Drop the wells, pump up the gas and let’s move on
Wasn’t it just a few months ago that we were looking at $3 gas and scratching our heads wondering why that was so? Yesterday, analysts predicted we’ll soon see gas selling at $4 per gallon. Here in Wisconsin a gallon of regular unleaded already costs $2.84 — and we’re just now crawling out of our ice caves getting ready to launch our summer travel plans.
Increasing gas prices is not good news for an industry where motorhome sales had just started to rebound in recent months. It’s so frustrating to look back on American history over the last 30 years to see how this nation is constantly held hostage by two groups of radicals whose methods may differ, but for whom they share the same agenda: to enslave America to foreign oil.
Of course I’m referring to the militants in the Middle East and the environmental supremacists disguised as ”friends of the environment.” Everyone beyond the fourth grade in Iowa knows the price of gas is controlled by the law of supply and demand. But, in the rest of America, many people think “Big Oil” is responsible for setting prices worldwide from the confines of a single smoke-filled boardroom on the 111th floor of some office building somewhere where a portrait of George W. Bush likely hangs on the wall. The facts are, indeed, simple to understand. Worldwide supply is just barely able to keep up with demand. At any one time, we have less than 120 days of oil “in the pipeline.” As India and China become more developed, those countries require more oil. Therefore, they are willing to bid up the price of fuel to ensure they get their share. Because little has been done to increase the supply of oil in the market, higher demand will keep prices higher due to the limited quantity. RV Trade Digest published a story last September in which an analyst noted enough oil has been discovered (ie: we know where it is) to meet current worldwide demand for oil for 150 years. He even said the world will never come close to exhausting the supply of oil. But, getting it out of the ground is the problem.
It doesn’t help when suits trading oil futures get spooked by the most trivial of news stories anywhere in the world. ”Oh my, Franklin, did you see that a pickup truck backed into a gas pump at the Texaco station in Frog Pond, N.C.? That’s going to disrupt the oil supply to that part of the country for the next week, we better jack up our selling price just in case.” “I agree, Tyler, I saw on the news tonight there’s a 10 percent possibility a strong wind will blow across Texas next Thursday. It might knock out refinery production for 20 minutes while people take cover.” Don’t forget our friends, the environmentalists, upon whose shoulders the entire burden of high gas prices rest. Because of their influence with our elected officials, our country hasn’t built a new refinery in decades. We aren’t even allowed to drill for oil in places we know the oil exists, nor can we look for oil in places we suspect it may be. Nope, despite the fact America has huge reserves of oil in Alaska and in the Gulf of Mexico, we must continue to enrich dictators in third world countries. In addition to that, how many years will we have to endure a market confined by the requirements of the EPA that one specific blend of fuel be used in one community, but an entirely different blend of fuel must be sold in another community 90 miles away? Contrast America’s cowardly approach to fuel independence to that of Canada. The western provinces of Canada are awash with oil as the nation taps into is rich oil sands to break its dependence upon foreign oil. It’s amazing what will happen when people finally get fed up with spending $1.50 per liter for gas to appease the “nattering nabobs of negativity,” to quote Spiro Agnew.
Today, the Canadian economy is booming. But, in America, we’re more outraged and more concerned about the comments some insignificant shock jock says on the radio than we are in ending our dependence on foreign oil.
Let’s drop the wells and pump up as much oil as we possibly can in the next 50 years. There is no question technology is advancing rapidly to the point that we will have vehicles running on hydrogen within the next 25 years. In the meantime, let’s fully utilize all the resources we have to take care of our own country first.
May 11th, 2007 at 6:10 am
If the industry wants to bury its head in the sand and wait for gas prices to decline, then they will create more problems than they solve. This is called OPPORTUNITY. It’s an OPPORTUNITY to review your entire business strategy in light of current events that can impact your business. It’s an OPPORTUNITY to reduce the number of manufacturers you represent that can delay the decision point for a prospect. It’s an OPPORTUNITY to devleop a closer relationship with a manufacturer that delivers the products the consumer needs today. It’s an OPPORTUNITY to spend more time, with less prospects, and develop a buying sequence that results in a sale because you did it right this time around. It’s an OPPORTUNITY to set yourself apart from the competitiors that just won’t change no matter what happens around them - they just don’t have the creativity, ability, or motivation to do things differently. It’s an OPPORTUNITY to dismiss negative employees and bring positive employees on to the team. Anybody can sell when times are good, but that’s not really selling - they are simply taking orders from an overabundance of prospects that think they want to buy something. Professional selling takes place when times are bad, challenges are presented, and solutions are found to set your company apart from the competition. We, as an industry, still have products that many people want, demographics that show the potential for growth, and success stories that can be repeated over and over again if we just go out and do what has to be done. There will always people that don’t have a clue as to what is causing their problems, others that wonder why somebody else is so successful, and then there are the ones that make things happen. Look in the mirror and determine which one you are and which one you want to be. If they are not the same answer, then change something.
May 1st, 2007 at 8:42 pm
Talk (read: divisive publicity) is the bigger problem for this industry as our product is parked most of the time and the amount of work it provides makes it an efficient usage of all the power it uses! We put em in 400sq ft and get them out of their 4000sq ft houses. It seems the liberals have more time to write opinions, too! I guess production is a “bad” word. Keep up- LR
April 27th, 2007 at 10:05 pm
The simple fact of the matter is that the RV industry in its current form is not sustainable as a business model for fututre growth. Building ever larger, heavier RV’s with higher and higher rates of fuel consumption is not futuristic. As emerging nations compete for their share of dwindling petroleum resources, prices will only continue to increase not decrease. At $3 per gallon, gasoline and higher priced diesel fuel is clearly having a negative impact on RV sales and use and will continue to do so. As the price escalates into the $4 and $5 per gallon range, the effect on the industry will become more acute. I agree with prior contributors who suggest that the industry become more proactive in creating more fuel efficient designs and incorporating more renewable energy technology into their products. The industry seemingly has not learned from the demise of the U.S. auto industry and in fact is following directy in that industry’s doomed footsteps. There is a reason Toyota has taken over as the number one selling automobile manufacturer in the world. It is because they are manufacturing very fuel efficient safe, relaible, affordable and aesthetically appealing vehicles. Punching holes in ANWR and the Gulf of Mexicoto extract the limited oil available there is short sighted and certainly not the answer to the long term problem of energy independence. Ineffective and spineless politicians and corporate greed have put us in the predicament we’re in now where we have to rely on buying our energy from people intent on destroying us. The underlying root cause of the problem must be addressed, not just the symptoms. I can’t understand why so many Americans think $1.25 per gallon gasoline is like their birthrigh when Europeans and other countries are have been paying the equivalent of $5 or $6 per gallon for years now.
The best thing that could happen to the U.S. as far as fundamental change in our energy policy is if gasoline spiked to $5 per gallon (a real possibility at the rate we’re going). At this price level the free market would be energized to invest in alternative energy research and development and new technology would be brought to market much more rapidly. Pumping more oil from the ground at any cost to the environment is not the answer.
April 26th, 2007 at 9:05 am
When the government is involved you get nothing in return. Congress makes rules that don’t affect them, I am sure their Limos are filled every day using taxpayers money.
We should lay off 535 congressman and tell them to get a real job and live like the rest of us. Our government should get back in to the business of protecting our country and leave the free market alone.
April 25th, 2007 at 9:49 am
Do people realize that we in America pay more for our oil than other countries? It may be more expensive somewhere else, but that is the taxation….gallon for gallon, we are paying more than our share……….charged by our own American companies
April 25th, 2007 at 9:32 am
Blah, Blah, Blah…
Stop worrying about all of this and go out and make yourself and/or your company the best damn RV manufacturer/dealer/supplier you can be. The people at the TOP of any industry don’t get involved with all the B.S. because they know that the whiners that fail will just open up more opportunity. They just go out and PRODUCE.
April 24th, 2007 at 11:16 pm
Greg,
It is a not “Tree Huggers” that are preventing new refinerer’s, it is the NIMBY’s. I don’t know were you have been, but just see the ruckus that is caused when someone wants to build a new ethanol plant. Everyone wants them, just don’t build it by me.
I also saw a program recently were all the “Tree Huggers” were the CEO’s fram a large number major Fortune100 companies saying that global warning is a real problem. They were testifying before congress to make their case. They may have realized it was in their best interest to get government to have a national standard rather than 50 state standards and gosh knows how many city and county requirements, not to mention the possibilities new business opportunities that might come out of these laws.
The reality is all of us are going to have to work harder to make our products more competitive in a world were energy is not going to get cheapeer.
April 24th, 2007 at 8:37 pm
What a sad commentary on our country. We have a country that was built on independence, creativity, free enterprise, and intelligence and we have become a nation of politically correct groups that forgot how lucky they are to be here in the first place.
We have three issues to deal with and they have all been touched upon in this exchange of comments.
We have politicians in Washington, in both parties, that don’t have the brains or guts to make the decisions that can solve these problems. We should have been drilling in Alaska and elswehere twenty years ago. We should have been giving tax credits to companies willing to develop alternative fuels or constuct new refineries to process what we should be taking out of our own soil.
The people that manipulate energy futures and stocks should be exposed and investigated. Is there really anybody left in this country that doesn’t believe there are serious games being played in the oil and gas industry? I doubt it.
We have issues in the Middle East, but we’ve known that for over a hundred years so why are we so surprised that we are still being taken advantage of by countries that owe a lot more to the United States than cheap oil and gas. Let’s take all the foreign aid we lavish on these idiots just to make them like us and spend it in this country building new refinerires, pipelines, and funding research in alternative fuels. If we can understand that, then why can’t the elected leaders in Washington?
Simple, the people that have the guts, intelligence and brains to do what is right are not running for public office anymore. We have Congressman and Senators that have never earned an honest days pay in their life and would be fired if you or I hired them to do anything other than clean the toilets and take out the trash.
Would you hire your Congressman or Senator to work in or run your company? I doubt it.
Last, we have an education system that has long forgotten how to educate and motivate our youth to be future leaders. All they want is the tuition and you can buy your way through most colleges and universities in this country today. We see it everyday. They can’t read, they can’t write, they can’t spell, and they don’t have a clue on how to stand on their own two feet.
These are the people making the decisions that are impacting our current fuel crisis. Have you seen Lee Iacocca’s new book yet? It’s titled, “Where Have All The Leaders Gone?”
Here’s what it says on the back cover of the book - “Am I the only guy in this country who’s fed up with what’s happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder. We’ve got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we’ve got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can’t even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, ‘Stay the course.’
“Stay the course? You’ve got to be kidding. This is America, not the dammed Titanic. I’ll give you a sound bite: Throw the bums out!
Lee is 83 years old now and has more brains and guts than all the politicians in Washington combined.
We can fix all these problems, but do we have the guts to?
April 24th, 2007 at 6:56 pm
Folks, we’re not scientists or economics professors or wizards in anything nor do we have control of the world stage - but we do know RV’s and the lifestyle associated with them. We need to get on the “green” bandwagon. We know that less energy is consumed in an RV than in an average home. Consider the quantity of natural gas, fuel oil, water and electricity used per day in an average home. Convert it to dollars. Now, just how expensive is it to use an RV - add in the gasoline at any price you want. Keep it a per day calculation. Let’s get ahead of this one and start being energy gurus showing our products and their advantages in energy efficiency.
April 24th, 2007 at 6:37 pm
I hate to say it, but this attitude will do more to sink our industry than nearly anything out there. The attitude of “the heck with everyone else, I want to use as much as I want” and trying to convince people that they are somehow entitled to is what has killed Detroit.
The facts are the “150 years worth of oil” is not easily or cheaply recovered- the ANWAR oil would last only a few years, the GOM oil would be subject to the increased hurricane threat (along with spills devastating recreational areas that a lot of us use in our RVs).
What is needed for this industry to survive is a realization that- once you get to where you are going- an RV is an extremely energy and resource efficient activity- I mean RVs are pretty much at the forefront of low energy and water usage, as well as solar.We should be emphasizing that, rather than some ranting about “tree huggers” who keep us from enjoying ourselves.
A while back, when I was doing some research for some one off custom vehicles I build, I ran across a Workhorse chassis (this has been 8 or 9 years ago) which was a PDV chassis, front engine using a Cummins 3.9 turbo diesel mated to an allison transmission- 195 HP, ~400 ft/lbs of torque. Now that is way more than any of the RVs I owned in the 80’s, and would likely get very good mileage.
But did any OEM build a nice, small Class A with that drive train? No….
I guess the bottom line is that fuel prices are not going down- even if you eliminated all environmental laws (which would be awful), and the industry needs to change and realize what is coming- and just saying “Drop the wells, pump the gas, and let’s move on” is sticking your head in the sand, which can kill this industry dead.
April 24th, 2007 at 5:17 pm
Hey Greg, I think you’re coming out a little too hard on the tree huggers. Like it or not, without them, we’d have a bigger pollution problem with vehicles right now than we have…hey, the car manufacturers and the oil companies don’t care about our lungs. All they care about is the $$$ they put in their stockholders pockets and the bonuses they pay themselves.
If the chassis manufacturers ever really get motivated, then they’ll come up with a hybrid chassis…or something that will give decent mileage and be relatively clean.
And, don’t forget to thank the media. Every time someone on TV, radio or in the newspapers says that gas will go up…every station in the country raises their prices that night…they sure don’t wait for the prices in the pipeline to change.
Think about the oil supply since 1973. Every time the oil companies get we used to paying a certain level for gas…we then have all we need. Once gas goes past the $3.00 mark, then comes back down close to it, I would be willing to bet, that we’ll have all we need. And, this all takes place with the price of oil remainly just about the same as it did at the previous level.
I would be very interested in seeing who is actually buying oil futures, etc., on the stock market. Would anyone be suprised if it was the company that was managing oil companies 401K plans?
April 24th, 2007 at 4:44 pm
So, how do you propose that solar power and wind be harnessed to move automobiles, trucks and motorhomes down the highway at 65 miles per hour?
Sails
April 24th, 2007 at 3:34 pm
As a Winnebago rental dealer, I can tell you we rent the heck out of the new diesel View…19mpg. Maybe manufacturers should ask themselves why Toyota is the number one selling car manufacturer in this country. Like it or not, the public sees gas prices as a problem.
April 24th, 2007 at 3:31 pm
Hey Greg, I have wondered when we would hear about the price of Gas/Diesel fuel now that the summer driving months are upon us. While it is easy to “bash” the mid-east folks where most of the crude oil is pumped, I suggest we look much closer to home. To be blunt,
- Where do you think the US gets all of the money to pump up the War Economy that we find ourselves into at present? Well, it does not take a Harvard MBA economist to point out that it is from TAXES…
- Now take a few minutes to find out what the amount of tax is on a gallon of fuel. Yep, the answer is clear. What was once a Tax to keep our highways maintained and in good, safe, condition, is now the primary cash cow for the Congress and the Administration.
- Yet, I have not heard one Senator or Congressman stand up and point out how much the Fuel tax is adding to the US coffers.
- Yes, it is true that there is a lot of oil in the ground and yes, we do know where it is. But, that oil comes out of the ground at a cost. How about calling or writing your favorite Senator or Congressman and suggesting that the Oil Drillers receive a significant TAX break for every producing well they complete and bring on line. Wow, would that cause the mid-East folks to re-think their pricing strategy.
Let the truth be known…. Nothing would calm the Oil cost fears like a peaceful settlement in the mid-East.
April 24th, 2007 at 2:47 pm
Right on. Why not send it to AP and Reuters as an op-ed. See where it get printed.I will venture a guess and say not many will pick up the story.
JJMcL
April 24th, 2007 at 1:54 pm
Preach it, Road Guy! The time for action on meeting our oil needs was about six years ago — when we had a conservative Congress and what we thought was a conservative president.
When my customers bring up gas prices, I ask them if they are going to fight for their freedom to travel or surrender to the fear they may pay an extra $20 in gas for a well-deserved vacation or weekend away.
After they think about it for all of two seconds, they blast out of my parking lot spraying gravel everywhere because they are in such a hurry to get to the woods.
I think our current customers will be our best warriors in teaching people the truth. Maybe we should create a Miles for the Mullahs campaign in that Americans would thumb their noses at those people who want to see us sulking at home by driving as many miles as they can this summer.
April 24th, 2007 at 1:25 pm
Greg, thanks for the civics lesson.
Now….just how in the hell is the RV industry supposed to survive, and prosper I might add, while our elected nutcases in DC dither over whether or not we can or cannot sink more wells into our own U.S. territories? We’re talking years, here.
My response to the “hostage-to-Big-Oil” game that’s being foisted on ALL of us - screw ‘em!! Fill the tank up anyway and go support your nearest campground owner and have a lovely weekend!
Ya’ll honk as you go by…..
April 24th, 2007 at 11:01 am
Yeah, okay, Ankur. So, how do you propose that solar power and wind be harnessed to move automobiles, trucks and motorhomes down the highway at 65 miles per hour?
April 24th, 2007 at 10:07 am
we have to rely more and more on wind/solar energy to save this world from economic crisis