If you think all this flirting with $3-a-gallon gas is already a pain in the pocketbook, brace yourself.
Oil expert Craig Smith predicts gas prices will skyrocket next year, jumping to five bucks a gallon.
And if terrorists successfully strike a major Middle East oil field, Americans might end up paying $10 a gallon -- about $110 to fill a Ford Focus' 11-gallon tank.
Smith, a self-proclaimed geopolitical know-it-all hawking his new book Black Gold Stranglehold, says Americans -- tree-hugging politicians and car-addicted commuters alike -- should blame themselves for the coming spike in prices.
"Why are they charging higher prices for gas? Because people will pay it. Apparently, we're not changing our driving habits much," he said. "Blame this on ourselves. This country has not built a new refinery in 30 years, we stopped new oil exploration . . . and put a moratorium on offshore drilling."
Smith -- who last year predicted $3-a-gallon gas and $65-a-barrel crude oil prices this year -- says oil prices will jump to $80 a gallon by the end of 2006.
On Tuesday, the national average was $2.52 a gallon, according to AAA. And the price of gas topped $3 here last week.
If you don't believe the average cost of gas will double in 12 months, Smith points to places such as Hong Kong, Korea and France, where gas prices regularly top the $5 mark.
The solution here for high oil prices: "find it, drill it, refine it and burn it" domestically, Smith said, pointing to untapped crude reserves in Alaska, Colorado, Utah, off the California coast and in the Gulf of Mexico.
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A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams...John Barrymore
We have one of our UK software engineers visiting here today and they're paying £.90 a litre which averages out to about $6.00 US a gallon.
So, looks like people are going to have to get real and figure out they can't have their damn road hogging, gas guzzling SUV's anymore.
BTW - My Brit visitor here asked if we have deisels here, and I explained to him that ppl. just don't want them on the whole here. I personally would love to have a car that would get me 60mpg or better!
I believe it, we're already up over 25% over last year.
____________________ Get in, Sit down, Shut up and HANG ON!
I saw the one thing I thought I would never see when I bought my focus was just a few days ago: 28 dollars for a full tank... on 87 octane
No words can describe my suprise at this. I know that other countries are at like 5-7 dollars (US conversion) of gas, but you can tell this type of hit is affecting all of us. And CHelly is sooo right, these SUVs are taking the worst of it.
Oh yeah, I failed to mention I saw a Hummer H2 with a 70 DOLLAR gas bill at the same gas station I filled up at recently.
So, who's down for starting the Team Focus Bike club?
Perhaps those sleepy people at Ford will now actually wake the hell up and start bringing in the small diesels. Or will they have to see 100 dollar/bbl and further loss of market share before they rouse from their fascination with Excursions. It'll be interesting to see how many people walk away from Ford Credit financed/leased vehicles over the next 6 months.
Actually, Bill Ford probably believes that the price of oil will go back below $30/bbl.
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A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams...John Barrymore
if this prophecy comes true, this is going to suck... would that mean that maybe the american dollar increase in value at all?
The US$ has got serious problems so I very much doubt that it'll gain any strength. More likely is that other currencies such as the Euro will replace the US$.
I remember even a year ago it would cost me about $28 to fill my truck (20 gallons).
And I'm gettign upset because I just squeaked 235 miles out of one tank of gas on the focus.
And I doubt gas will go down much if it does go down. The whole "well people are paying that much now. No reason to lower the cost and lower our profit"
The other side of the picture is that oil is getting more and more expensive to find and extract. The cheap stuff is gone.
Demand is also up substantially. All those dollars that people spend at Walmart are being shipped to China and the Chinese now have a very fast growing auto demand. China went from being self-sufficient in oil to now being an importer.
There will be blips up and down in the price of oil but the trend is up for good.
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A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams...John Barrymore
I had meant to fill yesterday, Wednesdays are the days to fill, they change the prices Thursday.
Well, my last tank cost me $30!!!! I never hit that with my 4Runner back in 2000! I have to do it again today. Talk about sucking!
We won't see it decrease. I will continue to rise and I actually hope that now that fuel is so expensive we'll see an improvement of our mass transit system here in New England!
____________________ Get in, Sit down, Shut up and HANG ON!
I can't believe that there aren't more protests by the consumers and truckers. It's getting time for civil protests in this country. That dullard president GWB is responsible for most of it (not all). We should bill Kuwait for services rendered in the first Iraq situation. The effects of trickle down economics, will cause inflation to start up (it already has). This country's priorities are so screwed up (we've been the worlds Pu**y, since WW II, just about every country, we've helped, turns around and screws us).
All of us Focus owners, are in much better shape than those with SUV's and big pickup trucks. Most with luxury rides can afford the gas prices no matter the price. When you really think about it, the refinery owners have just been waiting for this situation. Like most of the average middle class Americans, we just have to bend over and take it up the ***! The situation can and probably will get worse, with some disaster to one or more refineries. I guess I better, start looking around for a motorcycle at or under 250cc, just for insurance. End of my rant!
Get a locking gas cap if you don't have one. Caught a couple of guys trying to drain my tank in the parking lot when I came out after dinner last night.
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A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams...John Barrymore
Codger wrote: Get a locking gas cap if you don't have one. Caught a couple of guys trying to drain my tank in the parking lot when I came out after dinner last night.
Yep, this is a sad situation. They just announced this locally here in Manchester, NH. A bunch of ppl. have complained about this already. I'm working on getting myself one.
Pathetic. If you can't afford it, get it off the damn road you leaches!
____________________ Get in, Sit down, Shut up and HANG ON!
That is pathetic, now I'm scared... my car got truly crappy mileage this tank (I'm at 220 I think, and it's below the 1/4 left mark)... a lot of the driving was non-efficient, but I hope my tank wasn't siphoned?!
Anyone know if the VW Cabriolet caps would fit under our door? I bought a new one for my old Cabby (then junked the thing, shoulda taken back my cap) when its old was missing the key and was cracking, the thing was only like $12 IIRC. I'm thinking maybe one could open our door, untwist the cap-on-leash, cut it and twist on the VW locking cap, and still be able to shut the door? I may have to hunt down local junkyards for a test cap, or just buy another new one, they're damn cheap...
Anyone have any idea of a locking gas cap that works on the Focus?
I put one on way back and it didn't work, something about vented vs unvented or something. I forget exactly what the issue was. Anyway, I threw it out and never did get one that worked.
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A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams...John Barrymore
Codger wrote: Anyone have any idea of a locking gas cap that works on the Focus?
I put one on way back and it didn't work, something about vented vs unvented or something. I forget exactly what the issue was. Anyway, I threw it out and never did get one that worked.I was just going to ask that question. Maybe I'll give my dealer a call tomorrow to see if there's one that works. Foci have been known for being very sensitive to gas cap issues.
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Mr. Versatile wrote:
Foci have been known for being very sensitive to gas cap issues.
WADDA YA MEAN SAHNSATIVE?
Only being able to fill the vehicle while standing on one's left foot and then putting the gas cap on during the first light of a full moon while very calmly singing Monty Python's "Every Sperm is Sacred" and not forgetting to hold your left arm straight out towards Bill Ford's place on Lake Michigan, in order to avoid a CEL, could hardly be called being sensitive.
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A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams...John Barrymore
i HATE diesel....the fumes make me sick...MUCH more than a gas engine for some reason...i have heard they are REALLY bad for you...just think back to grad night morning with all those buses...i had a asthma attack because of it...
Toyota Prius 2006...on the way
Plus it dynos the same if not a bit better than my focus did with just a iceman intake
Last edited on Tue Aug 23rd, 2005 04:38 pm by uniquezx3
____________________ 2k3 zx3 auto power premium, red reflective tint, custom red accents, iceman, borla, and more.
Ok I've been thinking of this. Apparently car-part.com doesn't let you search for gas caps?! Bastages. Anyway, I was concerned over the whole CEL issue. Although I did cut my cap-on-leash and screw on the BATinc spring loaded gas cap without incident so I hold out for hope!
I'm wondering if maybe this VW thing I mentioned has some merit. I'm not sure it's the right size or thread pattern though But I remember you Codger, or maybe someone else, going crazy looking for a locking cap and it turned out not to work. Instead of a locking CAP, would it be easy to buy a European locking fuel door? I would guess eBay Europe would have them on the cheap?!
Here's the VW part, it came on 1980-93 Cabriolets, maybe other cars too. The Star shape is purely esthetic too, so if there wasn't enough clearance they could be cut/Dremeled off. I'm royally PO'd that I'm even considering protecting my fuel, I never thought I'd come to this!!
) when its old was missing the key and was cracking, the thing was only like $12 IIRC. I'm thinking maybe one could open our door, untwist the cap-on-leash, cut it and twist on the VW locking cap, and still be able to shut the door? I may have to hunt down local junkyards for a test cap, or just buy another new one, they're damn cheap...
But I remember you Codger, or maybe someone else, going crazy looking for a locking cap and it turned out not to work. Instead of a locking CAP, would it be easy to buy a European locking fuel door? I would guess eBay Europe would have them on the cheap?!