Ga$ Price How high will they go?

[Sparky73]

My "Daily Driver" is a 1998 Chevrolet 1500, 4x4 Z71 -- and JUST driving to work and back, I spend 50-60$ a week in gas. I am now actually making myself a calender to see how much I spend. My truck gets between 10-12 MPG.. and so far May 28 - I put in 30$, June 4 - 15$, and June 6 - $60. Thats $105.00 in a week and a half, and I didn't even work much last week

Yep, gas prices suck majorly. I only bring home 100-130 a week where I work (After they take out money for my loan).

[DennisGardiner]

Just came back from driving a rent Opel in Germany for 5 days.

$7.21 per gallon, once I do the Dollar to Euro conversion and the Liter to Gallon conversion.

I guess I can not complain as much as I did two weeks ago!

BTW, a guy in Holland blamed us "Yanks" for driving up their gasoline costs??

What can I say?

My rent Opel got incredible fuel mileage as long as I kept it under 130 kph. Once I got over 150 kph the mileage dropped fast.

Once I got her up to 215 kph on the way back from Berlin. Let's say, I use a 1/4 tank in a very, very, very short period of time.

Oh, BTW even at 215kph (approx 134 mph) the Audi drivers were still on your back bumper.

Car I had. 1.8L Opel Zaphira.

[nobody]

I live in a small town that's maybe 5 miles end to end. There isn't anywhere that I go to on a regular basis that's over more than 2 miles away and the speed limits are all around 35. The 49cc scooter is probably the most econimical idea I've had in a long time. There are trucks at my disposal if I need to haul something but as a daily driver they all suck. Even including it's cost the daily commutes average out to around 18 cents a day. The biggest problem is theft. All those people spending dollars a day just to get passed in traffic aren't pleased, and with the ever rising gas prices me topping off the tank for 3.49 only adds insult to injury.

[Hiro]

Originally Posted by 2 Fast 4 U As long every body who uses gas, doesn't, in some way, try to cut their gas consumption, say with 5-10%, the prices are going to go up instead of down . Here in Holland, where I live, we are paying 1.45 euro for a liter [1 l = 0.26 gallon = 0.22 imp. gallon] gas and about 7 km away, in Germany, the liter gas costs 1.40 euro [RON 95]

about same here in France,
that's about 4$ a gallon
Hiro

[West Coast GT]

Just fueled the GT yesterday.
$35.09.

Yikes! But it makes me grateful I didn't get the 1963 Studebaker Hawk GT instead of the Opel. Or a 1968 Dodge Charger with a 440 drilled 40 over.

By the way, if we want people to be a bit more fuel conscience in this country, we need to allow cash-only transactions at gas stations. Most of the time I use a credit or debit card the actual cost doesn't really sink in. But when I dig down deep for cash, and actually count it out and hand it over, it hurts. And if I drove one of the truly big vehicles and had to make sure I had $95 - $100 dollars in my pocket every couple of days for gasoline, I'd be pretty damn upset with guys like us fueling up for a third the cost, in under 3 minutes.

[West Coast GT]

By the way, now is the best time to buy a used gas-guzzler. You might be able to negotiate a large enough discount (due to high fuel costs) to offset the increased cost of fuel over the next 10 years.

If we'll taking about ...
Whoops. Just put pen to paper. Save yourself. Sell the damn thing now! Be afraid. Be very afraid.

[wrench459]

fuel for thought
http://media.gm.com/intl/opel/en/new...elease_233.htm
please look at the date of the release first

[GTJIM]

Bought a low milage 1991 Opel Senator for ...... $NZ1,700 ($US1,275) and it costs me about $NZ200 ($US150) a month in Premium Unleaded 98 octane to run it. It is a luxury drive that tops out at 140 + mph

A Hybrid would cost about $NZ549 ($US412) a month in loan repayments ... and I would still have to buy some fuel - and figure in depreciation!

DO THE MATHS!

Just wait till "No Balls" Palouski and the Arabs deal to you guys - one day you will learn that you have to fight for EVERYTHING ... and WIN or it all gets taken away from you. IMHO

[ungermm]

It's been mention before on this site, but I came across this 1979 article about a Opel GT hybrid built for $1500 that got 75 mpg. I wonder where it is now? It used a 5 hp lawn mower engine, a jet engine starter, and 4 batteries for storage.

058-160-01-im1.jpg

Topped out at 90 mph! I know what your thinking...Why not swap a 10 hp motor and break the 100mph barrier. And, don't forget about that 376 mpg 1959 Opel on Ebay this year. You know, it's been 30 years and with today's technology auto companies should have the ability to do a lot better. Or, do we have to build our own cars? Of course, if we used half the gas our gas prices might be twice as much.

Here is the original 1979 article...AN AMAZING 75 - MPG HYBRID ELECTRIC CAR

Here's an updated article with an interview of the creator. Mother Earth News was able to produce a car like the original and confirm the mpg claims...EARTH DIARY: 1993 Updateave Arthurs' Amazing Hybrid Electric Car

Anyway, I think someone around here that needs an engine and has motivation ought to try. OK, maybe I will someday. I afraid I might have just convinced myself to take on another project. Dang!! Jerry

[opelwasp]

Read the article, bought the plans, project looks to be a small PITA. I may still try it someday though. If I get a decent paying job that requires me to commute more than a 1/2 hour I will build it and park the Geo Metro.

The originator of the project pulled the setup and put it into an S-10 PU.

[wrench459]

[edit] B210 series
Exported as the Datsun 120Y and Datsun B-210 (in North America), the third generation (1973–1978) Sunny was extremely popular as it debuted during the gas crisis of the 1970s. It continued to be the fuel-economy leader in North America and one of the least expensive cars available. At the time body styling was popular with buyers. The American model's safety bumpers actually were said to "improve" the styling. One name in particular used for the American market 120Y was the "Datsun Honeybee". Although regular production in Japan as well as sales in most countries ended with the 1978 model year, the B210 series continued to be produced by Nissan South Africa through 1980.

I was working in the dealership around those years
the honeybee broke 50 mpg with a carb
almost 40 years later and fuel injection.. and we cant break 40 mpg
sad

[jeff denton]

That's interesting. So the motor runs on fifty volts, 400 amps. The generator puts out 100 amps, is this also at fifty volts? Must be, otherwise if the generator is putting out twelve volts it's being split between four batteries through isolators, at 25 amps each. Doesn't sound like a lot of power, looking at it that way.
Apparently the car gets around fairly well with the motor running at 25% of its rated capability, tapping into stored battery power when exceeding this 25%, the output of the generator.
The described lawnmower engine could probably be upgraded to something a little more efficient, perhaps diesel, and water cooled would be a bonus here, too!
Best of all is the use of the motor to help charge the batteries when the car is in a decelleration mode. That seems to be the benefit of using a DC system.
There weren't any horsepower specs given for this motor.
The article points out that efficiency is contingent on the weight of the vehicle, duh, it would be neat to see how light (yet safe and reasonably comfortable) a car with this powertrain could possibly get.
I'm seeing more little hybrids on the street around here even. I'm all for it, I'm ready to give it a try, too! You watch, in five years there will be zillions of 'em, and the technology will be amazing.

[nobody]

Wow, the stiff wind mobile. In 1981 I bought one that had been canibalised for that purpose and in a 40 migh headwind it stalled and the owner junked it. all that was salvagable was the rear deck area, the battery acid accellerated the rust factor. In 30 odd years of opels and some 25 cars I've never even seen a picture or even seen a parts car that bad off. By 83 or 84 there was nothing left. both fenders were gone and so was the firewall and lower front frame

[opelwasp]

I would be using gel cell batteries, so acid wouldn't be an issue.

[nobody]

good idea on the gell cells, but wind was never factored into the design. if you live in a vacuum it will work fine. I've seen this attempted 3 times and all 3 failed with the cars in question becoming scrap. 100% failure rate isn't a reason to go for it unless you have alot of cars to scrap trying. The battery issue is still out there, especially without a proven supercooled battery pack or regenerative brake for the masses, let alone the fitment of a regeneration system with no loss in an aftermarket application. or even a low loss system. Look at the design and money for the mag lev or the tgv for real world ideas that trickled down to the masses into the current batch of electromotive designs.

[Sparky73]

Well here in Michigan the other day, gas just jumped to $3.29 from $3.09. Been hearing a LOT of rumors of it being $4 by Christmas and well over that by the start of Spring/Summer of 2008. Anyone know how much truth is behind this, or is it just a bunch of bull like all the other rumors out there?

[PROPEL]

Oil prices are directly related to the "value" of the US dollar. The dollar is losing reserve currency status. Americans really need to learn about the Fed, and how this private cartel of bankers is destroying our economy. Oil is part of the equation...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODdVstvqfAo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4kxT...related&search

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...arch&plindex=5

7 Countries Considering Abandoning the US Dollar (and what it means)

[OpelGT-de]

Originally Posted by Sparky73 Well here in Michigan the other day, gas just jumped to $3.29 from $3.09. Been hearing a LOT of rumors of it being $4 by Christmas and well over that by the start of Spring/Summer of 2008. Anyone know how much truth is behind this, or is it just a bunch of bull like all the other rumors out there?

Yes was topic of conversation item No 1 during my stay from nov 5th to nov 10th in Detroit/MI
In the night from wednesday to thursday regular jumped from 3.09 to 3.29 and premium jumped to 3.49.
Well, still half price than in Europe, but distance to work and shopping malls are often 4 to 5 times farther than in europe..

[jeff denton]

Somehow we just have to deal with it. An adjustment to our budget may be in order. An extra fifteen dollars a week spent on gas means no beer, maybe no theatre tickets, no dining out anymore. Bummer. We can be a little more frugal by using the car a little less, you know, no joyriding and trivial jaunts. But we still have to get around some, at least to work and back, and to the grocery store once a week!
That's how it was in Scotland when I lived there in the late seventies. But lucky for them they have mass transit available. (Which will never happen in America.) People who had a car used it only when they could really justify it. And could afford it. Gas was $6 a gallon and they were used to it. They lived with it, or without.
It could be that the answer to the supposed oil shortage is to just quit burning so much. Best way to do that is make it awful expensive. So the price of everything goes up because of shipping costs. And more homes are foreclosed because we can't make the payment. Auto companies won't sell as many cars so they cut back production, jobs are lost all the way down to the car lot wash boys.
Steve Martin said "comedy is not pretty". \
I say "effects of this fuel price crap is not pretty".
You wait, a year from now we'll think $3.50 a gallon is quite a bargain. We'll get used to $6 a gallon. Somehow.

[baz]

running @ $10+ / gall here at the mo
just been on the main motorway through the country today and it was £ 1.37 /litre at a service station

thats 1.37/litreX2.091(ex rate for yo yo )X3.8 (L/ us gall )


im sooooooooooo glad half of my diesel costs are free now

[2 Fast 4 U]

Something stinky around here in Holland, Dollar is getting cheaper and the fuel prices are still rising
LPG price raised 1.5 cent, for environmental reasons , only natural gas burns cleaner must be because more new cars are being equipped with LPG fuel installations

[jeff denton]

At the race car shop today we discussed this a bit, one member had heard that gas was $9/gal in Manchester.
So we got to thinking. What if they raised gas to $10/gal here for a month, just for fun? Give the extra $6 to research institutions or mass transit construction, and also meanwhile study what happens to the American way of life in that month. It would be an eye-opener!

[Anonymous D]

This GT was featured in the December 2006OMC Blitz. While the body of the car may still exist (somewhere near North Carolina), the engine configuration was pulled back in the 1980's. The drivetrain was not suitable for a regular-duty passenger vehicle, as it had noise, vibration, and heat issues. At best, it was only an experimental vehicle.

[baz]

Originally Posted by jeff denton At the race car shop today we discussed this a bit, one member had heard that gas was $9/gal in Manchester. So we got to thinking. What if they raised gas to $10/gal here for a month, just for fun? Give the extra $6 to research institutions or mass transit construction, and also meanwhile study what happens to the American way of life in that month. It would be an eye-opener!

jeff you are starting to sound like a socialist


they still tar and feather them in your area ?

[neuropel]

I've taken the liberty of deleting some unrelated posts here. Private messages will be issued to explain site rules.

PLEASE - keep things Opel related, or in this case at least keep it related to gas prices.