Oil at $100 Barrel

[Gard]

I was driving by a couple used car lots the other day and couldn't help but notice the sheer number of gas guzzlers in their inventory now. Certianly a good sign . I can't talk too much though because I have a gas guzzler (chevy silverado with a 350 v8 and 25 gallon tank), but its paid for, so even with gas prices as high as they are now, its still cheaper than a car payment.

[monsoon]

Advert for 1975 Datsun B210. I remember this being a pretty popular vehicle. Look at the mileage it got without exotic hybrid tech, computerizations, etc. It also had bumpers that could take a hit without damage unlike the plastic excuses for bumpers of the cars of today.

For those of you too young to remember Datsun was Nissan's name in the USA until the 1980s.

[dxartist]

I remember this car (barely). It got better gas mileage than my small 2000 Civic. There's an old saying "They don't make them like they used to" and in this case it rings true. My family had a 1975 Toyota Corolla. This little mini wagon/car hybrid was a workhouse. It got 40+ mpg and never got stuck during snowstorms. Sure, it had rust spots when it got old, but it was a trooper and nearly maintenance free.

[suburban george3]

I remember all those old Toyotas, Datsuns, and Hondas. Most were excellent cars but premature rust seemed to get the better of most of them (even though when I've visited CA I see quite a few still running around.) While they were workhorses, they didn't seem to hold up in collisions very well with the Detroit Dinosaurs on the highway. Hence how they've bulked up over the years and don't achieve the same or better economy now.

[JDC]

Americans have fueled (pun intended) the near $121/barrel oil that we're seeing today and I for one have no sympathy. We choose where to live and what to drive. WE choose to have a vehicle that guzzles the high priced oil yet most of us complain and expect the government to do something about the high prices. Regardless if the oil companies are padding their profits, we as Americans have brought this on ourselves by buying increasingly larger vehicles and living ever so far away from our places of work and play.

[Charlotte_native]

I was driving by a couple used car lots the other day and couldn't help but notice the sheer number of gas guzzlers in their inventory now. Certianly a good sign . I can't talk too much though because I have a gas guzzler (chevy silverado with a 350 v8 and 25 gallon tank), but its paid for, so even with gas prices as high as they are now, its still cheaper than a car payment.

[Captain Worley]

I'd love to see a lightening of the safety regulations so Kei cars could be imported. A few that are noteworthy:

Honda Beat

Suzuki Cappuccino

Mazda/Autozam AZ-1

Nissan be-1

Small cars don't have to be boring.

[monsoon]

Gull wing cars are really difficult to get in and out of. I saw a demonstration of how to get into a Mercedes gull wing SL from the 50's and it wasn't pretty. lol That is most likely why there has been one other production car sold here to have them, the Delorian, since those days.

I have had the mis-fortune to be in a car accident that resulted in broken bones, I do not think safety regulations should be lessened on cars. If the Smart can be safe, I don't know why others can't do it as well.

[Captain Worley]

I think side impact standards are the big problem for Kei cars. Because of width restrictions, it is hard to meet these standards.

We have mopeds and motorcycles running around that don't meet crash standards. I don't think there would be anything wrong with selling a car, as long as their is a disclaimer on sticker warning of which standards it doesn't meet.

Maybe even ban them (Kei cars and the like) from the interstates.

At least it would give people another choice. I wouldn't want to put my family in one, but I wouldn't mind having one. I was raised on smaller, less crashworthy vehicles (MG midget, GT-6, first gen Civic), so not meeeting current standards, say meeting the 1968 standards, wouldn't bother me. I don't know how many people would make that choice, but I do think it is a shame that government regs don't even allow us that option.

[monsoon]

I think side impact standards are the big problem for Kei cars. Because of width restrictions, it is hard to meet these standards.....

[Captain Worley]

Side impact standards were raised for the 1997 model year. It was a fairly large increase, especially since it was the first time they were raised since the 1973 model year standards.

Additionally, it is hard to package side and curtain airbags.

I'm not saying the standards should be lowered for everything. Maybe the should have a 'small car standard' or something. For that matter, they could just apply whatever Japan applies to them.

For those who don't know, Kei cars are limited to 660cc engine displacement, and there are width and legth limits. They are incredibly tiny cars, but because of various breaks they get, they're around 50% of the market in Japan. They even have truck and vans that fit into this class.

[Raintree21]

I know we all have our ideas and speculations but have there been any recent experts who have spoken on their predictions for the rise or fall of oil prices (barring some disaster or war of course)?

[runawayjim]

I know we all have our ideas and speculations but have there been any recent experts who have spoken on their predictions for the rise or fall of oil prices (barring some disaster or war of course)?

[suburban george3]

I'm gonna have to agree with monsoon, we don't need to relax our requirements for safety on automobiles. One thing that concerns me is Chrysler is potentially going to partner with Chinese automaker Chery to produce small cars to sell in the US since they can't produce anything besides gas guzzling SUV's. I saw some videos of the small cars being produced in China being crash-tested and it wasn't pretty at all. While I want us to achieve much better MPG in our national fleet, I don't want us to sacrifice safety and have our highways and roads turn into slaughterhouses.

In European Crash tests, drivers of these Chinese made cars have close to a 90% chance of being KILLED!

[Raintree21]

it's a combination of all the factors that have been mentioned here. the weak dollar, the increase demand for oil, the perceived shortage, the unrest in the middle east, and just plain old speculation on the part of the investors (much like the rise and fall of stock prices can have little to do with the success of a company) are all part of the rise and fall.

[runawayjim]

I know what causes the rise in the price of oil.

My question is whether any actual experts (not us) have made recent predictions on the future of oil prices, barring some event that would drive prices up. Will oil prices ever go back down to below $3 or are we looking at $3.50-$4.00 or more prices for good?

[dxartist]

I know what causes the rise in the price of oil.

My question is whether any actual experts (not us) have made recent predictions on the future of oil prices, barring some event that would drive prices up. Will oil prices ever go back down to below $3 or are we looking at $3.50-$4.00 or more prices for good?

[sean]

two clicks up, one click down, two clicks up...

[monsoon]

.....

My question is whether any actual experts (not us) have made recent predictions on the future of oil prices, barring some event that would drive prices up. Will oil prices ever go back down to below $3 or are we looking at $3.50-$4.00 or more prices for good?

[Lowerdeck]

two clicks up, one click down, two clicks up...

[sean]

My question is whether any actual experts (not us) have made recent predictions on the future of oil prices, barring some event that would drive prices up. Will oil prices ever go back down to below $3 or are we looking at $3.50-$4.00 or more prices for good?

[dxartist]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080520/pl_nm/congress_opec_dc

I don't even know why the House is even doing this. Passing a bill to sue OPEC is not going to bring gas prices down. To me, it's more of a symbolic gesture than anything else. Oil production is hasn't change. Our dollar sucks against other currencies right now.

[suburban george3]

Filing suit agains OPEC will probably do nothing except give fodder to the investors to keep running up oil prices.

I really think we need to rename this thread to Oil @ $200 a barrel, since it zoomed past $133 today. The whole country will be looking a $4+ a gallon gas by the end of the month, more than likely... it's over $9 a gallon in most of Europe.

[Gard]

When you think about it, the oil-producing countries could be the biggest loosers as prices keep rising. The reason I say this is because the higher it goes, the larger the push in countries around the world to develop alternative fuels and the developement of mass transit, thus a significant decline in demand for oil and a lessening importance of it to the world. Oil could very well gain an image at least as bad as coal has.

[erdogs]

I believe we will see the oil market crash much like the housing market did. Oil has become way over valued and when demand drops significantly, investors will be left holding a lump of coal.