Falling gas prices may open opportunities for ants
You may already know the story of the ant and the grasshopper. While the summertime of low gas prices reigned, grasshoppers went out and bought SUVs, convinced that the warm season was here to stay. They laughed at ants in their hybrids and on their bicycles. "Silly ants", they said, "However do they manage to drive all their kids to school or haul their boats?" Eventually the days got shorter and the warm breeze that blew as soft as a Gas Co. jingle turned into a cold draft that seemed to suck the money from their bank accounts. The gas that had once flowed so freely had become very, very expensive. Suddenly, grasshoppers couldn't afford to drive anywhere and the behemoths they once adored became devalued and many became trapped!
Luckily for the grasshoppers who survived, a Spring thaw seems to be occurring. The price of oil is half of what it was a short time ago and gasoline is slowly following suit. Some grasshoppers have even forgotten their frostbitten feet and are buying new pickups and SUVs. This seasonal phenomenon may good for those grasshoppers willing to adopt an ant mind set. If you have a gas guzzler in your driveway that you recently couldn't give away, now may be the time to unload it on someone who prefers not to consider that gas prices will rise again, the earth is still warming from too much CO2 and gas guzzlers negatively impact the health of others. Now, you can go out and buy some reasonable transportation or stash that cash somewhere and begin saving for one of those gas-free electric cars coming out in the next couple of years. It may seem like it's Summer right now but there is no doubt Winter is sure to return. It is best to prepare for the days of necessity.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
mike baz 12:05AM (10/22/2008)
Chart the price of gas and election periods in history. Gas drops around election time, especially if the incumbent president is republican. Cue x-files music.
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Chris M 6:52PM (10/23/2008)
I was going to point that out, but you beat me to it!
Of course, those charts also show that the price goes up shortly after the election is over...
Enjoy the lower prices while you can, they won't last long!
Noz 2:48AM (10/22/2008)
If people had any conscience at all, they wouldn't sell their SUVs, they'd write them off and have them recycled. It does no one any good to sell these pieces of crap and then buy a hybrid...they have to be taken out of the system.
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demosthenes 3:00AM (10/22/2008)
Just so we are clear, are SUVs evil or the amount of gas they burn?
Am I going to have to worry about some jackass trying to burn my EV Jeep (assuming it is ever made, or make a custom rig) in the future because it is an SUV?
miko 9:07AM (10/22/2008)
Isn't reuse better then recycling? What if that used SUV was sold to someone who actually needed it (like a large family) so that they wouldn't have to go buy a new one? Are we all bastards to allow an existing SUV to actually be useful to someone else? One positive of the gas/economic stress is that it's weeded out those that bought for image rather then need. Don't shoot those of us that actually have a need.
Locke 10:05AM (10/22/2008)
Demosthenes,
It depends on whether the SUV is a tool for your job and/or family -- or whether you own it to compensate for your "tool". Also, it depends on whether you drive like you own the road.
I've had my share of only-drivers in SUVs bear down on me while I'm riding a motorcycle or a bicycle in a way that makes them seem like they think they're entitled to put me in danger, while burning a ton of gas for absolutely no reason. I'd love to trade places with that guy for a few minutes so that that driver would understand the externalizes of his actions -- but then I'd have get off of my zippy little 2-wheel machine and get into a Cage.
Noz 12:38PM (10/22/2008)
miko & Demosthenes:
If you guys use SUV's for what they were really intended for, that's great. But you are in the 0.01% category of users. Let's be honest, most people who have them are idiots who don't need them. The only reason why they bought them is to make themselves feel better and satisfy their pathetic non-existent egos.
There are lot of people who really need help out there....and they resort to stuff like this to satisfy their psychological issues.
We can also take it even further and say that even people with families don't really need them either. I mean if the rest of the world can do without them, what makes our families so special? Why do we need to drive around in a makeshift living room when it's a form of transportation and nothing else?
miko is right...this whole fuel rise issue weeded out the idiots...not fully but it will get there.
And any self-respecting person would be educated enough to respect an EV Jeep and your choice to buy that instead of a regular car.
It's interesting...I can't even bring myself to replace my Focus with a Honda Fit...why? Because it's still a regular car...a car that has to idle at stop lights, that still burns fuel off the line...I feel guilty.
JamesWB 1:41PM (10/22/2008)
Noz, most of the world can make do without clean water, should we feel guilty for having that?
I'd love to come to your house and take away all your possessions that are non essential.
Noz 1:18PM (10/23/2008)
JAMESWB:
I honestly didn't think anyone could be such a big idiot but here you are....
Most of the world can do without clean water? OK...then let's start with you...drink your water out of your toilet. Let me know how it goes.
Take away my possessions..I don't have much. I don't own much. Seems like I hit a nerve with you. Perhaps you're one of those douchebags who have the McMansion, think you are your family are self-righteous, and think you have the right to do whatever you want, take whatever you want, from whereever you want?
Let's hope you don't have kids..idiots like you don't leave them much to look forward to.
Peter James 3:59AM (10/22/2008)
Wow that's great, you connect nice combination between ants and gas prices. ==>Semi trucks for sale
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ryan 9:01AM (10/22/2008)
Great post. I love the story of the ant and the grasshopper.
It is too bad that us ants have to help out the idiot grasshoppers in the end though....
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GoodCheer 9:29AM (10/22/2008)
You mean the $25 Billion that we ants are paying to Detroit for "retooling" to build more efficient cars?
Yeah, I'm pretty steamed about that too.
tankd0g 11:37AM (10/22/2008)
Yes, the best way to reduce CO2 is to pawn your car off on someone else and order up another one....
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Cellien 12:01PM (10/22/2008)
Seems to me the grasshoppers are benefiting right now with the ability to spend less on gas, OR sell their guzzler. The ants benefited during the high gas prices.
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Bill 12:37PM (10/22/2008)
And conversely, now is the time to get that 100 MPG, 150cc scooter. There were 3 month waiting lists a couple months ago and you had to pay top dollar. Now that cooler weather is here and gas prices have fallen, you can pick one up on craigslist pretty reasonably.
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Rob 1:45PM (10/24/2008)
WIth all oif the ink about how oil is suddenly half of what it was, they seem to forget that it ran up to such a high price in only one year. i.e., oil is finally coming back towards where it should have been all along before speculation, etc took over.
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