Cars! Cars! Cars!

Leases End

So you leased your SUV rather than buying it? Turns out that was a smart move. For you!

What's gonna happen when folks start turning in these SUVs? We'll tell you: pain. These SUVs are just going to sit and rot because no one's gonna want these gas gobblers. Even if gasoline drops by 25% (ha!), folks have learned their lessons and we'll never again return to the days of the casual SUV owner.

Is your lease coming to an end? Gonna buy the vehicle or just give it back? What would it take for you to but it?

Referenced article

BusinessWeek: Nobody Loves a Three-Year-Old SUV
(from Eschaton)

Kick-Ass Fuel Deal

Check it, yo. Buy a Chrysler and get guaranteed $2.99/gallon gasoline for three years.

Pros: Gas is going to get silly spendy and you'll have a fix price
Cons: Have to drive a Chrysler. For three years. Three real-time years... not TV years where in one frakkin episode all of a sudden it's one year later on New Caprica? WTF. Mmmm, Boomer.

Anyway, cons win.

Referenced articles
autoblog: Chrysler extends $2.99/gallon gas offer another month

But Why Is The Gas So High!?

Why oh why oh why oh why?

Two recent articles tried to explain why:

Guest Blogger Tom Kloza: Why Oil Prices Are Going So High

Who's to blame for $4 gas

The thing is, neither (unless we missed it -- which is highly likely) mentioned this as the reason gas is so expensive. Who's that? Oh, right.

Timing Is Everything

More supply means lower prices. He didn't do it.

Related articles
NY Times: THE 2000 CAMPAIGN: THE TEXAS GOVERNOR; Bush Would Use Power of Persuasion to Raise Oil Supply

Link from Daring Fireball

Drive No Mo?

Have you been driving less? We heartell that folks all over America are actually driving less because of skyrocketing fuel prices.

Weak. What kind of Americans are they? Don't they care about Exxon Mobil's bottom line? We bet they don't wear a flag pin on their lapels, either. Commies.

Referenced articles:
USA Today: Gas prices rattle Americans

Doeth!

$7.50?!

Time to sell that truck, dude. Time to sell the SUV, you cell-phone-talkin' mama.

Oil Prices To Sucketh?

We don't know nothin' about nothin', but yikes, $200/barrel? Could that happen far sooner than later?

If this happens, what exactly happens? Do local gasoline prices crank higher? If so, what then? Public transportation?* Car pooling? Telecommuting? What happens when unemployed folks can't even afford to drive to job interviews?

Anyway, we don't actually know (and we don't even know if oil will hit that high... this soon). We guess our real question is, "How high does oil have to go before the United States gets serious about alternative energy?"

Referenced articles:

MarketWatch: New 'super-spike' might mean $200 a barrel oil

We'd take the bus if she would.

Gas Woes

No, we're not talking after a night at Jose Tejas, we're talking gas for your car.

As we mentioned previously, gas is only moving up so everyone better budget a little more to tot all them arses around. Anyone have a prediction when we'll hit a steady $5/gallon? We're thinking June '09 for that one.

Referenced articles:

From
NY Times: Gas Prices Soar, Posing a Threat to Family Budget

NY Times: Exxon Sets Profit Record: $40.6 Billion Last Year

OK, we didn't really talk about the last article there. But, hey, neither did The New York Times.

We work for a subsidiary of The New York Times.

Gas Is ~$3/Gallon, Deal With It

Consumer Reports, uh, reports: U.S. gas prices--October 29, 2007.

It took two years, but oil companies got the average price of gas up nicely. What will the summer bring? $4.50/gallon because of a lack of refinement capabilities? Or the typical storm? Or simply the usual "great demand"?

Photos snagged from Omar Bárcena.

Is Spendy Gas A-Comin'?

While we're not sure of the specifics of the poll, Daily Fuel Economy Tip asks: Would $4 Gas Change Your Summer Travel Plans? They answer their own question with:

When asked “If gas hits $4 per gallon this summer, will it cause you to travel less?” 74% of respondents stated that they would in fact travel less. A total of 17% of respondents stated that they would not travel less, 7% said they were not planning on traveling anyway and 2% said they were unsure how $4 gas would impact their summer travel plans.

It's obvious that gas prices have headed north again. In unrelated news, CNN reports: Occidental boss took home $400M in 2006.