CAFE and a rant...

[absintheisfun]

How is it that we (and the future of our hobby) can be subjected to the CAFE standards, but no new guidelines are placed on Tractor trailers????

EVERYTHING, and I do mean everything that you touch--from food to furniture travels in one of these from somewhere in the US to another place in the US (or from one of the many cost-cutting plants in Mexico or Central America to the US) getting...

...hold on now....

A whopping 3-5 miles per gallon...7 on a good day!
The most expensive fuel available: DIESEL
I know all to well what these things have to haul, but why is it that there is no apparent improvements being made, or even attempted?

If there was an improvement of just 50% in effeciency it would lessen the cost on just about everything!!!

WHY, WHY are we the consumers pushed into a corner to buy a prius or a kia, while the true gas guzzlers are not being held to ANY improvement standards?

I just don't get it...

[bigvegan]

Probably because we have more options for getting from point A to point B in our commute than truckers do. 4 people can travel in a hatchback or a hummer or most of the other cars on the market, but a semi-trailer load of goods pretty much has to go by truck if it's not going by train.

And because the number of tractor-trailers on the road is a rounding error compared to the total number of cars.

Also, those who drive for a living tend to pay a lot more attention to fuel costs than those of us who commute. Most of the major truck companies are putting out more aerodynamic and fuel efficient trucks as fast as they can design them.

But so far, nobody's forcing me to buy a Prius, and the CAFE standards have NO effect on used cars, so I don't really see how this is going to affect our hobby.

With gas headed toward $5 a gallon, the car companies aren't going to have to work too hard to convince people to buy more fuel efficient vehicles, so keeping the fleet average mpg high won't be hard, as only the die-hards will be buying new muscle cars and V8 SUVs.

This is just a commodity bubble though. Once we have a new president, and said new president comes up with a realistic plan for getting the middle east calmed down, the prices will plummet.

<politics>

[WS6]

<political sarcasm removed>

The rigs do have to make emission standards even if they are not making CAFE standards. What's great about the truck manufacturing companies is they know they must make their vehicles better and they do so not because of a government mandate but because their customers demand it. Capitalism and ingenuity at work not government force. Personally, I love it.

Also, just think of how ridiculous the CAFE standard would be for these trucks. The people assigning the CAFE standards are not as smart as people think they are nor do they understand the market to which they are having a direct effect on. I predict if CAFE meddled in open road rigs, they would put a ridiculous standard out there that can not be met without extreme compromises to the trucking industry that would inevitably cause prices on all goods to go through the roof even more so than they are now. The 55 mph truck speed limit debacle would pail in comparison to what would happen if CAFE got involved.

[Jim Nilsen]

Cafe standards are nothing more than a promise you can flush down the toilet.All based on predictions and usually it all backfires because the consumer rules what is really sold ,not the auto makers and the rules are unenforcable. what can the government do when the auto makers make a high mileage car and then everyone buys a truck? Cafe standards screwed up years ago and they think they can fix the problem by doing the same thing that didn't work before.

High gas prices will wake up everyone not CAFE,although limited selection at the dealer of gas guzzlers will fall right into CAFE and make look like it is working this time.

As for trucks meeting a CAFE standard ? You better talk to the Teamsters Union and Isac Newton because the laws of physics and wages make them get the most of every drop.

[1969CamaroRS]

You have to agree thou, trying to get better gas mileage is worth the effort. Can you force a consumer to buy that car, no. But raising the average MPG only helps us in the long term.

What really need to be doing is trying to conserve what we can now and investing heavily into energy research something we aren't really doing now.

[gordonquixote]

The truckers union and lobbyists swing a big stick. Period.

[lowboy]

Oops, is that too political?Yes.

[Aceshigh]

This is just a commodity bubble though. Once we have a new president, and said new president comes up with a realistic plan for getting the middle east calmed down, the prices will plummet.

<politics>

Prices are inflated for a few reasons.

#1 IMO namely being the value of the USD (which backs oil) declining.

#2. US oil reserves stashing which also affects supply and demand when
it doesn't need to be, ESPECIALLY when it's at 97% capacity.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/05/13/congress.oil/

#3. Refinery capacity - no new refineries in the USA were made in the past
30+ years until NOW finally South Dakota and Yuma Arizona are being set in
motion. (doesn't affect per barrel prices, but does affect final price)

I say F*** OPEC nations and we boycott all OPEC owned fueling companies.

(OPEC) is a group of twelve states[1][2] made up of Algeria, Angola, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq,
Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela.
Recently, Indonesia has decided to quit the organization,
Granted most gas comes from the same refineries. But we can boycott the specific
ones like Citgo which is STRICTLY Venezuala owned and ran which is an OPEC member.

Also stay away from Shell (Motiva), Exxon/Mobil, Valero, and Marathon stations. Scroll down to the "Truth" part.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/gasoline/saudigas.asp

Sinclair, Sunoco, and Phillips seem to be the safest bets to use.
OPEC sets the pricing, so we need to slam OPEC down. It's the only way we're going to win this.
The problem is most people are just too damn lazy to remember or do anything to fight it by simply
searching out a "Safer" fueling alternative like a Phillips or Sunoco station.

[Ricoch3T]

Prices are inflated for a few reasons.

#1 IMO namely being the value of the USD (which backs oil) declining.

#2. US oil reserves stashing which also affects supply and demand when
it doesn't need to be, ESPECIALLY when it's at 97% capacity.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/05/13/congress.oil/

#3. Refinery capacity - no new refineries in the USA were made in the past
30+ years until NOW finally South Dakota and Yuma Arizona are being set in
motion. (doesn't affect per barrel prices, but does affect final price)

I say F*** OPEC nations and we boycott all OPEC owned fueling companies.

Granted most gas comes from the same refineries. But we can boycott the specific
ones like Citgo which is STRICTLY Venezuala owned and ran which is an OPEC member.

Also stay away from Shell (Motiva), Exxon/Mobil, Valero, and Marathon stations. Scroll down to the "Truth" part.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/gasoline/saudigas.asp

Sinclair, Sunoco, and Phillips seem to be the safest bets to use.
OPEC sets the pricing, so we need to slam OPEC down. It's the only way we're going to win this.
The problem is most people are just too damn lazy to remember or do anything to fight it by simply
searching out a "Safer" fueling alternative like a Phillips or Sunoco station.


The bad thing is even if I wanted to aviod those gas stations, you've pretty much named all in my area!

[WS6]

Same here. I do not fule up at Citgo ever but there are no Sinclair, Sunoco, or Philips stations near me. The other issue is Marathon near me has some sort fo rebate program going on that may save me 20 cents per gallon. I'm too poor not to look into that and I trully am a poor college student.

[Paul_J]

I think the Truck companies are doing everything they can to squeeze out fuel economy and I know their customers are demanding it. My friend is the transportation manager at a major grocery chain and it is all he thinks of. On the auto side I think that which ever manufacturer comes out with a solution that is cost effective the consumer will buy it. Take Hybrids. The cost of one doesn't make economic sense compared to cheaper counter part. When the manufacturers can figure that out the market will respond. Lets get the politics out of the way and let the market drive this issue. Just my simple opinion.

BTW, Kroger has a fuel credit if you buy groceries from them. You get .10 off each gallon of their gas. Not a bad deal.