Gauging The Gouging...

I'll wager you're keeping a much closer eye on your fuel consumption these days. And with gas prices reaching record highs (with apparent increases forthcoming), it's not hard to figure out we're all looking for a bargain on leather hole punches so we can tighten our belts further. Personally, I think the automakers should start placing a "gouge cauge" alongside the fuel gauge in all new cars (with retrofitting available at no cost to older models). As your FUEL gauge edges downward to that letter "E", the GOUGE gauge edges upward to the letter "F".

WANE posed a question today regarding changing driving habits due to higher fuel costs. How ludicrous is that? Hell, I changed MY driving habits in the 70s during the oil embargo...and never looked back! I even got out of the "more power" mentality and dumped my beloved V8 in lieu of a more fuel efficient V6. After 24 years, I'm still not disappointed. I'm not worried about jack-rabbiting out of the intersection with enough velocity to break earth orbit...and neither should you. I like to think we're now operating under the "GNDN" rule for travel...(Go Nowhere - Do Nothing). How fun is that, folks? Taking fewer trips and combining errands will NOT get anyone a "gold star" for frugality and certainly NOT lower prices at the pumps FOR that frugality...we're all in the same boat here...we all get boned equally!

Let's face it....this whole scenario is but another "hostage situation" with the American driver being held for whatever ransom the big oil companies decide is fitting. There are those out there saying we have to be more "frugal" with our use of oil (and gasoline), and yet on the other hand, we STILL keep pumping out (no pun intended) more cars whose mileage is dubious at best, rivaling MPG ratings from a quarter century ago. And that is called PROGRESS? How the hell can that be FRUGAL?

And I won't even get into how the state saw fit to RAISE the speed limit (so we could all burn off more fuel at a faster rate watching our MPGs go in the crapper).That makes just SO much sense.

Sure, sure, we do have foreign cars that get a lot (?) better mileage...for a price. But even they are only marginally better under near laboratory conditions. I don't know about YOU, but I rarely get to drive in a laboratory these days. Add to that most Americans just "hop in and go", thinking little about keeping a car running at it's optimum performance. We're much too busy reading or eating while driving to worry about mileage...right? And stop making cars that has over 175 BHP. I'm not towing a boat or a trailer up Pike's friggin Peak for God's sake! You don't need THAT much power to get where you need to go. All that horsepower leads to one thing, and one thing only...FUEL CONSUMPTION. This is the perfect case of getting what you pay for, namely leave your wallet at the pump. If you really need that much power and like to go faster than anyone else..SIGN UP FOR NASCAR or the IRL (because you already seem to be going in circles)...LOL!

My frugality regarding my driving habits (as well as my wife) cannot simply get ANY better (or is that lesser?)...unless we become pedestrian in nature or take public transportation. And let's not forget that fuel loses some of it's potency after a few months of sitting in your tank, so leaving the car in the garage is not really the "best" option either.

Those of you that bought HYBRIDS...I feel for you, honestly. Here you are trying to wean yourselves off of OIL by using ETHANOL. Well, you'll be paying AS MUCH as regular gas because ethanol produces only about 75% of the power that gasoline does, ergo...more trips to the pump, 'cause your mileage WILL vary. And you're going to be dumping more different pollutants into the air, exacerbating existing health conditions in some people and producing more smog. So much for all that CLEANER air, eh?

But let's point at the culprits behind this...

1) Automakers: Although I'm not a conspiracy freak, I DO believe that they have technology on their shelves, collecting dust only because they haven't figured out how to reap the whirlwinds of PROFIT by putting it into place in our vehicles for OUR benefit.

2) Oil Companies: These guys have NOT built a NEW REFINERY in over THIRTY years, so naturally, the refinieries that are running now WILL need repair and upgrading...and we pay the freight, of course. Consumer demand has risen about 1% for every year the oil moguls have not built a new facility...you do the math on that.

3) Environmentalists: The tree-huggers (backed by the uber-liberal democrats) have seen fit to keep the oil companies "at bay" by saying they CANNOT build ANY new facilities. Now I like our environemnt as much as the nexy guy, but until the automakers release new technology that is not 100% oil-dependent, I've still got to drive what I own to wherever I have to go. As do we all. I think we can both preserve the environment AND drill for more oil for the USA...we just have to decide whether or not we like paying so much more at the pumps now. Ethanol will not be the godsend many hope for. The future lies in hydrogen technology. If they can do it in Finland and Sweden, they sure as hell can do it here.
4) The consumer: We're guilty...fess up. We think that oil is a resourse that has NO limit...WRONG. It's the old "those without sin can cast the first stone" gig all over again. Ain't no stones being tossed yet. We still drive like there's no tomorrow. We've become so complacent with gas always being "there", that we forget that frivolous trips for a bottled water are smacking us right in the "hip national bank" every damn day. That's got to change.

So...Is America being "taken for a ride"?
Hell yes.
Are we enjoying the scenery?
Hell no.
Can we do something about it?
You bet your ball-bearings we can.

All we need to do is get these oil companies under the watchful eyes of the government that WE pay every day to act on OUR behalf (and in OUR best interests)...and NOT settle for anything less. WE control our fate...and WE have the power to enact change. The time of BS is over.

That's the AMERICAN way to get things done.