I hate SUVs - and I have one - out of necessity. Next stop will be a small station wagon. 3-series BMW or C-series Mercedes. I can't remember if Ford, Dodge or Chevy make small wagons, aside from the Focus. :confused:

I like that Matrix, too.

Out here in the Southwest, much of our produce is delivered by train, due to the long distances involved (ever drive Interstate 20 across Texas?)

How much fuel does it take to move a mile long train of flatbeds loaded with trailers vs. moving those same trailers with tractors (generally referred to as "semis")? Seems there would be a savings there, albeit at the loss of some long distance driving positions. Trucks would still be used for local (under, say, 100 mile) runs. Why did the East Coast act so quickly to dismantle their rail system?

This is great news.
I only put in 10 bucks at a time anyway.
I never look at the price and hey,

WAY LESS PEOPLE ON MY ROADS - BEAUTIFUL!

Inflation, in turn will send interest rates up quickly. I'm not sure why this works, but it seems to go hand in hand. When the interest goes up, the housing boom crashes.

If it works anything like here and in Australia, an official (central bank)interest rate is raised to control inflation - our Reserve Bank governor attempts to keep inflation in a range of 1-3%.

Yeah, Cam, I remember you saying that some time ago. I think it was you, you're in finance, right? Well, anyway, thanks for validating my theory.

Buying gas is good, maybe not for the environment, but for the economy. Buying anything at stable prices is good. When prices jump, the cost gets passed on. You all know that. We're already at the point where businesses can't afford to buy workers' comp. We don't need this gas thing.

BTW, I've always said that if you want to gauge the economy, go talk to the shoe salesman. People can always wear their shoes a bit longer. Don't go talk to the water heater salesman. No one wants to take a cold shower no matter how tough it is.

Well, in this case, I'm the shoe guy. I sell and install replacement windows. Now. I haven't changed my advertising one bit all thru the winter. I know when the slow periods are EVERY year. Been doing this for 19 years. This year, right now when thing should be picking up, I'm getting less than one sales appt every 2 weeks! In the better periods of the year, I will average 5-6 per week. Even during the worst weeks, I seldom go w/o a single appt.

Take it for what it's worth. The only time I have seen this bad before was in '92. We don't need this gas thing. It's scaring people if nothing else. That I can assure you.

what do you think a carrera tail will look like on a prius?

Personally, I sort of HOPE the housing market crashes - hell it might actually make it so that I can finally afford a house here in SoCal rather than pissing $1,000 away every month to finance someone else's mortgage!

I've believed that the housing market has been far too hot for far too long - people are WAY over-extended on mortgage credit and they're "house poor" such that if there's even a moderate shift in rates they're in real trouble. I only hope it happens such that in about 3-4 years when all my credit problems are cleared up and we've got a nice pile squirrelled away (both of which I've been working on for some time) we'll be in position to move in and snap up something. As it stands now, there's no WAY to afford housing in Southern Cal, and both I and my wife make decent salaries and have excellent educational and professional backgrounds. BRING IT ON!!!

Phile, that's fine for you. Hell, it's fine for me too 'cause I'd like to catch a deal on a cabin up in the mountains. No way can I pay $300K for a shack up there at today's tariff.

BUT........when all this happens, jobs will be scarce. Unless you're a tenured teacher, have an employment contract or such, you might eat up your savings just surviving, much less picking up a house on the rebound.

And, if you and your wife will be secure during a downturn, others won't. In Long Beach, in particular, this means crime will be out of control. At that point, you won't even want a house anywhere around here.

This pending recession, or whatever they're gonna call it now won't be fun in the long run.

Oh I get it--this is a preview for April Fools. For a minute I thought you were serious! :D :D :D

Serious as a heart attack. I had another April fool's in mind. I don't find it very amusing to joke around about the dismal state of the economy. There is a reason the Euro is so strong against the dollar. The investors of the world know the score. More than I.

At least the weather was nice today.

Here's the oil/gas companies attitude:

Invent cars that double fuel efficiency?

ok, screw you....we'll just double the gas prices, no biggie.