Smoke and Mirrors

Here's another juicy bit of news from Bloomberg that goes against everything that malorn has been saying.

Passenger cars sales UP... SUVs, minivans, pickups DOWN... for Toyota. If Toyota is really in some kind of huge conspiracy plot to kill America through their trucks, then they're not doing very well because sales are down.

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=1...bboQ&refer=home

 

I don't. At least with respect to the portion of his post I quoted. What is inherently wrong with the concept of "suburbia", driving large vehicles that consume "cheap" gas, etc.? So what's the alternative? We should all be forced to live cheery little communal lives close to where we work, pass by the same people everyday, get that nice little "neighborhood" feel going, drive "defensively" while everyone obeys the speed limit? Nice, but it sure isn't for everyone.

I used the term "crackpot-ish" because it comes across more radical than rational. But I suppose we're all entitled to our opinion, so goes the status-quo...

As for debt and deficits, I always find those discussions hilarious. Attempting to assign future values (or lackthereof) against an ever-changing political background is effectively nonsensical, why do you think the government uses the "cash" accounting methodology? What does it really mean to be in debt when the scale is large enough?

 

:lol:

True that. Would have been fun to ask him that question LIVE....

 

Bull and S***

Oh God, do you REALLY believe that? You probably also figure that the giant Merger Mania oil companies, the auto companies, OPEC, etc, all have our very best interest at heart.

It's all about Buy Low and Sell High. That's actually the Eleventh Commandment in case you didn't know.

 

Congratulations! You just received record applause and laughter on the office Laugh-O-Meter!

Have to remember that one ...

 

He stated he was getting depressed last night as he was leaving PC, so I thought I would remind him so he wouldn't skip a dose by accident.

 

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

I'm beginning to like this guy...

Dude, check out the forum in my sig., YOU might get a kick out of it, so far, it's just amongst friends, and not the most active, but the array of subject matter tends to be far from typical...

h34r:

 

I do have to give you a credit for consuming my time, but before my memories of you fade away can I ask you a question?
Since you dared to ask about my profession, what's your p***s size?

 

Though communal approach is extreme in this case, what Jayman is saying is essentially correct. Cheap fuel has caused excess of many things. Why the 50-100 miles commute?...so that we can afford larger homes and have more toys? And with that commute, we need bigger comfy vehicles so that we can be as comfortable as possible for our 2 hour per day commute.

I just see waste everywhere...waste of fuel, natural resources, time, and family values. Yes, you read that right. Imagine how much enhanced a childs life would be when their parents are home for 1 or more hours per day.

Now, mind you, long commutes may be necessary in extreme cases (long-haul drivers) but long commutes in general, were never, ever there before.

I know this flew off-topic a bit, but it ties in with the rest. Alternatives?...plenty. We seek alternatives without changing our lifestyle, one that was built and maintained by cheap fuel. The alternatives, for beginners, is to change our lifestyle...away from gluttonous wastefullness. We seek outside change rather than looking at ourselves. It is this generation's mentality. We don't want to sacrifice anything so that others will have to.

Okay, sorry 'bout that - now back to the topic at hand....what was it?...oh, that's right: Toyota is taking over the world and is picking on poor Ford, GM & Dodge.

Me thinks this thread was started because the troll could no longer afford to feed his fuel pigs, was upside down on the value, and then got rejected by Toyota for credit to buy a Prius because he was maxed out on credit cards (used to fill up those fuel pigs).....now he is angry at everyone but himself.

 

Is that before you bought your 2005 Chevy Colorado Crew Cab or after?

 

With all due respect, that attitude has brought us scorn from the rest of the world. We North Americans make up a fraction of the global population but consume most of the global resources.

What's really funny (Not ha-ha but ironic) is that we can make a lot of noise about "human rights" but just as easily support crackpot third world dictators, brutal regimes, etc, when convenient to our way of life. In other words, we're hypocrites but that’s okey-pokey as long as the “cheap†oil keeps flowing.

The big problem – and we never seem to learn from our mistakes – is that you can NOT depend on crackpot third world dictators and brutal regimes. These folks are NOT stable by any definition.

They send us cheap oil, we conveniently look the other way if woman and children are raped. They keep sending us more cheap oil, we conveniently look the other way if a certain noisy indigenous people are nerve gassed. With more cheap oil, and now TWO large SUV’s in the driveway (Upward mobility??) we can even conveniently ignore the invasion of another country and many deaths.

But once the crackpot third world dictator or brutal regime “crosses the line†say cut the flow of “cheap†oil 10% while raising prices 100%, fire up the bombers and teach them a “lesson.â€

Once our society clings to an "entitlement" mindset, we can only expect other nations to resent us even more. To a certain point, it's just sticks and stones and we still have the nukes. Trouble is, China also has nukes.

Actually Canada is far more guilty of energy over consumption than the United States, at least on a per capita basis. Canadians use twice the energy than Europeans, per capita. True enough that there is still oil in Alberta, and apparently plenty of oil off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. IOW Canada is energy self-sufficient and not dependent on third world dictators and brutal regimes.

There are also HUGE deposits in the Tar Sands of Alberta, though unfortunately most of the rights to those Tar Sands were recently sold to a Chinese oil company. Let’s pretend for the sake of argument that didn’t happen and Canadian taxpayers still owned the tar sands.

First of all, Canadian energy - with the exception of hydroelectricity from Manitoba Hydro – is NOT cheap. In places like Qatar and Iraq and Venezuela you can expect crude out-of-ground under $4 a barrel. The rest is pure markup.

Grand Banks crude, say from the Hibernia Field, is more like $40 a barrel. Tar Sands after processing is more like $55 a barrel. Until recently these projects were perennial money losers and needed generous support from the Canadian taxpayer.

As you may also be aware, a lot of natural gas flows from Alberta and Saskatchewan into the United States. That is rather important in winter.

Recently the political leaders in both countries have engaged in heated debates and a war of words, with some trade retaliation a result. For example, the Softwood Lumber issue and protectionist policy of the United States, even though the WTO ruled in favor of Canada on that one.

Another example is the protectionist attitude over Canadian beef, and more recently the requirement for cross-border shoppers and tourists to soon need a passport.

As long as the trade retaliation doesn’t hurt the Liberal Government power base in the Greater Toronto Area (Primarily car production, finished durable goods, services, etc) then the Martin Liberal government has no problem with sacrificing Canadian farmers and the Canadian oil industry.

But there is increased grumbling in Western provinces, and even talk of “temporary†supply disruptions. This will naturally increase animosity between the two countries, especially given how 85% of Canadian exports go to the United States.

But Canadian energy exports are vital to the American economy. What if the province of Alberta decides to slap energy export tariffs on oil, or if Manitoba Hydro should happen to double the price per MWH?

The problem with that sense of entitlement is that after awhile, other countries look upon you as a loud mouthed bully. Sooner or later, the bully gets knocked down.

 

Hey, I agree on all points. I'm just big on personal choice, you can't please everyone, and people's actions you don't agree with will always in some way, have an effect upon you, and vice-versa. I just get really fired up when people start trying to impose their "way" upon others, the it's this way or your an idiot philosophy...