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I've been thinking about this for the past couple of weeks ever since we heard that gas prices were going to go up big time this summer. But why are gas prices going up? So many people have opinions on the matter, but it comes back to something so very simple: Supply and demand.
The hard numbers from every source I have looked at show that there is no shortage of crude coming into the U.S. The problem is we haven't built a new refinery in over 20 years. Ever refinery we have is running at 100% all the time just to fall behind. Of course, the government is in no rush to build a new one, or you think they would have mentoned it by now.
So prices should go up to around $2.50 this summer. And as much as I hate to say it becuase I need to run 93 in my Grand Prix, the prices need to go that high, and perhaps even higher. Because the one thing that needs to change in this country is all these yuppie suburbanites with their 3 ton sport-utes and turbo diesel pickups who own them for nothing more than a status symbol or a child transport need to take these vehicles back to the dealer and find something that gets more than 16 miles per gallon.
If you want to find the main cause for the high price of gas, it's these ridiculous trucks and SUVs. And the manufacturers don't help things either when they flaunt that they can build them taller, with more powerful engines, and more towing capacity than anyone will know what to do with. But it is not the manufacturers' fault their vehicles are so popular. It is our fault, because in the end we're the ones that buy them. Now of course there are people out there who use these vehicles for their intended purposes, and that's fine. If you take your sport ute off road, good. That's what it was meant for. If you are towing a concrete trailer with your Chevy 2500HD, fine. It was made to tow. If you have a Surburan or Excursion and use it as a family conveyance, you need to seriously rethink your purchase.
And even more than that, people in this country seem to have a complex. The size of the vehicle is directly proportional to how fast they drive it. If I'm driving my Lumina down the highway 70 miles an hour to get decent highway mileage, why then do people in sport-utes (mainly) find the need to go 80, 90 or more miles per hour. You're already driving a vehicle that gets poor mileage under normal driving conditions, and now you're vastly exceeding the speed limit and getting far worse mileage. And forget whether you can afford to put gas in it or not. We're past that point in this country. We have to start thinking about whether it's right to be so wasteful of the resources we have.
So many other countries have it right on the nose when they say we're a wasteful people. In Europe they have a Ford Focus with a VVTi turbo diesel engine that gets 54mpg. Here we have the Focus RS 8, a 450hp compact car! Sure it's a cool idea, but it's just one more example of while others think first of efficiency, we think of big power numbers. So I hope the gas price does go up this summer, and hopefully it will get close to $3 a gallon, if nothing else then to help reverse a swing in consumer vehicle purchases that started way back in the early nineties, because most can't afford the vehicle and the gas at that price. If we want to save money, then we have to start saving energy. There is no miracle on the horizon that is going to bring gas prices into a freefall. They are going to stay high and keep rising until the demand goes back down.
I know many of us don't own big vehicles, so this doesn't really apply to us. But all of know someone that does. Even my family has owned an Explorer and an Expedition, when before we had those we had two minivans that performed all the same duties quite well. I guess the point is if you do own a truck or sport ute, evalute how you use it and if you could do everything you do with it with something more fuel efficient. And if you know someone who owns one, ask them if they actually use it for what it was intended for. Any part we can play in helping this country become more responsible with energy is a good thing.
The hard numbers from every source I have looked at show that there is no shortage of crude coming into the U.S. The problem is we haven't built a new refinery in over 20 years. Ever refinery we have is running at 100% all the time just to fall behind. Of course, the government is in no rush to build a new one, or you think they would have mentoned it by now.
So prices should go up to around $2.50 this summer. And as much as I hate to say it becuase I need to run 93 in my Grand Prix, the prices need to go that high, and perhaps even higher. Because the one thing that needs to change in this country is all these yuppie suburbanites with their 3 ton sport-utes and turbo diesel pickups who own them for nothing more than a status symbol or a child transport need to take these vehicles back to the dealer and find something that gets more than 16 miles per gallon.
If you want to find the main cause for the high price of gas, it's these ridiculous trucks and SUVs. And the manufacturers don't help things either when they flaunt that they can build them taller, with more powerful engines, and more towing capacity than anyone will know what to do with. But it is not the manufacturers' fault their vehicles are so popular. It is our fault, because in the end we're the ones that buy them. Now of course there are people out there who use these vehicles for their intended purposes, and that's fine. If you take your sport ute off road, good. That's what it was meant for. If you are towing a concrete trailer with your Chevy 2500HD, fine. It was made to tow. If you have a Surburan or Excursion and use it as a family conveyance, you need to seriously rethink your purchase.
And even more than that, people in this country seem to have a complex. The size of the vehicle is directly proportional to how fast they drive it. If I'm driving my Lumina down the highway 70 miles an hour to get decent highway mileage, why then do people in sport-utes (mainly) find the need to go 80, 90 or more miles per hour. You're already driving a vehicle that gets poor mileage under normal driving conditions, and now you're vastly exceeding the speed limit and getting far worse mileage. And forget whether you can afford to put gas in it or not. We're past that point in this country. We have to start thinking about whether it's right to be so wasteful of the resources we have.
So many other countries have it right on the nose when they say we're a wasteful people. In Europe they have a Ford Focus with a VVTi turbo diesel engine that gets 54mpg. Here we have the Focus RS 8, a 450hp compact car! Sure it's a cool idea, but it's just one more example of while others think first of efficiency, we think of big power numbers. So I hope the gas price does go up this summer, and hopefully it will get close to $3 a gallon, if nothing else then to help reverse a swing in consumer vehicle purchases that started way back in the early nineties, because most can't afford the vehicle and the gas at that price. If we want to save money, then we have to start saving energy. There is no miracle on the horizon that is going to bring gas prices into a freefall. They are going to stay high and keep rising until the demand goes back down.
I know many of us don't own big vehicles, so this doesn't really apply to us. But all of know someone that does. Even my family has owned an Explorer and an Expedition, when before we had those we had two minivans that performed all the same duties quite well. I guess the point is if you do own a truck or sport ute, evalute how you use it and if you could do everything you do with it with something more fuel efficient. And if you know someone who owns one, ask them if they actually use it for what it was intended for. Any part we can play in helping this country become more responsible with energy is a good thing.
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