Here we are - $3.00/gallon Diesel!

You get around.

.

It goes in phases but you noticed... :-)

During the previously-mentioned family holiday in Italy we drove south from Lake Garda to Florence, which meant that the motorway went past Modena which is near that house of dreams in Maranello...

No, did not get into the Ferrari factory -- that's hard even for customers, I gather -- but to the nearby official Galleria/museum:

We bought the most expensive baseball cap ever, EUR 20, but at least it is

10 000+ times cheaper than a car despite the prancing horse at the front... and, as it is very bright red, is great for locating our little son in a crowd if he runs off. Nearly lost him in the Leaning Tower of Pisa complex.

Side observation: that cap was available in innumerable souvenir shops in Florence. Same price and quality in every one. Talk about having a grip on the market...

DAS

For direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling

Get used to it. It is likely to get worse over the next five years unless World recession takes hold. Here in the UK we are now at somewhere near $7US per US gallon. The economy is not great but it is not bad either.

Huw

Thath's how it is and will be.

Well come to the world of globalisation. While the economics of the third world rices, it will go down or at least stop growing in developed countries. And there is nothing we can do about it.

Reg: Harri

Not necessarily. Consider the decades following WWII, when ruined European and Japanese economies were developing, yet the US was fairly prosperous concurrently. As the third world countries develop, they become not only producers, but consumers. GM sells a lot of vehicles in China now.

The limited and diminishing supply of petroleum is an altogether differet problem, and when it gets bad enough, some enterprising people will develop a replacement.

>

Main issue is are you sure it does not rice GM prices, when chinese buy them?

Then the other thign is that after WWII GM cars were made in USA and it was good for US economy. Now GM cars sold in China are not made by americans any more.

Well, that's a totally different story.

Reg: Harri

Try walking for a change.

[This followup was posted to alt.auto.mercedes and a copy was sent to the cited author.]

We are paying for it once as the Oil War is being charged to Uncle Sam's Visa Card; the little idiot emporer has decreed that his subjects will pay less taxes for now. The reckoning will not come until the next administration (or later) comes in to clean up the Bush II financial mess. Watch US interest rates skyrocket and the economy tank simultaneously.

It was called 'stagflation' after the USA fought the Vietnam War without paying for it. If you didn't see the original you will love the sequel.

Uuuurgh - here in the SouthEast U.S., diesel was at or less than regular prices a couple of year ago. It is now higher than premium. This has nothing to do with globalization, and everything to do with the government and petroleum companies believing (correctly) that the average American consumer has been rendered completely idiotic by watching too many episodes of Jerry Springer.

When we re-affirmed our voting commitment to Prez Shrub and his Saudi buddies (quiz - how many 9/11 terrorists were Saudi?) we sent a clear message that we would bend over and take it in the rear sans vaseline. When we had the nerve to squeak at the resulting rise in fuel prices, there was some fast sleight-of-hand, and gas prices were (temporarily) lowered - but they raised diesel prices. We thanked the government for saving us yet again, but failed to notice that we were still paying higher fuel prices - but we were paing them at the grocery store - because the major consumers of diesel in the U.S. are truckers. Ooops.

On the flip side - Petroleum is a finite resource. No matter which theory of petroleum creation you subscribe to, we will run out, sooner or later - or to be more accurate, we won't run out - it will just become increasingly scarce and expensive. So what the heck - let Bush and his petrol buddies make a few bucks while they can, because sooner or later, we are going to have to change something and sooner is better than later. And frankly, when I think of the image of certain mid-east governments sucking the last few drops of oil from dry sand, while American farmers are getting paid to raise veggie-oil crops, it can't happen too soon.

Cheers,

Conrad

I totally agree with you on government meddling - but we have a government in place that has told us "be afraid of everything - vote for us and we'll fix it" Too many idiots buy that propaganda, as evidenced by the last presidential election. And yes, frankly, "W" is too blame - his administration, business associates, and policies have been stunningly exploitive - while "W" shakes his head and asks (I'm NOT making this up) "Is our kids learning". Let's hope they are learning - otherwise we can look forward to Jeb in 2012. And trust me - I have roots in Florida and Texas - Jeb's no more competent than his brother - it's just that he can be an idiot in two languages, where "W" hasn't mastered one yet.

I can't totally agree with you on the source of America's petrol. As you noted in point 2, there are two ways Americans buy petroleum - one is at the gas pump. But the other is when we purchas manufactured goods from other companies. Wander through your home and inspect everything you've bought lately. When it says Made in XYZ, you've bought petroleum based on XYZ's petrol purchasing policies. So yeah, maybe we're buying Chavez' oil at the pump (but given the increasing political friction, how long will that last?), but we're buying petroleum elsewhere far too often when we go shopping.

Cheers,

Conrad

Because we got more from Venezuela than from Saudi. S. America is a larger source, basically because of reduced shipping costs.

Collin

...and UK/Norwegian oil production is declining nicely... though gas is doing well, AFAIK.

DAS

For direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling

The at the pump price today in Orange County. CA is $3.09.

Canoli

Don't moan and just enjoy it. Here (UK) it is pushing USD 6 per US gallon.

DAS

For direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling

Or perhaps moan and enjoy it....

This is an opportunity to find a 100% biodiesel vendor....

They are out there.

.