This is the year when gas prices WILL affect CP attendance

You haven't even put on 50,000 in 7-8 years? WOW. I've got 56,000 in under 3 years (yeah, I drive a lot). Car's still running strong, but lots o miles.

Nope, I don't hardly drive my car at all to go anywhere (I hardly have money by the time my bills are all paid for and when I do have money I shop online). It's almost about to hit 50,000 though, but I bought this car when it was at 20,000 miles.. someone had it leased and then it was for sale at the dealership, so I only paid 10 thousand for it.. not bad in my opinion.

I had some trouble with the transmission a few years into it, but nothing major, get my oil change once every 6 months or so since I rarely drive it and it's been an excellent car. Never been in an accident either.

Tennessee_CP_Fan said:
I don't mean to "spark" up the diesel argument again, but no one mentioned durability in the argument for diesels. My dad has a Chevy 2500 with 300,000 miles on it...still going strong. Try that with a gas engine, and his maintenance costs aren't anymore than a gasoline engine at that mileage.

Your Dad is exactly the kind of person that benefits from diesel - someone who gets their money's worth out of a vehicle, as opposed to those who replace theirs every 3 years. If you depreciate the vehicle substantially, you can still save money, even with the added maintenance cost.

Tennessee_CP_Fan said:
My dad has a Chevy 2500 with 300,000 miles on it...still going strong. Try that with a gas engine, and his maintenance costs aren't anymore than a gasoline engine at that mileage.

300,000 miles is no problem for a quality gasoline enging that gets good maintenance. I have had 3 Volkswagens and 1 Honda that all have had over 300,000 miles with no major engine problems. My current 2006 Jetta already has 82,000 miles on it and I fully expect to keep it until it also has over 300,000 miles, probably closer to 400,000.

I have a 1993 GMC Safari that has over 180,000 miles on it and it's perfectly fine. Unfortunately the salt from the roads here in PA will kill the van before the motor goes.

In the past if I wanted to go somewhere, I just got in the car and would go. Now I look at how far it is, how much gas it will take to get there and then decide if I really need to make that trip. I was planning to go to Cedar Point this year, but the idea of $75 in gas to get there will make me think twice about going.

One of the big factors that nobody ever talks about when it comes to comsumers choosing larger, not as fuel efficient vehicles is child saftey seats. In the past even a family with three children could easily fit in a midsize sedan as children were typically out of thier child saftey seats before attending pre school. With the current recommendation that request children be restrained to 40-45 lbs and beyond, fitting three safety seats in the back of a sedan is near impossible. That was a huge factor for us when choosing our last car. I have been driving small sedans, but when my daughter was born I had to switch from my Saturn SL2 to a Malibu Maxx since her infant carrier didn't fit well (I could get it in, but had to put the driver seat uncomfortably close to the steering wheel), and then when I had to turn in the lease on the 'bu we tried going for another fuel efficent sedan or cross over (we looked at the herse like HHR, the Malibu Maxx being discontinued and the new Malibu had no incentives) and found that we couldn't fit three saftey seats in it. That's how we ended out moving to a SUV and got the VUE. I desperately wanted a hybrid, but the wait for it and the added cost made it impossible.

The cure for high prices is high prices.

I'm convinced that's how the government makes it seem as though they're lightening the burden of high gas prices. They jack them sky high for a short amount of time and when they lower them back to where they want, it seems like a real bargain.

The government sets gas prices?

No, but they sure do keep us at war with countries that determine our gas prices..or at least our crude oil prices. Not to mention the $.40 to $.45 per gallon the state and federal governments are getting, depending on if you're in Ohio or PA.

So, in essence they sure do have A LOT to do with it, yeah.

You, of all people, as an RP supporter I would think would at least have some resemblance of an understanding of what I was saying.

We're at war with Saudi Arabia? Exactly how much oil is Iraq contributing to anyone's economy?

With a little research you'll find out that Iraq is the #2 source for crude oil in the world, just after Saudi Arabia.

The government is taking the biggest profits from oil.

The Department of Energy disagrees.

A little research indeed.

And how exactly is the government taking the biggest profits from oil exactly?

I'm pretty sure I said in teh world, not just the US. Since you asked, " Exactly how much oil is Iraq contributing to anyone's economy?"

Obviously they're contributing to ours and many others economies.

You said we went to war with countries setting our gas prices.

You also said that prices went up ad demand goes down. That's particularly relevant today as oil is down a few bucks a barrel on "fears that the high prices have softened demand," as they say on the news.

And we did. Whether it be part or the majority of our supply, it has an effect.

I said that if prices go up then demand will eventually go down, yes. So I'm confused, are you agreeing with me? As reported, high prices are making people fear less demand. Like I said, prices go up, demand goes down. Then to counteract the less demand, they drop the oil prices so that demand goes back up.

Loopy said:
Obviously they're contributing to ours and many others economies.

Iraq's oil is supposed to be contributing to their own economy, to help offset part of the cost of our occupa-, err, I mean "war".

Iraq doesn't set gas prices. OPEC, of which Iraq is a member but relatively minor contributor, can reduce production which increases demand and therefore prices. They did this in the early part of the decade. But that's only half of the equation, as consumption at our end, and the jittery commodity markets, have a more immediate effect. Iraq has virtually no impact on price. You're making a nebulous and incorrect statement.

Loopy said:
I said that if prices go up then demand will eventually go down, yes.

Loopy said first:
Even if everyone drove more fuel efficient vehicles, they'd just raise the cost of fuel more to make up for the lack of sales.