Thanks, Malaki, for attempting to give a serious answer. But, I still have questions. (1) where is your quote from? I don't have my "scientific calculator" anymore, so I can't check the facts, but they don't sound right. But, that's not really important. What you DID say, was that

"So the slower the better, as long as the vehicles is going fast enough so top gear can work."

And THIS is my problem. The top gear CAN'T work! So, the rpm's don't drop to the lower level that they are at when it DOES.

Besides, with today's sleeker cab design, I would think that wind resistance is of a minimal factor within a 10 mph window. Not the SAME for say, a Pete with a midroof and no spoiler.

But, I understand the theory of wind resistance. When I'm out west, and the wind is howling, I often slow down about 5-10 mph because it seems that the wind by itself doesn't "rock" the truck as much as if I'm ALSO forcing myself through it at a faster speed!

I didn't include wind resistance in my original question, because I believe it is a "nominal" factor at the speed I travel. Nevertheless, I understand it is a contributing factor. Thanks again for your input!

45 mph is just BARELY above having to downshift to 8th gear. I can't say that would require MORE rpm's because they are still limited! But, from 45 to 60, I'm in 9th gear at the top limit of my rpm's. When I get above 60, I MUST shift to 10th, at which point the rpm's drop. Problem is, there's no GUTS left in the truck to "pull away" from there if on a grade. So, back I go to 9th! ( My truck will NOT keep moving at 45-50 mph in 10th gear! It will choke out and die!)

At 45 mph OR 60, I'm turning 1800 rpm's in 9th. At 65 or more, I'm turning 1500 in 10th. So, again, how am I saving fuel at a slower speed, taking LONGER to cover the same distance at a higher RPM?

Sorry, Fozzy, but this makes no sense. It might take more fuel to overcome wind resistance to maintain the same Miles Per Hour, (which would "normally" require a higher RPM) but NOT the same RPM. RPM is a constant!

I understand what you are saying about gearing HIGH and running slower. Our trucks WERE geared high. The higher the gearing, the less RPM's necessary to maintain a certain speed.

But, by "rev limiting" them, the boss has forced us to run a LOWER gear, which requires HIGHER RPM's.

And as for "rolling resistance," I understand this, too. But, again, I USED to could overcome this by rolling at a higher speed at a lower RPM. Now, I have to use a higher RPM to overcome this "rolling resistance."

I may not know much, but I know that rolling resistance diminishes with speed. It's a factor of the law of inertia. Just like lower tire inflation increases resistance.

I suppose that, all things being equal, driving slower SHOULD reduce fuel consumption, because the government TELLS me so.... but, IF (as in my case) it requires a lower gear and a HIGHER RPM, is cannot possibly save fuel, which is burned off with EVERY revolution of the engine! (regardless of the mph attained.)

Now, when the wind blows strong against me, my MPH decreases, but I'm turning the SAME RPM. So yes, I'm using more fuel. But, when the wind is not a major factor, I can shift to a higher gear, run MORE miles per hour, at a lower RPM (due to higher gearing.) Now THAT is saving fuel!

And, by the same token (logic,) IF I can run in 10th gear at the SAME RPM at 75 miles covered in one hour, vesus 65 miles covered in the same hour (and same rpm,) I have saved 10 miles worth of fuel!

Whoever started this "slow down to save fuel" bullcrap, MUST have had the Illusion that higher speeds require higher RPM's! It's JUST not SO!

MAYBE, it applies to 4wheelers, but it doesn't seem to apply to my TRUCK! And fuel is burned at a constant rate based on REVOLUTIONS per minute!

Can anyone prove otherwise?

Are you on drugs? Or just grabbing at straws to validate the policies of J.B Hunt?

Driving slower..... getting there later, covering the SAME number of miles, and spending MORE time on the road burning fuel!

At a HIGHER rpm..... more revolutions and burning of fuel, for a LONGER period of time to cover the SAME distance.

Let's see... If I have a gallon of gas, and I burn it off FASTER, and take longer to get to my destination, I'm gonna have NO problems??? :shock:

You ever run out of gas mowing your lawn? If so, you should have pushed the mower faster! The RPM's are the SAME!! The only difference is the amount of yard you covered!

With THAT avatar, Shyykatt, I'd pick you anytime! But, MY luck, I'd get a J.B. HUNT mare, broke down and slow! :lol:

No "minivans?" What do you think the "surrey with the fringe on top" was?? :P

Unfortunately, minivans, 4wheelers, buses and OTHER slow vehicles have been clogging the roadways since there WERE roadways!!

And things got worse when we started allowing WOMEN to have driver's licenses!! :shock: :shock: :lol:

Re: Dont Buy Fuel on the 15th !!!!!
 

On the 15th lol..That won't be hard to remember that's my birthday Sweet. something exciting is happening Lol. =P

:lol: :lol: :lol: All funny, except for that last statement :P :lol:

Awww.... but who ELSE could I say that to? Just checkin' your pulse! :lol:

I found the quote for the wind resistance through a Yahoo search for: "wind resistance" speed "fuel economy"

It came up with 11,700 hits and with almost every single one of them being the same answer I posted a quote from one of them.

Are you on drugs? Or just grabbing at straws to validate the policies of J.B Hunt?

Why.. I don't work for them, but they are smarter than most fleets on fuel economy and do not allow their drivers to cut their own throats by whizzing away fuel needlessly.

Driving slower..... getting there later, covering the SAME number of miles, and spending MORE time on the road burning fuel!

Obviously this is tough concept for you.. sorry

At a HIGHER rpm..... more revolutions and burning of fuel, for a LONGER period of time to cover the SAME distance.

And as the wind and rolling resistance goes up (rapidly) all of this takes more fuel to get the rpm up to the level and KEEP it at that level.

Let's see... If I have a gallon of gas, and I burn it off FASTER, and take longer to get to my destination, I'm gonna have NO problems??? :shock:

Keep flappin! it ain't gonna fly!

You ever run out of gas mowing your lawn? If so, you should have pushed the mower faster! The RPM's are the SAME!! The only difference is the amount of yard you covered!

What is the wind resistance on a lawnmower? IF you tried to push the same lawnmower into a headwind of 75 mph, would you use more or less of YOUR energy doing so? This isn't a lawnmower! Try this.. go out and idle your truck at 1500 for an hour and then run down the highway at 1500 for an hour and see which burns more fuel... according to you there would be no difference, if there is a difference.. why?

Oddly though, I hafta agree :oops: I, myself, do not put on make-up, comb my hair and gab on the cell while I'm driving- annoying the #@*$ outta everyone behind me :shock: :lol: :lol:

I feel for you brother. I know its much easier for you to attack others and blame others for your problems than look deep inside yourself for the solution.
My CEO makes millions, I have no problem with that. I know that the more my CEO makes the more I make.
Being that I live in this area, I know plenty of people who work for walmart and they are quite happy with their pay. In fact one of my best friends and neighbors is a VP over at walmart corporate. He started there at an entry level position after college about 12 years ago and WORKED HIS WAY UP. No ones pay is capped, YOU ARE ALWAYS FREE TO WORK HARDER, GET PROMOTED AND EARN MORE PAY. It seems people like you think you are owed a raise without earning.
Hell, I can even use our company (JB Hunt) as an example. Our President of the company, Kirk Thompson, started out working here as an hourly employee in accounting. Yes, he makes millions now. Do you know why? BECAUSE HE EARNED IT WITH HARD WORK. We have quite a few VPs here in corporate who started out working here as drivers. So spare me the working man ethics crap. The CEOs are the epitomy of the working man. They started out in the work force just like everyone else....THEY JUST WORKED HARDER.
Look dude, I actually started out in this thread trying to help you a bit. Making suggestions on how you can better your income. However, for some reason you want to make excuses and pass the blame to everyone from the President to Walmart. Im sure if you call Al Gore, he can help you blame global warming for your financial situation. And the fact that you refuse to even do something as simple as ebay to make extra money tells me you are just lazy. Sorry, I just dont feel sorry for you. In the time it took you to respond to all these posts, my 13 year old kid could have earned 200 bucks. Pretty sad, dude.

Okay, thanks, Malaki. I'll look at it again.

BS that no ones pay at Wal-Mart is capped they have put in PAY CAPS for LONG TERM FULL TIME ASSOC. I am talking people in the stores that have been there over 10+ years the people that really know the stores and how to make them run. I was there when that happened you freaking idiot. My store alone had 50+ assoc. get hit by that and they all WALKED OUT THE DOOR THE SAME DAY AND QUIT then all of a sudden we were short 50 people. Then we had to replace all of them at once yes it will make that stores bottom line look good but the ones left had to cover the areas those people had then also cover our own. You try covering 1/2 of a 140,000 square foot store on your own with around 8 departments.

Your so called conservative buddies did this so they could improve their stock folders 2 bucks never mind the fact it will force about 300K people who know the most about the comapny to find another job.

Sure....if you arent a good enough employee to get promoted, your pay will stay stagnant. However, whose fault is that if you cant get promoted? Most GMs at walmart started at the bottom and worked their way up. Sorry, not everyone has the work ethic to be promoted. In fact the GM at our local walmart I know pretty well. He is a 25 year old young man who started at walmart pushing shopping carts. In the time it takes most people to go to a good college and graduate school, he chose to work hard in retail and make something of himself. He is now a young man making 6 figures with no college education.
Man, you have been using every excuse in the book and blaming everyone. I can tell you that I have worked in many managerial positions and personally, I dont think I would promote or give someone like you a raise. You seem to be a complainer and you dont know anything about personal responsibility.

Maybe when Sam Walton ran the company that was the case. At my store the Store Manager had been with the company a TOTAL TIME OF 4 YEARS. He was hired right out of school to be an asst manager. The rest of his underling were all what we called 90 day wonders all of them had LESS THAN 1 YEAR with Wal-Mart. Now of course the Dept Managers had worked their way up but half of them quit when they had their pay capped since they are paid by the hour and were not paid salary. The closing Asst Manager did not even know how to MIX PAINT UP what does that tell you about the quality of help that was being hired to run the store I was at. Here is why I am no longer at Wal-Mart and the EEOC is handling the case for me the store was being upgraded to a supercenter and the HR Manager pulled me off the schedule and did not tell me why next thing I now is I am told you are on a medical leave and have until this date to get all the paperwork to come back in. I did that and they REFUSED to accept it yet my copy I turned into the EEOC was fine there are 3 one for the doctor one for the store and one for me.

You keep saying that if you are not a good enough employee to get promoted then your pay will get stagnant. Well that does not seem to apply to CEO's of companies that send them to BANKRUPCY or drive the stock price down 25% or can not meet Wall ST expectations. See Kennath Lay of ENRON or Grinstien of DELTA for the first example. For #2 Look at Lee Scott of Wal-Mart when he took over stock price was at 60 a share now at 44 or the guy of Home Depot. They get awarded MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN PAY AND STOCK FOR DESTROYING WHAT THEIR EMPLOYEES CREATED.

90 day wonders??....I you talking associates having that 90 day probation period and then getting canned? Whats wrong with that? If I was a manager I wouldnt keep people who dont work well in any position after 90 days. No one is owed a job....people earn jobs. No one is owed a raise, people EARN raises....and no one is owed a promotion, people earn promotions.

If I were in financial trouble and had to get an entry level retail job and start at the bottom, here is what I would do. I would immediately go to my managers, tell them I want to do what it take to be promoted and ask them for their guidence. Then I would tell every one of those managers that I want to be their go to guy when things need to be done. "You need someone to clean poop off the walls in the restroom....Im your guy!" You need someone to clean up all the broken bottles...Im your guy" You need me to do anything....Im your guy!" Then I would spend all my spare time trying to learn all the aspects of the business in every part of the store. I would tell him that I will do whatever it takes to be promoted and then work my butt off without griping about starting at the bottom. Nor, would I gripe what those above me are earning. As far as im concerned, they EARNED it.
Ive worked in retail managment before at Home depot. I started at the bottom and made assistant store general manager in 6 years. I know exactly what managers go through hiring the entry level employees. You probably hire 15 people to get one good employee. 1 out of 15 that stands out. Sure you get a lot of people that think they work hard. But they really dont. Sure you get a lot of people who think they deserve a raise or promotion, but they really dont. What you get is a lot of smart ass employees who bad mouth the company and are too stupid to know that the managers know everything that goes on in the stores and most things that are said. When I was a manager, what I was looking for was 1 or 2 great workers that had what it took to be successful. All my energy went into helping them become great workers and potential managment....the rest of the employees were just cheap labor. Which kind of employee a person is would be up to them, not the managment.

No I am talking about ASST STORE MANAGERS THAT HAVE BEEN WITH Wal-Mart for 90 days total then thrown to the stores as mangement. They are hired right out of schools then trained in Bentonville then spread out all over the country. They have NO CLUE ON HOW TO DO ANYTHING IN THE STORES AT ALL. Put it to you this way think of a store as a platoon of soliders now you have a Master Sargent with 25 years of service and has seen it all and done it all and you are being assigned to a combat area now all of a sudden you get this new Second John Luitenant fresh out of OCS screaming orders out of a Manual and turning the platoon into a CF. That was the situation at my store all the senior prople were leaving due to the new 90 day wonders coming in and those who were left tired to hang on. One of these so called Managers ran a fork lift THRU a truck then fired the assoc that told him the brakes on the fork lift were bad to cover his ASS.

I agree. What needs to happen is something needs to happen. A lot of fence sitters would get off the fence if somebody else went first, but nobody ever goes first, or if they do, they aren't visible enough.Very true. The other piece of this is I have a rather good job, and if I go on strike, they will replace my ass in a heartbeat. I like my job. There are a lot of worse choices out there. A LOT of worse choices. I can go for a good while without a paycheck, but I can't go forever, and when I have to get back to work to survive, I'd much rather go back to working at a good job.

I'd protest as part of a mass movement. If nobody was moving, they wouldn't hold it against me. But the way it works in the real world, everybody but a handful of people will still be moving.

(And the only reason I'm not living hand to mouth is because I still have some money left over from where I got laid off. Sh!++y economy.)

Ok, I see what you are saying. However, I would have to say...SO WHAT?
Are you trying to say you know a better way to run the #1 corporation in the world? Isnt that a little bit like the coach of a last place junior high football team, sitting on his couch screaming at is TV at the coach of the superbowl champions. Saying that he knows a better way to coach football?

Lets see here you have employees that have been at the store 25+ years and know the store the customers and how things run in that area. Or you have a 90 wonder who does not know his HEAD FROM HIS/HER ASS all they do is stay in the office and leave you hang. Which one would you go to. I am going to say the one with that 25 or more years in the company not that one that can not even figure out how to custom mix paint. You keep looking at everything from MANGEMENTS point of view which is cut costs considering it took 2 people to replace just one guy that had been there 25 years and he only was making 13 an hour and they had to pay the new guys 7.35 each which cost the company more by the time you count the benefits.

look at it this way..... You think that long term employee sure showed the company. Man, he walked out!
Now fast foward to today. What is going on, now? The company is still #1 in the world, the company is still turning a profit, the new manager still has a job. The parking lot at that walmart is still full of customers cars. The corporate machine is still running fine. Two things might be happening with the associates who walked out. 1. They might not have a job right now. 2. They might have found a better job. No big deal either way. Personally, Im thinking that a 25 year employee that hasnt made managment yet, wasnt that great of an employee.

Here is another thing to look at....in the last 25 years walmart stock has gone up 8000%. If that employee was smart enough to invest part of every paycheck into employee stock, they could retire pretty wealthy right now. If they werent.....thats their problem for being boneheads

Actually since the mass walk out of emplyees happened sales are down at that one store 40% due to POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE. The employee I am talking about yes he does have options for stock BUT THE COMPANY ONLY ALLOWS EMPLOYEES TO BUY A MAXIMUM OF 20 SHARES A YEAR. They give the CEO MILLIONS IN OPTIONS but the heart of the company get the FREAKING SHAFT as USUAL. The store has also just converted to a Supercenter and the local grocery store is OUTSELLING it 3 to one on food and K-Mart is outselling it on everything else. They hired the LONGTERM assoc. that quit and the customers followed them the funniset thing is those assoc still get the employee discount at Wal-mart do to being with the company over 15 years.

Cough cough....BS
Walmart is a publically traded company, you are always free to buy as many shares as you want. Walmart only matches 15% on a limited amount, however you are still free to buy more.
Look dude, you cant teach me anything about walmart. Although Im not an associate, I am a shareholder and have been for many many years. Ive never missed a shareholders meeting. Hell, Im one of the people who votes for those benefits that are put into place. Not to mention that I live in Bentonville and know many many associates that do work there. Not only do I know many people who worked there, my family and the Waltons have been friends for quite some time. My father was Alice Waltons Director of Operations at her investment banking firm, Llama company. I spent my internship in graduate school as Alices corporate assistant at the same company. I still know Alice so well, If I wasnt 100% sure I am right about Walmart employee stock purchase, I could pull out my PDA, get her home number in Mineral Wells, Texas and call her and ask.

Once again, we have seemed to get off the subject thread....this is about gas prices.
So, how come you can drive a car with your epilepsy but you cant drive a truck. Im not trying to be rude, however on the news last night I saw a video tape of some lady who had some kind of siezure and ended up driving through a school yard, almost ran over some kids and then hit the school. Thats pretty scary

Ok - I'm lost now...

Are we or are we not buying fuel on the 15th? :wink:

To buy stock through the ESOP you are limeted to the 20 shares a year limit IF you can come up with the money yopu can buy extra but when most of the time you can barely afford to pay your rent or buy food where do you get the money.

I think we can buy fuel, but not at Walmart for some reason.

I think I'm going to buy Wal Mart on the 15th. I still have some checks in my checkbook.

:P

You do realize that every year at the shareholders meetings, many retiring Associates that have been with the company 20-30 and even 35 years are paraded out and praised on their success with employee stock purchase. Ive seen cashiers retire who are worth over 10 million. How did they afford it?

I told you that i worked for home depot in my early years. I started out at the bottom making 7 bucks an hour. Yes, eventually I did make it into managment. However for most of that time I wasnt making very much money at all. I found a way to afford rent, pay for insurance and put money from every paycheck in company stock. Fortunately this was during the hayday of HD stock and it did very very well. My 6 and last year at HD when i quit I had over 90 grand in HD stock. My only wish is that I would have been smart enough to sell it and reinvest it in something else. But I was young and used that money to put down on a nice house. It was pretty cool to be in my 20s and have such a nice house. Like I said, no matter what your income, you can always find a way to save money to invest. Yes, I had to eat a lot of top ramen and dollar store mac and cheese....and yes, while in my 20s when a lot of my friends were going out to the clubs, I had to stay home. And no I didnt have any perks like cable tv. Investing and saving was a top priority over all that other crap like eating good food, cable tv and going out to bars.

So Kmart is ok then for fuel?

Yeah... but NOT on the 15th! :roll:

We're trying to run those stinking Kmarties out of business.... I think! :lol:

I must say...aside from the bickering between Iron & Sheep (which is pretty funny in and of itself), it has been interesting, seeing what some folks know...and think.

In my opinion...this mine...not somebody else's.... If the AMERICAN public wants to force the OIL companies to lower prices, then the AMERICAN public needs to curb their appetite for OIL. Having spent 16 years, working directly for a Major Oil company, I can tell you first hand, one day boycott's do not affect gasoline prices...especially in a downward trend. If anything, the evening of said boycott, the "Pricing Manager" for each marketing area of the Oil Companies, would increase prices, to compensate for the loses, caused by a boycott. Why you ask? Simple. Oil Company presidents are about one thing, and one thing only....SHAREHOLDER VALUE.
The President's of ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Sunoco, RoyalDutch Shell, BP, Marathon, Ashland...and on down the list, understand, that the folks whom work at Walmart, in their (Oil Company operated) Convenience stores, at the mall kiosks, and on down the list, do not buy shares in Oil companies. They are not concerned with the monetary position of any single individual, or group of individuals, in this country, or any other country on the globe for that matter, except THEIR SHAREHOLDERS. To increase shareholder value, those presidents are willing to risk the IRE of the American Public, because they understand, that in the end...the American Public, will continue to buy their products, will increase the fortunes of their company...and make them a nice bonus doing it.

As for fuel economy...speed... kills fuel economy.

My 2001 International, is equipped with a 435/450 HP Cat C-15, with a 13 speed Roadranger transmission and 3.55 differentials.

At 75 mph, 1650 rpm's and 13th gear pulling a flatbed full of pipe, my truck averages 5.2 miles per gallon. (using the cruise control)

At 70 mph, 1600 rpm's and 13th gear, pulling the same flatbed, with the same type load, on cruise control, my truck averages 5.7 miles per gallon.

At 65 mph, 1550 rpm's and 13th gear, the truck gets 6.8 mpg.

I've learned this, by trial and error..setting the cruise at those speeds..and paying close attention to gallons of fuel consumed.

Next week, I start pulling tanker. I will be doing the same thing, once I am out working. I will be adjusting my speeds, and writing down numbers, so as to understand, what will give me my best fuel consumption...so that I may make a better profit, on the margins.

In my 2002 Durango...that sucker hasn't met a gas-station it didn't like.

Orangetxguy said:

Sorry, man. I ain't buying it!

1) You said, yourself, that the companies are all about shareholder returns (which equate to more money in their bonus pockets!) You said they would "simply" adjust the price up to counter ANY decrease in gasoline purchases! (I believe this would also apply to general lowering of demand.)

2) From what I can tell, by far the majority of Americans have restricted usage about as far as they can. Those who can afford to buy gas guzzling SUV's and take "pleasure trips" are gonna continue to do so. Those who can't are getting raped.

3) Notwithstanding the total lack of foresight and planning by the oil companies to build/maintain refinineries in this country, we all know that they simply maintain SOMEWHAT of a consistent profit margin over the cost of CRUDE.

4) The problem is the unreasonable increases in the cost of crude, and the government's total LACK of concern over it. I believe, if they really wanted to, their are economic pressures they could put on at least SOME of the producing nations to return to a reasonable level of crude prices... say $35 BBL. It's NOT costing THEM any more to produce the crude.)

5) To say that Americans are at fault, and should adjust their lifestyles, is to basically say the "economic terrorsts" have won!

6) As for your example of your 13 speed, apparently it doesn't apply to my 10 speed. My rpm's dont drop when I slow down. They drop at a higher gear.... which I CAN'T RUN at slower speeds.

I'm not saying there Isn't some neglibible difference in my fuel consumption since the company limited our trucks, but I still use the SAME mpg figure to plan my trips.... and I don't see much difference, except that I worry alot more about getting the same number of miles out of a tank.

Personally, I think sheep boy is full of $h!t. It seems like he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. In my experience it has always been that working hard keeps you from getting promotions. Almost every place I have worked, from Mcd's to krogers to the engineering firms that all the lazy people got the promotions. Here's why, why do they want to promote the hard worker to a new position and loose thier abilities on the floor or wherever when they can promote the lazy person. There are other reasons but that sums alot of it up.

When I was working at Mcd's, Kroger and putting myself through collage, I watched them promote a guy to management who couldn't even run the grill properly, refused to clean the fry vats and when he worked assembly lossed more product on the table or floor than on the sandwiches. yet there were 4 or 5 other people there, including myself who could run the entire kitchen by ourselves.

I worked in the construction engineering field for around 10 years as a CAD draftsmen as well as an electrical design engineer. I worked my butt off to do the best possible job and was told by many a engineer that I was one of the best in the industry, yet do you want to know what it got me, it got me a job that paid me $18 an hour only working 15 hours a week. When I applied to about 20 companies only about 8 called back. Of those 8, 3 told me I was over-qualified and the rest offered me $12 hr or less. I was making that right out of collage.

Maybe it's personel pride but sheep boy sounds like he's nothing more than a yes man. Personally I wouldn't clean shit off the bathroom walls if I worked at wally world. NOw if I needed a job and the only job was cleaning shit off walls then you bet your ass I would take it but I otherwise no, I don't think so. And personelly, if I owned my own comapany and I was looking for a new manager the last person I would promote would be a yes man. I want people who can think for themselves, not a kiss ass. Oh yeah, sheep boy since you are willing to clean shit off walls, I know of a few truck stops that could use your help.

Now in some respects I do not blame anyone for my hardships, but in other respects I do. Remember the saying the "rich get richer and the poor get poorer"? Well that is as true today as it was yesterday. I have worked hard all my life and it has gotten me know where. I have come to relise that this is where I am supposed to be. It sucks but oh well. I am not a meterialistic person like sheep boy, I don't have cable, or a PDA or whatever else he listed, and I don't need any of that stuff. The only thing I have, that I do not need is the internet.

When I am on the road all I eat is cold cut sandwiches, twice a day. Maybe once a week I will eat a hot meal. Why, becouse I cannot afford it. I do what I do to survive. I have tried my hardest to make it but this is the best I could do. And this is with a collage education, a hardworking attitude and the will to succede. Do I blame the politicians? Yes, sometimes. Do I blame my employers? Yes, sometimes. Do I blame Americans? Yes for letting it get to the point where we have moved away from community and towords this mega corporation mentality. I also blame it on everyone having to have all those materialistic things. And yes I also blame myself for not falling into line with everyone else, and not really neading a lot of money to survive.

Now to the fuel prices. I think they are outragous. All's it's doing is making big oil richer and your average joe poorer. Like sheep boy said buy stock in big oil and you won't care either. It's that exact mentality that has ruined this country. I refuse to buy stock in an industry that I morally cannot support. I stand by my morals and ethics and would rather eat out of garbage cans than be like J.B. sheep boy.

He seems like nothing more than a yuppy, spoiled little give me, give me, I want, I want little child. Has to have all the latest toys and gadjets to fill some missing void in his life. I again will say it is people like him that has destroyed this once great country and made it nothing more than one big giant wally world.

Thank you sheep boy for your suggestions on how to be like you, but I would rather be poor. You keep working for one of the trucking industries biggest contributers to it's downfall and I will keep working on helping the littleman succeed. It's a tough and dirty war but in the end the little man will prevail.

Sorry to be so rude, I am just tired of people like you.

Oh and by the way, I ran from Joplin, mo to Springfield, Oh this week with 45,000 lbs in my 2000 volvo with a cummins 435 and got 6.1 mpg (not the greatest) but it was doing 75 mph. I have found that fuel mileage has a lot to do with how you drive not just speed, rpm and wind resistance.

I'm not going to address number 1. That's your opinion..as I have mine.

As for numbers 2 & 5; I'm going to lump them together here, as they are basicly the same area.
I'm not going to argue the fact that the "Poor" are hit hardest by high energy costs. Everyone knows full well that the are.
As for the SUV and 4X4 driver's. Why are there so many 4-wheel drive vehicles, in areas where they serve no usefull purpose? They are only a show of the mighty $$$$, and consume far to much gasoline, given their usefulness. Here where I live, you can drive by any of the plants in this area, and see more than a few Hummers, 4X4 Dually's, and other large SUV's, parked not only in company employee parking areas, but in contract employee parking as well. In this area, few "Road" 4x4's, go "Off-road". The same is true in California, Oregon, Washington...and other areas. So...those folks are "Part" of the problem. Their toys directly affect the Poor in this country.

Number 3; In the 80's and through the 90's, numerous refineries were dismantled nationwide, as part of the "Enviromental" appeasement process. It hasn't hurt the balance sheets of the Oil companies, for the simple reason that, when you can not manufacture enough product to meet demand, and the product you manufacture is vital to the prople whom use that product, where is the insentive to build more manufacturing capacity, when increased prices, due to demand, make you more profit? The very fact that you can not produce enough product, is a windfall too you. The only reason there are still refineries in Southern California and the Bay Area, is the population of those areas, and the lack of pipelines from east of the Rockies, into those areas. That is the only reason the "Enviromental" lobby hasn't had them closed down, that and most "Enviromentalist's" live in those areas..and want gasoline for their BMW's.
As for the consistancy of an oil company's profit margin..that is a "shell game" of major proportions.

Number4; The cost of crude..rather, the price of a barrel of crude, is directly related to supply and demand.
For the last 20 years, China has been building Railroad projects, Airports, and Highways, throughout the country. 20 years ago, few if any Chinese "Citizens" owned a car. Their primary mode of transportation was bicycle. Today, most Chinese huoseholds own a car, travel through out their provinces, just as Americans do, and they have cell phones and computers, just as Americans do. So...that means that China must have to buy crude oil...just as Amerca does.

In the early 80's, the Chinese Oil Ministry set out to expand oil production in China. SineOpec, their national Oil Company, even sent groups of people to the US, to observe drilling, work-over, and production methods, so as to begin that expansion. Around the time of the Teinamin (sp)Square massacre, that expansion was curtailed, and China began buying their crude on the open market, from the Middle East and from Russia.
Planes, Trains & Automobiles.
So...China affects the cost of our crude.

Someone will make the arguement that there is plenty of crude in Alaska. Yes and No. Yes..there are plentiful reserves in Alaska. But...How does it get from Alaska to the Gulf Coast or the east Coast, to the refineries? It is a long haul around South America, and the tankers that could haul it across the Panama Canal are to small. Will the Enviro-lobby allow more pipelines to be built, to carry crude across the country coast to coast? NO.

Maybe Woodey Harrelson is right...we need to make clothes out of hemp, not polyester. That would save oil. So would using cloth bags for shopping for groceries, instead of plastic bags. I don't see America giving up the use of plastic...do you?

The next big shock to our wallets, will be the "Alternative Fuels" push. DuPont and BP are working together right now, to make fuel out of plants..mainly soy beans and corn.

As for number 6; That was my truck pulling a flatbed. Each truck is spec'd a specific way. Each driver can and should figure out the way to attain that trucks best fuel mileage.

Wow, so much fun stuff here from jmilici....where do I start.


Well, I was raised in a very successful family, but I wouldnt call that being born with a silver spoon. What my parents gave me growing up was not money. They gave me the knowlege on how to be self supporting. They drilled into me that I am responsible for my successes and failures. They taught me how to work hard, and with hard work I would be rewarded.


That has to be the dumbest statement ever made on this board. Let me read it again to make sure I read it right......lazy people get promoted.....BWahahahahaha. Do you know what is really funny? You actually believe that.

Perhaps this is one of the many reasons you DONT own a company.
If you want to call doing what it takes to succeed being a "yes man", oh well. I have no problem doing anything my employers ask me to do. If today in the office my VP made an announcement saying that we have important customers coming in, the bathrooms are a mess and we cant find the cleaning girl. I would be the first to volenteer. Doing things like this is why i stand out in a company of 30,000. Doing things like this is why In a big company im not a number and even all the way up to the top of the corporation, they know who I am. And this is the reason if I ever get tired of recruiting, I can transfer to just about any position I want in corporate.


You say you dont blame anyone but then you go ahead and start blaming. Funny!
Do you know why the stay rich and the poor stay poor? CHOICES. The rich get richer because they keep making the same great choices that made them rich. The poor stay poor because they keep making the same stupid choices that made them poor. A good definition of insanity should be "Doing the same things over and over and expecting a different result"
As long as your OK eating out of garbage cans, THAT IS YOUR CHOICE. Personally, I choose to live differently.



My life has nothing to do with "GIVE ME" it has to do with "I EARN". I dont expect anything given to me. Yes, i love my toys and gadgets.
Do you know what the greatest right is in this country that our forefathers gave us? THE RIGHT TO PERSUE HAPPINESS. It doesnt say the right to be GIVEN happiness. You are OWED NOTHING in this country except your freedom to make choices. You are NOT owed a job, you EARN a job. You are not owed more pay...if you want more pay, you can EARN IT.


I dont want you to be like me, I want you to keep being you.

At least you admit that its a choice.



What downfall is that again? I see more trucks on the road than ever. Many trucking companies are turning a great profit. My JB hunt stock has been doing great. What downfall? You said you are a truck driver but cant afford anything. I know and talk to 1000s of drivers who are doing well in this industry, why arent you? Are they just better workers than you? Oh wait, I forgot about your theory.....those must be the LAZY drivers who are making all the money.





This is just WAY too good to pass up. How exactly are you helping the little man succeed. You dont have cable, how are you helping the little guy who instals cable. You dont go out to eat, how are you helping the little guy who waits tables? You dont buy toys and gadgets. How are you helping the truck driver who delievers those toys and gadgets.
Better yet, What advice would you give a little guy asking for financial advice? Because from what I get from your post it would be:

jmilici's plan for financial success.
1. Dont work hard, the lazy are the ones who get promoted and get raises.
2. Dont do anything your boss asks you to do, no one likes a "yes man"
3. Dont invest in successful companies, Investing is for morons.
4. You can live on two sandwhiches a day, dont set goals for something nice you might want to buy in the future.
Man, I tell you, that is some great advice for the "little guy". You should write a book. Let me ask you.....How is that working in your own life?
[/quote]

Actually SD that other guy is RIGHT I myself have seen it time after time were the people that KISSED THE BOSSES ASS were the ones that got promoted or were the ones kept those that refused were shown the door. (EDITED) I saw it happen at Millis transfer a few times we had one driver could not get anywere on time YET he was a TRAINER and got a new truck every year because he was always kissing ass. Yet another driver with 1.4 million accident free was always in a trade truck got crap loads and miles why he told (EDITED) where to go and how to get there he refused to play politics.

Once more as a friendly reminder, keep names out of your postings. This is a public message board and easily printed up. Being angry is one thing...specifically mentioning names can get you slapped with a libel suit and CAD doesn't wish to be involved in that. Thanks.

From Msnbc website:


I guess everyone in China bought their first automobile since Jan 5th of 2004, when prices were at about $33 bbl.

GH...msnbc is a great news organization, but they do not give all the information...heck...do news groups even give 50% of pertainent information?

Look at these numbers, from this site; http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/topworldtables3_4.html

Top World Oil Consumers, 2005*

Country Total Oil Consumption** (million barrels per day)

1) United States 20.7

2) China 6.9

3) Japan 5.4

4) Russia 2.8

5) Germany 2.6

6) India 2.6

7) Canada 2.3

8) Brazil 2.2

9) South Korea 2.2

10) Mexico 2.1

11) France 2.0

12) Saudi Arabia 2.0

**Table includes all countries that consumed 2 million bbl/d or more in 2005.

Top World Oil Net Importers, 2005*

Country Net Oil Imports (million barrels per day)

1) United States 12.4

2) Japan 5.2

3) China 3.1

4) Germany 2.4

5) South Korea 2.2

6) France 1.9

7) India 1.7

8) Italy 1.6

9) Spain 1.6

10) Taiwan 1.0

*Table includes all countries that imported at least 1 million bbl/d in 2005.

And..more information; I'm not cutting this table, just take a look at it, and see where various countries are, comparative to the United States. http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/aer/txt/ptb1110.html

To look at all the information, here is the main site;
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/pet_cons_top.asp

I've said it before. I worked for a Major Oil Company. No...I wasn't an executive..just a truckdriver, but the executives were always coming to town, to explain to us lowly drivers, "Why prices do what they do".

I also worked for a Major Oilwell Service Company. In 1983 I had the opportunity to travel to 2 countries. Portugal, to spend 3 weeks on an offshore platform, training operators on new equipment, and to Shanghia China, to spend 6 weeks, training operators there, on well servicing equipment. I could have gone to Inia in 1988..but I left that "Service" company, to go to work for that "Major".

No...the Chinese people didn't buy their cars in 2004. However, each year China uses more and more "Oil", and they get it from the same sources we do.