http://editorial.autos.msn.com/article.asp...013&topart=utes

 

Rob,remember,they said the exact same thing,in 1971;
and it has been true,for 8 to 10 years,only to come back with stronger engines,in the early '80's.

 

i hate to say it but oil is about to get real expensive and of course gasoline is a byproduct of oil.

the US imports 400 to 425 million barrels of oil a MONTH.
of course the US is an industrialized nation with ~300 milllion people.
that's around 1.5 barrels per person per month.

now let's look at China and India which are evolving from agrarian economies to industrial economies. this will take 10 to 15 years to complete this transition.
China has ~2 billion people.
India 1.6 Billion.

assuming the metric of 1.5 barrels per person per month.
that would be a staggering 3 billion barrels a month and that is just for China. throw in another 2.1 Billion barrels for India.

obviously taken to this extreme this doesn't work but even at half that rate that's a billion barrels of oil a month and that doesn't even count the US consumption.
assuming that the law of supply and demand still applies, it would not be surprising to see oil at 500 or 600 dollars a barrel.
that would put gas at the pump at numbers approaching $15- $20
hmmm i don't think I can afford a buck a mile toys.

 

Remember when they said good-bye to "rag tops"?

 

This golden age of horsepower may be coming to an end, at least in the gas-guzzling manner to which we've become accustomed.

Bring on the high-tech high horsepower alternate fuel solutions!

 

'76 Eldorado?

 

I got an email from an Audi dealer near Chicago today. They have four 2007 A8's left and they are selling them for $11,000 off the MSRP! Demand for V8s has dried up for now.

 

Well, nothing I haven't been expecting. For the last few years we have been in a golden age of horsepower and performance. It opened around the turn of the millennium with cars like the S2000 and Civic Si, both with lots of power for the buck. Then came the German and American waves with WR6- and hemi- power. Trucks jumped on board with big V8s with mountain moving torque. Then came the turbos from Japan and from Chrysler. Superchargers from Germany and GM. Twenty grand would get you 250 HP. Thirty would put you over 350. Now for well under a hundred large you could start to think in terms of 500+.

Meantime thanks to computers these cars get mileage and low emission levels that could only be dreamed of 25 years ago given comparable power output.

But automotive excitement, like economic good times and liberal or conservative politics, comes and goes in cycles. Look at the dreadful stuff that auto makers around the world were turning out in the late 70s and early to mid 80s. I think the current golden age has about five years of steam left in it before economic hard times, a resistant market, gas prices, and the latest wave of regulation push us into another automotive dark ages. Of course I hope I'm wrong. ('nuff clich

 

I hope you are wrong but I would not bet against it.

 

And while Lutz has become a vocal supporter of hybrids, electric cars and alternative fuels, he said that cars like the Corvette would still find their niche. "At the height of the vegetarian craze, the grocery stores are still selling New York steaks," Lutz said.


I think this sums it up. It you want to play you will pay. That, I think, is very fair.