More fuel cost questions

75Carrera · 75Carrera's Garage

A few days ago John McCain was a guest on Jay Leno's show. Jay is a major player in the collectable and performance car world. He made a comment about the small percentage of our oil coming from the middle east, saying that "most" of our supply actually comes from Canada. Is that true? If so, why don't we ever hear their name mentioned in the cost concerns over crude costs?

A recent thread talked about the impact of Ethanol on our P-cars requiring higher octane. Grady had some good input but I didn't come away with a clear understanding of how it affects our cars. In Arizona the combo-corn fuel is mandated in the summer months.

I know we've got some sharp engineers and chemists on this BBS and I'd love to hear some of their opinions. Price and performance are important concerns. Where do you stand on expanded drilling in America?

75Carrera · 75Carrera's Garage

Maybe it says something that no one has much to say on this subject. Truth is we'll keep pumping fuel into the cars we love even if it costs us a little (maybe a lot) extra. After all when you consider the premium we already pay for anything with the "Porsche" name on it I suppose fuel cost isn't so hard to accept, at least we're putting the money into a Porsche. I feel for the guy pumping $3-5 gas into a mini-van...

randywebb · 04-25-2006, 03:07 PM

I feel for poor people - many are hocking their belongings to put gas into their cars so they can get to their low wage jobs...

Canada, Mexico & Venezuala (sp?) are the big importers of oil into the US as I recall. Tight supplies in Europe (which uses a LOT of Middle Eastern oil) causes prices to rise all over the world. China and India are using a lot of oil now as their economies take off and their people reach some minimal level of prosperity - who can blame them?

Some states have higher gas taxes than others. I usually figure there is a 20% tax.

The other big effect on prices at the pump is the big oil companies. Raise your hand if you think they are not profiting obscenely and illegally from all this...

75Carrera · 75Carrera's Garage

Why is it not one of the politicians, who keep pointing fingers at eachother and turning this into a "political party" issue, have offered to cut back on the tax winfall the government is picking up? Right now they're scoring a solid 60 cents a gallon! That has to add up to huge B-bucks!
Grow corn, drill wells, kick some "big oil" a$$ and cut taxes. Could this mean the deductable mileage rate will go to $1 a mile? Now I could get behind that!!!

S2GART · S2GART's Garage

I do love it how Bush keeps talking about reducing our depdancy on oil fromthe middle east when it's our neighbors to the north that we get most of our oil from. The number one sport in the political world, passing the buck.
Just 30 minutes ago I filled up, 87 octane, 16 gallons of it and it cost me $48. $3.01 a gallon. My main cars are diesel and that's cost about $3.15 a gallon. At that same station I got gas at, 93 octane was $3.31

therotman · 04:23 PM

Canada is the #1 supplier and I think Mexico was #2

there was just recently an article in Road & Track about this.. it pretty much said the corn fuel was a pipe dream- there is not enough land anywhere to grow as much corn as the US would need if we were to really start using it.

87 octane is over $3.20/gallon here

msk1986911 · 04-25-2006, 04:36 PM

I am not quite sure how the oil companies could not be engaging in price gouging. Assuming that they are experiencing record profits (not just record revenues), in my simple mnd, their cost line has declined as the prices are increasing. Am I missing something here?

randywebb · 04-25-2006, 04:42 PM

That corn fuel thing was based on an article in the journal Science. There have been breakthough's since then... notably the genetic engineering of a type of grass. It appears we can grow lots of bio-fuels for pretty cheap Et-OH. I just heard James Woolsey give a talk on this last March. Yes, the former CIA chief - he is big into this area b/c he recognizes that it is our #1 national security threat right now.

The other side of the mobile engine thing is to use bio-fuel in diesels. Some of that can be made from slightly refined cooking oils. There are several entities doing that here in the PNW right now.

BrokeMyCar · 04-25-2006, 05:01 PM

From the editors of Foreign Policy:

http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/node/458

For the month of Feb. it was Mexico, Jan it was Canada. The top five are very close though.

With a gas tank the size of ours, I feel like a day-trader every time I go to the pump. Today I was almost at empty so had to fill up. This morning I read that we've stopped putting gas into the national reserves, in hopes of increasing supply, so I only put in half a tank. Next fill up I'm projecting a full-fill up as concern about the diminishing national reserves kicks in.

Babak

75Carrera · 75Carrera's Garage

Real Estate people are jumping on the open land in central AZ that the State Trust recently released as "prime corn growing country" so they can get income property prices. "Pipe dream" would be better realized with a more popular home grown herb.. LOL

strupgolf · 04-25-2006, 06:01 PM

From what I read lately, it costs more to produce a gallon of ethenal than you get out of it, so where's the savings. Indiana is jumping on the wagon and there are plans to build many ethenal plants. But at what cost? There is only 1 station in 20 miles selling E-85, and its about 2.60/gallon, and only the newest of cars can even use it.

75Carrera · 75Carrera's Garage

As far as I know there is no agro-gas higher than regular (85 to 87 octane) so it won't do anything for my hungry powerband... You don't think they'd lie to us do you??? Friggin' Demopublicans!

75Carrera · 75Carrera's Garage

As far as I know there is no agro-gas higher than regular (85 to 87 octane) so it won't do anything for my hungry powerband... You don't think they'd lie to us do you??? Friggin' Demopublicans!