crunchtastic Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 BTW, the next time you hear someone is going on about the virtues of "free markets", remind them of this episode.Ha, no kidding, you'd think the fed was in the habit of controlling the business cycle, not just reacting to it. Or maybe they figured figured out the socialist washing machines get bad paper lots cleaner.At any rate, I'm not sure how much liquidity $200 billion can buy. I'm more concerned about solvency. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 Ha, no kidding, you'd think the fed was in the habit of controlling the business cycle, not just reacting to it. Or maybe they figured figured out the socialist washing machines get bad paper lots cleaner.At any rate, I'm not sure how much liquidity $200 billion can buy. I'm more concerned about solvency.I think a lot of people are having the same thoughts. I think the Fed did the right thing: a financial/liquidity crisis is in nobody's best interest. My point in the free market crack was that government intervention in markets can come in mighty handy at times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJones Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/080314/usa_economy...stein.html?.v=1Ok, now I will be a little scared. I wish the GOv. would release some oil reserves to bring down the price of gas, I have a feeling they might or nobody is gonna be taking the family truckster to Orlando this summer. High gas prices help our economy here but nationwide it is killing us. I alos don't know how the Govt. bailout of JP Morgan and the other bank will effect the stock market, it didn't do a whole lot today as I can see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonmacbro Posted March 14, 2008 Author Share Posted March 14, 2008 http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/080314/usa_economy...stein.html?.v=1Ok, now I will be a little scared. I wish the GOv. would release some oil reserves to bring down the price of gas, I have a feeling they might or nobody is gonna be taking the family truckster to Orlando this summer. High gas prices help our economy here but nationwide it is killing us. I alos don't know how the Govt. bailout of JP Morgan and the other bank will effect the stock market, it didn't do a whole lot today as I can see.Well, now might be a good time to trade in those gas guzzlers, turn down the AC just a bit, an shop in bulk. It's gonna get a bit (a lot) worse before it gets better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westguy Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 I've heard that it is the weak dollar that's driving up gas prices. Oil is traded in dollars, so it is cutting into producers' profits, and they are responding by cutting production. It's a vicious little cycle that we're in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonmacbro Posted March 14, 2008 Author Share Posted March 14, 2008 The weakening dollar (I would imagine) is also what's making everything else go up in price, since the government is assuring me it's NOT inflation.LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJones Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 Well, now might be a good time to trade in those gas guzzlers, turn down the AC just a bit, an shop in bulk. It's gonna get a bit (a lot) worse before it gets better.That has actually been happening for the past month or so. People trying to find smaller suvs and 4cyl cars. I have a few if someobody needs to trade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 I've heard that it is the weak dollar that's driving up gas prices. Oil is traded in dollars, so it is cutting into producers' profits, and they are responding by cutting production. It's a vicious little cycle that we're in.I haven't heard that they are cutting production, but I think it is true that the price increase is to a large extent a response to the weak dollar. The price of oil in euro has been relatively flat since the increase in the dollar price is neatly offset by the decrease in the value of dollars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonmacbro Posted March 15, 2008 Author Share Posted March 15, 2008 That has actually been happening for the past month or so. People trying to find smaller suvs and 4cyl cars. I have a few if someobody needs to trade.Heck, I drive a 2005 Honda Civic (gets about 37mpg on a good day, but mostly about 28-32 in city driving). Even, I'm looking for the next better deal! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJones Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 Heck, I drive a 2005 Honda Civic (gets about 37mpg on a good day, but mostly about 28-32 in city driving). Even, I'm looking for the next better deal!Keep what you got, if it ain't broke, don't fix it !!! Hybrids are a scam to quell the treehuggers, don't believe the hype. You already have the next best deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 Hybrids are a scam ..How so? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonmacbro Posted March 15, 2008 Author Share Posted March 15, 2008 How so?I've heard that if you are looking at it from a numbers ($$$) perspective, the hybrid technology never fully pays or itself when considering a similarly priced, non-hybrid car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark F. Barnes Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 Hybrid Cars are window dressing. They are manufactured to keep the greenies at bay, showing that the manufacturer is making an effort to do something different. That 1% of people that buy them offset a lot of heat from the Al Gore Circus, they get huge tax advantages and rebates for building them, and it all looks good on paper. "Window Dressing". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonmacbro Posted March 15, 2008 Author Share Posted March 15, 2008 Does anyone here remember those Civic ads in the 70s (80s?) that advertised 48/60 mpg? What happened to technology since then? Why has it gone downhill? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BryanS Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 Does anyone here remember those Civic ads in the 70s (80s?) that advertised 48/60 mpg? What happened to technology since then? Why has it gone downhill? To get that kind of mileage, you're going need one of these (but God help you, if you try to ride on this on the freeway): http://auto.howstuffworks.com/vespa.htm People choose to drive scooters for a number of reasons, not the least of them is the exceptional gas mileage a scooter can provide. Most models can achieve better miles per gallon (mpg) ratings than all cars, but the most eco-friendly hybrid cars are in the 60-70 mpg range--equal to the Vespa. On the note about the hybrid gas mileage... It's much lower than 60-70 mpg - in real life (the EPA is changing how it estimates fuel mileage for all cars). For local commuting, and speeds less than 30/40 mph, the electric motor of the hybrid gives great "gas" mileage; however, once you get on the freeway, and the gasoline engine comes on, then you're getting comparable mileage as good as a 100% gasoline engine economy car, such as: The Geo Metro. Again, God help you if you are trying to get on the freeway... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJones Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 Does anyone here remember those Civic ads in the 70s (80s?) that advertised 48/60 mpg? What happened to technology since then? Why has it gone downhill?Well, you have to consider that the cars only weighed about 1800lbs. A virtual gokart on wheels, and the technology hasn't changed, the HORSEPOWER has. Those cars in the 60's and 70's were barely 70 to 80hp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonmacbro Posted March 15, 2008 Author Share Posted March 15, 2008 LOLRight! I am close enough to work to make those small cars (or even a scooter or a bike) work, but I am terrified of Houston drivers who own the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJones Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 How so?Sub, the Nickel Cadium batteries used for the power churn out more CO2 emissions to make the batteries for your car than your fossil fuel burning car can in a five year period, the replacement cost for such batteries(5 years) is about $3500, possibly more in 5 years, but the dealer won't tell you that. The risk factor is far greater in a crash of you getting hurt, i.e. roasted alive by the batteries exploding on you. Some hybrids still have a gas burning engine to help it along for highway speeds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BryanS Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 Well, you have to consider that the cars only weighed about 1800lbs. A virtual gokart on wheels, and the technology hasn't changed, the HORSEPOWER has. Those cars in the 60's and 70's were barely 70 to 80hp. BINGO. Our family had one of these: Max speed was 80 mph. 80!!! I love the "0 to 50 in 9 seconds!" ... We abused this car. When the electrical started going out, my father started bypassing the electrical system with his own set of circuits with toggle switches that he mounted on the dash of the car (to fix the electrical properly, would have exceeded the value of the car, so what the hell). So you had to put the key in the ignition, turn it on, flip a switch to put the battery on the starting circuit, then push a starter button... then when the car was running, watch the temp gauge - if it starts rising too quickly, flip another switch to turn on the electric radiator cooling fan... flip another switch for A/C cooling fan (but WHOA!!! did that slow down the car! - didn't need brakes!) ... I think we put close to 250K miles on the car before it finally gave up the ghost. That, and it became too much like trying to fly a 747 (checklist and switch/instrument-wise), to even drive the car. Ridiculous. RIP Fiesta. =( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonmacbro Posted March 15, 2008 Author Share Posted March 15, 2008 That had me laughing like crazy. You're a great storyteller. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 You're a great storyteller...and parsimonious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leon Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 I've heard that if you are looking at it from a numbers ($$) perspective, the hybrid technology never fully pays or itself when considering a similarly priced, non-hybrid car.Well, like all sweeping generalizations, this one is wrong. The true answer is it depends. If you compare Prius with Corolla you get payout of about 5 years assuming $3.50 gasoline and 20K miles per annum. Is it good enough? Not for me with my 7K miles per year per vehicle. But for someone who drives extensively, especially in the city, hybrid would make tons of sense (taxis, fleet vehicles). Also, this estimate assumes that you keep the car forever. If you trade yours, however, hybrid looks much better because so far they have holding value extremely well so you have very low depreciation - the largest portion of car ownership cost. Again, not my case but this would make sense for a lot of people. By the way, this last reason is why car rental companies buy hybrids - they count on being able to sell them 2-3 years later and recover higher portion of the original value vs. traditional vehicles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonmacbro Posted March 16, 2008 Author Share Posted March 16, 2008 Well, I am sticking with my 3 year old (non-hybrid) Civic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 Sub, the Nickel Cadium batteries used for the power churn out more CO2 emissions to make the batteries for your car than your fossil fuel burning car can in a five year period, the replacement cost for such batteries(5 years) is about $3500, possibly more in 5 years, but the dealer won't tell you that. The risk factor is far greater in a crash of you getting hurt, i.e. roasted alive by the batteries exploding on you. Some hybrids still have a gas burning engine to help it along for highway speeds.I'm not sure I understand. I just looked it up, and Prius emissions are 104 g/km, compared to 158 for the Corolla. I can't say I've heard about exploding batteries. Does anyone here remember those Civic ads in the 70s (80s?) that advertised 48/60 mpg? What happened to technology since then?Plenty of cars are built with that kind of mileage, they just aren't sold in the US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonmacbro Posted March 16, 2008 Author Share Posted March 16, 2008 So where are they sold? And better question ... why not? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 So where are they sold? And better question ... why not?In poorer countries. Americans are used to driving cars, not go-karts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonmacbro Posted March 16, 2008 Author Share Posted March 16, 2008 I saw the Tata and it was cute. Not sure I'd want to try it alongside an 18-wheeler on I45 North, but from here to work and back would be kinda cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BryanS Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 Monday - News on Bear Stearns (I hear UBS may be in trouble too) - Market will take a dive. Tuesday - Bernake lowers interest rates, oil sky rockets to $120/barrel - Market might rally (those who ride the short bus) Wednesday - We come to our senses, market dives. ...and then... (gif source: tickerforum.org) Get ready for a wild and crazy week! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crunchtastic Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 Monday - News on Bear Stearns (I hear UBS may be in trouble too) - Market will take a dive.Tuesday - Bernake lowers interest rates, oil sky rockets to $120/barrel - Market might rally (those who ride the short bus) Wednesday - We come to our senses, market dives. ...and then... (gif source: tickerforum.org) Get ready for a wild and crazy week! Now, me buying gold instead of stocks the past couple of years doesn't sound so MadMax after all. I need to find that Bloomberg story about the Bear Sterns chairman playing in a bridge tournament while his firm circled the drain. Talk about Nero fiddling while Rome burned.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonmacbro Posted March 16, 2008 Author Share Posted March 16, 2008 I heard a prediction on Coast to Coast AM about 2 years ago ... one of his psychic guests telling how 2008 was going to see a complete meltdown of the US economy. I thought it was outlandish at the time, but now it doesn't seem so far-fetched.In fact, they predicted the SUMMER of 2008. Guess we still have a few more months to gather our life jackets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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