We are fucked now!

[Dissident]

fixing fuel prices means all the gas stations will simply close down

i already lived through this exact scenario after hurricane Sandy in NYC

i hope you saw this coming when they first closed down pipelines to canada

then said they will not buy oil from Russia

then reserves started running out

and here comes the final nail in your coffin - price fixing

imagine you’re a gas station owner and you’re barely making ends meet selling gas at $5 and you’re informed that if you charge more than $4 you will go to prison … what is going to happen ?

NOTHING GOOD

you know it’s funny a few years ago i was doing a 80 mile round trip to gym and back driving a regular car first, then a hybrid, then i moved and cut my gym round trip to 50 miles, then i got a plug-in hybrid and cut it again to 15 miles which fits in my electric range except in winter … then the lockdowns came and i had to work out at home and now soon we will not be able to buy gas which will essentially be a lockdown for anybody who doesn’t have an electric car.

you know now i remember when NYC ran out of gas for 2 weeks during price fixing after Hurricane Sandy they showed a guy on TV who was pretending to be a regular man on the street but i now realize was an actor telling people that if they had a Tesla they wouldn’t have this problem of being out of gas …

i thought to myself then - what a strange comment to make ? this was before Model 3 and Y in other words before any semi-affordable Teslas. only people that had Teslas back then were doctors and lawyers. but what was more strange is that instead of worrying how to get gas to people and how to end price fixing that was making it impossible he ( ostensibly a random man on the street ) was lecturing us on how we should get a six-figure car if we wanted to be able to get from A to B …

well as Martin says in “The Killing of the Sacred Deer” - “we both knew this moment was coming and that moment is now” …

those shortages in NYC after Sandy were a beta test to see how dumb people are and to give the smarter ones a chance to get a Tesla. i only got half the message because my car only has about 20 miles of electric range in perfect weather like now and about 10 in January and February.

i now officially make a strong recommendation that your next car should be at least a hybrid and if you have a garage to charge a car then a plug in hybrid with enough range for your commute. keep in mind advertised range is best case scenario. if your commute is 25 miles round trip get a a PHEV with 50 mile rated range.

any gas guzzler you buy today you will never be able to sell.

[Michael]

The Tesla service shops are not very assesible to alot of people. Reliebility and price are also issues. I would love an electric car but price vs payback compared to gas car isn’t there for me yet. The newest ones that charge faster need electric service 220 from your breaker box. I could connect it but almost every one would not or can’t. That isn’t cheap. Range is a big problem having to plan and conserve. The very wortd thing is charging stations. Most people won’t want to wait to recharge . At work site charging just won’t be enough. If if the us was smart about this entire charging problem that they are going about it the wrong way we should do like china has been doing for quite some time. They sell basic electric cars for about ,6000 to every one! The cars have batteries that are exchanged at battery exchange centers all over the entire country. Drive up and a machine extracts your battery for a newly charged one. Basically renting batteries and then your done . Paying for charge only. No getting out of car. People my hate on them but their civilization is one of the oldest still remaining. Just copy things that already work… no need to reinvent most things. Sorry to ramble just glad I have a Yaris because our other vehicle is a Ford E 250 Super Duty van 11 mpg hope every one has an awesome weekend Michael

[Dissident]

@Michael

The Tesla service shops are not very assesible to alot of people. Reliebility and price are also issues.

Tesla is just one brand. Actually today i saw a Rivian Truck on my way to the gym. Saw an Audi E-Tron GT a few days ago. Mustang Mach-E are everywhere. Of course none of these are really affordable, which is why i suggested Plug-in Hybrids instead. Hyundai Ioniq Plug-in is quite affordable. Prius Prime is reasonably priced. Honda Clarity Plug-in used to get have a really good lease deal at one point.

@Michael

The newest ones that charge faster need electric service 220 from your breaker box. I could connect it but almost every one would not or can’t. That isn’t cheap.

depends on where your panel is. my panel is in the garage so i only paid $200 to install a NEMA 14-50 receptacle, like this:

this is a ONE TIME expense. of course i was “lucky” to have the panel in the garage. i put lucky in quotes because i specifically chose a house with 200 amp service and a panel in the garage in order to be able to have an electric car. the house also has ideal roof shape and orientation for solar panels - another “lucky coincidence” … i’m not actually installing solar for now though.

@Michael

Range is a big problem having to plan and conserve. The very wortd thing is charging stations. Most people won’t want to wait to recharge . At work site charging just won’t be enough.

as i said i recommend a plug in hybrid, like the one i drive myself. you need enough electric range for your daily commute - after that you switch to gas IF you are able to find it.

@Michael

If if the us was smart about this entire charging problem that they are going about it the wrong way we should do like china has been doing for quite some time. They sell basic electric cars for about ,6000 to every one! The cars have batteries that are exchanged at battery exchange centers all over the entire country. Drive up and a machine extracts your battery for a newly charged one. Basically renting batteries and then your done . Paying for charge only. No getting out of car. People my hate on them but their civilization is one of the oldest still remaining. Just copy things that already work… no need to reinvent most things.

battery swaps never worked in any 1st world setting. maybe in China they can order everybody to buy the same car and make it work that way. in any case it isn’t really necessary.

@Michael

Sorry to ramble just glad I have a Yaris because our other vehicle is a Ford E 250 Super Duty van 11 mpg

your super efficient Yaris only prepares you for skyrocketing fuel prices and fuel rationing. it doesn’t prepare you for a situation where stations run out of fuel completely. when Hurricane Sandy hit NYC on the very first day somebody broke my fuel door ( my car was street parked in Brooklyn ) to siphon off the fuel. Then gas stations were out of gas for 2 weeks.

the reason it took so long ( 2 weeks ) to get fuel back at gas stations ( the actual flooding only lasted a few hours ) is because government banned price increases ( as they are doing again now ) … so instead of scrambling to get gas to people in NYC nobody did anything … because there was no money to be made … our friendly government made sure of that.

if this type of scenario happens ( and it is now all but a certainty ) your Yaris will not be able to save you. you will need something you can charge and drive in electric mode. it doesn’t need to be fully electric but it needs to have enough electric range for you to get to work and back and to other places you may need to go such as the hospital.

i will be the first one to admit that plug in hybrids are not reliable. i had mine die for no reason and took the dealership a week to figure out what was wrong and fix it. these aren’t the type of cars you can fix yourself - they are very complicated. but i only fill my tank once a month which means i could easily survive a week or two of no gas at the pump whereas with most other cars it would be a problem.

in my estimates gas stations completely running out of gas is going to happen with almost 100% probability. we already had meat shortages, baby food shortages … it’s coming.

remember in Australia they were throwing people in prison for driving more than 5 kilometers away from home during the lockdown … gas shortages are coming.

plug-in hybrids are about to go from frivolous toys to the only way you can survive.

ideally i would like to have a car that has both DC fast charging and an onboard generator ( engine ) … but this is extremely rare. currently i think Plug-in Hybrids are the smartest choice for anybody with an outlet to charge them from.

@Michael

hope every one has an awesome weekend Michael

thanks, you too.

[marlon]

Have a good one, Michael…enjoy.

[Michael]

Hi all,. Thanks for everybody’s comments and critecs. Too !many get offended when an idea or opinion that irritates them or not familiar with will dismiss it as foolish or ignorant. This is the best time to revaluate your own stance and let a little other out of the box idea Inlighten your old stuck brain. Ever if you hate another opinion use it to formulate an entirely new idea or way of think about everything. Every great invention was periled with mistakes ideodic ideas an catastrophes. Every lighten up a little this week be more accepting and you WILL be happier and maybe wiser. Great week to all! Michael marmarasmichael@gmail.com