by Tran, Harry ~ December 31st, 2008
Housing News
Case-Shiller Numbers, By Metro Area
Suze Orman: Can you really afford to do that?
Bernanke’s bond market bash
More record home price declines
Debt Sweat - Printing Money and Its Price
Housing Market Meltdown Google Earth Video: 2006-2008
Breaking Up Is Harder to Do After Housing Fall
Gasoline News
Oil Prices Rise on Inventory Report
Ford hybrid emphasizes high mileage
In the article Ford hybrid emphasizes high mileage they state:
With gas prices below $2 a gallon, it would seem an inopportune time for the Ford Motor Company to introduce a hybrid sedan.
Now why would anyone say that a fuel sipper is being released at an inopportune time? Are we just trying to criticize companies for releasing cars that are fuel efficient? I mean even at $2 a gallon gas will never be considered cheap in my definition as it has much greater costs to the world, such impacts as global warming, and oil dependency to foreign nations are still present regardless if the price of fuel was $4 a gallon or $2 a gallon. Not to mention there was a time when gasoline at the pump was only $1.13 a gallon so for any editorial to write that it is ever an inopportune time to release a hybrid is absurd, there will always be consumers who are waiting for good hybrid vehicles to be released regardless of the price of fuel because they want to change their lifestyle, or have an impact on their daily lives and possibly save a few trips to the gas station. So is it really an inopportune time to release a hybrid? I don’t think so.
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by Tran, Harry ~ December 30th, 2008
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by Tran, Harry ~ December 26th, 2008
In what was one of the worst Summer fuel price bulls in the last decade, where the price at the pump reached upwards of $4.50 for some cities and families were actually wrestling with decisions of whether that extra trip to the grocery store is worth it just for a box of cereal, now that gas is coming back down to levels we haven’t seen since 2003 it surprises me to read headlines that read as such:
Trucks and SUV sales are back as gas prices fall
I know they are offering huge incentives for buying these trucks as opposed to smaller compact cars, but why do we try to reward bad behavior?
Sure gas prices are falling fast, so fast it has even managed to outpace home price declines, but is this really a sign of recovery or just a hiccup in the larger picture. With OPEC members frantically trying to limit and cut back on production to hold off price declines, the future market for gasoline doesn’t seem to signal that price for gas will stay below the $2.00 mark forever. So with that said, how is it that just 5 months ago the pick up truck and SUVs were being called dinosaurs and today they are back on the rise as the best sellers once again. Although the actual number of vehicles undoubtedly won’t be able to match the numbers sold during the prime time of SUV and large truck sales, they shouldn’t be doing this well against smaller cars today.
It just deeply saddens me that after the biggest oil rally to happen to the global market just ended 3 months ago and people seem to have already forgotten about the price strains. They think we are back to our glory and cheap gas prices mean longer trips, more pleasure drives, and less carpooling or commuting by public transit. This is a chance for us to take a breather and rethink our strategy when things are calm we have been given a moment to stop and actively figure out solutions, not get back on the couch and be lazy until the crisis returns and we’re left to react. Why must we stop the incentives for the new research projects for more reliable fuel sources and less reliance on foreign oil? Why do we start buying excessive fuel consuming vehicles again? I’m just trying to ask the general public not to forget, and why they have forgotten?
And this may be a side note, but since half the country is covered in snow right now, a truck or SUV purchase may not exactly be the best vehicle to have on hand while driving the icy roads. If you own a AWD or 4WD vehicle than you need to keep in mind that having all wheels spinning helps you accelerate more effectively than a Front or Rear wheel drive vehicle, but in icy road conditions no drive train will help you break faster, the best plan of action is to just take things slow and slow down on the road.
4WD/AWD is not safer than FWD/RWD on Snow
Filed under: My Writings, Rants n Raves | No Comments »
