Gas, $3.75 a gallon by Summer Estimated

[88Skier]

The greed and corruption that has been tied to our government & big oil sickens me to no end.

With so much alternate energy technology available for so long now, it became overwhelmingly frustrating for my family and I some time ago. We just couldn’t stand it anymore and had to do something about it.

Recently we acquired a 1993 Ford F350 Crew Cab Diesel as a pulling vehicle to convert to waste vegetable oil.

After buying my first diesel of any type, we liked it so much I got my wife a 2001 VW 5sp Diesel Beetle (45-50mpg)! She loves it, so do I for the fuel mileage.

Even if they are robbing us on the price of diesel vs. gas it still pays off big. The mpg dominates anything we’ve owned and knowing our diesels will last so much longer before the need for rebuild is great. (I’m a cheapskate in case you don’t know).

Our mini van just went bye-bye so that the new (to us) 1999 C2500 Diesel Suburban has room in the driveway (it got nearly 18mpg last tank). My wife had to have a car she could drive comfortably that carries at least 6-7 people for the times our girls have friends along.

I’m selling the truck and currently looking for a diesel VW Jetta to drive to work (also converting to WVO)

I plan on completing the conversion on the Suburban first, then converting the Jetta that’s coming soon, and if all goes well, we will do the same to the Beetle.

In the meantime, we are trying to run the highest percentage biodiesel we can get as often as possible to be anti-oil and eco-friendly until the fossil fuel line can be severed from our entire diesel fleet.

I’d like to make some biodiesel out of the WVO we collect during the process as well.

Since I’ve gotten hooked on the diesels, that steyr/indmar in line 6 cyl marine diesel engine looks pretty good.

The smell of French fries behind the boat from WVO doesn’t sound half bad.

Hopefully by the start of boating season, I will at least have the Suburban fully converted to further offset the increasing fuel costs and if all goes o.k., this year has potential to be the lowest cost fuel season we have ever had.

Good luck everyone

Are you paying State and Fed Highway Taxes?

[woody]

Never thought I would say this, but those Hybrid cars dont really look so bad anymore. Tinted window's lowered and some nice wheels and tires (very skinny wheels and tires though) My commute is about 23 miles one way in a 6.0 liter car so my mpg are about 16-18 on a good day not what I planned.

Edit: I was very surprised when I was in TX this past year to see that gas is right up here with Calif. and in some cases a little more, now that I did not expect.

I purchased a cheap 4-banger car for my 96-mile round trip commute everyday for about 5k w/ 67k miles on it. While it’s nothing to get excited about, I paid cash for it, it’s in great shape, and I get 38mpg at 70+mph. I just don’t see the need to spend $$$ for a hybrid, which in most cases aren’t designed to perform at highway speed anyway. Now the new Tahoe Hybrid changes that a bit w/ a two-mode system, but I’ll need to save a lot of gas in that to recover the cost differences in purchase price between the two vehicles. I’m all for others purchasing a hybrid, it means more gas for me…lol Why is it when I see a Hybrid they seem to have bumper stickers like coexist, war is not the answer….lol Probably because I pass through the Republic of Davis… lol

It's probably because your passing all the nature freaks from Berkley heading up to Tahoe to hug trees.

[lakewaterjunky]

Are you paying State and Fed Highway Taxes?

Yes, just as everyone else. Are you getting at the highway fuel usage tax?

[88Skier]

In Maine, the state and feds are starting to go after people burning veg. oil. They're suppose to be paying taxes. There was an article in the paper about this old guy that was so proud of rigging up his Rabbit to run on fryolator fat. Then he got a letter from the government and now he's po'd. I guess there's a flat rate for a permit.

[lakewaterjunky]

Regarding the highway fuel usage tax for WVO and other fuels(which is BS btw)pardon my french, there is an allowable limit, that at least for now, has an adequate amount for your personal use. It seems that once you share, sell, use or produce more than a certain amount things change regarding this, I don’t recall the particulars of the matter without researching some saved articles.

All of this does not affect me, at least not yet, as my first conversion is not finished and will not likely be a problem because of our anticipated moderate personal usage. One other thing to consider is that with WVO you still have to buy some diesel(unless of course your making your own biodiesel) to start and warm the vehicle up on before switching to grease.(or your asking for big repair costs & troubles down the road)

There are companies that have started up recovering, filtering and then reselling WVO. It seems that their cost per gallon retailing the stuff is likely to include an additional highway tax/fee in their price for this service. This is yet another sad state of affairs to our system that opposes positive change and is just more taxation without proper representation. In some other countries, WVO is handled and transported as food/consumable, therefore governed by an FDA type of authority.

Once again, anything that makes good sense for the environment and causes some financial well being for the common man just makes too much sense for most of our leadership to wrap their thick heads around.

There are discussions regarding this and other related subjects on several Biodiesel & WVO websites.

My hope is that everyone tries to embrace alternatives such as this that are attainable for now and that people will not shed a dark cloud on anyone attempting to make a difference.

I feel strongly that a real difference can be made if these options are available for us non-conformists and environmentalists that truly desire change for the better and can continue to do something in the proper direction for everyone.

Anything less than diligently implementing eco- friendly alternative energies is not logical, unreasonable money driven excuses are all that is left to blame for the lack of progress in this direction.

Its sad that such foolish decisions have been made in this country and yet bureaucracy still puts up obstacles slowing down the progress of this very important issue.

Rant is over

Should we start another thread on alternative fuels of some sort?

[MO-BluBu]

Man this is a fun one.

Lake 60 miles away.

Diesel Jeep liberty. 26 mpg by it's self: 18 -20 puling 4000# Sunsetter LXI with titan tower up.

Possibly make supports for tower to ride in stowed position to lower wind resistance.

Park boat at lake to cut down on number of trailering miles.

Limit the 9 year old to 10 minutes of skiing per turn, or get her a job.

[Bill_AirJunky]

In Maine, the state and feds are starting to go after people burning veg. oil. They're suppose to be paying taxes. There was an article in the paper about this old guy that was so proud of rigging up his Rabbit to run on fryolator fat. Then he got a letter from the government and now he's po'd. I guess there's a flat rate for a permit.

Google the story about David Wetzel sometime, 88. Heres the initial story. He's an old guy who was using veggie oil in an old Rabbit for years in the Chicago area. He got accused of a number of things, including tax evasion & manufacturing a hazardous material without a license. When it was all said & done, they awarded him a medal for being so ingenious.

I can understand the tax issue if your driving some big rig................but a VW Rabbit???? What kind of damage would that do to any road?????

I work for a big restaurant supply outfit that happens to own the largest privately owned truck fleet in the US. There has been talk of setting up a grease pickup service, then cycling the grease into the trucks as a fuel supplement. The tax issues are one of the things that have kept it from happening.

It's a shame the government feels the need to hold it back. We have like 40 trucks at our place alone that could potentially be helping the earth's pollution issues if we were allowed to.

[sp0tts]

I gurantee if gas was dropped to $1.80 or below and heating oil was dropped as well, the recession would be over and the economy would thrive. The best part would be the investors that are artifically driving oil prices would lose their rear end.

Our economic problems go well beyond the price of oil. Yes it does have some effect, but the subprime mess, real estate markets, and cost of this war are the big problems. I also don't think we'll ever see oil below $80 a barrell again, OPEC will just cut production if prices drop to that level. A lot of the OPEC nations think $100 a barrell is too cheap for their oil.

BTW, I'm a lot more concerned with how the economy and oil prices will effect resale value in the future than I am what it costs me to run a boat for the summer. If it costs you $2,000 in gas for the summer to run your boat, that's a lot of fun you had at the lake. If you really want to save money, you shouldn't have a boat in the first place.

Edited February 24, 2008 by sp0tts

[88Skier]

In Maine, the state and feds are starting to go after people burning veg. oil. They're suppose to be paying taxes. There was an article in the paper about this old guy that was so proud of rigging up his Rabbit to run on fryolator fat. Then he got a letter from the government and now he's po'd. I guess there's a flat rate for a permit.

Google the story about David Wetzel sometime, 88. Heres the initial story. He's an old guy who was using veggie oil in an old Rabbit for years in the Chicago area. He got accused of a number of things, including tax evasion & manufacturing a hazardous material without a license. When it was all said & done, they awarded him a medal for being so ingenious.

I can understand the tax issue if your driving some big rig................but a VW Rabbit???? What kind of damage would that do to any road?????

I work for a big restaurant supply outfit that happens to own the largest privately owned truck fleet in the US. There has been talk of setting up a grease pickup service, then cycling the grease into the trucks as a fuel supplement. The tax issues are one of the things that have kept it from happening.

It's a shame the government feels the need to hold it back. We have like 40 trucks at our place alone that could potentially be helping the earth's pollution issues if we were allowed to.

The only reason I bring it up is because I have a buddy that has a big diesel Ford. He's a contractor, so he also has equipment that runs on dyed diesel. He will not run the dyed stuff in his truck because the gov. will come down on him like a ton of bricks he he's caught. It sounds like the gov is going to go after the veggy oil guys just as bad for tax evasion. According to my buddy, they are no one to mess around with.

[MO-BluBu]

Missouri fuel tax is $.17 a gallon. I don't mind paying the tax if I am making my own diesel from Fryer oil or soybeans (Father in Law is a farmer). Fryer Diesel can be made about a buck a gallon. Even if it was to cost $1.50 to $2.00 a gallon to make with taxes that is less than half the pump price. Bought some diesel today @ $3.47.

[ilovetrains]

Missouri fuel tax is $.17 a gallon. I don't mind paying the tax if I am making my own diesel from Fryer oil or soybeans (Father in Law is a farmer). Fryer Diesel can be made about a buck a gallon. Even if it was to cost $1.50 to $2.00 a gallon to make with taxes that is less than half the pump price. Bought some diesel today @ $3.47.

I have been looking for someone that was making and selling small amounts of bio-diesel. I have run B-20 in my Cummins and it was happy, would like to try something more, but there are 0 bio stations in the KC area.

[68Slalom]

I'm not sure what the Manager or owner is thinking about but a local Shell station in San Mateo just raised the price of unleaded gas Reg. $4.17 Sup. $4.37. I think they are serious nuts when the gas station down the street is about $.50-60 per gallon less

[hyperlitenerd]

I paid 3.67 for premium last night, 14 gallons into my little car and only 256 miles traveled. I need to back off the loud pedal.

[ilovetrains]

I'm not sure what the Manager or owner is thinking about but a local Shell station in San Mateo just raised the price of unleaded gas Reg. $4.17 Sup. $4.37. I think they are serious nuts when the gas station down the street is about $.50-60 per gallon less

I have noticed higher than normal differences in town and regionally over the past 6 months. I will see a difference from St. Louis to KC of about 20 cents unleaded and 30-35 diesel. Going to KS adds on avergae 10-15 cents to whatever the highest MO price I have seen.

However, over the past weeks stations across the street from one another are as much as 20 cents different. Unleaded has bounced all over the place.

[curtisco24]

basically it seems as if the jumps in price react to the crude market. If crude goes up 1.00, the shell is usually the first to jump gas ten to fifteen cents. If other stores jump it to match, then shell will add another 10 cents and so on. If other stores stay where they are at, Shell will lower the price back down because they are overpriced. So basically gas stations play the match game. Gas varies as much as 20 cents per gallon in tn, diesel as much as 30. What I like is how they react within the day, sometimes twice a day, in the upswing of crude, but if it falls, gas prices don't come down for 2 weeks. Don't let em lie, gas stations are making money along with oil companies. I won't buy from shell unless I have to push my car in there. If that is the case, I might buy $2.00 just enough to get to the next station. They are masters at ripping people.

[Sixball]

basically it seems as if the jumps in price react to the crude market. If crude goes up 1.00, the shell is usually the first to jump gas ten to fifteen cents. If other stores jump it to match, then shell will add another 10 cents and so on. If other stores stay where they are at, Shell will lower the price back down because they are overpriced. So basically gas stations play the match game. Gas varies as much as 20 cents per gallon in tn, diesel as much as 30. What I like is how they react within the day, sometimes twice a day, in the upswing of crude, but if it falls, gas prices don't come down for 2 weeks. Don't let em lie, gas stations are making money along with oil companies. I won't buy from shell unless I have to push my car in there. If that is the case, I might buy $2.00 just enough to get to the next station. They are masters at ripping people.

Shell is the best price around hear most of the time.

[NorCaliBu]

$4/gal wouldn't be as bad if you were getting 70 mpg.

Coming Soon from VW: A 69.9 MPG Diesel Hybrid

By Chuck Squatriglia February 28, 2008 | 10:04:10 AM

Categories: Diesel, Geneva Motor Show, Hybrids

It's official - Volkswagen is unveiling a hybrid to challenge the mighty Toyota Prius. And not just any hybrid, but a diesel-electric hybrid it says will deliver 69.9 mpg.

VW's been experimenting with hybrids of the gasoline-electric variety since the early 1990s, but the Golf hybrid it will unveil next month at the Geneva Motor Show is the first production model the German company's rolled out. Volkswagen isn't offering much in the way of details, but the car is expected to have a parallel hybrid drivetrain with a 2.0 liter engine. Look for it to have an all-electric mode at low speed, start-stop capability, regenerative braking and a 7-speed DSG double-clutch transmission, according to Auto Express and AutoBlog Green.

What's all the techno-jargon mean? The Golf Hybrid will get almost 70 mph while meeting Europe's stringent Euro V and America's Tier 2 Bin 5 emissions standards, making it green enough even for California. The car is said to emit just 89 g/km of CO2. (For comparison, the Prius emits 104 g/km and Honda Civic Hybrid emits 116.)

The hybrid Golf may be just the start.

According to Britain's Channel 4, VW is considering the hybrid drivetrain in a Jetta and Audi A3. DailyTech says it also could appear in the VW Tiguan and Audi Q5 crossover utility vehicles.

Auto Express says the Golf hybrid will be offered for sale in Europe by the end of next year. No word yet on when we might see it on this side of the pond. { }

Edited February 29, 2008 by NorCaliBu

[Guest J-Ro]

Most of your high gas prices are due to the dropping dollar. I know its hard to believe that it isn't Bush or the Saudi's fault but in today's economy, oil is gold, literally. Investors weary of a falling dollar can hedge with oil instead of gold. This won't be an issue when oil starts to be denominated in Euros.

Oil-Price Rise Poses OPEC Conundrum

By NEIL KING JR. in Washington and GUY CHAZAN in London

February 29, 2008; Page A3

Oil prices finished at a new high for the second time this week, bolstering the likelihood that OPEC will sit on its hands at next week's meeting in Vienna.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which supplies about 40% of the world's oil, had signaled it was considering a production cut to compensate for economic softness and a slowdown in major consuming markets. But oil's recent surge has made a production cut politically tricky, market watchers say.

• Pushing Higher: Oil prices' continued rise has made an output cut by OPEC less likely.

• Mixed Signals: The rise has confused OPEC officials, who point to indicators that suggest oil prices should be facing downward pressure.

• Market Concern: An energy watchdog group points with concern to dwindling stocks in developed countries.

Oil's rise flies in the face of many of the indicators OPEC watches. Crude-oil inventories in the U.S. are swelling, while gasoline stocks are at 14-year highs. Still, the Energy Department is warning of record prices at the pump this spring. Other market watchers are eyeing thin oil inventories elsewhere in the developed world.

U.S. benchmark crude yesterday jumped $2.95, or 3%, to finish at $102.59 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, continuing a run that has pushed oil up 12% this month. Oil could soon test its all-time inflation-adjusted high of $103.76 a barrel, reached in the spring of 1980.

The prospect of another U.S. interest-rate cut is helping to push oil and a raft of commodity prices higher. The Federal Reserve's rate cuts typically weaken the dollar; oil futures offer a hedge against inflation and a falling dollar, which established a new low against the euro yesterday.

OPEC ministers have made clear in recent days that they aren't likely to respond to bullish prices by boosting supplies. It seems equally out of the question that the cartel will agree to a formal output cut -- which would drive prices higher -- even if two or three producers within the 13-member group back such a move.

Looking further down the road, OPEC faces a potentially daunting challenge: The group may have to begin acting like an actual cartel again if world-wide oil-demand growth continues to cool, as nearly all forecasters believe it will. That means OPEC would have to agree to reimpose internal production restraints to try to keep supply in line with slackening demand, even at a time of triple-digit prices.

Since 2003, with a few brief exceptions, nearly all OPEC countries have produced flat-out to meet soaring demand in Asia and the Middle East. This year, the cartel believes world-wide demand could grow by about 1.2 million barrels a day, to just shy of 87 million barrels a day.

The unexpected twist is that most of this new demand could well be slaked by boosts in non-OPEC supplies, mainly in increased amounts of natural-gas liquids, biofuels such as ethanol and nonconventional oil such as Canadian tar sands.

Analysts say that all those sources, together with an expected bump of about 200,000 barrels a day in conventional non-OPEC production, may more or less match the world's increased thirst for oil. OPEC ministers flagged this possibility when they met a month ago. Analysts within the cartel forecast that the demand for OPEC supplies this year may be 400,000 barrels a day less than last year.

But imposing a new set of quota limits would be a highly contentious matter. The group scuttled its system of formal caps, which had been set at 28 million barrels a day, in September 2006. The group is now producing about 32 million barrels a day.

"This is the first year in some time that OPEC may have to start acting like a cartel again," said Larry Goldstein, an economist at the Energy Policy Research Foundation.

A move to rein in OPEC production would come as several of its key members, including Iraq and Angola, are looking to boost output. The cartel's de facto leader and largest producer, Saudi Arabia, is also set to bring nearly two million barrels a day in new capacity online over the next 18 months. "Many of these producers are going to have to start cutting back," Mr. Goldstein said.

At the International Energy Agency, the Paris-based watchdog for developed oil-consuming countries, the picture is less than comforting. The IEA says that "forward cover" -- a way of measuring inventories that accounts for expected use -- is down to about 51 days of supply, well below the five-year average and the lowest it has been since the end of 2004.

Looking toward next week's Vienna gathering, some OPEC officials are expressing dismay at the continued surge in prices. At its last session, the group signaled that slumping demand in the developed world could trigger a formal output cut, especially if prices began to fall sharply.

"The feeling right now is that the price is very high, but not because of fundamentals," said one senior OPEC official, who estimates that at least a third of the price run-up over the last year is due to what he calls "pure froth" -- basically, speculative flows of money into the oil market.

OPEC's dilemma now is in some ways similar to the one it faced in the late summer of 2006, when the group was also fretting over slumping demand and a potential glut in supplies. Then, the group decided to scrap its formal quotas and trim output informally. But that decision sparked a heated debate within OPEC over which country should trim output, and by how much.

The cartel then decided twice in the following three months to formally cut production by a total of 1.7 million barrels a day. The big difference between now and then, though, was that prices were falling precipitously in the late summer and fall of 2006.

[Bobby Light]

With regular unleaded at $3.49 a gallon where I'm at, I'd say $4.00 by the summer is very likely.

[Sixball]

I saw a statement just the other day only 30% of our crud is coming from the middle east. The biggest influence on crud prices is the emerging there'd world countrys coming into the industrial world and automotive use in the same country's.

[JohnDoe]

Most of your high gas prices are due to the dropping dollar. I know its hard to believe that it isn't Bush or the Saudi's fault but in today's economy, oil is gold, literally. Investors weary of a falling dollar can hedge with oil instead of gold. This won't be an issue when oil starts to be denominated in Euros.

Oil-Price Rise Poses OPEC Conundrum

By NEIL KING JR. in Washington and GUY CHAZAN in London

February 29, 2008; Page A3

Oil prices finished at a new high for the second time this week, bolstering the likelihood that OPEC will sit on its hands at next week's meeting in Vienna.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which supplies about 40% of the world's oil, had signaled it was considering a production cut to compensate for economic softness and a slowdown in major consuming markets. But oil's recent surge has made a production cut politically tricky, market watchers say.

• Pushing Higher: Oil prices' continued rise has made an output cut by OPEC less likely.

• Mixed Signals: The rise has confused OPEC officials, who point to indicators that suggest oil prices should be facing downward pressure.

• Market Concern: An energy watchdog group points with concern to dwindling stocks in developed countries.

Oil's rise flies in the face of many of the indicators OPEC watches. Crude-oil inventories in the U.S. are swelling, while gasoline stocks are at 14-year highs. Still, the Energy Department is warning of record prices at the pump this spring. Other market watchers are eyeing thin oil inventories elsewhere in the developed world.

U.S. benchmark crude yesterday jumped $2.95, or 3%, to finish at $102.59 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, continuing a run that has pushed oil up 12% this month. Oil could soon test its all-time inflation-adjusted high of $103.76 a barrel, reached in the spring of 1980.

The prospect of another U.S. interest-rate cut is helping to push oil and a raft of commodity prices higher. The Federal Reserve's rate cuts typically weaken the dollar; oil futures offer a hedge against inflation and a falling dollar, which established a new low against the euro yesterday.

OPEC ministers have made clear in recent days that they aren't likely to respond to bullish prices by boosting supplies. It seems equally out of the question that the cartel will agree to a formal output cut -- which would drive prices higher -- even if two or three producers within the 13-member group back such a move.

Looking further down the road, OPEC faces a potentially daunting challenge: The group may have to begin acting like an actual cartel again if world-wide oil-demand growth continues to cool, as nearly all forecasters believe it will. That means OPEC would have to agree to reimpose internal production restraints to try to keep supply in line with slackening demand, even at a time of triple-digit prices.

Since 2003, with a few brief exceptions, nearly all OPEC countries have produced flat-out to meet soaring demand in Asia and the Middle East. This year, the cartel believes world-wide demand could grow by about 1.2 million barrels a day, to just shy of 87 million barrels a day.

The unexpected twist is that most of this new demand could well be slaked by boosts in non-OPEC supplies, mainly in increased amounts of natural-gas liquids, biofuels such as ethanol and nonconventional oil such as Canadian tar sands.

Analysts say that all those sources, together with an expected bump of about 200,000 barrels a day in conventional non-OPEC production, may more or less match the world's increased thirst for oil. OPEC ministers flagged this possibility when they met a month ago. Analysts within the cartel forecast that the demand for OPEC supplies this year may be 400,000 barrels a day less than last year.

But imposing a new set of quota limits would be a highly contentious matter. The group scuttled its system of formal caps, which had been set at 28 million barrels a day, in September 2006. The group is now producing about 32 million barrels a day.

"This is the first year in some time that OPEC may have to start acting like a cartel again," said Larry Goldstein, an economist at the Energy Policy Research Foundation.

A move to rein in OPEC production would come as several of its key members, including Iraq and Angola, are looking to boost output. The cartel's de facto leader and largest producer, Saudi Arabia, is also set to bring nearly two million barrels a day in new capacity online over the next 18 months. "Many of these producers are going to have to start cutting back," Mr. Goldstein said.

At the International Energy Agency, the Paris-based watchdog for developed oil-consuming countries, the picture is less than comforting. The IEA says that "forward cover" -- a way of measuring inventories that accounts for expected use -- is down to about 51 days of supply, well below the five-year average and the lowest it has been since the end of 2004.

Looking toward next week's Vienna gathering, some OPEC officials are expressing dismay at the continued surge in prices. At its last session, the group signaled that slumping demand in the developed world could trigger a formal output cut, especially if prices began to fall sharply.

"The feeling right now is that the price is very high, but not because of fundamentals," said one senior OPEC official, who estimates that at least a third of the price run-up over the last year is due to what he calls "pure froth" -- basically, speculative flows of money into the oil market.

OPEC's dilemma now is in some ways similar to the one it faced in the late summer of 2006, when the group was also fretting over slumping demand and a potential glut in supplies. Then, the group decided to scrap its formal quotas and trim output informally. But that decision sparked a heated debate within OPEC over which country should trim output, and by how much.

The cartel then decided twice in the following three months to formally cut production by a total of 1.7 million barrels a day. The big difference between now and then, though, was that prices were falling precipitously in the late summer and fall of 2006.

Is oil a hedge, sure, but you're presuming that there's nothing that can be done to stop the falling dollar, which is not true.

[Guest J-Ro]

John-

How would you propose that be done without destroying a teetering economy?

[bu2007vlx]

I'm not staying home!!!!

[Pistol Pete]

Diesel just hit $4.00 a gallon here, in Santa Cruz.

[JohnDoe]

John-

How would you propose that be done without destroying a teetering economy?

Carefully