Fuel Prices

[chrisj]

Originally Posted by vwtech

If gas was 1 dollar a gallon there would be alot more GIANT suv's like excursions and suburbans with one soccer mom yacking on her cell phone blocking up the roadways and cutting people off.

That's one thing I noticed when gas briefly got close to $4 a gallon in my area. Lots of room on the road! I loved that! My wife and I also started a trend of combining trips whenever possible which we have continued, even with the Yaris. Like a couple of people have said here, there's no reason to waste gas no matter if it were cheap or not.

We in America have that open-road, pony-car, I'll-never-take-public-transportation, yippee-kye-yay mentality that has been ingrained in us since forever. I'm 54 and all I wanted as a teenager was some fast, gas-hungry car I could go speeding down the road in. You see it today, in all the teenagers who want Mustangs or Chargers or Camaros or anything that has POWER. So, generation after generation is getting continually brainwashed by the American automakers that they really don't care as much about gas prices and saving natural resources as they do showing off in front of their buddies. And on it goes as they get older...

[KrazyDawg]

Originally Posted by chrisj

That's one thing I noticed when gas briefly got close to $4 a gallon in my area. Lots of room on the road! I loved that! My wife and I also started a trend of combining trips whenever possible which we have continued, even with the Yaris. Like a couple of people have said here, there's no reason to waste gas no matter if it were cheap or not.

We in America have that open-road, pony-car, I'll-never-take-public-transportation, yippee-kye-yay mentality that has been ingrained in us since forever. I'm 54 and all I wanted as a teenager was some fast, gas-hungry car I could go speeding down the road in. You see it today, in all the teenagers who want Mustangs or Chargers or Camaros or anything that has POWER. So, generation after generation is getting continually brainwashed by the American automakers that they really don't care as much about gas prices and saving natural resources as they do showing off in front of their buddies. And on it goes as they get older...

I don't think that's the mindset of all teenagers. When I was a teenager I wanted a BMW because of its looks. I didn't know anything about HP. When I got my license at nearly 24, I already wanted a fuel economy car. I lived off public transit for over 20 years in the snow and all over the country. I was happy just having a car and could care less about going 0 to 60 in 3 seconds. Try hauling groceries in a shopping cart for 8 blocks getting yelled at as a kid or carrying a 20lb bag of rice for over 1 mile.

[why?]

Originally Posted by fmicle

Who's "they"?

No, honestly, aren't "they" us? I mean, a neighbor, a cousin, an uncle, working for uncle Sam? And more importantly, didn't we put them there?

Or they could be someone we have no control over.UN global tax.

And they are not necessarily someone anyone voted for. Come on, there have been enough dead people voting to make anyone wonder about the way our elections really work.

Originally Posted by vwtech

If gas was 1 dollar a gallon there would be alot more GIANT suv's like excursions and suburbans with one soccer mom yacking on her cell phone blocking up the roadways and cutting people off. Since the fuel prices have gone up the small car competition has gotten better and there are alot more small cars to choose from. I just don't see how people think 20 bucks a week in a yaris is alot of money for transportation.

The fact that oil companies pay more money in taxes than they earn in profits is disgusting. It is not anybodies job to tell others what to do or drive.

We are suppose to be a free country, tons of taxes was never suppose to be part of the equation.

Originally Posted by TLyttle

Seconded. Fuel IS cheap in North America, and always has been; just because one can remember a buck a gallon, rest assured that everything else has gone up INCLUDING wages.

I started driving 40mpg+ cars when fuel was 35c a gallon (Imp), simply because I saw no reason to herd a couple of tons of iron from place to place with just me in it. Eventually the habit stuck, which is why I drive a Yaris now. The Europeans have always paid far more for fuel than we have, and that paid off in more efficient vehicles over history. Why do we feel that we "deserve" cheaper fuel than anyone else??

Because we are smart enough to not allow our government to steal our money? Because we realize the majority of the rest of the worlds gas cost is taxes, and we would rather spend the money somewhere else? Because we don't want the government to control anything, never mind everything, and we would rather be left alone to take care of ourselves.

This is the problem, people just assuming we pay the right amount, when the cost is so much due to governments stealing our money, and nothing to do with the product.

Originally Posted by chrisj

That's one thing I noticed when gas briefly got close to $4 a gallon in my area. Lots of room on the road! I loved that! My wife and I also started a trend of combining trips whenever possible which we have continued, even with the Yaris. Like a couple of people have said here, there's no reason to waste gas no matter if it were cheap or not.

We in America have that open-road, pony-car, I'll-never-take-public-transportation, yippee-kye-yay mentality that has been ingrained in us since forever. I'm 54 and all I wanted as a teenager was some fast, gas-hungry car I could go speeding down the road in. You see it today, in all the teenagers who want Mustangs or Chargers or Camaros or anything that has POWER. So, generation after generation is getting continually brainwashed by the American automakers that they really don't care as much about gas prices and saving natural resources as they do showing off in front of their buddies. And on it goes as they get older...

Saving natural resources? It is against the law for the US to use any of its natural resources.

And then, people should be allowed to do what they want, not what some governmental peon tells them to.

[Altitude]

Originally Posted by why?

The fact that oil companies pay more money in taxes than they earn in profits is disgusting. It is not anybodies job to tell others what to do or drive.

Please stop putting this forth as fact. It's just someone playing fast and loose with the numbers to get the free-marketeers all lathered up.

Nevermind the most obvious fact that corporations don't pay taxes, we do, through the cost of the service or goods they provide. No company would last long if it didn't pass these types of expenses onto the consumer.

[fmicle]

Originally Posted by why?

We are suppose to be a free country, tons of taxes was never suppose to be part of the equation.
...
Because we don't want the government to control anything, never mind everything, and we would rather be left alone to take care of ourselves.

So, who would be building the roads, the airports, the schools, the stadiums and pay for police, fire departments and the military?

A truly "free country" where everybody does what they want and "take care of themselves" is Afganistan to give you one example. The guy with the biggest gun makes the law, because there are no laws and if there are any, there is no government to enforce it. A second example that comes to mind is Somalia.

I'm surprise that many Americans don't realize that you can't have a strong country without a strong government. And the government must be financed with taxes, that's how these things work, that's how they've always worked...

The only things left for discussion in my mind are nuances...

Even conservatives know it and they'll tell you one thing (smaller government, blah blah blah) but will do exactly the opposite when in power. I mean come on, it's a no-brainer, why would I undermine my own power, once I get it?

[krolos]

make the rich pay the tax, they are suppose to pay in the first place,
in fact I think they should Pay more.

And look at european countries , higher taxes Yes,but way better health care ,education and overall
standard of living.

Free Country? maybe for the The Rich.