What about the U.S. makes you mad?

[T'lainya]

Originally posted by Mr Sleep:
<STRONG>Yes better kept in my pan... i mean unsaid.... </STRONG>

Yes Mr Moderator Try to remember the forum rules

[Sailor Saturn]

Originally posted by Mr Sleep:
<STRONG>@SS don't automatics increase fuel consumption?</STRONG>

Unless you're lousy with a standard, yeah; but, AFAIK, when my Firebird was built, Overdrive on an automatic transmission was not a common thing and it definitely improves gas mileage. I'm not very good with a standard, anyway. When necessary, I can drive one; but both me and the car with standard transmission would rather me not drive it.

Sometimes you just have to get what you can get and I did good with my Firebird. It's an '84 model in near perfect condition(not counting paint job and interior) and I got it for $500(well, technically I got it for free, my parents bought it for me). Only thing wrong with it is the AC doesn't work.

[Mr Sleep]

Originally posted by T'lainya:
<STRONG>Yes Mr Moderator Try to remember the forum rules </STRONG>

What are those again ah yes there they are [url="http://www.gamebanshee.com/sitefeatures/forumrules.php"]Forum Rules[/url]

[Yshania]

@Mr Sleep - automatics do use more fuel because they change up at a pre-designated point - not the most economic point!

On average they do five miles per gallon less than a manual of same spec.

[Mr Sleep]

Originally posted by Yshania:
<STRONG>@Mr Sleep - automatics do use more fuel because they change up at a pre-designated point - not the most economic point!

On average they do five miles per gallon less than a manual of same spec.</STRONG>

As i suspected

[Mr Sleep]

@SS On a tangenital note, has anyone seen Dogma, the movie is mostly crap, but there is this fantastic scene where the guy is driving down a freeway at 70mph and Linda Fiorentino says "what gear are you in,"
he says,
"this is a shift, i don't know how to drive a shift"

[ 08-26-2001: Message edited by: Mr Sleep ]

[Craig]

All of it sept some rare things

[ThorinOakensfield]

Originally posted by Mr Sleep:
<STRONG>@SS On a tangenital note, has anyone seen Dogma, the movie is mostly crap, but there is this fantastic scene where the guy is driving down a freeway at 70mph and Linda Fiorentino says "what gear are you in,"
he says,
"this is a shift, i don't know how to drive a shift"

[ 08-26-2001: Message edited by: Mr Sleep ]</STRONG>

Actually i liked the movie.

[Craig]

Shift?

[fable]

Originally posted by craig:
<STRONG>Shift?</STRONG>

Refers to a "stick shift," a method of shifting in car engines between gears that preceded the automatic transmission. Car manufacturers still make "manuals" as they're sometimes called, mainly for use in cold weather conditions and four-wheel-drive country.

[Yshania]

Posted by Fable -

Refers to a "stick shift," a method of shifting in car engines between gears that preceded the automatic transmission. Car manufacturers still make "manuals" as they're sometimes called, mainly for use in cold weather conditions and four-wheel-drive country

I am not disagreeing here - I just thought to point out that the majority of UK cars are shift gear, and if you pass your test in an automatic you are not allowed to drive shift gear cars without a L plate and restrictions...

[Sailor Saturn]

Originally posted by fable:
<STRONG>Refers to a "stick shift," a method of shifting in car engines between gears that preceded the automatic transmission. Car manufacturers still make "manuals" as they're sometimes called, mainly for use in cold weather conditions and four-wheel-drive country.</STRONG>

A car with a manual transmission has a "Standard Transmission" and a car with an automatic has an "Automatic Transmission"(big surprise). Automatics are easier to drive, but a Standard is better in many ways, if you can drive'em. You can accelerate faster and get better gas mileage with standards. Which you get is a matter of preference. Sports cars often have standard because of the faster acceleration. Trucks and vans use them because a standard works better for pulling, I think. Our van, which was specifically designed for pulling trailers has a standard transmission.

[Yshania]

Posted by SS -

A car with a manual transmission has a "Standard Transmission" and a car with an automatic has an "Automatic Transmission"(big surprise). Automatics are easier to drive, but a Standard is better in many ways, if you can drive'em. You can accelerate faster and get better gas mileage with standards. Which you get is a matter of preference. Sports cars often have standard because of the faster acceleration. Trucks and vans use them because a standard works better for pulling, I think. Our van, which was specifically designed for pulling trailers has a standard transmission.

The problem with automatics is they reduce the gear ratio. If you have ever driven an automatic that allow 'sports gears' (these gears increase the gear ratio of an automatic car to enable higher revs before changing) you will notice a massive difference in fuel consumption.

If you are pulling trailers you might prefer a standard transmission to give you the torque necessary.

[Quark]

After reading the newspaper almost every, since my local gas reached its high point, I've never seen anything (even on TV) about national gas prices raising. Everything has mentioned national averages dropping throughout the majority of the summer.

So while your region might be raising, the majority are lowering. In fact, every time I saw an article mentioning gas prices, I saw that the national average was dropping faster than the average in my area. So my examples understate the change the nation has had.

Oh yeah, and don't even mention raising oil production in our country. If we raised oil production it would most likely be in Alaska or California. Here's the kicker:

Barely any Alaskan oil reaches the continental US. California's is limited too. It goes to Japan, where their restrictions (and transportation costs) allow for a much better profit to oil companies.

Raising oil production won't do anything for us, it will just make oil companies richer and the Japanese happier.

[Sailor Saturn]

Originally posted by Quark:
<STRONG>After reading the newspaper almost every, since my local gas reached its high point, I've never seen anything (even on TV) about national gas prices raising. Everything has mentioned national averages dropping throughout the majority of the summer.

So while your region might be raising, the majority are lowering. In fact, every time I saw an article mentioning gas prices, I saw that the national average was dropping faster than the average in my area. So my examples understate the change the nation has had.</STRONG>

Uh-huh, well, it's been on TV a lot about gas prices going up here in Arizona. Not that I watch TV, but occasionally I hear bits of information every so often walks past a room with a TV that's on.

Originally posted by Quark:
<STRONG>Oh yeah, and don't even mention raising oil production in our country. If we raised oil production it would most likely be in Alaska or California. Here's the kicker:

Barely any Alaskan oil reaches the continental US. California's is limited too. It goes to Japan, where their restrictions (and transportation costs) allow for a much better profit to oil companies.

Raising oil production won't do anything for us, it will just make oil companies richer and the Japanese happier.</STRONG>

I never mentioned increasing oil production in the US. What I said was to stop exporting our oil and use it ourselves instead of importing oil from places like the Middle East. I'd have to view the exact numbers to be sure, but I would bet that the amount of profit from the exports, after deducting the amount of extra money spent to import, is negligible.

Note: When it comes to profit made by the government, negligible is a larger number than what would be 'negligible' to any of us.

Do you now understand what I'm saying?

[Azeroth]

I think stick shifts are much better than automatics for reasons the SS mentioned above. My dad drove a logging truck for many years and I drove a transfer for a while and let me tell you that not anybody can just climb into one and know how to drive it. It takes a lot of skill, considering that there is a minimum of 9 gears but most have 13-18. The main problem with gas prices being high is that the truckers get screwed and when that happens the rest of us get screwed as well. The prices of food, clothing, and pretty much everything else goes up because the freight lines have to charge more etc etc.

[Gwalchmai]

Ah, yes. Learning to drive stick. Those were the days. I had learned to drive on Mom's automatic 63 Ford Station Wagon, but my Dad taught me stick at the same time. I was 16 years old, and he made me drive his old '60 Willys Jeep up Trail Ridge Road on a Saturday. I kept killing it 'cause I couldn't work the choke right. Then we come to this steep hair-pin turn and he says, "Okay, you're going to have to double clutch here..." I said, "Double what?" and killed it. Another car was coming down, and I started drifting back toward the cliff edge, trying to start the engine again....

However, except for Mom's car, I've never driven anything but sticks.

[Azeroth]

Mmmm....double clutching. Something about that makes me very happy. I love driving things that require skill. Mmmm....compression braking

[Sailor Saturn]

Originally posted by Gwalchmai:
<STRONG>Ah, yes. Learning to drive stick. Those were the days. I had learned to drive on Mom's automatic 63 Ford Station Wagon, but my Dad taught me stick at the same time. I was 16 years old, and he made me drive his old '60 Willys Jeep up Trail Ridge Road on a Saturday. I kept killing it 'cause I couldn't work the choke right. Then we come to this steep hair-pin turn and he says, "Okay, you're going to have to double clutch here..." I said, "Double what?" and killed it. Another car was coming down, and I started drifting back toward the cliff edge, trying to start the engine again....

However, except for Mom's car, I've never driven anything but sticks. </STRONG>

When I was learning how to drive, we had a '93 Mercury Topaz(automatic), '85 Dodge Ram Van(standard), and my '84 Pontiac Firebird(automatic). I learned how to drive the automatics, but not the standard because that van has a very hard to use standard, though if I managed to drive it, I'd be able to drive just about any standard transmission car. About 2 months after I got my license, while we were on vacation, we totalled the Topaz(I was not the driver! *whew*). We then got a '93 Baretta(standard). Because we then had 2 standards and 1 automatic, my parents made me learn how to drive a standard. I didn't have too much trouble in the Baretta(at least not in the higher gears, lower gears were a different matter ). However, when learning how to drive the van, I never did get it past 2nd gear. It's been about 2 years now and I still have never gotten that Van into 3rd gear. Luckily, it's probably going to fall apart any day now and I'll never have to drive it again.

[-Deke-]

..::: Ah my favorite topic. Fossil Fuels:::..

To cut this discussion short some figures:
Oil reserves with current rising consumption will last about 20 years *optimistic estimate*
Gas reserves will last about 90 years
Coal reserves : Well guys, lay off the black stuff. It's poison for the environment.

Adding to these figure the remark that I have not included the rising consumption in India and China, you'll realize that this discussion will last about 10 years before there is so little oil left that the prices will skyrocket.

I therefor must make a plea for fuelefficient cars that run on either gas or better yet, non-fossilfuels.. For more info check out [url="http://www.hubbertpeak.com"]Mr. Hubbert[/url]