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Topic: Gas Prices - Dropping Like a Rock (Read 2323 times) previous topic - next topic
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Re: Gas Prices - Dropping Like a Rock
Reply #25 –
Yeah Rich, how about active duty military who have to pay full out of state lisence fees here in WA? My Marine son is up visiting. A shellfish permit for him is $160! I would be glad to pop for it if the money didn't support the anti recreational fishing cabal in Olympia.

Wow, that was an off-topic rant!
Paul
'92 Mid Bath
Re: Gas Prices - Dropping Like a Rock
Reply #26 –
2.039 here in MN at Costco. I still tell war stories about my trip back to MN from LA in Oct 2012 after buying our '99 RB. First fillup before crossing the state line was $5.49 / gal. At $250, the pump clicked off and asked for another card!
Todd (and Steve)
'17 Winnebago Minnie Winnie and '13 Honda CRV
(Former '99 RB owners from 2012-2016)
Re: Gas Prices - Dropping Like a Rock
Reply #27 –
Quote from: huskerblue  - 
Just stayed at a Holiday Inn Express in Ogallala Nebraska. This is about halfway between Omaha and Denver (a bit closer to Denver). They told me to park in back and when I drove around the corner I came across 10 to 12 Tesla charging stations.

The Superchargers can get a Tesla back on the road in 30 minutes- pretty amazing!  A growing list of them can be found on the Tesla website:

Supercharger | Tesla
Greg & Victoria
2017 Mid-Bath  “Nocona” towing a manual 2015 Forester
Previously a 1985 TK
SKP #61264
Re: Gas Prices - Dropping Like a Rock
Reply #28 –
Quote from: Lynne Broyles-Greenwood  - 
Paid $1.95 in KC metro last week...still at $1.99 here in Chillicothe.  Missouri has the third lowest gas tax in the nation at $.17, and our GOP legislature voted against sending a ballot proposal to the voters that would have raised it a measly $.06 in 2018--it was last raised in 1996.  With the seventh largest road system in the country & over 10,000 bridges (860 in *poor condition* & more than 1300 with weight restrictions), not only do they not have the backbone to address the problem, they don't trust the voters either

Makes you wonder where the highway maintenance money will come from as electric cars become more popular and gasoline models keep getting better gas mileage, paying less road tax per mile. Don't forget the hybrids, they pay less per mile too.
Somehow, someway, more money needs to be raised to maintain and improve the roads.
With autonomous cars coming, billions will need to be spent wiring the roads.

Right now, electric cars benefit from a generous package of incentives, such as rebates, tax write-offs, car pool access, many free charging stations and no road taxes, other than the yearly registration.
That will not continue for long if the percentage of market sales rises above the 1 or 2% point. 
The free charging stations will become fee stations and some way of applying a equitable road tax needs to be devised.
Electricity isn't free and electric cars are not light weight, they contribute their share to the wearing of the roads.

And there is a pollution factor that doesn't get much discussion.  Electric cars need a lot electricity and most of it today comes from the burning of fossil fuels. The exhaust pipe has been remove from the car and relocated elsewhere.
Adding a few solar panels to the roof of your home isn't going to cut it.  To make electric cars truly "non-poluting", equal amounts of non-polucting energy need to be developed, a big challenge.

I see a lot of appeal to electric cars, now that the 200+ mile range has been achieve.
For several years, my work truck was an electric Ford Ranger.
With the Ranger's 50-60 mile range, I constantly worried about having enough battery to last the shift .
A 200-mile range would have made it a much better vehicle, eliminating the range anxiety.

While someday, Tesla will deliver the $35,000 electric in quantity, your Chevy dealer already has the electric Bolt, with a 238 mile range, for a couple thousand more.  We could easily replace my wife's cars with one, her car is almost never driven 200 miles in a day, that's what the LD, and its toad, are normally used for. 
2017 Bolt EV: All-Electric Vehicle | Chevrolet

Seen on the back of a Jeep
"Paved roads, government waste"
Larry
Larry
2003 23.5' Front Lounge, since new.  Previously 1983 22' Front Lounge.
Tow vehicles  2020 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, 2001 Jeep Cherokee
Photo Collection: Lazy Daze
Re: Gas Prices - Dropping Like a Rock
Reply #29 –
Quote from: HiLola  - 
We were seriously considering buying a Tesla, and were actually on the waiting list for the new Model 3 before deciding to cancel our reservation.  We ultimately settled for a Subaru Outback which we felt would better meet our needs at this point in our lives.  That being said, fully electric autos are upon us and will soon be the norm.  I anticipate our next vehicle will be electric, hopefully a pickup. Talk about torque!

Instant Torque and Blazing Speeds the Best thing About Electric Cars


Dang.  I would have bought out your reservation.

Also, wonder if you can flat tow a Model 3 or a Bolt.


Chip
2000 Front Lounge
Re: Gas Prices - Dropping Like a Rock
Reply #30 –
Adding to Larry's insightful comments- the manufacturing impact of batteries is largely unquantified. The heavy metals and compounds used in battery production add to the environmental impact of manufacturing the base vehicle.

Of course, I would take a Tesla S or X in a heartbeat. And a vintage AC Cobra. A Studebaker pickup. A Bugatti Veyron. Well, what I really want is Jay Leno's collection.

And I could still only drive the same miles I do now, so maybe I could handle the price of fuel. But I sure would like to see better management of the fuel tax funds. A few more cents of tax is easy to rationalize, but never seems to work out as planned.
Paul
'92 Mid Bath
Re: Gas Prices - Dropping Like a Rock
Reply #32 –
Just saw the AAA national average for regular is $2.23 this weekend, the lowest price for gasoline on a July 4th weekend since 2005. Which doesn't seem that long ago to me, but my calendar app informs me is actually 12 years ago. When I was still working. Time is flying.
Paul
'92 Mid Bath
Re: Gas Prices - Dropping Like a Rock
Reply #33 –
Volt, no, and the first Tesla 3 won't roll out until later this week. I have no idea if it is towable four-down, but I would be very surprised if it is. Fewer and fewer four-down towable options within weight limits.
2003 TK has a new home
Re: Gas Prices - Dropping Like a Rock
Reply #34 –
I agree with the reciprocal  idea. Do all states require a fishing license?
Dale from Downey 27’ 2012 RB,”Casa Verde”, 2000 Jeep Wrangler. Formerly1991 RB & 1990 Jeep Wrangler.
Re: Gas Prices - Dropping Like a Rock
Reply #35 –
Quote from: paul banbury  - 
Adding to Larry's insightful comments- the manufacturing impact of batteries is largely unquantified. The heavy metals and compounds used in battery production add to the environmental impact of manufacturing the base vehicle.


My comment can be taken as political but it more economic.   

We rarely pay the full price for anything.  What I mean is to total cost from creation to destruction.     We as humans have a very good knack of passing the cost to our children  just like our parents passed the cost to us.    I'm one of those that believe that worth is not created just stolen or passed to/from one generation to another.     For instance I live next to a Superfund site called the Willamette River.    My 'parents' made a ton of money cutting timber and making paper.  They polluted the river to the point of creating three eyed fish.    We 'children'  are now paying to clean this river up.   Pick you product (cars -gas or electric, oil, atomic power, electronic devices, and our LD),.... the line from creation to destruction has a wide different set of payers.  
 
I know the system and am a beneficiary  of it.    Bottom line our standard of living is being paid for by our children. 

personal fine art photo stuff
TF Mack | Flickr
It's all good .......
2014 Twin King
Re: Gas Prices - Dropping Like a Rock
Reply #36 –
Although not on the list, if a Model 3 that was towable 4-down, and that could use that energy to charge its own batteries (at a reduced rate so as not to bring the LD to its knees) would 'always be ready'.  Interfacing the tow vehicle brake controller 'creatively' could utilize toad regenerative braking to slow the rig on downhills without actually applying the real brakes on either vehicle.  I'll give Elon a shout later this week...

Chip

Edited to add "if" in the first sentence.  Duh!
2000 Front Lounge
 
Re: Gas Prices - Dropping Like a Rock
Reply #37 –
On the side topic of fishing- in the very recent past, FL did not require a license for shore fishing- I don't know if that is current to 2017. And in TX state parks no license is required to fish without the park as of 2016.

Within! Not without. Autocorrect is at war with me today.
Paul
'92 Mid Bath
Re: Gas Prices - Dropping Like a Rock
Reply #39 –
Quote from: Chip Chester  - 

Dang.  I would have bought out your reservation.

Also, wonder if you can flat tow a Model 3 or a Bolt.


Chip

Sorry, Chip. I would have sold it to you had I known.

I don't know whether the Chevy Bolt is towable 4-down but I believe the Tesla's are not. I seem to recall during my research that the model S and X need to be towed on a flat bed if they break down, similar to most AWD vehicles.  I'm assuming the model 3 will be the same.  We should know more soon.
Greg & Victoria
2017 Mid-Bath  “Nocona” towing a manual 2015 Forester
Previously a 1985 TK
SKP #61264
Re: Gas Prices - Dropping Like a Rock
Reply #40 –
It's early in the day and my Moka Pot has provided me with enough energy to get my day started. What to do while I take these few minutes to recharge my motor...

Check the web of course...I found this very interesting video on "Super Capacitors". Could this be the answer to quick charges of our new Tesla?

https://youtu.be/3K8JIC-ov_Y

Looks pretty interesting. Ok...coffee time.

Kent
2015 27' RB "MissB.Haven"
Re: Gas Prices - Dropping Like a Rock
Reply #41 –
Quote from: Kent Heckethorn  - 
I found this very interesting video on "Super Capacitors". Could this be the answer to quick charges of our new Tesla?

Interesting, Kent. Could be in Tesla's future but who knows since they already have a huge investment in the Gigafactory where they manufacture their own batteries. By the way, the very first production Model 3 has been released. Who is the lucky owner?  Why Elon Musk, of course!

So what kind of gas prices are you finding on your trip so far?
Greg & Victoria
2017 Mid-Bath  “Nocona” towing a manual 2015 Forester
Previously a 1985 TK
SKP #61264
Re: Gas Prices - Dropping Like a Rock
Reply #42 –
Gas here in Chillicothe dropped to $1.99 on June 20, then jumped $.16 in an hour on Thursday (7-6) by the time I got to the station to fill the pickup for the farm, while NPR's Marketplace was reporting another drop in the price of oil--and Gas Buddy shows a smaller town about sixty miles further into the boonies of north Missouri is still at $1.99.  I only floundered through a very basic econ class back in the  dark ages, but supply & demand doesn't seem to make sense out of this...if only I had a crystal ball.   >:(

Lynne
Lynne
LDy Lulubelle, Green '05 31' TB
Lilly, the 4-Legged Alarm
Re: Gas Prices - Dropping Like a Rock
Reply #45 –
My nephew sent me the video of the announcement. I was impressed, but I know nothing about commercial trucking. 
My first thoughts were of the tractor trailers on the American Plains where the speed limit was often 80 and it was not unusual to see commercial rigs going faster.  I think drivers are limited on time behind the wheel, but I don’t know if they are limited on distance. The Tesla truck is limited on miles as compared to the trucks crossing the Great Plains.   The market would be with routes between cities on the two coasts and the like. 
John
Currently: 2008 36' Tiffin Open Road
Previously: 2007 Mid Bath
Re: Gas Prices - Dropping Like a Rock
Reply #46 –
RE: "The market would be with routes between cities on the two coasts and the like."

Kansas City to St. Louis is around 250 miles, & I'm thinking Omaha/Des Moines/OK City are a similar range.  Ed, what's the range between the Dallas-Ft, Worth Metroplex down the I-35 Corridor to Austin or beyond?  If a driver has to layover because of hours, & charging terminals were in the right place, it's only about 600 miles between Chillicothe & Denver on US 36 (a little less from KC to Denver).

The piece I heard on the news included that WalMart would be adding the Tesla semis to its fleet, which would certainly require a boost to the charging infrastructure.

Lynne






Lynne
LDy Lulubelle, Green '05 31' TB
Lilly, the 4-Legged Alarm
Re: Gas Prices - Dropping Like a Rock
Reply #47 –
Gas Nov. 15 in West. PA 2.859/gallon.  Money "needed" for road repairs and such always seems to find a way to something else.
2011 MB
Re: Gas Prices - Dropping Like a Rock
Reply #49 –
Wonder where all electrical power to charge semi-truck batteries will come from?
Probably from burning more gas and oil.
Until large amounts of pollution free power is widely available, the benefits will be limited. Now, the tailpipe still exist, it’s smogging up another area .
IElectric trucks will require big infrastructure investments
Who is going to pay for it, Musk?

Larry

Larry
2003 23.5' Front Lounge, since new.  Previously 1983 22' Front Lounge.
Tow vehicles  2020 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, 2001 Jeep Cherokee
Photo Collection: Lazy Daze