Thanks for the reply. Better driving habits amount to better gas mileage. It’s a fact. Who am I to tell you how to live your life? If you don’t want to save a couple of bucks everytime you fill up, then by all means spend more money.

I don’t care if drilling occurs or not, and bringing patriotism into the discussion has nothing to do with my statement. I just don’t think we can count on the oil industry to bail us out and lower prices. You, apparently do. We’ll agree to disagree.

Anyway, everybody knows the automakers have engine designs for cars that get 150 miles per gallon that big oil has bribed them not to bring to market. It’s all a big plot to enrich capitalist pigs and punish the poor, minorities and women. Isn’t it obvious?

Racists!

That sounds retarded. An increase in how much utility/mileage you get from a gallon of gas is equivalent (pricewise, not including externalities like congestion and pollution) to a decrease in price. Sometimes you just need an economist around to say the obvious.

Second, put as many Democrats in the unemployment line as possible in November.

Third, change the Federal laws and regulations so that all vehicles can be made more fuel efficient. For those who don’t know there’s an EPA reg that scares businesses away from coming up with retrofit parts that would create more efficient engines, but the parts have to be certified by the EPA to last 100,000 to 150,000 miles besides doing the job intended, else huge fines and jail for the people involved.

Scott – Tell that to the drivers at The Brickyard.

Seriously? Tires rank above FUEL in the “Things needed to make a car move” list?

Regardless, this was just an inartful comment by Baracky, which serves to highlight the inherent racism of those that do not agree with him.

That has to factor into the decision of which one is smarter to use (if it is really a choice between one or the other).

The thing is, there really isn’t a choice.

I can have perfect tire pressure all the live-long day, and it won’t do me a damn bit of good if gas is too expensive to put in the tank.

Tires aren’t actually what makes the thing go.

You also want an economist. What is the price of the oil from ANWR, compared to what is the price of proper tire inflation. That has to factor into the decision of which one is smarter to use (if it is really a choice between one or the other). Of course, the price of oil might not factor in all the externalities, like environmental degradation from the extraction and use of the fossil fuel.

Without going back to the videotape, I can’t recite exactly what Obama said, but your quote in #19 seems about right. And the first time I did the arithmetic, 10 years of savings did about match ANWR. Dang, those misplaced decimal points!

“2.5%”–which might be 1% or might be 6%, I dunno–is worth talking about and expending some effort to achieve. But it isn’t “saving more oil than drilling will produce.”

rhodeymark,

I can, oh, I don’t know – question your patriotism?

Sure, have at it. (I think you’re joshing.) If that doesn’t work, call me a r-r-r-racist. Works for the hard-left bomb-throwers, every time. As far as inspiration/enforcement of the Tire Crusade, yeah, how far past the bully pulpit should we go? But I can think of some not-very-intrusive steps, e.g. air pressure checks at inspection and emission stations. It’s not as if motorists enjoy wasting gas and wearing out their tires.

DRJ,

Thanks for the link. So far, I don’t completely agree with the authors’ premises. But it’s more than a one-night quick read.