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General => The Campfire => Topic started by: AustinBoston on Jan 17, 2007, 11:52 AM

Title: How 'bout those gas prices?
Post by: AustinBoston on Jan 17, 2007, 11:52 AM
Paid $1.81/gallon for regular yesterday.

It sure would be nice if it stays like this through vacation season.

Austin
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Post by: dademt on Jan 17, 2007, 12:17 PM
Quote from: AustinBostonPaid $1.81/gallon for regular yesterday.
 
It sure would be nice if it stays like this through vacation season.
 
Austin
I am happy to be paying 1.97 here for the same.
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Post by: Old Goat on Jan 17, 2007, 12:26 PM
Quote from: AustinBostonPaid $1.81/gallon for regular yesterday.

It sure would be nice if it stays like this through vacation season.


It,s $2.08 here and dropping...We are close to the South Carolina border and gas is usually .20 cents cheaper down there because of NC's high gas tax. We always fill up when down there. ....In our travels lately I have seen a big difference in price of gas in just a mile or two. This tells me that some dealers are keeping the price up for their own good. So I guess we can't blame it all on the oil companys............
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Post by: brainpause on Jan 17, 2007, 12:35 PM
Holy cow! It is still 2.21 here!

Larry
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Post by: GrizzlyTaco on Jan 17, 2007, 08:10 PM
I paid $2.51 here in Vegas, i wish ours would drop below $2.00.....
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Post by: Dee4j on Jan 17, 2007, 08:37 PM
$2.53 in Cali
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Post by: ForestCreature on Jan 17, 2007, 08:37 PM
Read it and weep..... $ 1.79 for regular today , and I had less than a quarter tank left....a fill up for less than 50 buck!!!!!!! :D

 Honestly never thought we'd see less than 2 bucks ever again.
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Post by: kimrb266 on Jan 17, 2007, 08:55 PM
I put $40 in my van today and it only gave me 3/4 tank.  It was $2.24/gallon.  It's not as bad as it was middle of last year.
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Post by: aw738 on Jan 17, 2007, 09:20 PM
$2.12 is the cheapest I've seen around here.
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Post by: eyefly12 on Jan 17, 2007, 09:46 PM
TN is still high.....Saw "brainpause" had $2.21 in Franklin, TN, but just a few miles away in Murfreesboro it is $1.99.....Cheapest it has been in a long time!
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Post by: copcarguy on Jan 18, 2007, 12:40 AM
It dropped to $2.37 here today...
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Post by: dthurk on Jan 18, 2007, 05:16 AM
Paid $2.35 last night.  NYS seems to be more expensive than almost anywhere else.  Anyone wanna talk about taxes? :yikes:
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Post by: flyfisherman on Jan 18, 2007, 06:32 AM
Filled up last night in North Myrtle Beach at the "Wal-Mart" pumps, $1.969

Strange, how the price of crude can drop over $10.00 a barrel and the price at the pump only drops pennies. On the other hand, just a rumor that crude is rising and gas prices skyrocket!

Fly
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Post by: cyclone on Jan 18, 2007, 07:29 AM
Still $2.21 near my house (Nashville), but a couple miles up the road it's $2.12.  Go figure  :confused: .  I honestly cannot figure out why people are still paying the higher price when they can drive that short a distance and save 10 cents/gallon.  

I thought briefly (very briefly) about moving to where it's 1.81 or 1.79 -- then I remembered that it's also kinda cold up there.  :D
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Post by: Kelly on Jan 18, 2007, 03:30 PM
$1.89 on my side of The Cities, AB ...

It isn't cold here, Jan ~ it's beautiful!  About 26* and sunny :S ... I didn't even have to get my winter jacket out today.  :D
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Post by: cyclone on Jan 18, 2007, 09:17 PM
Wow, Kelly - that's positively balmy weather compared to -2.  But here in the south we think it's cold when the temps are on that side of 32.
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Post by: campingcop on Jan 18, 2007, 10:48 PM
$1.83 today

don't know how long its going to stay  that low but it sure is nice for now.
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Post by: ForestCreature on Jan 19, 2007, 09:23 AM
Quote from: campingcop$1.83 today
 
 don't know how long its going to stay  that low but it sure is nice for now.
Harvey, it's as low as 1.77 on this side of town at some stations as of yesterday.
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Post by: Beerlifter on Jan 19, 2007, 03:05 PM
I saw it today on the way home from work @ $1.79 a gallon. Wal-Mart gas station. Of course I had just filled up 2 days ago at $1.92
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Post by: sully349 on Jan 20, 2007, 11:01 AM
As of 1/20/07 1030hrs, gas in NW Indiana is at $1.89 a gallon. And thats right outside of Chicago!!! E85 is selling for $1.69... I know it wont last long...
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Post by: Old Goat on Jan 21, 2007, 06:35 AM
Quote from: flyfishermanFilled up last night in North Myrtle Beach at the "Wal-Mart" pumps, $1.969

Strange, how the price of crude can drop over $10.00 a barrel and the price at the pump only drops pennies. On the other hand, just a rumor that crude is rising and gas prices skyrocket!

Fly

How true, how true, Gas prices are not dropping around here as fast as they are in other areas. Local distributers and dealers must be making big bucks by keeping the price up...Outright thievery?? You Betcha!!......
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Post by: ForestCreature on Jan 21, 2007, 08:04 AM
Quote from: Old GoatHow true, how true, Gas prices are not dropping around here as fast as they are in other areas. Local distributers and dealers must be making big bucks by keeping the price up...Outright thievery?? You Betcha!!......
We here in MI have a gouging law, it went into place after that big east coast blaclout when the few gas station that could pump in this area raped their customers to the tune of up to $5 per gallon.

It's even an enforced law (yep, a bit unusual). I think that is what has helped keep the prices decent around here.
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Post by: GeneF on Jan 21, 2007, 06:24 PM
"We here in MI have a gouging law, it went into place after that big east coast blaclout when the few gas station that could pump in this area raped their customers to the tune of up to $5 per gallon.

It's even an enforced law (yep, a bit unusual). I think that is what has helped keep the prices decent around here."

Marcy  

Just read an article that Michigan and two other states have the lowest gas prices.  One of the main reasons is lower taxes on gasoline.

Local station here is $2.21 but paid $1.99 at a Sam's today.  Next town over is about $2.11.
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Post by: cjpoppin on Jan 21, 2007, 06:54 PM
Just got back from filling up our truck here in Apple Valley, Ca. High Desert area for $2.43 gal best price in the whole high desert......Yuck......I can remember getting gas for .17 cents a gallon..........The Good Old Days........Please come back..........
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Post by: AustinBoston on Jan 21, 2007, 09:52 PM
Quote from: cjpoppin...I can remember getting gas for .17 cents a gallon..........The Good Old Days........Please come back..........

Do you really want them?  That was before The Arvee club, before the internet (OK, before the public had ever heard of the internet), before DVDs (or even VCRs), before microwave ovens, or pop-up furnaces, or pop-up water tanks, or pop-up power converters, when TV's produced X-Rays, all gasoline contained lead, and dumping toxic chemicals in your water supply was not illegal.  Oh, and minimum wage was somewhere areound $0.46/hr.

Nope, you can have "the good old days".

Austin
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Post by: cyclone on Jan 22, 2007, 07:05 AM
It's dropped a whopping 8 cents -- now $2.13/gal.  I was off on Friday and running errands and wound up about 30 min. from home.  Gas there was 1.98.  In another area of the state (175 miles from here, maybe?) gas is 1.91.  Given that taxes should not be much different within the state, I'm assuming that in the Nashville area they are simply gouging us.  

(psssssst - hey, Brainpause - go fill up in Triune.)
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Post by: ForestCreature on Jan 22, 2007, 07:25 AM
Quote from: GeneFJust read an article that Michigan and two other states have the lowest gas prices.  One of the main reasons is lower taxes on gasoline.
 
 Local station here is $2.21 but paid $1.99 at a Sam's today.  Next town over is about $2.11.
SHHHHH....don't say that to loud , they might hear hear you and raise it...We don't need any more stinkin taxes!
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Post by: ScoobyDoo on Jan 22, 2007, 09:14 AM
Quote:
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Originally Posted by cjpoppin
...I can remember getting gas for .17 cents a gallon..........The Good Old Days........Please come back..........
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Do you really want them? That was before The Arvee club, before the internet (OK, before the public had ever heard of the internet), before DVDs (or even VCRs), before microwave ovens, or pop-up furnaces, or pop-up water tanks, or pop-up power converters, when TV's produced X-Rays, all gasoline contained lead, and dumping toxic chemicals in your water supply was not illegal. Oh, and minimum wage was somewhere areound $0.46/hr.

Nope, you can have "the good old days".

   `Yes Dad, without a high school education, could work 40 hrs a week, 49 weeks a year, have health ins, pay for house, send kids to school, go camping most weekends in the summer and on vacation. then he could retire, and RV full time. Mom could stay home with the kids, didn't need the microwave, she had time to cook health food. X-rays from a TV that was only on 10-15 hrs a week, NBD. The kids were outside playing, not setting in front of the game boy getting fat. The lead in gas was bad, but the 6cyl. Ford didn't burn as much as the 2 cars every family needs to get to work.
   Change can be good but is not always.
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Post by: GeneF on Jan 22, 2007, 04:40 PM
a loaf of bread was 14 cents, a quart of milk with the cream on top was 19 cents and it was delivered in a bottle, cost 50 cents to see a double feature at the drive in, kids played sandlot baseball and football, hide and seek was a great game, families did things together because many couldn't afford  tv, if you had a tv, you may have had to take turns holding the rabbit ears for the best reception, fewer houses made for more beaches and skinny dipping, beer was about the main drug of the time, had to wait for the other person to get off of the three party phone line, bicycles only had three speeds, ice skating and sleding were your weekend activities done in a group, school dances were called sock hops without grinding.

Oh yeah, those were some fun times.  May not want all of them back but some of them would be nice.

Oh yeah, you could get a house for less than 10,000.
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Post by: zamboni on Jan 22, 2007, 09:18 PM
Just a few factoids...

http://www.eia.doe.gov/neic/quickfacts/quickoil.html

A barrel of oil produces 42 gallons of gas.

Oil dropped below $50/barrel a few days ago.  Back "up" to $51.  That means that raw crude is $1.24/gallon of gas.  Today (1/22/07), gasoline futures were $1.37/gallon.  Anything above that is transportation/profit.

Leading up to the elections, gas here in Sacramento had dipped to $2.10/gallon.  Crude was about $61/barrel.

Today, crude is $50-51, yet gas is still $2.50/gallon.

If one considers the conspiracy theory, the oil companies "lowered" the price of gas leading up to the elections in order to keep it "off the table" in terms of people's votes.

America uses 20 millions barrels/day of gasoline.  Comparing today to Election Day (now is $10/barrel cheaper than Nov 7th... and $.40/gallon ($16.8/barrel) higher gas prices)... oil companies are pulling in 20M * $26.8 = $536 MILLION more per day in profit than they were on Nov 7th - at least in CA prices.

Don't forget, today's gasoline futures prices were only $1.37/gallon - for Feb delivery.  That is what the oil companies paid for the refined gas they're selling to you.
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Post by: Old Goat on Jan 23, 2007, 05:58 AM
I can remember my cousin and I taking turns driving my uncle's 1925 model T Ford on country roads when I was 12-13 years old. It was during WW 11 and "Unc" was in the navy and busy in the Pacific. Gas was rationed and cost .24 cents a gal. The old Ford had a gravity feed fuel system and an up draft carburetor. It's four banger engine had cast iron pistons and gave an honest 25 miles per gal. That's better than alot of vehicles do today.....What fun it was......
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Post by: zamboni on Jan 24, 2007, 01:56 AM
Quote from: Old Goatgave an honest 25 miles per gal.

Sadly, the "good" gas mileage vehicles of yesteryear have given way to "regular" vehicles of today.  In 1997, my 1996 VW Golf did over 33 MPG on the highway.  Now-a-days, an "impressive" vehicle like my coworker's a 2007 Honda Civic gets all of 30 MPG.

Whoa. PATHETIC.

The sad part is, the major US vehicle companies today whine that they need a lower fleet MPG in order to compete.

Why is that???

In 2001, VW introduced their "1-liter-car".  It was a 2-seater vehicle that got "over 100 kilometers per liter".  That translates to...

218 miles per gallon.  Why can't they take 4 of those engines, plug them into an SUV, and get a truck that can do 54 MPG???

Sadly, they had to abandon the vehicle, due to economics: http://www.greencarcongress.com/2005/04/vw_abandons_its.html

Oh wait - I forgot, the world doesn't yet support good fuel economy vehicles...
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Post by: Old Goat on Jan 24, 2007, 06:26 PM
It"s down to $2.02 here. The price is still not dropping as fast as in other areas close by......
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Post by: wavery on Jan 24, 2007, 07:12 PM
Quote from: zamboniSadly, the "good" gas mileage vehicles of yesteryear have given way to "regular" vehicles of today.  In 1997, my 1996 VW Golf did over 33 MPG on the highway.  Now-a-days, an "impressive" vehicle like my coworker's a 2007 Honda Civic gets all of 30 MPG.

Whoa. PATHETIC.

The sad part is, the major US vehicle companies today whine that they need a lower fleet MPG in order to compete.

Why is that???
In 2001, VW introduced their "1-liter-car".  It was a 2-seater vehicle that got "over 100 kilometers per liter".  That translates to...

218 miles per gallon.  Why can't they take 4 of those engines, plug them into an SUV, and get a truck that can do 54 MPG???

Sadly, they had to abandon the vehicle, due to economics: http://www.greencarcongress.com/2005/04/vw_abandons_its.html

Oh wait - I forgot, the world doesn't yet support good fuel economy vehicles...

It's all about "Power to weight" ratio, plus a few other things added in like wind resistance and added accessories that make the alternator and AC draw more power.

Your '96 Golf probably didn't have the gadgets that the 2007 Civic has and certainly wasn't as heavy (all the added safety stuff).

My 2001 Chrysler Concorde gets 30MPG. I think that's pretty impressive. I similar car of yester-year would be lucky to get 20MPG.

The real answer is switching to ALL electric cars. I don't mean those cop-out hybrids either, they're a joke. Until we go all electric, we are at the mercy of oil rich countries.
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Post by: GeneF on Jan 25, 2007, 05:16 AM
My 02 truck gets 14 to 17 not towing.  10 towing

My 05 Scion gets 35

My 1964 Pontiac Tempest got 13 if I was lucky.  During the 60's no one was concerned about gas mileage, everone wanted the muscle cars.  Guess this one was the SUV of the times.   326 engine, stick shift, positraction and I could sit 6 people in it comfortable and this was an intermediate size car in its day.  Still a memory, it was my first new car.

By the way, I paid extra for the padded dash.
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Post by: AustinBoston on Jan 25, 2007, 08:30 AM
Quote from: waveryThe real answer is switching to ALL electric cars. I don't mean those cop-out hybrids either, they're a joke. Until we go all electric, we are at the mercy of oil rich countries.

Actually, it's about a non-oil energy source.  For the most part, an electric car would use more oil, not less, because of inefficiencies in generating and transporting electricity.  Since the biggest chunk of the electricity we use is generated by burning oil, more money, not less, goes to the Middle East.

If we had a reasonable non-oil electric source, it could be used to make a fuel for internal combustion engines.  Until then, any transportation technology will use oil.

Austin
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Post by: wavery on Jan 25, 2007, 09:58 AM
Quote from: AustinBostonActually, it's about a non-oil energy source.  For the most part, an electric car would use more oil, not less, because of inefficiencies in generating and transporting electricity.  Since the biggest chunk of the electricity we use is generated by burning oil, more money, not less, goes to the Middle East.

If we had a reasonable non-oil electric source, it could be used to make a fuel for internal combustion engines.  Until then, any transportation technology will use oil.

Austin
You're correct, if we recharge the "Batteries" from an oil fuel burning source.

There are more effective sources for generating electricity. Nuclear is one but that has it's problems too (obviously).

I think that fuel cell technology (or a derivative thereof) may be the wave of the future. The biggest obstacle is the "Batteries" or electrical storage devices. That is why President Bush continually pushes new battery technology (probably the only thing that I agree with him about :p ). The bottom line is still powering from electric motors. Internal combustion engines are terribly inefficient (on several levels).
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Post by: zamboni on Jan 25, 2007, 02:33 PM
Quote from: AustinBostonActually, it's about a non-oil energy source.  For the most part, an electric car would use more oil, not less, because of inefficiencies in generating and transporting electricity.  Since the biggest chunk of the electricity we use is generated by burning oil, more money, not less, goes to the Middle East.

If we had a reasonable non-oil electric source, it could be used to make a fuel for internal combustion engines.  Until then, any transportation technology will use oil.


Actually, there is an up-and-coming alternative.  I forgot what state it is in, but I read last week about a man who moved into a new, experimental "zero-energy" house.  It cost about $400,000 (grants, etc), but was designed to have its technology mass-produced for about $100,000.

In short:  Massive solar arrays.  Batteries are inefficient and expensive to upkeep (for large amounts)... so, extra energy is sent to an Electrolytic Converter - which uses the electricity to split water into oxygen and hydrogen.

The hydrogen is stored in tanks, and when more power is needed (nights, parties, etc), a fuel-cell converts the hydrogen back to electricity.

The house is super-insulated, and the man charged his electric car from his home system.
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Post by: JimQPublic on Jan 25, 2007, 02:38 PM
My first brand new car was a 4 door Mitsubishi Mirage rebadged as a Chrysler Eagle Summit in 1987.  I got 40+ on the open road and low 30's in town.  

It had a 1.5 liter engine & 81 horsepower.  It kept up fine on the freeway but didn't have the sort of acceleration we expect now.  Sizewise it was comparable to the Toyota Corolla of the day, but modern Corollas are much bigger.

I think we have to face the fact that a 250 HP, 4000+ pound minivan or midsized SUV is never going to get better than 25 mpg on the highway and 20 mpg around town.

Basic physics tells me that less weight, less wind resistance, and less power will get better mileage.  Of course driving style plays a major part too.

PS-
Fuel here is somewhere around $2.50/gallon.  I've been riding the train to work 90% of the time.
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Post by: eanddrice on Jan 25, 2007, 02:39 PM
:p Ours is at 1.81 in Loganville (Atlanta).  Wish it would hold through vacation (yeah right)
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Post by: wavery on Jan 25, 2007, 04:38 PM
Quote from: zamboniActually, there is an up-and-coming alternative.  I forgot what state it is in, but I read last week about a man who moved into a new, experimental "zero-energy" house.  It cost about $400,000 (grants, etc), but was designed to have its technology mass-produced for about $100,000.

In short:  Massive solar arrays.  Batteries are inefficient and expensive to upkeep (for large amounts)... so, extra energy is sent to an Electrolytic Converter - which uses the electricity to split water into oxygen and hydrogen.

The hydrogen is stored in tanks, and when more power is needed (nights, parties, etc), a fuel-cell converts the hydrogen back to electricity.

The house is super-insulated, and the man charged his electric car from his home system.
It seems to me that a fuel cell car would fit right into this program. The hydrogen collected could be used to fill the fuel cell car. When the car is not in use, it could be used to power the house (and most of the neighbors houses).

A fuel cell is supposedly capable of lasting a lifetime. The concept is to keep the fuel cell and running gear for a lifetime. When you buy a "new car", it would be, literally, the body and interior only. Unsnap the old body, snap on the new one. A person could even have a number of "bodies" for different applications. You could have an SUV body, sport car body and PU truck body that all snap onto the same fuel cell.
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Post by: AustinBoston on Jan 26, 2007, 09:53 AM
Quote from: waveryA fuel cell is supposedly capable of lasting a lifetime. The concept is to keep the fuel cell and running gear for a lifetime. When you buy a "new car", it would be, literally, the body and interior only. Unsnap the old body, snap on the new one. A person could even have a number of "bodies" for different applications. You could have an SUV body, sport car body and PU truck body that all snap onto the same fuel cell.

I could imagine the market for stolen fuel cells.

I can imagine people thinking they can avoid auto theft by taking the fuel cell with them when they park.

I can imagine thieves always carrying a fuel cell with them in case the owner took theirs.

I can imagine the thieves getting wise and just stealing a fuel cell from another vehicle in order to steal one where the owner took the fuel cell.

I can imagine it becoming a felony to be in posession of a fuel cell (a burglary tool) while trying to steal a car.

It's fun to predict the future when old posts are purged from time to time.

Austin
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Post by: wavery on Jan 26, 2007, 10:03 AM
Quote from: AustinBostonI could imagine the market for stolen fuel cells.

I can imagine people thinking they can avoid auto theft by taking the fuel cell with them when they park.

I can imagine thieves always carrying a fuel cell with them in case the owner took theirs.

I can imagine the thieves getting wise and just stealing a fuel cell from another vehicle in order to steal one where the owner took the fuel cell.

I can imagine it becoming a felony to be in posession of a fuel cell (a burglary tool) while trying to steal a car.

It's fun to predict the future when old posts are purged from time to time.

Austin
Now there's some "Creative thinking". :eyecrazy:

 :J
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Post by: GrizzlyTaco on Jan 26, 2007, 11:07 AM
I got gas this morning and I paid $2.35 a gallon, its down 18 cents from the last time i got gas....Its a start
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Post by: campingcop on Jan 26, 2007, 07:39 PM
whats with these @#$$#@% gas prices.  Last time I filled up it was $1.75  today it is $2.07 thats a big jump in a week and a half :yikes:
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Post by: Old Goat on Jan 30, 2007, 05:26 AM
It's $ 1.99 here in our neck of the woods..It's about .20 cents cheaper in South Carolina which is not very far from here.....