Gas prices versus demand
June 30, 2008 by Frank Girard · 5 Comments
What is the impact of lower demand for gasoline on gas prices? You would think that lower demand means lower prices but is that always the case?
Here’s a summary of an article about this from USA today:
- WASHINGTON — A decline in Americans’ demand for gasoline is keeping record prices from skyrocketing even further, a USA TODAY analysis of gas and oil prices shows. If crude oil prices come down, refiners and retailers say they will seek to recoup their losses, and the price at the pump is likely to remain high.
Here’s some related stories on this issue…what do you think?
So we have two competing theories of how to bring down the cost of oil, increased supply or decreased demand (the decreased demand is the European solution of high taxes on gas). The increase in supply is straightforward, although some …
Do I like paying higher prices? NO but I do understand supply v. demand as well as what is a need and a want. We as Americans are truly spoiled and want to live extravagant lifestyles as long as we do not have to pay the piper.
gas prices / offshore drilling
Now, price must drop until demand increases enough to match demand with supply, and again, it takes a big price change to make a small demand change. So expanding our supply of oil by a little bit can have a big impact on prices at the …
Soaring Gas Price Will Push Millions Off the Road, Says CIBC Report
“With half of the world’s population never having to pay world oil prices, it shouldn’t come as a great surprise that $130 per barrel crude prices have yet to quash world demand. And the only supply response to date has been yet another …
High Gas Prices and Your Future
It’s the way of things, the writer added: “When supply and demand go through their natural fall and gas seems cheap again, people will buy big cars.” Today’s oil troubles are unlikely to fade away like the 1970s Arab oil embargo. …
What Exactly is an Oil Speculator?
That was the supply side, what about demand? The key talking point here is leverage. Leverage allows any investor to supplement their investment by borrowing to invest more. If I wanted to buy a contract for a barrel of oil at $100 I …
News: Federal Reserve Expects Gas and Food Prices to Drop Soon
“In those countries where strong commodity demands are associated with rapid growth in aggregate demand that outstrips potential supply, actions to contain inflation by restraining aggregate demand would contribute to global price …
Pay attention! The real deal on gas prices
The law of supply and demand applies to oil prices, but it also applies to oil futures. Futures markets operate on commitments to buy so much of a commodity on a certain date at a certain price. By way of example, soy is a futures …
John Sharp: Let Marketplace Govern Energy Industry
With these tax policies, American free markets will amaze the world with our energy production, including all forms of alternative energy, and the laws of supply and demand will bring adequate energy at a fair price.
Hyper-milers draft illegally
June 29, 2008 by Frank Girard · Leave a Comment
My last post was about reducing wind resistance to increase gas mileage by adding a device to improve the wind contour of your car. This morning I learned of a crazy and highly illegal approach that hypermilers (those who strive to get the best gas mileage) are using. Police are writing tickets for hypermilers who are “drafting.” Drafting is the illegal practice of tailgating big rigs in the hopes of cutting wind resistance.
Road Trip! How to Save Gas During Summer Vacation
Yes, practicing hyper-miling (the art of wringing every last drop from your gas tank) can save you money. Also yes, hyper-miling can put you in the hospital. To be a successful hyper-miler you have to take some risks—like drafting …
Pain at the pump, and steps we can take now to reduce it
Recently I heard about a driving style called ‘hypermiling’ which is a set of techniques people can use to dramatically increase their gas mileage. Google “hypermiling” and you’ll get a laundry list of websites, some better than others. …
Beat High Gas Prices By Hypermiling
Some of the tips to improve your gas mileage are well known, such as pumping up your tires to its maximum rating on their sidewalls, changing your air filter at least once a year and not driving above the speed limit. …
AAA Identifies Dangerous Hypermiling Techniques
How do you feel about hypermiling safety? Source: PRNewswire-USNewswire. Tags: coasting, drafting a semi, fuel-efficiency, hypermiling safety, lighter weight oil, mpg, overinflating your tires, safety. Share This.
Air drags down mileage
June 29, 2008 by Frank Girard · Leave a Comment
You may have never thought about this but how efficiently your car moves through the air can impact your miles per gallon. For example, if you have a roof rack on your car and don’t need it, take the rack off because that rack will cause your miles per gallon to drop. In fact, there are products on the market you can add to your car to make it move with less “drag” on the car. You may have seen large trucks with pieces added to the truck’s body to make it fuel efficient. Yesterday I learned from the owner of a local outdoor/sporting goods store that you can buy pieces to attach to your car to make it move more efficiently with less drag. One of the products is called air buds.
Bottom line, don’t keep racks on your car when you don’t need them! And consider adding a component to your car to cause it to move through the air with less drag.
Here’s some related stories:
Better MPG thru AERODYNAMICS….all the COOL kids are doing it!!!!
There are a couple of things we as commuters can do to increase our MPG by decreasing our cars drag coefficient. Roof racks, ugly wings, and huge body kits; really hinder the movement of air around your car….so get rid of those things. …
What Do Roof Racks, Ugly Body Kits, and Dragster Style Aluminum …
All those little Honda Civics running around with ugly unpainted body kits and huge dragster style aluminum wings….are killing the great gas mileage those little cars were born to get! And Please I Beg You!!!!……just save up your money …
Rolling down the window creates drag and will cause your engine to work harder. Use the vents on the car air conditioner instead. * When you’re driving, avoid quick starts. Accelerating slowly can improve your gas mileage. …
Cargo or cargo racks on top of your vehicle (eg, cargo boxes, canoes, etc.) increase aerodynamic drag and lower fuel economy. When it comes to mileage, a major issue is air flow. The fewer things blocking the air passage, the better. …
$11 worth of mods plus new tires - Car and Driver improves MPG by 25%
Fuel is burned to overcome two predominant forces: rolling resistance and aerodynamic drag. At highway speeds, aero drag dominates, and that’s where Car and Driver spent most of its effort - and the $11 for supplies. Mod #1: Front air …
How Can Truck Bed Covers Help Save Gas And Transform Your Truck
This could easily save several miles from your gas mileage every time you use your truck. These types of covers also provide extra gas mileage by reducing the air drag that is exacerbated by the truck bed - an aerodynamic nightmare. …
Gas City, IN uses golf carts
June 25, 2008 by Frank Girard · Leave a Comment
It’s amazing how creative and innovative we Americans can be when faced with a problem or challenge, like the high gas price dilemma we’re all in…This just in from Gas City, Indiana (yes there really is a place named “Gas City).
People in Gas City have begun puttering around town in, all of things, golf carts! The police chief there has just given a draft ordinance to the City Council to regulate the use of golf carts on city streets! (Things must be slow at the council). What are the regulations? I don’t know but, using a little imagination, I can guess what one of the regulations could be- When throwing your groceries into the back of your golf cart, be sure to yell to all your neighbors puttering around “for”…or is it “four”…You can tell I’m not a golfer.
What would Tiger Woods do?…
Is this post funny? I really don’t know because I’m dead tired after spending five hours driving one of my kids into Brooklyn for soccer practice, across the dreaded BQE (for non-New Yorkers that stands for the Brooklyn Queens Expressway, otherwise known as “driving congestion hell!).
It’s late and I accomplished my goal of a daily post…good night until tomorrow’s post!
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Related Stories:
This unique article offers some money saving advice for all of us out there that have no extra money due to the gas crisis, with gas costing $4 per gallon, on a nation average. Well this guy from Miami details where you can find the . …
Quick Reference of Alternative Powered Vehicles
Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) is widely used for heating, cooking and cooling. When it is compressed and stored in a fuel tank, it can be used as a very clean-burning fuel for cars and trucks. Gas-burning engines can easily be modified …
The Harley-Davidson commuter scooter
Ok, I know this doesn’t exist and people will tell me labor costs are too high here to build something that cheap and it doesn’t fit the Harley image… but Harley has made everything from golf carts to bomb casings and Holiday Rambler …
Amtrak demand high
June 24, 2008 by Frank Girard · Leave a Comment
Several years ago my wife and I did something unusual- we decided to take the Amtrak train to New Orleans for some training for a new business we wanted to start. And I have to tell you the trip was one of the most relaxing, pleasant experiences we’ve had in long time. The pace was a lot slower than the hustle and bustle of taking the plane- or the wear and tear of driving to get there.
At the time we wondered why more folks didn’t take vacations by train. As we reflected on the state of the railroad business at the time, we talked about how the train business had dwindled down to a shadow of its former self. Why? Planes were faster, people liked the personal nature of driving in their own cars, and running a railroad was expensive for the operators since most trains never ran at capacity.
But the world has changed and demand for rail travel has expanded quickly because of gas prices. I predict the same for shipping. Shipping by rail I speculate is alot more energy efficient than by trucks.
Amtrak set records in May, both for the number of passengers it carried and for ticket revenues — all the more remarkable because May is not usually a strong travel month.
Here’s a recent news story about the railroad business, specifically Amtrak– With fuel prices going up, and consumers feeling the squeeze at the pump and at the airport, ridership for Amtrak is on the rise. That’s the good news. The bad news is that years of Republican attempts to drown Amtrak in the bathtub have resulted in it having difficulty to meet the growing demand.
But the railroad, and its suppliers, have shrunk so much, largely because of financial constraints, that they would have difficulty growing quickly to meet the demand.Many of the long-distance trains are already sold out for some days this summer. Want to take Amtrak’s daily Crescent train from New York to New Orleans? It is sold out on July 5, 6, 7 and 8. Seattle to Vancouver, British Columbia, on July 5? The train is sold out, but Amtrak will sell you a bus ticket.
“We’re starting to bump up against our own capacity constraints,” said R. Clifford Black, a spokesman for Amtrak.The first point that needs to be made is that rail is a viable option. This is a lesson Europeans learned a long time ago. Portland has light rail, the Max, and Sound Transit is working to bring a viable light rail system to the Puget Sound Region. Both should be expanded. I’ve been to Boston, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and the San Francisco and in every city I didn’t use a car, I used rail. Los Angeles even started putting in light rail before I moved here 6 years ago. If you want to be a “major-league” city, get yourself a light rail system.
The other point that needs to be made is that our Democratic-controlled Congress should expand funding for commuter rail because with the cost of oil not coming down anytime soon, the airlines are going to continue nickel and diming passengers until only the rich can fly. With additional fees for checked baggage and United Airlines’ recent announcement that it will require minimum stays, David Goldstein probably has it right:Better carry a shitload of quarters with you the next time you fly folks, just in case the plane loses cabin pressure and you have to feed the goddamn coin slot on the oxygen mask.
Can pay toilets on airliners be far off? And if people are paying to use the toilet, don’t you think they’ll feel entitled to smoke in the lavatories? Who really wants to travel that way?
With the state of our fossil-fuel based economy the way it is, it’s time to start thinking about other transit options, including building and/or expanding commuter rail. As we do that, perhaps Amtrak should be reconsidered as well.
And while we’re at it, can Sound Transit please have the Sounder stop at the Olympia station for all those commuters in Thurston County who work in Seattle?
————————-
So Americans will probably spend more time on trains going to work or taking a vacation. What do you think?
Related articles below:
|
This Week at Amtrak 2008-04-18 - Also, the SAL route through Ocala is also substantially being upgraded to handle a higher level of freight trains, which should also have enough growth capacity to add regional passenger trains, too. This deal demonstrates how the … Capital Facilities, Transportation Goals, Objectives, and Policies - If projected funding is inadequate to finance needed transportation facilities, based on adopted level-of-service standards and forecasted growth, the City should explore one or more of the following options:. § Lower the LOS standard … Map A New Plan For Transportation - Altogether, light-rail lines carry 62000 passengers a day, 15% more than projected. Sandeep Bohra, 25, an electrical engineer who lives on Denver’s east side, gave up his car three months ago. He formerly drove an average of 60 miles a … |
Car fueled by air!
June 23, 2008 by Frank Girard · Leave a Comment
From the “hard to believe” department, how’s this for cheap fuel- car fueled by air! No really- until I read it in the magazine POPULAR MECHANICS I laughed and thought “no way”. Well, apparently it is true! Last year, POPULAR MECHANICS reported that the Air Car caused a huge stir when they reported that Tata Motors would begin producing it in India. Zero Pollution Motors (ZPM) confirmed to PopularMechanics.com on Thursday that it expects to produce the world’s first air-powered car for the United States by late 2009 or early 2010. As the U.S. licensee for Luxembourg-based MDI, which developed the Air Car as a compression-based alternative to the internal combustion engine, ZPM has attained rights to build the first of several modular plants, which are likely to begin manufacturing in the Northeast and grow for regional production around the country, at a clip of up to 10,000 Air Cars per year.
Gas demand down
June 22, 2008 by Frank Girard · Leave a Comment
Demand for gasoline is down–In large part because gasoline prices are over $4 a gallon. This drop in demand is the first time in 17 years. China is raising prices for gasoline and diesel — a move that might ultimately lower demand. And, on Sunday, there were signs supply might increase as Saudi Arabia’s oil minister indicated that the country would increase production through the end of the year if needed. On Friday, the energy markets were digesting news of an attack on a Royal Dutch Shell oil platform in Nigeria that shut down over 200,000 barrels of oil per day in production. According to the EIA, in the first quarter of the year, demand for gasoline fell about 100,000 barrels per day, or about 1.3 percent of daily consumption.
Other related stories:
The Plan for $1 a Gallon Gas - Increase Supply and Decrease Demand. Ever economist across the globe will tell you that simple plan WILL bring down the price of oil. The fact is, there are only a few ways to increase supply and lots of ways to decrease demand (all of …
Election year gas prices - Gas prices have gone up a full dollar a gallon just since the primary season began back in January, and of course, the excuse is supply and demand, but as gas prices have continued their meteoric rise, people are driving less and less …
A little riff on “Supply and Demand” - Maybe it’s the gas prices. Maybe it’s corn or rice. You could raise prices to stay afloat…justifying the supply. Or you could find a way to reduce the demand, offering an alternative instead. That way you’re passing the savings onto …
Oil falls as crude supply holds, gas demand drops - NEW YORK (AP) - Oil prices slid Wednesday after the Energy Department said crude oil supplies fell less than expected last week while demand for gasoline dropped nearly 2 percent. The national average for a gallon of regular…
Oil falls as crude supply holds, gas demand drops (AP) - Forum: Commodities and futures - news and analysis (RSS feeds) Posted By: Yahoo! Finance Post Time: 06-18-2008 at 12:20 PM.
Fuel efficient car guide
June 22, 2008 by Frank Girard · 1 Comment
FUEL EFFICIENT CAR GUIDE
Here you will find videos about the top ranked (by the government) fuel efficient cars. You will also find handy links to the manufacturer’s web sites
Happy shopping! The list is below:
Honda FCX Clarity
Link to manufacturer’s site: Honda FCX Clarity - Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle - Official Web Site
Here’s a video about the Clarity:
Mazda MX-5 Miata
Link to manufacturer’s site:Mazda MX-5 Miata
Video about the Miata:
Toyota 2008 Toyota Prius Hybrid
Link to manufacturer’s web site:Hybrid Prius - 2008 Toyota Prius Hybrid Car Site
Video about the Prius:
MINI
Link to manufacturer’s web site:MINIUSA.com
This cover the MINI Cooper S, MINI Cooper Convertible,MINI Cooper S Convertible,MINI Cooper Clubman, MINI Cooper S Clubman Ph
Video about Mini:
2008 Toyota Yaris
Link to manufacturer’s web site:2008 Toyota Yaris
Here you will get information about the Liftback and Sedan.
Here’s a video about the Yaris:
2008 Honda Civic Hybrid
Link to manufacturer’s web site:2008 Honda Civic Hybrid
Video about Honda Civic Hybrid
Driving miles down
June 22, 2008 by Frank Girard · Leave a Comment
U.S. car owners drove 1.4 billion fewer highway miles in April than they did in April 2007, the Department of Transportation said Wednesday. Americans have driven 20 billion fewer miles overall this year, the Transportation Department says. That marks the sixth consecutive monthly drop and coincides with record gas prices and an increase in transit ridership, Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said. The chart below from the Federal Highways Administration shows a previous trend over the years of mileage traveled growing every year. This trend may change dramatically based on the high price of gas. What do you think?
Related Stories Below
| Gasoline Prices Affecting Driving Habits - Finding the economic price point at which consumer behavior changes has always been an issue for businesses. Sometimes market conditions force changes. At other times it is a question of “charging what the market will bear” in order to …
How to save money on gas - DOE separately claims that motorists could reduce their fuel bill by 5-33%, depending on their existing driving conditions and habits, by trying to use the brake pedal less and accelerate more slowly. Driving more slowly should also … Downsizing to the extreme - In the end, Consumer Reports hopes that all motorists are able to better balance their wants and needs, leading them toward more fuel-efficient vehicles and driving habits. —Jeff Bartlett For tips on saving gasoline with your current … 6 Bad Driving Habits Will Cost You Gas - They say bad habits die hard. That is true when it comes to driving bad and wasting gas. Save on gas by not doing the following thanks to an article on Yahoo by Peter Valdes-Dapena of CnnMoney.com :. 1. Racing away from green lights … |
Energy Manhattan Project
June 21, 2008 by Frank Girard · Leave a Comment
In an earliest post, I shared the idea (promoted by many) that we should launch an “energy Manhattan project” with focus by top experts on energy independence. Well apparently there is a movement in Congress to launch such a project.
With gas prices rising and no end in sight, we hear a lot of rhetoric in Congress in relation to the way we should be approaching our energy problem in the United States. The “New Manhattan Project for Energy Independence” challenges the United States to achieve 50 percent energy independence in 10 years and 100 percent energy independence in 20 years, and will award competitive prizes to the first individual or group who can reach any of seven established energy goals.
To achieve these goals, the New Manhattan Project will bring together scientists and researchers in the U.S. in a competitive format to reach one of seven energy goals. Second, because it was the original Manhattan Project in the midst of World War II that brought together the best scientists and researchers to solve one of the most challenging scientific missions to face our nation — and by pure hard work and dedication to a unified mission, they succeeded. Click here for the full story
Will this Manhattan project be launched with the focus and intensity of the World War II Manhattan project? Can this country get excited “about anything” with the intensity during World War II? I wonder- what do you think? Do you think this Manhattan project will be something other than positioning by a few politicians? We all know something needs to be done but “when the rubber meets the road” - a road alot more costly to dirve on today- what do you think will come out of the “New Manhattan Project”?
