Oil Prices at record high - $145 a barrel

[zoltan]

GS are robotic stakhanovite automatons who usually posses a hight degree of inelligence and a criminally slavish work ethic - twats - But I would not doubt their feeling on this for one minute

The Oil producers are more than aware of his crucial their supplies are to non oil producer nations - Why sell at $75 when you can aim for double that ? it costs nothing more to produce really and by a convenient choking of output or perceived reduction of flow, they can make money hand over fist.

 

[corporate whore]

GS are robotic stakhanovite automatons who usually posses a hight degree of inelligence and a criminally slavish work ethic - twats

but yeah, they've got a track record.

In other oil news, Indonesia's thinking about pulling out of OPEC 'cos they haven't got enough oil to continue being an exporting country...

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hdHerE1Wl-wWJClPbX-IfsSo7hGQD90G2SPG0

Scary bit - "Our wells are drying", sayeth Indonesia president..

 

[david dissadent]

$121.76

http://www.tutztutz.com/2008/02/dubai-what-the-hell-is-going-on-over-there/
Being well spent.

E2A $121.91 minutes later.

 

[Crispy]

This is insane

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/05/05/chrysler-to-guarantee-gas-at-2-99-a-gallon-for-three-years/

Any new Chrysler bought until 2nd June will come with a 3-year $3/gallon fixed gas price guarantee. You get a special credit card. Chrysler will fund the difference.

 

[zoltan]

This is insane

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/05/05/chrysler-to-guarantee-gas-at-2-99-a-gallon-for-three-years/

Any new Chrysler bought until 2nd June will come with a 3-year $3/gallon fixed gas price guarantee. You get a special credit card. Chrysler will fund the difference.

Bye Bye Chrysler.

this is uttelry desperate and is a suicide note

 

[Crispy]

The worst part is reading the press release. They're very proud of getting better than 28mpg (highway, not urban). Well done, Chrysler.

 

[zoltan]

An yank gallon is 1/5 ths smaller than a UK one ( IIRC ), but even then...


They exclude this lot:

"The following vehicles are not eligible for the Let's Refuel America program:
All SRT models, Dodge Viper, Dodge Challenger, Dodge Ram Chassis Cab,
Chrysler Crossfire, Jeep Wrangler and Dodge Sprinter."

The Dodge challenger does about 25mpg ( in its smallest engined version )


Yet include these :

"Jeep Grand Cherokee, Jeep Commander, Dodge Durango, Chrysler Aspen"

Teh Jeep GCherokee is 4700 cc and does 20 mpg


The Dodge Durango - this puppy:

Does 14 mpg. and is included

 

[Crispy]

It's a good thing this scheme is time limited, cos anyone with one of these special cards is going to be raping Chrysler for the next 3 years.

 

[Poi E]

cos anyone with one of these special cards is going to be raping Chrysler for the next 3 years.

It'll be necrophilia.

 

[roryer]

US light crude hit a fresh high of $122.73 in New York trading. 10 years ago today, oil was trading at about $13 a barrel, just under ten times lower than today's price, if it keeps on increasing in price at this rate, which seems likely considering supplies will be decreasing by between 3 and 6% a year while demand will if anything increase, then in 2018 we can expect oil to be $1200 a barrel and petrol to be about £50 a gallon.

Perhaps we should be considering building a sustainable transport system based on bicycles and public transport, and addressing urban planning issues to ensure all residential areas, services, and workplaces are easily accessible without the need of a car now.

 

[Crispy]

A dollar in a day. Oh god. This had better be a spike on a more gentle upward trend.

 

[max_freakout]

it's the end of an age

 

[david dissadent]

Its a limited amount of fuel

There are also annual fuel allotments based on 12,000 miles a year of driving and the EPA sticker mileage.

Annual gallon allotment ends each year on 7/31 (first year ends 7/31/09)

12 000 miles at 28 miles a gallon is about 429 gallons. At $4 a gallon it amounts to a $1500 discount on the ticket price and at $5 a gallon its a $3000 discount which on a $20 000 vehicle or c. 14% discount.

Given the huge lots of unsold SUV's in various companies factory parking lots it sounds a pretty clever way of selling a discount that sounds better than it is. (I have a habit of getting numbers a tad wrong so feel free to check.)

They claim to have hedged this deal which I guess they may have bought a shed load of oil futures that if the price of crude goes up they earn some money from the futures or something similar.

Also though

The Let's Refuel America program offers consumers a combination of the fuel price protection program and additional bonus cash up to $3,000 on available vehicles, including Chrysler PT Cruiser, Dodge Charger, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Dodge Dakota and Dodge Ram.

An additional $3000 cash giveaway..... lord that is a give away. Make that a 30% discount at $5 a gallon fuel.

 

[DotCommunist]

I had hoped the oil might last a bit longer. Like for my lifetime at least.


Not sure it'll be available to anyone but the military by the time I hit 50

 

[Crispy]

There's stil loads left, just not for cheap any more

 

[roryer]

There's stil loads left, just not for cheap any more

In fact we have almost exactly the same amount of oil left in the ground today as has ever been used throughout history. It's just that it is getting more and more difficult to get at, and slower to extract.

If petrol was £50 a gallon however, I wonder if the many idiots who claim its 'impossible' to live without a car becuase they have children to drop of at school, and need to travel 10 miles to work, will suddenly find that their kids can actually walk, and cycling the 40 minutes to work is actually 'possible'?

Although unfortunately we have lots of coal and tar sands, which at current consumption rates will not peak until about 2035. (although peaks will come much sooner if we switch transport fuel from oil to coal)

I therefore expect us to invest in liquifieying coal, which will cause enormously high CO2 emissions, and probably destroy the majority of the human habitable areas of the planet, long before people start to discover travel without a car is possible, and indeed preferable.

 

[Oswaldtwistle]

It's all very well you car free londoners feeling smug, soon the price of oil will impact everything, pushing up prices just as the economy slows down.

We should have moved to electric vehicles a long. long time ago.............

 

[Crispy]

It's all very well you car free londoners feeling smug, soon the price of oil will impact everything, pushing up prices just as the economy slows down.

We should have moved to electric vehicles a long. long time ago.............

yup. and less private and more public ones too. and not built our towns and cities so spread out. and not ripped the railways up. hey ho.

 

[Oswaldtwistle]

yup. and less private and more public ones too. and not built our towns and cities so spread out. and not ripped the railways up. hey ho.

If our towns and cities are 'spread out' (and I agree they are) gawd knows what that makes America's.

The US has the most potential gains from moving to smaller, more fuel efficient cars (the smallest Ford in the US is the 2 liter Focus!), but in terms of actually reducing car use, they haven't a prayer.

 

[roryer]

It's all very well you car free londoners feeling smug, soon the price of oil will impact everything, pushing up prices just as the economy slows down.

We should have moved to electric vehicles a long. long time ago.............

Yes I agree, we should have electrified all our railways a long time ago.

As for private electric powered cars, since these are less efficient than petrol powered ones, there is absolutley no point in developing them, unless you plan to power up your batteries from your micro-generation wind and solar units that you will need for basic power if you live outside of major urban areas.

Of course in the current overweight monsters that we use as personal transport, you will only be able to travel a few yards a day from the juice from your wind and solar units.

Many forms of public transport are also heavy and inefficent, only the volume of passengers to fuel use ratio makes powered public transport viable in the mid-term.

What is certain is that in the near future, within the next 20 years, unless someone discovers a new power source, then bicycle power will reign supreme.

If you can't cycle to your work, your shops, your allotment, your children's school and to other services, then your house is likely to be worthless in twenty years.

 

[bi0boy]

What will the airlines do though? I couldn't imagine an electric powered 747.

 

[Oswaldtwistle]

As for private electric powered cars, since these are less efficient than petrol powered ones, there is absolutley no point in developing them,.

Only because development has been focused on the petrol engine for the past century. 100 years ago petrol and electric cars were at about the same level, but as oil was plentiful the electric car got abandoned.

Electric cars could still be developed fast if the will was there- look at the speed the mobile phone battery advanced.

 

[Oswaldtwistle]

What will the airlines do though? I couldn't imagine an electric powered 747.

They are f*cked IMHO.

I've never been on an aeroplane but intend to try it at some stage, because I doubt they will be around by the time I retire.

 

[zoltan]

Many forecasters And geographers have announced the imminet death of the McSuburbs because of this trend - mostly an American phenomenon - those outlying miles of sprawling detached house suburbs where there is no local shopping, public transport, or pavements to be honest, and every house has a 3 car garage and a car is an essential for life rather than a benefit

Arise Inner city once again!

 

[zoltan]

What will the airlines do though? I couldn't imagine an electric powered 747.

ramjet power

2 hours to Sydney, but as scarey as fuck

 

[zoltan]

If our towns and cities are 'spread out' (and I agree they are) gawd knows what that makes America's.

The US has the most potential gains from moving to smaller, more fuel efficient cars (the smallest Ford in the US is the 2 liter Focus!), but in terms of actually reducing car use, they haven't a prayer.

Thye did intorduce the shoddy erstaz Yugo about 20 years ago - a 998cc Serb powerhouse based on a fiat 127 of yore

price was something like $3000 on the road

they didnt like it surprisingly

end of experiment

 

[Poi E]

Fuck it. My gas guzzler loses more value each day. Must sell the bastard.

 

[zoltan]

Fuck it. My gas guzzler loses more value each day. Must sell the bastard.

dont sell in a dropping market

pay it a little bit of attention and run it til it drops - less wasteful than offloading it and buying another

IMHO anyway

 

[Poi E]

dont sell in a dropping market

pay it a little bit of attention and run it til it drops - less wasteful than offloading it and buying another

IMHO anyway

Use it once a month. Insurance, tax all add up to more than it's worth...and the missus has a nice fuel-friendly Datsun. Clever folk, them Japs.

 

[zoltan]

Ive got a big v70 volvo awd from 1999 - Its not worth selling now really, even though its solid & reliable , just keep it going as long as I can until it starts to cost money