Now… if you have been keeping up, we have recently examined Obama’s proposed oil and alternative fuel policies and McCain’s policies, now it’s our turn to offer our opinion - or at least the opinion of me,  Brian Rogers.

While I’m not going to endorse a particular candidate, I will offer an opinion on who I believe is moving in the right direction…

Both candidates are offering very interesting strategies in dealing with the oil crisis, Obama is offering a long term solution and McCain is offering a short term solution and that is about the only clash between the two.  Which solution is better?  Unfortunately it is an either/or scenario, do you want to pay now or pay later?

It appears that while McClain is pandering to the oil companies, Obama is creating policies that have a foundation of unknowns.  We have to remember that the oil companies are one of the most powerful lobbyist groups in the politics, because they have the money, power, and influence.  Let’s think about it, if you were the owner of company and people were developing ways to put you out of business, would you like it?

In contrast, Obama’s platform has simply too many unanswered questions.  At least with McCain you know he is chasing after the oil and natural gas in the OCS.  With Obama you’re asking, well… what happens next?  If Obama’s plan doesn’t work, well… we just invested billions of dollars on a paper tiger.  I feel that if I had to choose today which policy is moving in the right direction, I would pick Obama- and that is only on the smallest of margins.

If I, Brian Rogers, were running for President I would start examining why we couldn’t do both.  Let’s begin to explore finding other sources of oil and create an effective long term strategy built upon expanding alternative fuel resources.  You heard it here first, in the next 1.5 years there will be a battery-less flashlight that offers a full recharge in less than 90 seconds, it can be recharged over 2 million times, last for over 2 hours, and is brighter than a regular flashlight.  Technology is just around the corner and we need to embrace the fact that we will get there, but how soon is the question. 

All things considered, both candidates are passing like two ships in the night in regards to competing energy policies, with very little clash.  Someone needs to tell either Obama or McCain before the presidential debates, when one candidate is talking about “I would do this or that”, the other candidate would simply say “you know…I think that is a great idea, I am going to do your idea and mine”.

Vote Brian Rogers for President “08 : )

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1. Inflate your Tires! Most of us don’t bother to get our tires air pressure checked out on our cars. But did you know that running on low air actually decreases gas mileage? Experts have shown that you can gain 3% increase in gas mileage just by inflating your tires to the correct levels. And the best news is, air is free whenever you buy gas at a gas station!
2. Change your oil filter now! If you are like me, you probably don’t get your oil filter changed when supposed to (every 3000 miles or 6 months). You might think that its saving you money, but its not in terms of gas - running low on oil reduces your gas mileage. In particular, make sure to look for the ‘energing conserving’ label on oil, and make sure its the correct type for your car. Putting the wrong one in can reduce your gas mileage by up to 2% percent.
3. Get your engine tuned up, especially every 30,000 miles. Doing this, according to mechanics, can increase your gas mileage by 4%. Plus, it also saves on wear and tear, and expensive break down repairs. And 4% increase in gas mileage a year saves you at least $100 based on $4 a gallon.
4. Rotate and align your tires. This is a fairly standard procedure that many of us don’t do anywhere near enough. Doing both of these to your tires, not only increases the life span of your tires (saving you money), but also increases your gas mileage by 3-4%.
5. Lastly, but providing you the most impact, get your air filter changed. Who ever thinks to get this done? Well, you should, because a good new air filter (like K&N filters) can increase your gas mileage by up to 10%. Thats the equivalent of saving 40 cents a gallon right now! I did this on my car last year, and noticed a big difference, plus you get the get the extra benefit of a few more horsepower. Vroom!

So try doing all these things to your car, and should be pleasantly surprised to see that your gas lasts longer in your car than usual! More tips coming soon!

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After taking a closer look in last weeks post at Barack Obama’s proposed oil and alternative energy policies, we now want to examine John McCain’s proposed initiatives on oil and natural gas, and therefore their impact on gas prices.  So without further adieu…

John McCain- While Barack Obama’s policies focus on decreasing American’s dependency on all oil, it appears that John McCain’s policies focus on reducing dependency on foreign oil.

• McCain wants to drill for oil on the Outer Continental Shelf (the area where the continent meets the deep ocean).  In addition to drilling in the OCS, McCain wants to begin using our own oil reserves.
• McCain also wants to start drilling for natural gas in the Outer Continental Shelf.  Where there is an estimated 419.9 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas.
• McCain supports the use of Flex-Fuel Vehicles. (Flex Fuel vehicles have the capability to use both Ethanol and Gasoline).
• While McCain has a lot of things he agrees or supports, he gives a very limited roadmap as to how he is going to accomplish his objectives and initiatives.

Will this work?  Since the majority of McCain’s policies (oil and natural gas) deal with the drilling in the OCS, that’s where we will spend the majority of our time. The question now becomes how much oil and natural gas are we talking about?  According to the Mineral Management Services (MMS), they estimate the total oil to be around 86 billion barrels and an estimated 420 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.  That’s a lot of oil, or is it?  Considering the United States consumes an average of 20.7 million barrels of oil a day, that’s enough oil to last about 11 years.

It is important to note that even though 86 billion barrels of oil is a lot only a fraction would actually be claimed.  This is mainly due to lack of oil rigs/ships, time of exploration, and many oil refineries would go online (actively pulling oil from the site).  In addition, McCain has recognized this as a short-term solution, so what happens after that?  Don’t get me wrong, I would love to see gas go back down to a more manageable $2.00 a gallon, but what happens after we exhaust all of our OSC reserves?

What do you think about McCain’s oil and natural gas plan?  Up next we will examine both policies and give you a nice opinion piece… yeah!

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As we explore issues relating to gas and oil prices, on a daily basis, we feel it is necessary to look to America’s future and where the Presidential Candidates stand on these very crucial issues. Let’s take a look at the oil related issues (therefore impacting gas prices), where they clash, and where there is cause for concern.  First up in this post, Obama’s oil and gas proposed policies…

• Obama wants to invest over 150 billion dollars over a 10 year period specifically for “…biofuels and fuel infrastructure, accelerate the commercialization of plug-in hybrids, promote development of commercial-scale renewable energy…”
  
• Obama wants to introduce Cellulosic Ethanol into our fuel consumption plan by 2013. (Cellulosic Ethanol is a biofuel made from grass, wood, and certain parts of plants).
  
• Obama wants to expand locally owned Biofuel refineries.
  
• Obama wants to increase the renewable fuel standard to 36 billion gallons by 2022 . (This simply means that more alternative fuels will be introduced into the fuel supply for consumption)

How will these policies work? While Obama’s plan is very specific, how feasible are these ideas though? Let me shed some light…

• First, with the increase and production of ethanol-based fuels, how much will it really offset our gasoline demand?  America currently uses over 130 billion gallons of gasoline and only produces slightly over 5 billion gallons of ethanol.  Unless we really increase the production of ethanol, we will only offset our gasoline dependency by 5-7%.  It also doesn’t take an economics major to figure out that when there is an increase in demand for corn and ethanol, the price goes up, affecting grocery and restaurant bills.
  
• Second, How much land do we need to set aside to generate this increase in ethanol product and how does the increase of pesticides?  It’s easy to understand that the increase of pesticides will hurt the environment, but where will this land come from?  Most farmable soil is designated to America’s other cash crops like soy, wheat, barley, tobacco, and cotton.  Do we decrease the production of these other crops to increase corn production?

As you can see there is no easy answer to decrease America’s dependency on oil, it will take a huge collective effort by the Congress and President to determine these oil initiatives.  In the next couple of days we will take a look at the oil and natural gas policies of Republican Presidential Candidate, John McCain.  How do you feel about Obama’s policies?

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How are we going to afford to dunk our oreos in milk now?  And just whats next to go up in price? Beer? Lets hope not…

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This is because over the past 10 months (or more) Iran has been producing Enriched Uranium - the stuff that makes nuclear bombs.  They have not denied it and in fact are very open in their production - and American and Israel is obviously not happy about this, and have made threats for them to stop this uranium production.

In recent response, the commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, Ali Mohammed Jafari, stated that if Iran were attacked by Israel or the United States, it would seal off the Strait of Hormuz, thereby wreaking havoc in oil markets. This statement followed other more ambiguous threats from Iran’s oil minister and other government officials that a Western attack on Iran would result in oil supply turmoil. Tehran also recently claimed that Tel Aviv would be set on fire if it attacked Iran. These guys aren’t exactly playing nice right?

If this attack happens, you can say goodbye to $4.50 gas - try paying $6.00 and higher.  Remember what is the single commodity that will bring America to it’s knees, that’s right -oil.  If you are getting nervous about paying $4.50 dollars per gallon right now, the war is the last thing you want to happen!  

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1. According to the United States Government hydrogen fuel cell cars will be ready for production by the year 2015.  Close to 600 million dollars has been spent on this ambitious project that started in 2004 and we are currently still in the researching the technology phase.
2. With the recent crazy high gas prices, many water related gimmicks have recently appeared in the marketplace that claim to increase your gas mileage.  Have you seen the one where you actually pour water in your gas tank?  Are you kidding me! We will actually be reviewing some of these pretty soon.
3. Many people must realize that this will not be a simple modification to your car, but rather you will have to buy a new type of production car.  This helps car companies get back some of their proits they are currently losing in the SUV market. No surprise there.
4. A total shift from gas to hydrogen is going to be bad for global stability.  There are tons of politics at work regarding alternative fuels like this, in fact if the middle east loses hundreds of millions of dollars from oil as a result of hydrogen, you will see more Sadam Hussein wannabes uprising around the world.

The reality is that while we are 10-15 years away from a hydrogen production car, beware of gimmicks like you are currently seeing, praying on the gullible gas saving wannabees.  But, don’t worry, the move to hydrogen is far more than a dream, it WILL become reality, and within your lifetime!

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Well there is a new online company called MyGallons.com that lets you do this very thing and claims to save you good money! So I thought I would check them out and offer my opinion on them…

So whats the scoop on this service that MyGallons offer? Well, basically you prepay online as much gas you want at today’s price by using their MyGallons gas card. Then when you go to any gas station, you use your gas card to pay for gas at the (hopefully cheaper) price you just locked in, no matter what the gas station charges, or how much gas prices have gone up. Therefore, the more gallons you buy at once, the more you save. Simple as that.

However, before you go jump all over this, there a few drawbacks. Firstly, there is a $29.95 per year membership fee. Which is fair enough I guess, as the company needs to make money from it somehow. But another kicker is that they charge you $1.95 each time you reload your card. So, unless you pay for hundreds of gallons of gas upfront, you probably won’t save too much. Even one of there examples is a little far fetched (see image to side) - if you were to pay for a full years gas in advance (15,000 miles worth), and your car does 20 miles per gallon, then you would save $530 for the year. But in this example, 15,000 gallons at $4 a gallon would cost you $3000. Who really has that kind of money lying around to spend on gas up front? There are way better ways to invest your money, like opening up a roth IRA.

Still, I guess if you have a gas guzzler SUV or truck, and drive a lot of miles a year, then MyGallons might be worthwhile. And its probably good for pessimists who think gas is going to up even more. And at least if gas prices go back down, you can get a refund on your gas purchase, and if you don’t save money on your gas fillups, then they will refund your membership fee too. Here is the full scoop on how this service works.

Overall rating from me: C+ Not as good as it sounds in theory, and it may catch people out with their fees, and relies on gas prices increasing further, but it offers great savings if you have a ford F-450 and do a lot of hauling!

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Yes, you can actually save considerable money over the course of a year if you don’t drive 75 miles an hour on the freeways, and drive 60 instead. Why? Because you get way worse gas mileage the faster you drive. Assuming you drive 15,000 miles a year, and gas prices stay at $4 (which it is over now), you stand to save around $250 a year. Even more if you usually drive 85! There are savings not to be sneezed at!

Another way of saving money by being more ‘grandma’ like at driving, is by not being so heavy on the gas or the brake pedal. Yes, its sometimes fun to try and out-accelerate someone in their fancy BMW at the stop light when they aren’t paying attention. And by tailgating, you are more likely to brake harder. Both being heavy on the gas and hard on the brake pedal, the environmental protection agency estimates you will reduce your cars efficiency by 5%. This works out to be a saving of around $75 a year (for 15,000 miles a year at $4 a gallon) - even more for higher performance cars!

So if you start doing both of these grandma driving habits, fair enough, you aren’t likely to impress that hot chick or cool guy, but you could save yourself around $325 a year - enough for a weekend trip away somewhere! And no, you don’t have to wear dentures either to start driving this :)

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Are you going to be purchasing a car within the next 6 months to a year?  Trying to save on gas? Not sure whether to buy a regular Honda Civic or a Honda Civic Hybrid? 

Or whether to choose an E85 truck (ethanol fueled - i.e. corn based) versus a regular F-150?  Being torn between choosing a hybrid, or ethanol, or regular gas car is a common occurence these days, and consumers will be asking more and more questions between these in the coming years.  Lets see if I can sort out the advantages and disadvantages of these two popular alternative fuel vehicles on roads near you…

1. E85 (ethanol fueled) - While one of the newest alternative fuels on the market, it’s really not your true alternative fuel vehicle.  E85 is a combination of Ethanol and Gasoline that has been available to the marketplace for a couple of years.  What makes these E85 fuel vehicles so popular is that the price of gas is around 30-40% cheaper than normal gas.  The problem however is the availability of gas stations that carry this rare fuel.  Consumers need to understand that while E85 is cheaper than gas it may require driving to gas stations that are located over 100 miles away.  If you find a gas station that carries E85, it may drastical help improve your finances. Also, there are fewer models of car equipped with ethanol engines in comparison to hybrid cars.
2. Hybrids (electricty/gas powered) - The most popular alternative fuel vehicle on the road is easily the Hybrid.  They come in many different versions, sizes, prices, and colors.  Hybrids allow the consumer many different options if saving gas is the main objective.  While Hybrids seem very sensible to the average consumer, how much do they really save gas over regular cars.  As mentioned in a previous post, your average strickly gas civic will get similar results and there is where you find the problem with Hybrids.  Don’t be fooled, due to excellent marketing campaigns, car manufacturers are cashing in on the popularity of the hybrid by increasing the prices of popular hybrid vehicle models (sometimes over 2 or 3 thousand more than the equavalent non-hybrid version) while promising an average of 5-8 miles per gallon savings.  Ask yourself, how much money do you save at the pump, when you by a Chevrolet Tahoe versus it’s gas only version? You are going to be spending at least $15,000 more on the hybrid version - thats a lot of cheaper gas driving you will have to do to make up for the higher initial price! I rest my case.

Which fuel would you choose? Would love to hear all your thoughts!

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