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	Archive through May 02, 2025	25		06/23 02:58pm
	Archive through February 10, 2026	25		07/09 09:38am

Never heard of a dealer saying that, but the warranty I have, as well as the extended warranty I bought, both have that clause, and mechanics I tried to pay money to have them instal the thing said it would void the warranty. Those mechanics have nothing to gain by lying to me. Indeed, it would be in their interest to take my money, install the device, and keep their mouths shut about warranties.

Like I said. I am going with what real laws, contracts, and lawyers said, not more of that unproven baloney you keep claiming to know all about. You really need to stop trying to tell us about how you think the world works, you’re just wrong every time, and doing a serious disservice to those reading this topic. I cannot in good conscience allow more of your fantasies to be posted on this subject.

Can you quote actual legal cases where a real court ordered a dealership to maintain the warranty even when the black letters of that contract specifically say otherwise? If not, shut up.

By MarkSHoyle (Bolo) on Thursday, February 12, 2026 - 09:29 am: Edit

Caught a blurb on a tic-toc that puts out short news statements.. The originator dances and advertises printed shirts....

Trump sent a request to have Auto-Stop/Start revoked/banned.....

By Jessica Orsini (Jessica_Orsini) on Wednesday, July 08, 2026 - 11:59 am: Edit

Not to be outdone by New York City's announced plans to provide five government-run grocery stores, the White House has launched twenty-five "Freedom Fuel" gasoline stations, all in the Philadelphia metropolitan area and all selling fuel at $3.47 a gallon, undercutting other local stations by some thirty cents on average. (No, this isn't from a satire site. Yes, this is real. No, there's no information regarding how the stations are being subsidized.)

By MarkSHoyle (Bolo) on Wednesday, July 08, 2026 - 08:47 pm: Edit

County I live in, prices run from low $3.30 to over $3.50....

In county north of me, stopped and got it for $3.15..
Rarely go up there anymore so hopefully my county will continue to come down...


After 11 years and 4 months, my little fit crossed 155k miles....

By Jessica Orsini (Jessica_Orsini) on Thursday, July 09, 2026 - 09:38 am: Edit

We were at $3.34 locally here Tuesday. Yesterday, it jumped to $3.59.

By Kevin Howard (Jarawara) on Thursday, July 09, 2026 - 11:14 am: Edit

4.79 at the Arco station, though I have seen one place as low as 4.55.

By Mike Grafton (Mike_Grafton) on Thursday, July 09, 2026 - 12:41 pm: Edit

My fleet has over a million miles!

2024 Rav4 (wife car) has 16,000. She would be perfectly happy for me to drive her everywhere & never drive a car again. I feel strongly that driving is a life skill everyone should have; Filipina wife just goes along.

2019 Jeep (Eldest son drives) has 170,000 He was driving the Lexus, but the Jeep is so much more fun. Especially in Summer.

2000 Golf (me) has 243,000. A decent little car but with the 2.0L it's pretty slow. When my sister returns "her car" it becomes the spare.

2007 Rav4 (sister drives) has 369,000. I get this back once she has saved up enough to buy a new Pickup. I predict she'll pounce once a "factory incentive APR" gets below 2%.

2024 Corolla Hatchback (my mom) has 3500. She doesn't drive, so this sits at her nursing home for whoever is going to tote her & her wheelchair to the doctor or a meal in a restaurant. As a retired MBA CPA she did the math (with actuarial table based calculations & gosh knows what kind of depreciation magic) and paid half of the purchase price. I own it and she pays insurance, registration, gas, etc. She morbidly jokes that if she lives to be a 100 she'll have ripped me off...

2005 Lexus ES350 (current spare) has 344,000. This thing is a bit lame (pot hole vs right front "strut mount"), plus a mystery ticking noise (I suspect a belt pulley), AC bleeds down every 6 months, and it shifts rough (ominous, I know). At the mechanic as a "Space A" priority. It may be "going to the farm..." if it is too expensive to repair. When it runs it is just a dream though; 25-30 mpg, smooth, quiet, fast, roomy & comfortable...

By Jessica Orsini (Jessica_Orsini) on Friday, September 18, 2026 - 10:26 am: Edit

We're starting to see some stations that are out of diesel, which is... not great.

By Carl-Magnus Carlsson (Hardcore) on Friday, September 18, 2026 - 12:45 pm: Edit

I expect the fuel situation in Russia eventually reach a tipping point where the entire food production chain breaks down. Famine is a real possibility.

By Jessica Orsini (Jessica_Orsini) on Friday, September 18, 2026 - 01:42 pm: Edit

We now have the news that Saudi Aramco has informed Europe - all of Europe - that they won't be getting any deliveries for the next month, due to the combined Strait of Hormuz situation, the damaged cross-country pipeline, and the new Strait of Bab al-Mandab situation.

By Garth L. Getgen (Sgt_G) on Friday, September 18, 2026 - 04:26 pm: Edit

Gas last week: $3.859
Gas today: $4.319

93-octane is $5.359. I have a 1978 Jaguar XJ12 that I want to get back on the road, but at 12 MPG on 93-proof, I'll hate to feed it.


Garth L. Getgen

By Mike Grafton (Mike_Grafton) on Saturday, September 19, 2026 - 11:48 am: Edit

Gas prices will go down after the midterm elections.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Saturday, September 19, 2026 - 12:43 pm: Edit

I just want the next year of car models to come without start/stop.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Saturday, September 19, 2026 - 12:45 pm: Edit

I smell a US Marine landing on that island the Houtis grabbed. Perhaps along with Egyptian or Saudi troops. Or NATO.

By A David Merritt (Adm) on Saturday, September 19, 2026 - 04:25 pm: Edit

It's a good idea, and will not be a major operation like Kharg Island would be.

It will be interesting to see who is involved.

By Douglas Lampert (Dlampert) on Sunday, September 20, 2026 - 01:57 pm: Edit

One advantage to a hybrid is that it gets the start/stop benefits for free without the slow acceleration or other disadvantages.

My plug in hybrid Ford is still too new for me to be sure about long term reliability, but so far it seems great.

By Jessica Orsini (Jessica_Orsini) on Monday, September 21, 2026 - 08:22 am: Edit

I've been fortunate enough to drive hybrids since 2002, when I bought a first-generation Toyota Prius. I ran it for 384,000 miles, and am now in a 2018 Prius C (the compact version). The sheer amount of fuel savings in the 2002 model, compared to the average small sedan of that year, paid for the entire price of the car over its life.

As to a Marine landing on Perim Island, apparently not; the administration let it be known yesterday that it has declined Saudi Arabia's request to take part in joint strikes.

By Jessica Orsini (Jessica_Orsini) on Monday, September 21, 2026 - 08:34 am: Edit

In other news, diesel crossed the $6.50/gallon nationwide average mark over the weekend, with no signs of slowing down.

Many here (including Steve, I'm sure) know the problem, but some may not, so:

Diesel refineries in the U.S. are designed for a particular type of crude feedstock: specifically, a somewhat thick and decidedly sulfurous crude that is exactly what is pulled out of the ground in the Middle East. Diesel can be refined from other crude feedstocks, such as the "light sweet crude" predominant in Texas and Louisiana, but doing so requires reconfiguring refineries to do so (which takes time) and is more expensive even when so reconfigured.

Meanwhile, the extremely thick stuff they pull out of Alberta tar sands (and out of the Venezuelan reserves for that matter) is barely a fluid; it has to be cut with lighter grade oil to even think about refining it. Alberta does produce some of that lighter-grade oil (which is the only reason Albertan refineries can function at all); Venezuela does not.

Until such point as the situation is resolved in the Middle East, high diesel prices are here to stay.

By Mike Erickson (Mike_Erickson) on Monday, September 21, 2026 - 02:21 pm: Edit

>> "Diesel refineries in the U.S. are designed for a particular type of crude feedstock"

Note that it's not just how refineries are designed. Heavy crude chemically breaks down into a higher diesel fraction, and light crude chemically breaks down into a higher gasoline fraction.

The issue is that in addition to being major crude producers, both Russia and the Persian Gulf states are also major diesel refiners and suppliers. So the war in Ukraine plus the Hormuz closure are pinching both crude supply AND refined diesel supplies globally. Hence the run-up in diesel prices at a pace faster than crude.

So whenever we cheer at Ukraine blowing up the latest Russian refinery, we are just boosting the price of diesel globally and domestically and increasing the cost of living for every US citizen.

--Mike

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Monday, September 21, 2026 - 03:18 pm: Edit

Yes, I can confirm, not all "oil" is the same.

I specialized in West Texas Intermediate Crude, which coincidentally is what the girls in the bars called me. That was before I met Leanna and never went to a bar again.

By Jessica Orsini (Jessica_Orsini) on Monday, September 21, 2026 - 04:02 pm: Edit

---

Quote:

Note that it's not just how refineries are designed. Heavy crude chemically breaks down into a higher diesel fraction, and light crude chemically breaks down into a higher gasoline fraction.

---

By Ryan Opel (Ryan) on Monday, September 21, 2026 - 08:41 pm: Edit

US refineries are designed for the Venuzulan Crude for a large part.

Also look at the loss of refinery capacity we've had with refineries permanantly closing down around the country. We are down almost a 1 million b/d from 2020 peak.

By A David Merritt (Adm) on Monday, September 21, 2026 - 09:27 pm: Edit

Since 2020? I wonder how much of that reduction is due to the rise of work from home? I know that many of the businesses that sent everyone home during COVID have not went back to their old offices to the point that falling office space usage concerns anyone who relies on it, like restaurants, janitorial staff, real estate office etc.

By Ryan Opel (Ryan) on Monday, September 21, 2026 - 11:26 pm: Edit

A bunch came back in 2022-23 and then dropped off.

2020: 19 million
2021: 18.128 million
2022: 17.944 million
2023: 18.060 million
2024: 18.384 million
2025: 18.423 million
2026: 18.160 million

Source: US Energy administration