You Go Boy, Drop That Pump

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by Griff

Next time you get pissed when some hippie flips you off in traffic, remember that your POS Hummer is a powerful symbol of your support for the Bush agenda.

What a load of crap. When people flipped me off in my H2 I just ran em off the road. Idiots. That is some screwed up logic assumptions there...

[Kitsune]

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

What a load of crap. When people flipped me off in my H2 I just ran em off the road. Idiots.

Good job reinforcing the negative stereotype, there.

But the Hummer is not really the issue. It is all these supposed liberally minded anti-government people turning around and telling others what they can and cannont spend their money on all the while bitching about government interference in their lives...

You are right: the H2 really isn't the issue, here, although I have no idea what anti-government liberals have to do with it, either. (?) Gas guzzling SUVs are a drop in the bucket compared to the overall excessive American lifestyle and the refusal to live efficiently -- high gas prices are going to bite people in many more aspects besides their commute. The vehicle is the most easily noted example in people's lives and the easiest to see a direct connection. Environmental issues aside, a switch for many would be good. Even in this most obvious aspect, people aren't doing it despite the tax on their bank account and the stubbornness bewilders the rest of us.

I'm really interested as to why so many people, especially the complainers, are so resistant to switching. I have a whole crew of people at my office that exclusively drive pickup trucks and will not consider switching to a small vehicle. They:

...are not contractors or construction workers.
...do not regularly haul equipment or supplies.
...do not haul a trailer.
...are most often the only thing the truck is hauling.

Despite all of these points, each of them notes they have no plans to drive anything other than a pickup now or in the future. The high cost of gasoline has been enough to push several of them into financial difficulty because of long commutes to the point that one has been lamenting that he might "actually have to switch to a closer church" rather than the one he prefers. Do people think the soaring cost of fuel is temporary? Are all of these deluded drivers waiting for the impossible day the government does something to reduce the price of gas?

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by Kitsune

Good job reinforcing the negative stereotype, there.



You are right: the H2 really isn't the issue, here, although I have no idea what anti-government liberals have to do with it, either. (?) Gas guzzling SUVs are a drop in the bucket compared to the overall excessive American lifestyle and the refusal to live efficiently -- high gas prices are going to bite people in many more aspects besides their commute. The vehicle is the most easily noted example in people's lives and the easiest to see a direct connection. Environmental issues aside, a switch for many would be good. Even in this most obvious aspect, people aren't doing it despite the tax on their bank account and the stubbornness bewilders the rest of us.

I'm really interested as to why so many people, especially the complainers, are so resistant to switching. I have a whole crew of people at my office that exclusively drive pickup trucks and will not consider switching to a small vehicle. They:

...are not contractors or construction workers.
...do not regularly haul equipment or supplies.
...do not haul a trailer.
...are most often the only thing the truck is hauling.

Despite all of these points, each of them notes they have no plans to drive anything other than a pickup now or in the future. The high cost of gasoline has been enough to push several of them into financial difficulty because of long commutes to the point that one has been lamenting that he might "actually have to switch to a closer church" rather than the one he prefers. Do people think the soaring cost of fuel is temporary? Are all of these deluded drivers waiting for the impossible day the government does something to reduce the price of gas?

The "stereotype" goes both ways. The one giving the finger is making assumptions (big assumptions) about the said driver of the Hummer by flipping the finger. The said driver feels the idiot should be driven off the road for flipping the finger and making assumptions.

We got rid of our H2 after 2 years more for practical reasons than because we did not like the truck. I have driven a PU since 1998 and will never be without one. I need it mostly to pull a boat and trailer with a combined weight of nearly #5000. There really is no incentive to drive anything else. They are comfortable and useful for numerous things. I have a Crew Cab so it can take my whole family or kids and friends or me and the wife or just me when I drive to and from work. We are not deluded drivers (another assumption). The price of gas is painful but an extra $20 or $30 a week is really not that much for me so I am not about to trade in the truck I love to drive because of a increase in gas by $1 per gallon. When it gets to $8 or $10 I may re-consider, but maybe not. If someone is stretching the cash flow to put food on the table because a small increase in gas I would suggest they have a priority problem.

I am thinking about trading in for a new truck now but may wait as in 08 they are coming out (finally) with some F-150's with diesel engines, or I may just go with the full sized Toyota.


I am not contractors or construction workers.
I do not not regularly haul equipment or supplies.
I do haul a trailer a few times each month.
Most often the only thing the truck is hauling is me.
It all comes back to my original point, how is it that a fairly liberal minded mass of people want to bitch and moan about everything government and how their liberties are being effected then turn right around and tell me what I can or cannot buy and spend my money on in a truck I choose to drive?

[Kitsune]

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

It all comes back to my original point, how is it that a fairly liberal minded mass of people want to bitch and moan about everything government and how their liberties are being effected then turn right around and tell me what I can or cannot buy and spend my money on in a truck I choose to drive?

I've not heard of much push for legislation banning certain vehicles other than for safety reasons. Even the notion that the national speed limit of fifty-five miles per hour should return to save gasoline isn't uttered on the house floor without return of death threats. We're going to see more push for government involvement to get oil profits questioned (again, yawn) and suggested increases in government subsidizing of consumer gasoline. Hopefully, none of this will happen and the market will be left to continue its march upward in price.

People can drive whatever they want, I could care less, and I'd like to see less attitude from both sides of the SUV/anti-SUV crowd, especially regarding actions that would endanger lives on the road. I have no sympathy for fools that buy vehicles they can afford now but make no allowment for gasoline price increases in the future. Their mistakes are their own.

[HungLikeJesus]

In Colorado we've been in a drought for several years (this seems to be a common theme around the world), and water restrictions are very common - when you can water your lawn, how much water, etc. Some houses in my area aren't permitted to use water outside of their houses for any reason, not even for their horses or to wash their car.

One homeowner who was interviewed by the local paper said, "I'm paying for it, so I should be able to use all the water I want."

This is similar to the gasoline/oil debate. If there is a limited resource that everyone is depending on, are you entitled to use a disproportionately large share just because you can afford it?

To me, this is what it all comes down to.

[Hime]

We have a small SUV (Isuzu rodeo), and I kind of hate it. Daniel got it when he was living in Tennessee and driving three hours through the Blue Ridge mountains to visit his family almost every weekend, and frequently using it to ferry around his huge family and/or their stuff. That makes sense to me. Now that we live in the suburbs, it spends a lot of time collecting dust while we take the metro everywhere because it's cheaper than gas and parking. We've already decided that our next car is going to be a hybrid, since our current lifestyle pretty much requires stop-and-go city driving and not much else.

I don't like the idea of judging people based on their purchases and lifestyle choices, since everyone has different needs and situations. I have to admit that huge SUVs annoy me, though, because there are so many of them here that a lot of the time, when you park a regular-sized car like my parents' Camry or even the Rodeo in a garage or lot, two Escalades or H2s will park on either side of you so you have no visibility when you back out of the space. Grrr! :p

Originally Posted by HLJ

In Colorado we've been in a drought for several years (this seems to be a common theme around the world), and water restrictions are very common - when you can water your lawn, how much water, etc. Some houses in my area aren't permitted to use water outside of their houses for any reason, not even for their horses or to wash their car.

One homeowner who was interviewed by the local paper said, "I'm paying for it, so I should be able to use all the water I want."

This is similar to the gasoline/oil debate. If there is a limited resource that everyone is depending on, are you entitled to use a disproportionately large share just because you can afford it?

To me, this is what it all comes down to.

Busybody.
You have no idea why people own the vehicles they do... you just want to tell people what to do.
You live in the wrong kind of nation... must suck to hate freedom and live where it is protected.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by HLJ

In Colorado we've been in a drought for several years (this seems to be a common theme around the world), and water restrictions are very common - when you can water your lawn, how much water, etc. Some houses in my area aren't permitted to use water outside of their houses for any reason, not even for their horses or to wash their car.

One homeowner who was interviewed by the local paper said, "I'm paying for it, so I should be able to use all the water I want."

This is similar to the gasoline/oil debate. If there is a limited resource that everyone is depending on, are you entitled to use a disproportionately large share just because you can afford it?

To me, this is what it all comes down to.

Tell ya what. When the govenment starts to ration gas because of a shortage and issue some kind of quota on how much you can use then it might be an issue. Till then gas is not being rationed as water is in time of a drought. You cannot really think that water as a finite resource is comparable to gasoline.

[HungLikeJesus]

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

... When the govenment starts to ration gas because of a shortage and issue some kind of quota on how much you can use then it might be an issue. Till then gas is not being rationed as water is in time of a drought. You cannot really think that water as a finite resource is comparable to gasoline.

TheMercenary - I agree with you completely: water isn't really used up, it just gets recycled. Oil, as you said, is a finite resource. Once it's gone, it's gone. It's not going to rain more oil.

So perhaps there should be steps to limit consumption. I'll support you on this. But is it best implemented through a quota system, or through a significantly increased gas tax, or something else?

[Kitsune]

Originally Posted by HLJ

This is similar to the gasoline/oil debate. If there is a limited resource that everyone is depending on, are you entitled to use a disproportionately large share just because you can afford it.

Water is required for life, gasoline is not. Many people think gas is a necessity, but you're not going to die without it.

Down here when a hurricane comes, they only laws enacted on gas are anti price gouging ones intended for emergencies. Even though everyone needs gasoline for generators or evacuations and shortages abound, the state doesn't ration it and everyone still seems to do just fine.