Gas

[mattman]

Good rant mattman.

thanks i get a lil out of control when it comes to government an big buisness taking advantage of the common man ...they keep getting richer an we are scraping by to eat ..its really bad when the dollar menu is considerd splurging on a big meal

[getnpsi]

Oil companies don't care too much if you buy an electric or hybrid car when they hold a big share of patents covering parts going into one.

[Safety Guy]

The last news reports I read about oil consumption in the U.S. (last week) is that it is going down due to fewer miles traveled and the rising MPG rates of newer cars. The expectations were our consumption will remain at a lower rate, though increasing demand from expanding markets like China and India will still keep prices from going down much, if at all.

I'm guessing the price of gas will remain between $3 and $4 per gallon for the next year or two. However, some world event such as a European "further economic meltdown" (I hear they're pretty close) or some oil production crisis could make things worse much more quickly.

I'll go out on a limb and predict (just for fun!) that gasoline will probably go up and down a little bit, but from now on will slowly rise over the years until we'll be paying as much as they do in Europe. However, electric cars and who knows what else will also slowly come into practical usage, gradually relieving us of our dependence on oil, at least for transportation and some other uses.

But...who knows? Way too many variables to predict with any accuracy.

My advice for all of us here at FF.COM is to have at least one B3 or B6 car to maximize your traveling and commuting dollars! Also think about relatively cheap DIY mods to reduce your drag coefficient and your rolling resistance.

Oh, and carpooling, etc. And bicycles!!

Karl

[Evil D]

I think this just means we can raise the asking price if someone asks to buy one of our Festies.... instead of the 600 dollar cars the are now... we can tell people we want more for them because they are worth more than they want to pay just in gas mpg savings alone....

That's already happening around here. I've noticed that cars posted on here for $600 are actually quite nice compared to the $1100 cars for sale local. I personally paid $850 for my car not knowing i could've got a nicer car for a few hundred less if i traveled a little bit.

Hondas are the same way around here...maybe even worse. You can't touch a clean Civic for cheap. It's either because it's good on gas or because it's something the ricer crowd would want.

[sketchman]

I remember EFI Festivas going for $2k plus on eBay when gas was $4/gallon. If it hits $5 I'll be building something far more efficient than a Festiva.

[mattman]

im all for making a festy thats even better on gas than now lighten it up an all say a 6" choptop ...lower it ...front an rear diffuser full bellypan either carbon fiber or light weight fiberglass bumpers hood fenders and rear hatch ...i wonder what the max mpg could be if we really worked over a festy no hybrid electric jus a gas or maybe a diesel motor from a VW or mazda the vw lupo diesel turbo would probaly be a good swap .....hmmmm do i remodel the tank for better areo an mpg ( currently it get 40+ on the hwy ) is 55 or even 60ish mpg possible ....ok guys thinktank time ideas anyone

[sketchman]

55 is most certainly possible(with better aero I'd say). Some guys are doing it in 1st gen dodge neons, so our tin cans should have no problem.

I heard about one that was aero modded and had a Kubota diesel in it that got crazy mileage, but the guy didn't have any pics of any of it or details.

[chrisofna]

This is good news for the electric car industry.

Still need oil to charge them...

[mattman]

55 is most certainly possible(with better aero I'd say). Some guys are doing it in 1st gen dodge neons, so our tin cans should have no problem.

I heard about one that was aero modded and had a Kubota diesel in it that got crazy mileage, but the guy didn't have any pics of any of it or details.

now that sound neat any idea where to find out more on the kubota festy id love to get in touch with them an see what all they did ......just imagine the tankstiva with a diesel ..muahhahahahahahahahaha .....OOps sorry couldnt help the mad scientest laugh

[wybnrml]

now that sound neat any idea where to find out more on the kubota festy id love to get in touch with them an see what all they did ......just imagine the tankstiva with a diesel ..muahhahahahahahahahaha .....OOps sorry couldnt help the mad scientest laugh

Here is one on YouTube with a Yanmar engine. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPuv_6bZKwY The owner was on the site and talked about it alittle.

[mattman]

ive seen the yanmar car before its neat but unless all your gonna do is drive in 35 mph zones its useless for any real travel it needs a slightly larger displacement powerplant ive heard of swaping VW diesel into a crx and a metro or a 3 cylinder diesel i think from CAT ....if Cummings made a motor small enought to fit that would be the ideal thing do to the reliability an long lasting of that engine ..i guess if money wasnt a issue a full tube frame 4BT cummings in a F/R setup would be all kinds of kool ( already have a shopping list for a tube frame base with who knows kinda powertain rear wheel drive festy ) im just filling a notebook with all kinds of ideas for future projects

[getnpsi]

For the time being going 65 instead of 75 and 50 instead of 60 will add up to gains/savings that offset the cost of ciggs and fast food which should be dealt with for more reasons than extra expenses.

[blkfordsedan]

We just need use that "stimulus" money to tap that massive oil shale field in North Dakota and build some refineries. The price of oil would drop overnight. Create some jobs and domesticate our oil supply at the same time.

[EVOGUN]

How about 6 yrs,16 yrs, or 26 years ago! This has been in the backroom board meetings for a lot longer than 6 mos!

Really, so what else is planned if you have a 26 yr head start on us?

[Evil D]

Hell if it hits five bucks a gallon, i'm saying screw cars and getting a small displacement motorcycle of some sort.