The price of crude goes up, so they raise gasoline prices. The price of crude declines, so they raise gasoline prices. Either way they make record profits and the consumer pays through the nose. Seems pretty simple to me.
There is a 2008 Tahoe Hybrid that is pre-production. GM estimates a 25% increase in fuel efficiency based upon its 15/21 MPG 2007 Tahoe with the 5.3L V8. The pricing isn't out yet on the 2008 Tahoe Hybrid. But given the proposed fuel efficiency improvements and assuming a cost of $3/gal and 15K mi/yr, you are looking at potential fuel savings of ~$400 per year, or $33/mo. Based upon the price difference in the hybrid v. non-hybrid, is your monthly note more or less than $33/mo (your fuel savings)? What is the price you are willing to pay to be "green?" As Kermit said, "Its not easy (or cheap) being green."
That's an interesting question. Green won't be cheaper initially, if ever. I laugh when I hear people talk about ethanol being cheaper than gas and is a great fuel alternative. Well, let's see how cheap it is when they take away the subsidies, which they will do if it ever makes a dent in gasoline sales. The real reason for wanting to go green is to break this dependency on foreign oil. Then we can treat the middle east like africa.
I remember watching a Jefferson's episode around the time of the late 70s fuel crunch ( think it was '78 or '79--the gas line days). Anyway, George dreams he's dead, and it's 20 years or so in the future. He dreams Louise gives a $50 tip to Ralph, the doorman, who exclaims "Gee, that's a whole tank of gas!" It seemed funny and absolutely impossible back then.o: Oh the irony!!!!
Corn-based ethanol is an interesting subject. Corn farmers have been subsidized for years (see high fructose corn syrup), something that sugar cane farmers haven't had the good fortune of. The problem with manufacturing ethanol is that in recent times, the cost of manufacture has been greater than the price the market will bear for the finished product. No one wants to lose money. So now the govt wants to step in and subsidize. What is another interesting twist is that it looks like sorgham may be a viable alternative to make EtOH. Sugar cane farmers may be planting more sorgham in S. LA, which will mean less cane, and a better price for sugar later this year. Its the old supply and demand 101. We currently don't have enough oil in this country (speaking of the oil reserves that we are currently allowed to tap into) to be able to significantly decrease our dependency on foreign oil, even with a swing to EtOH based fuels and biodiesel. There is plenty of oil in this country, we just aren't ready fight for accessing it yet. Of interest is that a lot of the jack up rigs in the Gulf are being pulled out and relocated overseas.
US sugar producers receive over a billion dollars in subsidies each year, which is why US sugar cost as much as three times the world average.
Ethanol is expensive and consumes a lot of energy to produce, but one thing that is being looked into is the use of biogas energy to offset those costs. My company is begining to explore the biogas field (we manufacture pumps and mixing equipment), and one of the big applications is pairing biogas plants with ethanol plants. It will be interesting to see what I get to learn about all of this in the coming months.
Another problem with ethanol is transportation cost. It can't be sent through pipelines like gas b/c it's too corrosive. That's going to drive up price as well. Which begs the question. If it will corrode pipelines, what will it do to my car engine?
Nothing if your car is ethanol-compatible. If it isn't and you still gas it up by mistake, they say you'll probably get a "Check Engine" light, since there will be more oxygen in the fuel system because E85 gasoline has a higher oxygen content than regular gasoline.
I remember when I could get an 18 pack of Bud or Miller Lite for $9.99. Now that only gets a 12 pack. The government should step in and stop these greedy beer companies from fleecing me for more cash. :hihi:
