Truckers' strike/slowdown

[busterb]

CNN reported that 30 to 60% of oil cost is from speculation

[elSicomoro]

I've been thinking about doing foreign currency trading...maybe I need to go into the oil speculation market instead.

[Shawnee123]

So I'll throw my speculation into the ring: gas will fall to half its current cost by Memorial Day weekend.

(peeks from behind hands) pssst...did it work? Nah, my ass still hurts.

[elSicomoro]

I actually got 20 mpg last night delivering, which is phenomenal for me.

Now see...hybrids are perfect for such a job. Too bad the customers would think we're rich and stiff the shit out of us. I think part of the reason my tips are down this month is because of the new car.

[Clodfobble]

How much is your average tip, syc? I know what was "good" ten years ago when I worked for a Domino's, but not anymore...

[elSicomoro]

On average, $2.45...that's been steady over the past 2 years.

I work in a varied area...one minute, I'm delivering to $300,000 homes; the next, the hood. Currently, our delivery charge is $2.50, of which I get $2.25...that rate has been the same since just after Hurricane Katrina. So I wind up making about $4.70 a delivery.

[elSicomoro]

I forgot to mention...I just went for a job interview out in the southern suburbs, and decided to see how well I could do mileage-wise. 40mpg at 64mph...the EPA rates the '07 Cobalt at 31. Fuck yeah!

[tw]

Originally Posted by classicman

Where was that? My recollection from the news was that they are making record profits. Cite please.

Your recollection is the popular myth some confuse the exception with reality.

Exxon has record profits. If you move $100 of a commodity and make $10, then when a commodity costs $1000, the profit better be $100. That (and not speculation) is why Exxon is earning a less percentage while moving a more expensive product. Record profits but taking a less percentage in profits.

Exxon is one of the best - most productive in this business. If reaping so much benefit, well, why is Exxon's P/E ratio a paltry 12. Average is maybe 14. Apple is 39. Google is 40.

Exxon is the exception. Most oil firms are not doing as well. During every oil spike, that reality routinely gets forgotten by people who only hear what they want to hear. People who want to blame someone rather than themselves.

The source was already cited - NY Times of 14 May 2008.

[tw]

Originally Posted by sycamore

I forgot to mention...I just went for a job interview out in the southern suburbs, and decided to see how well I could do mileage-wise. 40mpg at 64mph...the EPA rates the '07 Cobalt at 31. Fuck yeah!

GM does this little trick so that the only valid gasoline mileage requires multiple tanks. They forget to put in the hose that lets air out of the tank. Then one tank will be 40 while another will be 28. The naive then only remember the 40.

Let's see. My much larger Honda accord has averaged 31.7 (mostly local driving) over the past 100 gallons. 40 MPG is standard mileasge for Cobalt sized cars even 15 years ago. Even my Honda Civic from 10 years ago did three consecutive tanks of 46, 48, and 47 on the highway. 40 MPG implies that GM engineers were finally permitted to use last decade's technology.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by tw

GM does this little trick so that the only valid gasoline mileage requires multiple tanks. They forget to put in the hose that lets air out of the tank. Then one tank will be 40 while another will be 28. The naive then only remember the 40.

You're a lying motherfucker.

[elSicomoro]

Current best mpg for 2008 compact cars, with 1998 mpg in parentheses (some comparable models used):

Chevy Cobalt: 25/36 (Cavalier: 21/31)
Ford Focus: 24/35 (Escort: 24/34)
Honda Civic: 26/34 (30/39)
Saturn Astra: 24/32 (S-series: 24/36)
Toyota Corolla: 28/37 (27/34)
Kia Spectra: 24/32 (Sephia: 21/28)
VW Jetta: 22/29 (21/28)
Mazda 3: 24/32 (26/33)
Nissan Sentra: 25/33 (25/35)

Current best mpg's for subcompact cars, with 1998 mpg in parentheses (some comparable models used):

Chevy Aveo: 24/34 (Metro: 36/44)
Toyota Yaris: 29/36 (Tercel: 27/35)
Honda Fit: 28/34 (n/a)
Kia Rio: 27/32 (n/a)
Mini Cooper: 28/37 (n/a)
Hyundai Accent: 27/32 (25/33)
Nissan Versa: 27/33 (n/a)

[tw]

Originally Posted by sycamore

Current best mpg for 2008 compact cars, with 1998 mpg in parentheses (some comparable models used):

Chevy Cobalt: 25/36 (Cavalier: 21/31)
Ford Focus: 24/35 (Escort: 24/34)
Honda Civic: 26/34 (30/39)
Saturn Astra: 24/32 (S-series: 24/36)
Toyota Corolla: 28/37 (27/34)
Kia Spectra: 24/32 (Sephia: 21/28)
VW Jetta: 22/29 (21/28)
Mazda 3: 24/32 (26/33)
Nissan Sentra: 25/33 (25/35)

And those numbers come from where? Well understood are tricks GM uses to optimize vehicles for the EPA test rather than for real world drivers. A famous example. Corvettes' computer would change engine performance and bypass second gear when computer detected EPA testing parameters. This to make the Corvettes' EPA mileage higher. To do this, GM sold Corvette's only with automatics. Every five years, GM must resort to a new trick before the old ones become too commonly known.

I routinely get or exceed EPA highway mileage in most cars. But could never get GM's highway mileage. GM has history - numerous decades of outright lying. Suddenly GM is honest? Any claim about a GM product must include details (not above sound byte logic) because GM lies so often.

In a GM dealer, I was told to get out my warranty repair parts. GM sends someone from Detroit to negotiate. A $1 failed part got us between $0.10 and $0.25 reimbursement. DeLorean states same in his book complete with reasons why. Standard GM policy is to create profits. After all, what is the purpose of a company? Its products? Not at GM. GM's concern for profits is why GM has a long history of lying.

Warranty costs dumped on dealers who were making profits. So we did everything possible to not honor GM warranties.

Well, last year, we were discussing this in a Cadillac dealer. A new Cadillac with numerous defects (new car) had just been fixed. Detroit sent out the man. Found two tires that were 2 PSI low on pressure. All warranty reimbursement on that Cadillac denied. Any excuse to dump warranty costs on others. No honest automaker does that. When doing that reimbursement, gas mileage numbers also get ... fixed.

Did you do numbers on that Saturn Astra? It finally has what has been standard all over the world for almost 20 years - the 70 HP/liter engine. So gas mileage increases. So Saturn is competitive? Yes if this is 1992.

Praising GM is what same people were doing 10 years ago, 20 years ago, and 30 years ago. Every five years, GM again preaches their new found religion. GM stock shows how bad all GM products have been when products suddenly got better. If GM products are better, then why another $3billion loss just in this quarter? Call me when GM has not been uncovered lying anytime in 5 years.

A friend who has a hybrid reports a repeated 48 MPG. Remember that hybrid that GM promised in 1994 to build in exchange for $million of government money. Honesty says GM admits to doing nothing alongside another admission about how accountants also destroyed the EV-1. Another confession would identify the bean counters (not car guys) who promoted hydrogen as a fuel. Oh. But two years later, GM is suddenly better? They could not even be honest about hydrogen because top management does not even drive cars.

Honesty is not GM which is why every tribute without caveats leaves the lauder with a serious credibility problem.

Cobalt, Cavalier, and Vega are J-body cars. Vega even got Motor Trends' Car of the Year award with same massive hype and praise I now see applied here. Vega was one of the worst vehicles in American auto history. So now they call it the Cobalt. Meanwhile George Bush declared "Mission Accomplished" - and the many were also brainwashed as to believe that.

Let's see Chevy Cobalt and same car sold as Cavalier. Bad or Worse ratings for the past six years (according to Consumer Reports) on fuel system, electrical, climate control, suspension, brakes, paint/trim, body integrity, body hardware, and power equipment. Consumer Reports list of "Used Cars to Avoid: Cavalier coup in 2002. 1998 Sedan. Then Cavalier got worse when renamed Cobalt. Avoid all Chevy Cobalts from 2005 and 2006.

Well at least Cobalt did not appear in the 30 worst cars – that included Chevy Astro, Blazer, Colorado, S-10, Uplander, and Venture. GM is getting better but dominates the list entitled “Worst of the Worst”.

Oh. But in one year, GM went from the worst of the worst to better? Not when the top man is a bean counter, does not drive, and got promoted after posting record losses in GM North America. To praise GM as now better is like knowing Saddam had WMDs. In both cases, the numbers say otherwise - including how many reasons why posted here?

[tw]

Originally Posted by busterb

CNN reported that 30 to 60% of oil cost is from speculation

A long term contract to provide United Airline with oil is done how? Futures contract - also called speculation. Speculation is buying options (contracts) for oil long in advance. In a world where oil is precious and where so many producers are either unstable (Venezuela, Nigeria, Iran, Iraq) or who have a history of using oil for political purposes (OPEC, Russia, Sudan), then of course future prices will be so high.

George Sr defined a new world order that made the world so more stable. Under George Jr, our world has become increasingly adversarial to Americans everywhere. Of course futures contracts must be higher. Instability (ie "Mission Accomplished") increase oil prices. Notice how we pay because so many once said, “Screw the French, the Germans, the Indonesians, the Arabs, the Russian, the Chinese, South Americans, …” Those chickens are now roosters – demanding more with the same contempt that George Jr once proclaimed seven years ago. Resulting instability means prices will increase – what some call speculation.

[elSicomoro]

Originally Posted by tw

And those numbers come from where?

Here.

1988 Toyota Corolla with 4A-F engine: 59hp/L
1988 Honda Civic with 1500cc engine: 61hp/L
1988 Chevy Cavalier with 2.0L engine: 55hp/L

The Vega was on the H platform, the Cavalier on the J platform and the Cobalt on the Delta platform.

I've driven a Vega and a Cavalier and a Cobalt. The Cavalier was a notable improvement over the Vega and the Cobalt over the Cavalier. The automotive press eventually trashed the Vega and always trashes the Cavalier...not so much with the Cobalt. It's been named by Forbes as "one of the best small cars for the buck" and as one of the "Top 10 Least Expensive Vehicles to Own":

With an EPA fuel economy rating of 24 mpg city/33 mpg highway, the Chevy Cobalt uses more gas than any other model on this list. But its low maintenance and repair costs (only the Honda Fit beats it) compensate for its fuel expenses. Most of all, Cobalt's low depreciation rate of 61 percent (again bested only by the Fit) assures that its lifetime cost of ownership remains low.

If I had had more money to spend, I probably would have went with a Toyota Matrix or RAV4. But I know that GM makes good cars, the GM car I wanted was cheaper than the Matrix and RAV4 and that GM needs to sell cars. As such, they'll be more malleable on negotiations. When April and I bought her RAV4 last year, the dealers were pretty firm...not much negotiation. The Chevy folks? Read my blog posts from earlier this month.

I almost gave up on GM after owning the Malibu. But I like my car, and I like the reviews it's gotten. So far, I can't complain. It's still early, but I think I'll enjoy this car much more than my last one.

[classicman]

Originally Posted by classicman

Where was that? My recollection from the news was that they are making record profits. Cite please.

Originally Posted by tw

Your recollection is the popular myth some confuse the exception with reality.

Exxon has record profits. If you move $100 of a commodity and make $10, then when a commodity costs $1000, the profit better be $100. That (and not speculation) is why Exxon is earning a less percentage while moving a more expensive product. Record profits but taking a less percentage in profits.
The source was already cited - NY Times of 14 May 2008.

Seems like you are now arguing semantics. Whatever. At best/worst we are both correct. I guess it depends on whether you are referring to gross/net or percentages.
DO NOT DISCUSS THE DIFFERENCE - I ALREADY GOT IT.