Not if the last 8 years is any indicator. The last column is US prices per gallon, for May to November. And if you didn't know, Bush already has a war chest for the re-election.

5/5/2003 4.18 4.33 4.65 4.47 4.85 4.66 1.71
5/12/2003 4.07 4.36 4.65 4.53 4.92 4.62 1.68
5/19/2003 4.09 4.38 4.69 4.56 4.99 4.66 1.68
5/26/2003 4.31 4.45 4.77 4.62 5.10 4.68 1.67
6/2/2003 4.28 4.39 4.74 4.58 5.05 4.64 1.66
6/9/2003 4.27 4.38 4.79 4.58 5.05 4.67 1.67
6/16/2003 4.26 4.44 4.79 4.64 5.13 4.74 1.67
6/23/2003 4.17 4.31 4.67 4.50 4.96 4.68 1.67
6/30/2003 4.15 4.28 4.67 4.51 4.95 4.68 1.67
7/7/2003 4.18 4.22 4.66 4.45 4.93 4.62 1.67
7/14/2003 4.09 4.26 4.65 4.47 4.97 4.56 1.71
7/21/2003 4.19 4.29 4.71 4.53 5.01 4.55 1.71
7/28/2003 4.22 4.33 4.82 4.59 5.02 4.62 1.70
8/4/2003 4.21 4.28 4.74 4.54 4.99 4.60 1.72
8/11/2003 1.75
8/18/2003 4.21 4.28 4.65 4.51 5.02 4.55 1.81
8/25/2003 4.17 4.21 4.55 4.44 4.90 4.53 1.93
9/1/2003 4.25 4.25 4.60 4.51 4.94 4.53 1.92
9/8/2003 4.03 4.27 4.53 4.54 4.95 4.57 1.90
9/15/2003 4.29 4.33 4.56 4.59 4.90 4.62 1.88
9/22/2003 4.37 4.32 4.68 4.56 4.91 4.75 1.83
9/29/2003 4.44 4.32 4.63 4.59 4.98 4.82 1.79
10/6/2003 4.39 4.36 4.74 4.63 5.10 4.79 1.77
10/13/2003 4.36 4.37 4.72 4.62 5.13 4.77 1.76
10/20/2003 4.41 4.39 4.74 4.60 5.09 4.83 1.76
10/27/2003 4.42 4.42 4.79 4.64 5.07 4.87 1.73
11/3/2003 4.28 4.29 4.64 4.53 4.93 4.82 1.72

 

I've been using my motorcycle a lot more recently. It does 35-40 to the gallon, it only needs 87 octane, and it is fun as well.

 

Regarding the Honda hybrid picture dr3d1zzl3 posted...

It's rather surprising, but the WSJ just did an article last week about how Hybrid owners (notably the Prius and Insight) aren't getting the EPA mileage that the cars claim on the stickers.

Something about how the EPA testing is flawed in a way that lets the hybrid cars "cheat". Real world results don't stack up to the EPA mileage they list on the stickers. One guy in the story has never seen above 31 MPG in his Prius.

Incredible, huh?

A Camry gets alost that much on the freeway. A Celica gets better than that. So does an Echo... a Civic... etc. Even the new diesel Passat gets 38 mpg.

It looks like Hybrid technology is smoke and mirrors, not a real solution.

Btw, my first post. Cheers.

 

that article does go on to mention that while hybrids to get the max stated MPG, they do generally get much higher mileage than cars in their same class...even diesels. taking one sentence out of the article and saying "hybrid technology is smoke and mirrors" is way off.

personally, I'm not a big hybrid fan...and I think biodiesel is the real way of the future...but hybrid technology is a lot cleaner and more fuel efficient than conventional ICE. It's no smoke and mirrors...

 

You're right, saying "hybrid technology is smoke and mirrors" is factually incorrect. I was being facetious.

My general point was, though, that Hybrid cars are not all they've been pumped up to be.

The 2004 Prius, touted on Toyota's Web site as Motor Trend's Car of the Year, produced 55 miles per gallon in combined city/ highway driving in the EPA tests. The hybrid Civic yielded 47.5 mpg. Consumer Reports found the Prius averaged 44 mpg overall and the Civic got 36 mpg -- about 11 mpg less than the EPA ratings.

If I were a hybrid car owner, I'd be upset.

(Saying nothing of the cost of replacing $2,000 in batteries if they die, when you're out of warranty)

Biodiesel seems promising, but doesn't that require an entire re-work of the existing fuel infrastructure? Same with Natural Gas or (unlikely) Hydrogen.

I read a few days about about a more feasable solution: plug-in hybrid cars. One of the main caviats of electric cars is the range. Plug-in Hybrids solve that problem. You can use the electric power for the daily commute, and gas/electric for taking a weekend trip to grandma's a few hundred miles away.

 

yeah...i think their claims are quite bogus. but if you look at the Prius from the budget consumer point of view, it's still a really great deal. $20K for a decent vehicle that is at least cleaner than 99% of the vehicles out there.

anyways, biodiesel supposedly doesn't require huge infrastruturce change at the consumer's end....any station that can carry diesel can carry biodiesel. but you're right...the problem comes at the other end...how the heck do you get all that soybean and corn into one central processing plant, then run back out to the refineries. but then, that should be solved with the economics of scale. The other cool thing about biodiesel is if it really gets going, we can cut all the subsidies to those damn alfalfa farmers in iowa and make them switch to growing soybean

 

Oh, speaking of biodiesel, Slashdot ran a good article a few days ago:

Here:
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=0...thread&tid=126

and here:
http://www.wired.com/news/autotech/0,2554,63635,00.html

Exerpt:
"Damon Toal-Rossi of Iowa City, Iowa had enough of the high price of gasoline, so it didn't take too much for his friend to talk him into switching to biodiesel, an alternative fuel based on soy or vegetable oil. But after a few months of driving 10 miles to a biodiesel fuel station he decided it was time to start brewing his own. It didn't take him long to find a recipe for biodiesel, and with used cooking oil that he gets for free from a nearby restaurant, he figures he's now getting 44 miles per gallon out of his diesel powered VW Golf and only paying 41 cents a gallon. According to the National Biodiesel Board the number of biodiesel stations in the US rose by 50% last year (to a whopping 200). The president of the American Soybean Association claims biodiesel has almost the same amount of energy as petroleum-based diesel, but cleans an engine's fuel injectors and cuts down on the number of required oil changes. Perhaps these are some of the reasons why diesel powered cars are making a comeback in the US."

Cool, eh!