Cars (Part III)

Photo:  General Motors

At last we come to the end of the past week's "Cars Trilogy"...  On par with such epic adventures as, "The Lord of the Rings Trilogy", "Back to the Future I, II, and II", and "The Bad News Bears" (yes, Classics each), we find ourselves at the end of the "Cars" series of posts and we are left wondering, "How will it end?", "What happens next?", and "For the love of God, will you ever post Part Three so I can get back to reading the "OMG!" page on Yahoo!?"

Well, wait NO MORE!  The epic "Cars Trilogy" of posts ends now!!! 

Well, not exactly right now, more of as in, "Very shortly ending once I get past this bit of prologue... right now!"

This officially marks the BEGINNING OF THE END of...  The MoosRoom Cars Trilogy" (Please hold your applause 'till the end - thank you!)

In "Cars - Part I" we learned that obscure federal and state agencies are working hard to come up with innovative ways to bill YOU for the miles you drive for work and play (because you shiftless Americans are NOT taxed enough already).  

YOU have been buying Electric and Hybrid Vehicles (and collecting those Federal Tax Rebates all the while) resulting in lower gas tax revenues required to maintain our 'aging highway infrastructure'.  Yes, I know that the $866 BILLION Stimulus bill was intended to do all this and more, but turns out...  It was only kidding.  That $866B mostly went to Unions.   You don't like it, call Jimmy Hoffa and tell him about it - sorry. 
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In "Cars - Part II" we learned that the NHTSB wants EV's, Hybrid Vehicles, and Oxen-Pulled-Wagons to 'Make more noise' because they are too dang quiet, especially when the oxen are wearing PETA-sanctioned-organically-grown and environmentally-friendly footwear (a.k.a.:  Ollie Ollie Oxen Frees).  AND that since the Feds have been paying taxpayers a 'Rebate' to BUY Hybrids and EV's (okay, so I made up the Oxen Wagon 'thing'. 
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It's NOT approved yet, that legislation is held up in the Senate currently) I felt the Feds ought to pay reparations to the 2,800 Americans (their number, not mine) 'per model year' injured when stepping in front of a 'SBD' (Silent Butt Deadly) Electric Vehicle.

All caught up?  Excellent!  We now begin the official beginning of... 

"Cars  - Part III"    

For years the friendly folks in the Federal Government have been handing out tax credits (i.e.:  taking taxes from YOU to give someone else a tax credit for doing something the Feds like) to the wealthiest Americans who have the foresight (and sizable enough bank account) to buy either an EV or Hybrid automobile.  

Why do I say the 'Wealthiest' Americans ("Holy smoking gun of the Richest 1% Batman!!!")?  Because most folks can scarcely afford a new gas-powered auto let alone the bleeding-edge cost of an EV or Hybrid vehicle. I wish someone would look at an honest comparison between high mileage gas-powered vehicles and their 'environmentally friendly green' counterparts, the EVs and Hybrids.

Oh, look, someone DID...

January 4, 2013, Bankrate.com:  
Are High-MPG Gas Cars Better than Hybrids?     


If a buyer springs for a high-mpg gas car, savings in fuel costs can be substantial. At current gas prices, a vehicle getting 30 mpg will save its owner $838 at the gas pump per year and $4,190 over five years, when comparing to a car that gets 20 mpg and if the gas price is $3.35, according to the Department of Energy.
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But not all fuel-efficient cars are created equal when it comes to making up for their higher sticker prices, according to a recent TrueCar.com study commissioned by The New York Times. Only two hybrids in the study, the Lincoln MKZ the Toyota Prius, made up for extra costs in a short time (1.2 years and 1.8 years, respectively.)  

Other hybrids took up to a decade or more to make up the cost, with the Chevrolet Volt taking as much as 27 years.


...

It's the Little Things


Shoppers should not only consider a car's mpg, but also smaller features that can increase fuel savings. The way we drive, such as how we accelerate, affects how much fuel our cars use. New models are coming out with gauges showing how efficiently the vehicle is being driven, with the hope that it will educate drivers on maximizing fuel economy.


"No one really recognizes how much of a difference your driving can make on efficiency," says Joe Wiesenfelder, an executive editor at Cars.com.



Building a Better High-mpg Car

Vehicles are able to get more miles per gallon in part because of the materials they are now being made of. Companies are making vehicles lighter, turning to high-strength steel, aluminum and carbon fiber composites -- materials that weigh less but are strong enough to perform well in crash tests. Cars 10% lighter can boost fuel economy 6% to 8%, according to the Department of Energy.


Automakers are also making cars more aerodynamic and are investing in turbochargers, which are low-weight options for making an engine operate more efficiently and produce more power.


This emphasis on speed and power for high-mpg vehicles is a big shift from 10 years ago, when high-mpg cars relied on cheaper materials and weaker engines. Today, one can generally expect them to perform as well as their standard mpg counterparts.


"In many cases, there's no difference in how they perform," says Wiesenfelder. "It's not like the days when you were buying the smaller, weaker engine."


Huh, how about that?  In the past ten years, automakers have responded to the rising cost of fuel by building vehicles which get better gas mileage?  Who'd have thought it?  

Oh yeah, I know a few of you are shouting at your monitors, "Hey Cow Guy, but that's only because the Federal Government MAKES them do it via the aggressive CAFE standards put in place by President Obama!!!  So how about that?!?!?"  

Not so fast Buffalo Breath - let me ask you this:  How about the CAFE standards beefing up mileage requirements approved in 2007 - were they Obama's idea too?  Oh, that's right, it was President G. W. Bush in the White House - so if you're going to give anyone credit, please feel free to give it to him, okay?  AND since technology does not turn on a dime, the ramp up to recent MPG improvements to automotive design takes years, rather than months. 
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What are CAFE standards?  
(Please note the following excerpt has nothing to do with the school lunch program.  Thank you!) 
The following from Discovery.com provides a good overview:  Why are carmakers going green all of a sudden? In short, they have to, because Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards are getting tighter and tighter.

CAFE is the average miles per gallon of a car company's entire fleet of cars and trucks that each weigh less than 8,500 pounds (3,856 kilograms). Basically, these are minimum fuel economy standards that a car company must meet using its entire fleet of models averaged together.  And those standards got tougher in 2007 and 2009 with the goal of bringing the average up to 35.5 miles per gallon (15.1 kilometers per liter) by 2016.
 

The nasty part of CAFE standards is that if a manufacturer's auto line is NOT compliant with the average MPG requirement, they will necessarily produce small, cheap, shopping-cart-sized vehicles to bring the overall gas mileage of their fleet up.  Those who do not get their MPG's in line with the standard face 'Stiff Fines' from the Feds.  

These 'Stiff Fines' will be passed along to you, the car-buying public.  Oops, once again, if it feels like a 'Tax', it most likely IS a tax.  In the end - you will always pay for whatever the government demands.  Thanks for playing!

If you followed the link above, you noticed that the original article was posted on bankrate.com and re-linked by FoxBusinessNews.com.  There will be those who say, "Sure, ANOTHER Fox pack-o-lies perpetuated by the lying liars in the Low Life Lying Liars in the MoosRoom!!!"  

And to you, I say...  "Hay."

As in, "Hay, look, I found something on GreenCarReports.com that says pretty much the same thing as those wascally wabbits over at Fox Business... 


Hybrid, or Just High MPG?
The new breed of turbocharged gasoline cars will also reward you. Many achieve 40 mpg in gentle highway driving, but offer pleasing punch when you reach a twisty road. And let's face it, gasoline engines are still more tuneful than their diesel counterparts.


Hybrids perhaps lag behind on this factor, though that depends on the car you buy--there's a lot of fun to be had driving cars like the Lexus GS 450h. And the sporty little Honda CR-Z hybrid even has a manual gearshift option, for driving purists.


In the end, the market will decide (in spite of governmental 'bets') which manufacturers and vehicles win market share.  A Chevrolet Cruze 'Eco' gets roughly the same MPGs as a Chevrolet Volt on the highway.  The major difference is that there's no tax credit on the Cruze, and the cost of the vehicle is approximately one-half that of the Volt.  

So which would you buy, all things being even?  

I don't believe that the government should be in the business of attempting to pick 'Winners' and 'Losers' in private-sector enterprises.  GM and Ford (I personally don't care about Chrysler as they're not really American any longer) will make decisions based upon the market based upon feedback from consumers.  

If we're not buying something (go visit you local Chevrolet dealership and check out his inventory of 2012 Silverado trucks - oh yeah, they got them - they got LOTS of 'em in stock) they'll reduce production - well, in this case, they SHOULD HAVE reduced production sometime back in August based upon their current inventories in 2013.

I was sooooo close to finishing this post when I received a link which, I believe, will be the perfect epitaph for this one. 

Obama Administration Scaled Back on Electric Vehicle Purchases in 2012 -- January 14, 2013, Plugincars.com
In 2011, President Barack Obama's administration set a goal of purchasing only so-called alternative-technology vehicles for its fleet by 2015, but in 2012, the administration reduced its purchases of hybrid and electric vehicles by one-third, following a trend that's been ongoing for three years straight.

The statistics were reported last week by Detroit Free Press, which obtained numbers under a Freedom of Information request from the U.S. General Services Administration.

...

In 2009, the federal government purchased 8,139 hybrid or electric vehicles. That figure dropped to 6,467 in 2010—and fell to a disappointing 2,645 units in 2011, before dipping to 1,801 in 2012. That is a 32 percent decrease in 2012 (compared to 2011), representing only 3.6 percent of the 50,114 vehicles purchased by the federal government last year. Overall, vehicle buying by the federal government dropped by 8.6 percent in 2012.

...

If the Obama administration intends to follow through on its plan to purchase only alternative-technology vehicles for government fleets by 2015, then this downward trend will need to be reversed in 2013.

About 54 percent of the 1,801 alternative-fuel vehicles purchased by U.S. government agencies last year were built by Hyundai, Toyota, Mitsubishi and Honda.   


Oh President Obama, yet another promise broken to all those 'Greenies' out there - they're not going to like that.

Just another "Do as I say - Not as I do" from the friendly folks of the Federal Government.

Boom.  Done.

An appropriate end...

Got Gas???

"I feel the need to apologize in advance."

You may ask, "But what do YOU have to apologize for Mike?  What did YOU do?"

"Um, nothing.  Yet.  But I'm getting ready to release of fair amount of pent up pressure.  I'm preparing to speak about something very near and dear to my heart - and for this, if nothing else, I am sorry..."

[For clarification of EXACTLY how sorry I am, please view the following YouTube link prior to reading the remainder of this post -- Thanks.]

Link:  I'm sorry

One last thought before we Moo-ve on... 

If the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, then a sub-thousand-word blog post begins with a single letter. 

Today's letter is the letter...

'G' As in, 'Gas'.

Hey, do you remember a long time ago when the dinosaurs were alive and then they died and they fell over with all the plants and they all soaked up the energy from the sun and then they kind of 'oozed' into the ground beneath our feet and some 'wildcat' driller cowboy guy pumped them out of the ground as 'Crude Oil' something like a couple of dozen years later?

Oh, you don't remember the dinosaurs? 

Well, I do.  So I know what I am going to tell you is TRUE (so there).

In addition to my being blessed enough to call the United States of America 'home', it appears that the dinosaurs were 'blessed' also (although I don't believe that large 'Thunder Lizards' had any institutionalized or formalized religion(s)).

How do I know this?  Well, because I was THERE when dinosaurs walked the Earth, and also because some French guy just told me so, that's how. 

For YEARS I heard that all of our dino-buddies, dino-sunlight, and dino-plants mostly lived / landed in 'very sandy', 'very offshore', and 'very non-Irish' areas of the World. 

Turns out that this is NOT true.  

Okay, rather than try to come up with MORE 2nd Grade dialogue to tell the rest of the story, I'll let some wacky folks fill in the blanks for you (and me)...

DETAILS BEGIN HERE:

Excerpting from a report I read in the November 19th, 2012 online edition of Automotive News (but heard NOWHERE ELSE on TV, Radio, or other Major Media Outlets)...

Four years after the auto industry started trembling at the real prospect of a global fuel shortage, painful pump prices and consumers clamoring for vehicles that can deliver 50 mpg, this news arrives from the International Energy Agency in France:

There's way more oil under America than we realized.

Oops.

The energy agency, a leading source for long-range energy resource forecasting, reckons that by 2020 -- thanks to the controversial practice of drilling for oil with water pressure -- the United States will surpass Saudi Arabia as the world's biggest oil producer.

Who knew?
...

So I went digging (not literally, as I was afraid I would dig up a dinosaur.)  Rather, I sat here awhile 'Googling' myself for additional information relating to this completely LUNATIC story which no one has been discussing since it showed up in a blurb online. 

I found this information of the 2012 World Energy Outlook by the nice folks at the IEA...

World Energy Outlook 2012: 
The 2012 edition of the World Energy Outlook was released on 12 November 2012. Drawing on the latest data and policy developments the report presents analytical insights into trends in energy markets and what they mean for energy security, environmental protection and economic development.

It sets out updated projections of energy demand, production, trade, investment and carbon-dioxide emissions, broken down by country, fuel and sector, to 2035.

...

Okay, so you're probably asking, "But Mike, what did the full report actually SAY???" 

"THIS is an EXCELLENT question, however, um, I dunno, cause I didn't read it.  But, there are other people who did; people with 'letters' after their names, slide rules in their pants pockets, protectors in their shirt pockets, songs in their hearts, and name plaques on their office doors. 

I'll let them comment to fill in a few of the blanks for you...

 
23 November 2012, The New York Times 
[As I said earlier no major media outlets covered the story...]
The International Energy Agency, in its 2012 World Energy Outlook, released last week, forecast that American oil production, which began to rise in 2009 after decades of decline, would continue rising through at least 2020, when it could be about as high as it was in 1970, the year of peak production.

At the same time it forecast that by 2035, American oil consumption, which peaked in 2005, could decline to levels not seen since the 1960s, depending on how much conservation is encouraged.  [Think teeny-tiny cars here]
 
...

22 November 2012, USA Today
 By now it's not news that "fracking" underground shale formations — cracking them open with high-pressure jets of water, chemicals and sand — has unlocked new supplies of natural gas and oil in places such as North Dakota and Pennsylvania. What's surprising is how big those supplies are, and how much they might change the world.

Here's one measure: In its latest annual forecast, released last week, the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) says fracking means the USA will overtake Russia to become the world's largest natural gas producer by 2015 and pass Saudi Arabia as the world's largest oil producer by 2017.

...

19 November 2012, Oil & Gas Journal
 With global oil demand continuing to increase, the US will replace Saudi Arabia as the world's largest oil producer about 2020, and North America will become a net oil exporter by 2030, according to the International Energy Agency. China, India, and the Middle East will account for 60% of a 30% increase in global energy demand between now and 2035, IEA projects in its World Energy Outlook 2012.

By 2035, almost 90% of Middle Eastern oil flows to Asia in IEA's projection. "The global energy map is changing, with potentially far-reaching consequences for energy markets and trade," IEA says.
...

So what to make of the above? 

I'm pretty sure that the President O. and Energy Dude - Steven Chu haven't seen this report, otherwise they'd be placing more 'impossible dream' goals on vehicle gas mileage requirements for the next 20 years.  Or, perhaps, maybe they DID see this and that's why I had to look this stuff up online since hardly anyone's talking about it?  Yeah, this possibility is more likely the case. 

The good news is that we have LOTS of dino-buddies and dino-plants right here below our feet in the Good Old U.S.of A.!  Even more than Saudi Arabia AND Russia?!?!  BONUS!!!

But wait, there's more...

The bad news is that government won't let anyone bring their oily, sludgy, and otherwise gooey remains above ground any time in the near future. 

Why? 

Because our current U.S. energy policy plans to move most folks into electric cars over the next couple of decades.  These cars, of course, require the burning of coal and other fossil fuels to produce the electricity.  These fuels are the ones the Department of Energy doesn't want us to use to, you know...  Make electricity. 

Being a Futurist (oh yes I am) I am envisioning other methods of transportation for the future.  Would you like to see a few of them?

GREAT!  Here they come...

Perhaps in the future we'll be able to travel more efficiently by using man (or woman) made Natural Gas to power our progress 'beneath the waves' vs. those sporty electric cars that blow up when they get 'wet'?

Or perhaps we'll travel to space in ecologically-friendly space craft powered by nothing more than...

You guessed it, Bush's Baked Beans.

Yes, fellow Americans, the future is bright (but I will admit, a 'tad stinky')!  Take comfort knowing those dino-buddies and dino-plants will remain compressed below ground for decades to come!  If the next semi-intelligent inhabitants of the Earth want them - they can HAVE them! 

As for me, I'm setting up a drilling platform in my back yard here in Central New York.  We are not legally allowed to 'Frack' up here, but I am confident that my friendly Democratic neighbors won't tell anyone about my backyard 'natural gas gusher'.  Especially since I'll run gas supply lines into each of their homes (some neighbor's lines for heating, others for 'elimination' of the squealers).   

Wherever I go, there is always some kind of 'gas' happening sooner or later.  I'm sorry for this too...  (It MAY have been the dog.) 

Don't get me started on my environmentally-friendly plans for national defense...

Have a nice day folks...

Sometimes 'Gas Happens'.

The Road(s) Less Traveled

Riding off into the sunset...

PART I:

Ladies, Gentlemen, Boys, and Girls!  Today's post is 100% 'factually-based' GREAT NEWS!!!  (Not like that 'made-up' 'Great News' you see on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX, Huffington Post, or find at http://www.whitehouse.gov/!)

Yes, the following post is BRIMMING with Optimism!!!

In a post found yesterday at Detroit News.com, I learned the following interesting facts:

• Americans are using 500,000 fewer barrels of oil a day
• In September, driving fell by 1.5 percent to 244.2 billion miles
• The Energy Information Agency said the four-week average demand for gasoline use is 8.58 million barrels a day. Last year at this time, the four-week average was 9.1 million barrels of oil a week

Whoa, looks like all those 'Green Policies' put in place by the Obama Administration are REALLY WORKING!!!

Hoo-ray!

I'm sure that you enjoy driving your New Chevrolet Volts, Nissan Leafs, and Bicycles around town, to the office, and to the unemployment office in your state! 

On behalf of everyone here in the MoosRoom - thank you for NOT driving! 

You have made the positive, life-affirming choice to NOT drive as much as you did previously!

Thank you for helping keep:

• Our Air Cleaner!
• Our Roads Safer!
• Our Dinosaurs resting safely deep underground (in thick puddles of trapped fossil fuels)!
• Our Childrens' Future Brighter!

Yes, as I work off the remainder of my over-sized Turkey Dinner, the news today is ALL good!!!

Thank you, America, and God Bless President Obama's Economic and Energy policies!!! 
[Somewhere in the distance, the reverb slowly fades as the sound of applause is cut off quickly...]

"Oh yes, I am the man..."

DISCLAIMER(s), OBSERVATIONS, AND FUNDAMENTAL SCIENTIFIC ASSUMPTIONS:

Each of the above items is 'Factually Correct'.

Each item was found in the online post from the Detroit News Online.

No dinosaurs were killed in the generation of today's post

(They all died off Millions of years ago, and as much as I want to, I cannot take responsibility for their passing.  It was, in fact, due to Global Climate Change brought about the dinosaurs' reckless use of...  Fossil Fuels.)


PART II:
Now, if I were being honest with you, I would have told you the REST of the story. 

The rest of the story is the actual post I began to write before I got side-tracked into the above.  While I was not actually lying to you, I was mis-directing your attention to things which I wanted you to consider as the only facts applicable to this post. 

In fact, the above items, discussed above, are FACTS - from a purely 'Factual perspective'...

But as with most things found online...  I left a lot of the facts out. 

The additional 'omitted' facts may lead you to a different conclusion than the one you found above. 
Continuing from the Detroit News Online article (partially quoted) from above:

November 22, 2011, Washington --  Americans hit the brakes on driving in September. They logged 3.7 billion fewer miles as driving fell for the seventh straight month in the face of high gas prices.

The Federal Highway Administration said Americans have driven 29.8 billion fewer miles in the first nine months of 2011, which remains on pace to be the lowest yearly number of miles driven since 2003.
...

The Energy Information Agency says gas prices are still about 50 cents a gallon higher than last year. The average recent price nationwide at the pump was $3.39, compared with $2.85 a year ago.

Americans are using 500,000 fewer barrels of oil a day, a sign driving may fall even further.
...

As Americans log fewer miles, they may hold on to aging vehicles even longer as they drive less. The average age of vehicles on the roads has risen to 10.6 years, the oldest ever.

The federal report is based on continuous hourly traffic count data at 4,000 traffic counting locations nationwide.

The U.S. surpassed 2 trillion annual miles traveled in 1988, and the 3 trillion mile mark in 2006.

But with economic woes and higher gas prices in recent years, the U.S.hasn't topped the 3 trillion mile mark since 2007.


To add insult to injury, my oldest son referred to a site:  http://www.gasbuddy.com/ where you can do interesting things like:

• Find least-expensive gas locally and nationally!
• Track gasoline prices long term!
• Plan your next trip (including gasoline expenses) online!

So I went there. 

I was curious what gasoline prices looked like during President Obama's singular term-to-date. 

Interestingly enough, the most curious part of the chart is what the chart looked like BEFORE the election. 

You'll know it when you see it...

Yes, that's right, the mere presence of 'Candidate Obama'  and 'John McCain' (I'm laughing as I type this last one) in the Presidential Race in 2008 drove the per gallon price of gasoline down from $4.12 per gallon in July, 2008 down to $1.86 per gallon when we went to the polls within a period of FOUR months. 

This represents a decline of 55% in the per gallon price of gasoline at the pump.  It must have been all those 'Hope and Change' forces working busily behind the scenes. 

But What's Happened Since the Inauguration?

• 'Hope and change' is once again only a bumper sticker slogan (in reality, always was)
• Gasoline prices have increased steadily since January, 2009
• We are driving 'older cars' because we can't afford 'newer ones' (but, hey, don't newer cars get better gas mileage???)
• We, as a Nation, are driving less because, quite frankly, we can't afford to drive 'more'
• The economy continues to lurch forward more consistently with momentum associated with a re-animated corpse than that of a marathon runner
• And the President, so far as I can tell, would rather support the OWS folks than the people who used to drive this economy - the people who pay his family's airfare to far-away, exotic places, to see things I can only speculate about seeing

In the end, the President has done a wonderful job of reducing our demand for foreign, and domestic fossil fuels, unfortunately, it's not because we're conserving more fuel-efficient vehicles and living more 'greenly'.  It's because we're holding back on our spending because we don't know which direction our next 'economic blow' is coming from. 

The only thing I do know for sure? 

That next blow? 

It's on its way...

And that does kind of 'blow', doesn't it?

"Why can't we just be more like Germany?"
Because we don't have giant female politicians who...  you know.