I live car-free, and when I quit, gas was around $2/gallon, and I thought it was getting excessive then.. then I realized, with a good driving record, that I was still essentially subsidizing the cost of my insurance and driving for the lack of responsibility every one else seems to show on the road- thus, I took it upon myself to power myself where I need to go, and trade in a ridiculous, wasteful, unnecessary expense in a car for a slightly higher rent payment, to live closer to where I work and play, or at least closer to transit for that.

that's really the best option, honestly, particularly for people without large families.

for you to say that if someone can afford a thing then they should be allowed to do it displays AMAZING lack of comprehension.

I can afford to build and run a nuclear car that spills depleted uranium around your neighbourhood, and so can all of my friensds with enought money to do the same.

Are you quite so relaxed about that?

Also YOU look out of YOUR window and YOU see only one SUV in YOUR street, so YOU say that there are only one person drives an SUV.

see this is taking the PARTICULAR and extrapolating it to the geneeral.

It is the argument of a child.

Also the price of oil is not effected by the war in Iraq.

You'll find that prioduction is the same as it was , a little highher if truth be told, Iraq was not allowed to seell oil under Saddam, only trade a little for essentials like medicine. So they were off the international market since 92. The demand has remained the same more or less in line with prjected figures, since gulf war 2 began.

So if you apply the theory, much beloved of US free marketeers, SUPPLY AND DEMAND, if the supply and the demand are unchanged then where did the price hike come from?

Senior execs at Aramco (google it) have been interviewed saying It is down to market speculation and a consumer concern.

We are all prepared for a price hike so one ciomes.

As he said, it a bad time to be buying oil, but it's a great time to be selling it.

Now the other point is that the US population uses a HUGEKLY disproportionate amount of the worlds resources, and wagging your finger at Europe and calling them "Elitist" euro-weenies and all the usual stuff is NOT actually and answer.

Europe has it's problems and are trying to fix them.

the US refused to sign the Kyoto Prptocols, the US government stuck it's fingers in it's ears went La LA La refusing to believe in Climate change.

You have to unsderstand this is the equivelant of all the nations in the world all in ahot tub, the US takes a piss but insists that it's only pissing in it's part of the hot tub.

IF they dont sell the SELLERS drop the prices..so the prices will maintain.

Wouldn't it be fun if Americans lumped all Europeans together, took all of their economic/social problems, and blamed it on the lifestyles of all their people? Wait, that would be called intolerance or nationalism or elitism - attitudes everyone in the world are allowed to have about Americans, but Americans are considered evil if they feel the same way.

The reason for oil prices rising is simple: the war in Iraq. America is $165 billion dollars in debt from this misadventure, so the value of the dollar worldwide has fallen. Meanwhile, a new market has opened up in China. Same supply + more demand = rising prices.

So why are Americans so angry? (Besides the fact that more and more of our tax $ are being poured down the drain in this war with no end in sight) Well, we have are own oil reserves, but we refuse to drill them. Any attempt at building more refineries creates a NIMBY response (And bizarrely, so do wind farms.) Nuclear Power plants are feared and shunned, when they've been proven to be safe. While the eyes of the world are turning to ethanol as an alternative fuel supply (not to mention increasing food prices,) American farmers are STILL being paid by our government to NOT GROW CROPS. (Sorry, Bush haters, but I have to agree with him on that one.)

So while Americans are supposed to see everyone in the world as an individual, as people just working and trying to get by, the knee-jerk reaction from the assholes of the world is that Americans are greedy, that we're all driving gas guzzling SUVs, that we're all driving half a mile to go to the store to buy one loaf of bread, all kids of unimaginable crap. Bullshit. Everyone I know is scared of losing their jobs. We may be making ends meet, but we're fighting to keep it that way. I ask any of the people who spew this bs to please give me an example, from a person they've actually met. If they can find such a person, then look around their town, and tell me what percentage of the local population that person represents.

And by the way - if someone DOES own an SUV - SO WHAT? If they can afford it, and they want to pay $150 a fill-up, well, that's their own right. How it makes them "greedy" or "selfish" is beyond me.

I agree with SenorMysterioso. I come to neatorama for NEAT information like photos of abandoned hotels or the top 10 biggest disappearances in history.

Gas prices are topical and newsworthy, but I don't consider $8/gallon neat. I get enough of the sermonizing and moralizing that really doesn't do anything for me in the here and now when I turn on the TV or go to the web for my news.

To the staff of Neatorama: I'm not interested in gas gas prices. If I wanted to know how bad things are, I'd fill up my gas tank.

the genesis of cars and bikes in the US and Europe stem from the roads.

this seems odd I know but let me explain.

The US roards are very very long and as straight as possible, the vehicles were expected to go very long distances.

the best solution to that was big lazy low revving engines.

Thios produced the US automotive pardighm, V8 cheverolets and Super large inline V twin bikes like the Harley and the Indian.

Eurpean roads are well basically amazingly old, windy a wee, the distances are really not that large, you can drive through about 5 northern European COUNTRIOES before lunch.

This gave rise to the European automotive paradigm, small high revving manual geared cars such as the Morgan the Bugatti for the fast and the Morris the Super Snipe and the Fiat 500 and 2CV for the slower types, even the bikes differ fromn the US, we have the Enfield Silver bullet, the Norton the Vincent, goign on to the danish Nimbus and the Brough Superior (the bike that killed T.E. Lawrence) which are all narrow nimble high revving sort of things, great on the corners of which Europe seemed to be made entirely of.

To extend thiws idea, when iot came to gettign cars and bikes in Australia, which you'll recall was a British colony, the up take of UK style cars and bikes was minimal.

The huge distances and the straight roads made the natural choice US.

The cars in Oz are all V8 and Big Sixes, australians have a higher Harley ownership per head of caopita than the US does.

But the thing is that the engineerign has improved.

The Japanese genius engineers managed to wring better power performance and economy out of cars and bikes than either the US or Europe had ever managed, and they continue to do so year in year out.

Europe learned the lesson and we all drive if not Japanese cars then cars modelled on their principles, the US didn't, and still persists in seeing anything not a V8 as being gay.

Even the Aussies got over this one and happily scoot around a country the size of the US with a population the size of LOndon in Japanese Camrys and Suzuki bikes.

yeah your point is well made, I was being slightly hyperbolic, but even then your 73 bug is getting 25mpg, which is easily better than US four wheekl drive suburban monster trux get.

And that is a 35 year old using 60 year old technology.

If you you buy LESS we raise the price, If you buy MORe we raise the price.

AND

Low price to get you to LIKE it, HIGH price when most people LIKE It, and LOW price after every one has it.

i don't know how big your child seat are, but they SOUND HUGE! evry comnpact that fits 2 adults in the bach will fit 2 savty seats in the back imho.

With $8 pg gas, America will see that you don't need a SUV as a daily 2 miles commuter / Stop-and-Shop grocery runner.
With $8 pg gas alternative fuels will be economically sustainable.

So yes, it hurts the wallet, but I think it's overall good : it's going to help us in our choices.
(I say that sadly, my favorite choice would be a big V8 20mpg Corvette)...

ever heard of something called the written language? yeah. mesopotamian in origin douche.

Repeat

I have a 73 VW bug, it only gets about 25mpg. However, my MINI (2005 model) gets about 29~30. I wouldn't exactly say the bug gets great gas mileage. At least mine doesn't.

Hell no, the average Joe Six pack isn't gonna drive some dinky little 4 banger. We want a big cushy "safe" and powerful sedan, suv, muscle car, etc... Even though other 1st world countries get their kids around in small efficient wagons and hatch backs and go camping and such, we apparently can't fit our fat spoiled kids and their toys in anything smaller than an Expedition. Let's face it, cars are all about image and status and that's all too true here... I really hope these gas prices force us to be more efficient, more pragmatic, and less spoiled!

By the way my car get 26mpg city, 30 hwy, so STFU.

@HollywoodBob: I think a lot of Europeans forget how big the US is, I totally agree with you on that point.

i say "F*(# YOU, economists!"

http://bigpicture.typepad.com/comments/2008/05/how-to-drive-oi.html