Re: Don't buy GAS {slightly rocco related}

[Andrew Holmes <aholmes@chubb.com>]

Gas taxation works the same way but of all the tax taken for vehicle use
only about 20% goes into highway/road maintenance and other items for
the motor vehicle.I don't know where the rest of it goes but proping up
the national debt and the Social Security come immediately to mind.
But even at 20% we have some of the worst surfaced roads in Europe and
when i am driving i am constantly avoiding holes, badly fitting drain
covers and poor repairs to the point where some of my local asphalt
roads are a no-no for my Rocco unless i wish to a) headbutt the roof a
lot or b) replace my suspension every 18 months (thats how long the last
set of Koni shocks lasted)

Altenative fuels are great but at the moment they are very limited over
here (I don't know of any alternative fuel filling stations in London -
(i may well be corrected) for the 7million odd people living in the
area.
Also would you want to be on a Hydrogen powered bus in an accident
(Pictures of the Hindenburg Airship in the 30's come to mind)

But the car is king for covienience - over here trains stop running at
1am and the buses are infrequent at best throughout the night. Our
public transport system has something of a bad joke image and people
just don't like using it unless they have to.

At the moment there is no real viable alternative to the car and thus we
have to pay.

Andy

P.S For natural gas see my arse :-)

Mark Mages wrote:

> OK - I'm having way too much fun playing the Devil's
> Advocate here...
>
> I'm not sure how gasoline taxation works across the
> pond, but here (theoretically) the taxes go to highway
> maintenance.  Don't like gas taxes?  Yah it's a lot,
> but you need roads to drive on...
>
> power - hydro-electric, nuclear (yah, I know)
> Mass Transit - electrical (subway) or  Hydrogen
> powered - some cities already have hydrogen powered
> busses, the only emission they give off is in the form
> of distilled water... saw some news clip with a mayor
> drinking a glass of the bus' exhaust :)
>
> As far as the comfort & convenience, well, there are a
> whole lot of societal issues that have to be rectified
> before anyone can feel safe riding a mass-transit
> system.
>
> And on another note - I know the rocco is a
> "performance" vehicle, but has anyone looked into
> natural gas conversions for any vehicle?  In Austin,
> TX the city will pay to convert your engine to natural
> gas consupmtion, plus you will get a tax break for
> driving an "alternatively fueled" vehicle.
>
> Yah, I know we are captive, but we are the only people
> that can change that.
>
> --- Andrew Holmes <aholmes@chubb.com> wrote:
> > According to todays Financial Times (14th April)
> > Unleaded Gasoline is being traded on the world
> > markets at 52.25cents a US gallon or $161-165 a
> > tonne and Crude Oil (NYMEX) at $16.72 a
> > barrel (Don't know how many gallons to barrel).
> >
> > 95Ron unleaded at the pump is approx 71p ($1.13) a
> > litre and 98Ron is 84p ($1.34) a litre in the UK
> > giving imperial gallon prices (dont know the
> > conversion to US gallons) of roughly
> > $5.13 and $6.08 respectively.
> >
> > Spare a thought for me as my Rocco requires 98Ron
> > super unleaded to run properly unless i wish to
> > spend between Ł250-Ł500($400-$800) on a proper
> > conversion to run 95Ron (without losing
> > 30-40hp)
> > The average cost of filling my tank is Ł35 ($56) of
> > which between 80-85% goes to taxman.
> >
> > Perhaps we should all have electric vehicles but
> > where does the power for these come from. Power
> > Stations is your answer but i reckon they use as
> > much fossil fuel and pollute by volume
> > of fuel used just as much as the car but
> > enviromentalists never seem to mention this. What
> > about public transport but the same propulsion
> > problems are there so the answer has to be
> > increasing effcient propulsion systems (such as the
> > 100mpg engine that VW and others are working
> > on).However until there are viable, reliable and
> > easy alternatives that go from your door
> > to your destination in comfort, safety and quickly
> > whenever you want which also guarantee you a seat,
> > allow you to listen to your own music (at whatever
> > volume), have personal
> > heating/cooling controls and importantly to me allow
> > me to have a cigarette the car will dominate.
> >
> > At the end of the day we're a captive market because
> > without gas we ain't going anywhere fast.
> >
> > Andy
> >
> > Mark Mages wrote:
> >
> > > Yeah - and let's start dumping toxic waste in the
> > > water just to piss them off!
> > >
> > > You know that's why they put flouride in the water
> > > supply don't you?  It decreases personal
> > willpower.
> > >
> > > Seriously tho, you don't think that a 70 year old
> > > technology could stand some revamping?  How many
> > steam
> > > locomotives do you still see running around?  I
> > mean,
> > > for the last 15 years we have known that our
> > pollution
> > > was REALLY screwing up the planet yet what have we
> > > done to try and cut that down?  We have started
> > the
> > > SUV craze.
> > >
> > > You don't think urban growth has been adversely
> > > affected?  I have to spend 30 minutes driving 5
> > miles
> > > in to work in the morning.  The inner-cities have
> > > become unsafe places to live because as soon as
> > people
> > > could afford cars they moved into the suburbs,
> > leaving
> > > the cities to rot from the inside out.
> > >
> > > You don't think air-quality has been affected?
> > The
> > > last time I saw a sun-set that wasn;t brown I had
> > to
> > > drive over 1000 miles to get there.  Oh, but let's
> > all
> > > blame the smokers for the massive increase in lung
> > > cancer rates... it couldn't be our cars causing
> > that!
> > > It must be the person that was smoking 10ft away
> > from
> > > me in the bar...
> > >
> > > God forbid people start riding bicycles to work -
> > what
> > > are they thinking using the most cost & energy
> > > efficient form of transportation available today?
> > > I'll just run them down & then say that they
> > jumped in
> > > front of my car.. .and I'll win.
> > >
> > > And those damn recycled products... Hey - we
> > should
> > > just start dumping all our trash in the national
> > > parks.. I mean, what a waste of land - just set
> > aside
> > > for people to enjoy when they want to escape the
> > > hell-holes that we have created to live in.
> > Christ,
> > > that's prime dumping ground if you ask me!  We
> > shoud
> > > strip mine it all before we start duming though,
> > so we
> > > have enough raw materials to last us another 10
> > years.
> > >
> > > I mean, I know this is a car-oriented group (90%
> > of
> > > the time) but you, I must say, at the risk of
> > being
> > > thoroughly flamed, are totally nuts.
> > >
> > > Mark
> > > 87 Westy
> > > 84 8v Rocco
> > > 98 Rockhopper
> > >
> > > Damn liberal bastards... I'm gonna go fry me up a
> > > spotted owl for dinner... extra crispy
> > >
> > > --- McReynolds <sigmac@portland.quik.com> wrote:
> > > > Colleagues of your "anti-car bastards" are doing
> > > > their best here, too.
> > > > They cry about how the automobile has ruined
> > > > landscapes and cityscapes, how
> > > > the evil auto has adversely affected urban
> > growth in
> > > > America and lessened
> > > > air quality.  They seem to forget how much the
> > > > automobile has increased our
> > > > productivity in the last 70 years, opened so
> > many
> > > > doors of opportunity for
> > > > us, as well as contributed to our sense of
> > > > independence, which we have
> > > > treasured so much in the US.  But here lies the
> > very
> > > > root of the issue:
> > > > socialistic, environmentalist policy-makers do
> > not
> > > > wish to see our
> > > > independence continue to flourish.  They'd
> > rather
> > > > see us huddled together
> > > > in our quaint, well-planned cities, accepting
> > what
> > > > is handed us, getting
> > > > about on our bicycles, and using more costly
> > > > "recycled" products.  In
> > > > short, a society of people much easier to
> > contain,
> > > > in the end.
> > > >
> > > > So, I cringe when I hear folks making statements
> > > > about how petroleum
> > > > product prices should be raised to lessen their
> > use.
> > > >  My face turns red
> > > > with anger when I hear liberal statements about
> > > > marketing electric cars,
> > > > mandating even stricter emissions' controls or
> > > > improving suburban transit
> > > > (i.e., making it the only practical mode of
> > > > transportation).  There are
> > > > some who would make us feel bad for using any
> > > > resources whatsoever.
> > > > Resources were put here for us to use, albeit
> > > > wisely.  We should not be
> > > > made to feel guilty about it, nor should their
> > use
> > > > be restricted to the
> > > > point where none of us benefits from them.  So
> > what
> > > > is next?  If we are not
> > > > considering only what is good for the
> > environment,
> > > > will we be the black
> > > > sheep?  And later, will we be made to feel bad
> > about
> > > > our very independence?
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Well, I won't.  This whole discussion makes me
> > want
> > > > to get into my car, and
> > > > go for a drive.  I want to feel the wind in my
> > hair,
> > > > the pulsing of pistons
> > > > at my breast, and watch the scenery wash by me
> > as if
> > > > time has stood still
> > > > and I'm the only thing going forward.
> > > >
> > > > That is a freedom only a driver can know, a
> > freedom
> > > > incarnate.  Quite
> >
> === message truncated ===
>
> ===
> Mark
>
> 87 Westfalia Gl
> 84 Scirocco 8v
>
> http://members.tripod.com/~jehanno
>
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