OT - Saving Gasoline

[Sportyfan]

Gotta agree with SW Ranger on this one. My primary office is 63 miles one way. Been going there more often recently and so I tried an experiment.

1996 Dodge Dakota pickup with most driving on freeway.
75 MPH: Just over 20 MPG
65 MPH: 23.3 MPG
55 MPH: 25.1 MPG

Now less you think those are lucky numbers, I've been doing it for a week or two and each is the average of at least 3 fillups. Wow! You could've knocked me over with the feather! Also, starting from a dead stop I never tromp on the pedal any more. The revs seldom go above 2000 RPM. The bad part is that 55 MPH is so slow and boring that I almost fall asleep while driving. So now this week I'm gonna go 60MPG and see if I get near 24MPG. The experiment continues...

[ellanoize]

On friday the gas prices jumped from $3.89 to $4.39 per gallon. I have a "85 nissan maxima that gets about 28MPG , but my lawn mowertakes a tank and a half to mow my yard...looks like time to raise the wheels and let the grass grow [img]frown.gif[/img]

[SouthwestRanger]

THIS PHOTO SUMS IT UP BEST !



I wonder how Cherie is making out since she needs Fuel to maintain her chainsaws and drive around to pick up and deliver items for her business ... [img]redface.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/cry.gif[/img]

[SouthwestRanger]

CYPRESS, Calif. (AP) - Violence broke out at the gas pumps in Orange County.



Police say a La Palma doctor waiting in line to buy gas at the Costco warehouse store in Cypress grabbed a tire iron and confronted a motorist who cut into the line.

Sgt. Tom Bruce said the doctor was arrested and booked for investigation of brandishing a deadly weapon in a rude, angry or threatening manner, a misdemeanor.

Witnesses told police the doctor was in line at the pumps Monday evening when another vehicle cut in front of him. When the doctor confronted the motorist with a tire iron, the other driver locked himself in his car and called police.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php...show_article=1

[Tard]

Here it comes!

$5/gallon by July 4th.

Too many cars, not enough brain-cells.

[SouthwestRanger]

As oil rises, Americans rediscover the railroad

Reuters, Wednesday June 11 2008

By Jason Szep



BOSTON, June 11 (Reuters) - As oil prices spike, many Americans are rediscovering the railroad.
Amtrak, America's struggling passenger railroad, saw record numbers in May when ridership rose 12.3 percent from a year earlier, and ticket sales climbed 15.6 percent, according to company data.

Amtrak President Alex Kummant said the numbers point to a sixth straight year of record passengers. He estimated a more than 11 percent rise this year on its 21,000 miles (33,800 km) of track, building on last year's 26 million passengers.

He attributes about half that growth to higher gas prices. "It depends on the service but certainly our ridership growth is linked to the fuel prices," he said in an interview. "We are up against capacity limits."

The Bush administration has sought to scrap direct federal funding for Amtrak, a for-profit federal corporation that has bled red ink since its 1971 creation. Its backers contend that passenger rail services in other countries also lose money.

The White House threatened on Monday to veto legislation to fund Amtrak for the next five years, saying the U.S. House of Representatives failed to include language that would make the railroad more accountable.

The House legislation would authorize Amtrak funding of $14 billion and set up a program of federal matching grants to states for projects to improve passenger service, an arrangement Kummant says is crucial for any expansion.
"That would have a huge impact," Kummant said.

"We are in a different world than even just three or four years ago with gas prices at these levels, with the congestion we face on the highways and with the difficulty in air travel."

Rail advocates say the rise in passenger numbers underlines the need for greater federal and state funding in railways to bring the United States in line with Europe and Japan and give Amtrak the muscle to compete with commercial airlines.

They point to long-distance routes where ridership jumped 15 percent in May as evidence that railways can compete with airlines, as the rising cost of jet fuel pushes up air fares.

While Britain, France and Germany all have passenger rail systems that account for about 6-8 percent of total annual passenger travel miles, Amtrak carries less than 1 percent. Japan, which operates the world's busiest high-speed rail network with its Shinkansen trains, carries about 18 percent.

"It's a matter of getting a huge ship like the American transportation industry to change direction," said Ross Capon, executive director of the National Association of Railroad Passengers, which lobbies for more subsidies for Amtrak.

FUEL COSTS 'GETTING TOO HIGH'
Many travelers say they would like to see more services, citing frustration over U.S. gasoline pump prices averaging above $4 a gallon and rising air ticket prices.

"Even for business travelers there's a lot of corporate pressure to cut down on travel costs," said Paul Clapis, 53, after stepping off Amtrak's only high-speed service, the Acela Express, following a trip from New York to Boston.

"The train is inexpensive and it takes the same travel time as flying but at least with the train, you get to see scenic things," she said.
The question of whether to expand the nation's only long-haul passenger railroad could spill into presidential politics.

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama has said on his Web site he would fight for Amtrak funding while seeking reforms. His Republican rival, Sen. John McCain, has in the past sought to block federal subsidies for Amtrak.

On tracks shared with commuter trains on the Washington-New York-Boston corridor, Amtrak's premier service, the Acela, averages 82 miles per hour (132 km per hour) although it can hit 150 mph (241 kph) in parts of Rhode Island and Connecticut.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/feedarticle/7577420

SR: And whats wrong with taking the Rails as opposed to a flying sardine can ?

I took the Southwest Chief from Chicago to Albuquerque, NM in 2004 and let me tell you will see a lot of this country you can never see from an airliner....

Wildlife, majestic mountains and countryside, plus you get to meet some great and friendly people as well !!!

On the way back from Albuquerque, I played a beer fueled version of Uno and had a blast !