyone is already
working
on
new technology, the only way to change the consumer's buying habits is
increasing the cost of the vehicles. There are two ways to tax or
raise
the
cost of less efficient vehicles, one in the initial purchase price, or
in
the cost of operating the vehicle.

I wonder why Clinton didn't propose a sur-tax on SUV's or Pickup
Trucks
when he was in office?

How predictable for the liebrals to blame consumer choice on Bush.






"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
wrote in message
oups.com...

Dan J.S. wrote:
"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
Regular grade gasoline was $3.05 a gallon yesterday at several
docks
in
Annapolis. Diesel was $2.61 to $2.65.

Thanks, Dubya.

If you really believe it's Bush's fault, you lost all credibility
you
had.

Bad Policy Fuels High Prices

It should be amusing to see how the automatons defend this, or
pretend
they were not aware of it. :-)

"Juan Valdez" wrote in message
...
Harry has never been in the stock market. When the stock market was
booming, Harry used to read the newspaper to see what stocks had increased
in value. Whenever a stock had jumped up, that suddenly was the stock
Harry
had purchased a few years ago.

Right. Just more of his lies. It was always funny to listen to him chime in
with "I did that" or "I have that" when someone else mentioned it.

He reminds me of that little lizard, that stands up and puffs out its chest
to make himself look bigger. After everyone leaves, he returns to his
scrawny self, and goes back under that rock of his.

Harry used to say he only made money in the
stock market by buying Shorts on companies which were overvalued. He said
there was too much money to be made by selling US companies short. When
Harry read about the rise in Microsoft stock, he suddenly remembered the
10,000 shares of Microsoft stock he purchased on the first day the stock
was
offered.

Krause says a lot of crap, and thats exactly what it is...crap.

It has been proven...he *IS* a liar, and that he has no boat...period.


--
-Netsock

"It's just about going fast...that's all..."
http://home.columbus.rr.com/ckg/

$3.28 per gallon here.


"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
Regular grade gasoline was $3.05 a gallon yesterday at several docks in
Annapolis. Diesel was $2.61 to $2.65.

Thanks, Dubya.

Wow, I just doubled checked my rated MPG on my car and it is 20 mpg city and
25 mpg highway, that is better than I remembered. When I buy my next car it
will be a hybrid, due to the forecasted gas prices in the future. When gas
reaches $4 gallon, and it will, people will still be complaining about the
cost of gas as they drive status symbol luxury SUV.



"Juan Valdez" wrote in message
...
I purchased a fuel efficient SUV because the cost of fuel was low enough
that I did not mind 18 mpg. With the increase in fuel costs and no
realistic change in the future, in fact, it is reasonable to forecast more
increases in the future. I know my next car will be hybrid.

The increase in fuel costs will happen under any president or congress.
It is a world market that is controlling the cost of fuel. Some people in
here either can't seem to comprehend that fact, or prefer to ignore it for
political gain.


"P. Fritz" wrote in message
...

"Juan Valdez" wrote in message
...
Doug,
The reason for the increase in cars w/ lower fuel efficiency is the
increase
in SUV's and pickup trucks. This represents a change in buying habits,
not
a change in fuel efficiency. There are two ways to have people buy more
fuel efficient cars. One make the cars/trucks more expensive by either
taxing or raising the cost of the less efficient vehicles or (2) new
technology to improve fuel efficiency. Since everyone is already
working
on
new technology, the only way to change the consumer's buying habits is
increasing the cost of the vehicles. There are two ways to tax or raise
the
cost of less efficient vehicles, one in the initial purchase price, or
in
the cost of operating the vehicle.

I wonder why Clinton didn't propose a sur-tax on SUV's or Pickup Trucks
when he was in office?

How predictable for the liebrals to blame consumer choice on Bush.






"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
wrote in message
oups.com...

Dan J.S. wrote:
"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
Regular grade gasoline was $3.05 a gallon yesterday at several
docks
in
Annapolis. Diesel was $2.61 to $2.65.

Thanks, Dubya.

If you really believe it's Bush's fault, you lost all credibility
you
had.

Bad Policy Fuels High Prices

It should be amusing to see how the automatons defend this, or pretend
they were not aware of it. :-)