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$104.86 ?

Is paying $100 for a full tank of gas deterring your driving behavior?

  • Sadly, yes...

    Votes: 9 47.4%

  • Hell no man, STFU

    Votes: 10 52.6%
  • Total voters
    19
maw1124 said:
Analysis: Are high prices unpatriotic or as American as you can get?
Analysis: Are high prices unpatriotic or as American as you can get?
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Paying high prices is not a matter of patriotism. That's completely the wrong discussion to be having, and the wrong way to frame it.

The market is what the market is. That's called capitalism, and the laws of supply and demand. We pay what we have to pay.

What's patriotic (or not) are the policies of the government as to helping create and foster (that includes real actions, and psychological actions that affect the market) an economy that works for all Americans. If the government is pursuing policies that help Americans survive and thrive, that's patriotic.

But just saying "suck it up and pay the prices and be patriotic" while pursuing economic, tax, and commercial policies that actively put a damper on the economy, and on Americans' lives -- nope.
 
Last week I went to the Regal Boats dealer near me in Maryland (there are two in MD - one in Pasadena near me, and the other one near Ocean City) to discuss ordering some parts, and to get the remaining boat+hull and Volvo Penta warranties transferred to me. Their newly built showroom was EMPTY. There was not a SINGLE NEW REGAL BOAT IN THE SHOWROOM. Because they cannot get new boats from the manufacturer. They are HOPING to get a couple of new boats in the fall, and perhaps a few more over the winter for next season (2023). But Regal, based out of Orlando, FL, is having difficulty supplying new boats in the numbers that they used to be able to.

The dealer just took in on trade an identical boat to mine, from a customer, literally identical color and everything. Same year, same model. It has two more options than mine -- a Westerbeke generator (which is a horribly unreliable piece of equipment), and a bow spotlight. And this boat has double the engine hours on it, despite being same year as mine. And they tell me they have THREE buyers lined up to buy it. They are offering the boat at $30,000 more than I paid (the generator is an $11K option), and it's likely they will get the full price.

And then they tell me that the incoming 2023 models they will be getting, if they are lucky, will be running $40-50K HIGHER than the MSRP of the current 2022 models. Price increases from Regal in MSRP have been happening every couple of months over the past year -- not because of greed, but because materials price increases.
 
Does this mean that people with limited means have to tap into credit or decide whether to eat or drive because they're good Americans(patriotic)?

Kinda sounds like some of the talk I hear regarding a certain Amendment to the Constitution and how some folks want to assign punitive costs (taxes, fees, insurance) in order to limit or prevent Americans of limited means from exercising that right.

I think that was done before... it was broadly referred to as Jim Crow laws.


But back on topic:

The highest "patriotism" in the entire country continues to be found in Mendocino California.


1655816096524.png
 
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ace10 said:
Kinda sounds like some of the talk I hear regarding a certain Amendment to the Constitution and how some folks want to assign punitive costs (taxes, fees, insurance) in order to limit or prevent Americans of limited means from exercising that right.
Click to expand...
americanmilitarynews.com

Reports: Biden admin orders ammo maker to stop selling 5.56 rounds to Americans

The Biden administration has reportedly ordered an ammunition manufacturer to stop selling Americans some 5.56mm rounds, which is the most common for the
americanmilitarynews.com americanmilitarynews.com
 
I have lived thru this before in the 80s. This time it seems much worse. Most cars back then got 10 to maybe 15 mpg. I was fortunate to have owned 65 VW Bug at the time which helped mitigate some of the costs and a 1 ton flatbed truck that my company took care of.

I can’t imagine what it would be like today if the 80s mpg cars were still on the road. Fortunately, I can park my 500E and my wife’s Caddy DeVille and get around in my KIA Optima which has averaged around 25 mpg for the last 60K or so miles.

This administration has gotten it all wrong and has taken OUR GASOLINE and POURED it on the FIRE. I don’t think it’s PATRIOTIC to take a turn in the BARREL because the IDIOTS running our government can not agree on anything. Next we will be seeing FIST FIGHTS in CONGRESS like we see i other THIRLD WORLD COUNTRIES” The current administration thinks that they only have to throw MORE of our TAX $$$$$$$$ at the issue and it will GO AWAY!

I’m now on a FIXED INCOME and am not RICH by any means. It reslly “PISSES ME OFF” to have “BUSTED MY ASS” all of my life to get ahead so that the time I have left could be lived comfortably and without worry. I’m sure that there are others out there that feel the same as I do.

To quote a past President Do you think your better off today than two (2) years ago. Don’t forget to VOTE

Rant Over
 
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gerryvz said:
My understanding is that Friends and Family transactions will not be reported and will not be taxed.
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That is correct. PP F&F, Zelle, and similar transactions will not be reported. But for buying/selling on forums, some people may not like the F&F option. Yeah, I know, if you don't trust the person don't do business with them in the first place.

All of eBay sales will be reported, however, which means if you sell on eBay, Uncie Sam is now insisting on a piece of the action. Although previously required, it was generally ignored for <$20k and <200 transactions. No free lunch as of Jan-1, 2022 sales.

:stickpoke:
 
TerryA said:
That also pisses me off and I don’t even own a gun.
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Couple this with the fact that the IRS (yes....the INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE) just purchased $700,000 worth of ammnition for its agency use.

www.forbes.com

IRS Has 4,500 Guns, 5 Million Rounds Ammunition: Paying Taxes?

IRS cases rarely become criminal ones, but don't forget that the IRS does have a criminal investigation division--with guns.
www.forbes.com www.forbes.com

www.lifezette.com

IRS Quietly Buying Up Tons Of Ammo With Your Money While Biden’s Regime Tries To Limit You

Why would they need that much ammo?
www.lifezette.com www.lifezette.com

I'm trying to figure out why all of these domestically focused, non-police government agencies are buying ammunition in bulk. Is the IRS planning to come to peoples' homes and arrest them, and needs 5.56mm ammunition for their AR-15 and M4 assault weapons to do this?
 
gerryvz said:
I am predicting HUGE change in this fall’s elections. I do not believe we will have ever seen the level of change in elected representatives that we are going to see this coming November. And then we are going to have to suffer with another two-plus years of a lame duck administration that won’t be able to get anything accomplished. I think the next 2.5 years is looking bleak. Very bleak.
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TerryA said:
I have lived thru this before in the 80s. This time it seems much worse. .....
I’m now on a FIXED INCOME and am not RICH by any means. It reslly “PISSES ME OFF” to have “BUSTED MY ASS” all of my life.....

To quote a past President Do you think your better off today than two
(2) years ago. Don’t forget to VOTE

Rant Over
Click to expand...
I feel you guys.

For myself, I like to frame the issue (with governance) along three developments in the past two years:

a) Congress tacked very far to the left and the progressive-wing (AOC, Pramilla, Omar, Porter, etc..) effectively hijacked the entire Democratic party and wouldn't let any bill pass unless the bill included all-the-gazillions-of-trillions-of-dollars-of-spending that they wanted.

b) That same Congressional progressive wing declared war "ideological purity tests" on any moderate member of the Democratic party (Sinema, Manchin) by calling them racists / cowards / fat cats / the dreaded "Republican" label / anti-American / etc.

c) The executive branch - Biden - did not strongly and publicly stand up to the ultra-left-wing of his party. Instead of tacking to the middle, courting Republicans, and telling the progressives to go pound sand, he looked weak and waffled. Perhaps Biden had PTSD from when Obama and Boehner came up with the "Grand Bargain" in 2011, only to have it fail to pass Congress.

I have optimism though. Even in ultra-left San Francisco, I can feel the tide is turning back towards the middle.
1) We recalled the three most toxic progressive members of our school board in Feb
2) We just recalled, in May, our ridiculous progressive District Attorney who never met a crime victim he didn't want to backstab.
3) We have a local city council election this November. City Council is currently overrun by ultra-left-progressives. The incumbents are starting to feel a lot of heat....
 
Jlaa said:
I feel you guys.

For myself, I like to frame the issue (with governance) along three developments in the past two years:

a) Congress tacked very far to the left and the progressive-wing (AOC, Pramilla, Omar, Porter, etc..) effectively hijacked the entire Democratic party and wouldn't let any bill pass unless the bill included all-the-gazillions-of-trillions-of-dollars-of-spending that they wanted.

b) That same Congressional progressive wing declared war "ideological purity tests" on any moderate member of the Democratic party (Sinema, Manchin) by calling them racists / cowards / fat cats / the dreaded "Republican" label / anti-American / etc.

c) The executive branch - Biden - did not strongly and publicly stand up to the ultra-left-wing of his party. Instead of tacking to the middle, courting Republicans, and telling the progressives to go pound sand, he looked weak and waffled. Perhaps Biden had PTSD from when Obama and Boehner came up with the "Grand Bargain" in 2011, only to have it fail to pass Congress.

I have optimism though. Even in ultra-left San Francisco, I can feel the tide is turning back towards the middle.
1) We recalled the three most toxic progressive members of our school board in Feb
2) We just recalled, in May, our ridiculous progressive District Attorney who never met a crime victim he didn't want to backstab.
3) We have a local city council election this November. City Council is currently overrun by ultra-left-progressives. The incumbents are starting to feel a lot of heat....
Click to expand...
As far as AOC goes if I want advice from a bartender I’ll go to a bar.

Gascon should be next to get the boot. Albeit I can’t vote in LA County I’m still hopefull.
 
Yes, @Jlaa, we have to get back to the middle, here and globally. People seem to forget that is the position of strength that has propelled this country forward. Our governance system is set up to short circuit wild swings to either polar opposite, so economic outcomes and governance are predictable not schizophrenic. It used to be that the 80% in the middle within 2 standard deviations from the mean did reasonably well under Democratic or Republican administrations. That more or less continues to be true with me and mine, thank God. My kids get triggered over politics until I remind them it’s not likely to change their lives one way or another. So calm TF down.

Seems like since the Tea Party, the fringes have the microphone. And all that does is weaken the whole country. Of course I would think this way, coming from the home of the Middle Class, the state that Henry Ford built. But I have friends on all sides of every economic, religious and political issue — because we all realize that the middle, the commonplace, not the fringe, is the place of strength.

With identity politics, where people’s politics becomes their live or die, foam at the mouth, angry identity… well you see what it gets us. People go to the mat for fringe beliefs. Calm TF down.

It’s all silly to me, actually, because I’m good either way. But while we’re fighting over fringe issues, Russia and China are over there planning and executing real strategic harm. Believe that. Russia would not be in Ukraine without China’s blessing. It’s chess not checkers.

maw
 
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Bogeyman said:
Just filled my E550 for $99.98. Whooppee, I kept it under $100!
Click to expand...
Now this is funny… because right now the 55 is on FUMES… and out of deference to my fuel pump, I shall be refilling it… but if I can put a day or 2 between me and that burned CNote, I’ll feel better emotionally even if I’m no better off economically🤣😂.

I was just talking to a buddy of mine about grocery prices. Now, we’ve known each other for over 30 years, I’m Godfather to his kids and vice versa … and never, ever, ever, since college, have we had to even think about grocery prices. So we KNOW shit has gotten real, when people who never need to think about basic cost of living stuff now suddenly have to think about basic cost of living stuff. Not that I think any politician is to blame. If they were that powerful people would think harder about who they elect. Maybe. I’ll take the derivative benefit of my wife being more cost conscious as a silver lining. But damn… it‘s eating into my golf budget. Jokes.

maw
 

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Yep - what Gerry said. No E15.

Anyone have a TSB newer than 2011 with more details on E10 and/or E15? Pretty sure what's shown below is the newest I have. Gotta be something more recent stating (or rather, confirming) that E15 is verboten.

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I have my LPG S320 W140 which I bought about 3 years ago. That car had been converted to dual fuel LPG by the PO. The system was working perfect when I drove the car for a few months then the MOT expired and it sat there.

I have been restoring the car this spring/ summer. But had not been paying attention to LPG prices for a couple years now.

Just checked locally today. £0.84 per litre of LPG VS £2 per litre for petrol!

Needless to say the focus is now very much on getting the S320 back on the road as soon as I can to make use of the less than half price fuel ⛽️
 
JC220 said:
Out of curiosity are there any USA members have a diesel daily driver?

View attachment 148562
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@JC220 - I have a 2014 BMW 328d daily on my end. Diesel prices are 1:1 with premium lately, but the fuel mileage is double or triple comparing the 500E vs. the diesel. Was a great side step before we get into electric being more mainstream and I was unwilling to get a PHEV or similar.

To the initial poll question, for sure this has effected my choice in vehicle to drive each day. 2 months back, it would be more common for me to jump into the 500E on the commute, but that just isn't the case as often now. I would say I overall have been driving less recently, but that could also be due to the random house / garage / yard projects that seem to crop up during the spring > summer time.
 
ace10 said:
LP has only ~70% of the BTUs found in unleaded gasoline.
Click to expand...
Yes this is correct

My daily driver is a 27mpg Diesel w221 @ £2 per litre diesel cost.

VS W140 LPG at even 18mpg etc @ £0.84 per litre LPG cost is still going to give me a decent saving.
 
gerryvz said:
Couple this with the fact that the IRS (yes....the INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE) just purchased $700,000 worth of ammnition for its agency use.

www.forbes.com

IRS Has 4,500 Guns, 5 Million Rounds Ammunition: Paying Taxes?

IRS cases rarely become criminal ones, but don't forget that the IRS does have a criminal investigation division--with guns.
www.forbes.com www.forbes.com

www.lifezette.com

IRS Quietly Buying Up Tons Of Ammo With Your Money While Biden’s Regime Tries To Limit You

Why would they need that much ammo?
www.lifezette.com www.lifezette.com

I'm trying to figure out why all of these domestically focused, non-police government agencies are buying ammunition in bulk. Is the IRS planning to come to peoples' homes and arrest them, and needs 5.56mm ammunition for their AR-15 and M4 assault weapons to do this?
Click to expand...
IRS has had armed agents for a very long time.
I've bumped into some a few times at remote shooting ranges outside of DC as long ago as the early 1990s.
The FDA also has armed agents.
I don't know what other agencies have them, but I'm sure there are a lot.
 
Photo taken July 1, 2022 of, now bankrupt, gas station. This used to be an "ethanol free" gas station.

Reminds me of what we lost in the US when we were energy independent.
 

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$500+ for a partial boat fillup yesterday.

I don’t mind $100-120 for a Benz fillup anymore.

Welcome to the new normal.

I expect to see more and more of you abandoning your 500s and buying electric cars.
 
All I will say is that there are a lot of boats out there, and as a hobby it doesn't seem to be going away. Particularly in places like the Chesapeake, Florida and New England/New York.

The thing I love is that my marina sells ethanol-free gas for the boats. My direct-injected 5.3Ls love it.
 
The one I always heard was less PC… “if it flies, floats or f*ckx, rent it don’t buy it”… I’ve held off until now but …

And boating isn’t going away any time soon. People just choose when to buy, etc. Sarasota is a big boating community, as well as collector cars, which I enjoy because you can find crafts people to work on stuff (wood, leather, vinyl, engines, paint, detailers, etc.). It’s been great for me to learn from a lot of more experienced hobbyists.

maw
 
Saturday I was in NewPorsch Beach and we drove north along PCH seeing the weekend sites all the way through Long Beach to San Pedro / LA Harbor. I can honestly say that in SoCal that owning a boat is more of a status symbol than a hobby. I probably saw at least 3,000 boats parked in different marinaras NOT MOVING and maybe 100 boats out on the water. To me it’s unbelievable how many boats never seem to move. This is the most excitement I saw on the water yesterday. In fact this was one of about 5 boats moving in the LA Harbor.
 

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I've spent some time in Newport Harbor in the OC (my company HQ is in Irvine, and we often eat at Nobu in the harbor when I'm there) and there are a LOT of boats in that harbor. But I would agree, it's a very different boating vibe than it is here on the Chesapeake Bay.
 
gerryvz said:
$500+ for a partial boat fillup yesterday.

I don’t mind $100-120 for a Benz fillup anymore.

Welcome to the new normal.

I expect to see more and more of you abandoning your 500s and buying electric cars.
Click to expand...
I think most members here don't daily their 500E. And so don't really care about miles per gallon or fuel cost.

In my V8s and M275 I call it "smiles per gallon" which translated means let them eat and I couldn't give a f#%k.

However, notwithstanding the above I am interested to do some LPG miles in my S320 and see how that compares to a modern diesel S class running cost wise. I will post that here when I get to it in a couple months.
 
gerryvz said:
I still believe we are going to see an increase in the number of folks selling their cars in the next few years.
Click to expand...
I give you points for consistency… you’ve been saying that for a few years now. The recent high water marks didn’t encourage many to sell, except @gsxr, who has too many anyway…😉

But if record high prices didn’t pry them out of owners’ hands I can’t imagine gas prices will. Not for a car that’s purely a pleasure vehicle rising in value faster than inflation and the price of oil combined.

Now, NLA parts is another reason altogether.

maw
 
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gerryvz said:
I've spent some time in Newport Harbor in the OC (my company HQ is in Irvine, and we often eat at Nobu in the harbor when I'm there) and there are a LOT of boats in that harbor. But I would agree, it's a very different boating vibe than it is here on the Chesapeake Bay.
Click to expand...
@gerryvz, I will agree with you about California and boating. I’ve never seen such a waste of money on boats that never move. I have two friends that had boats.

First guy had a 32’ Marlin with twin Yamaha engines. He paid well over $100K for it. Dock fees were about $200 mo. He blew an engine and it cost him $10K for the replacement. After a few years he took on a partner to help defray the costs. He finally sold it.

Second guy bought about a 40’ inboard cabin cruiser on the east coast. He paid well over $150K for it and had it shipped to Huntington Harbor, CA where he had a condo with a boat dock. He told me he spent about $400 fueling it up for one trip to Catalina and back. After a short time his engine blew up and he said to remove the engine they had to cut a hole the deck. Anyway after spending a bloody fortune on it. He turned around and sold it within a year.

Myself, I spent my high school years in New Orleans. My best bud and I would go out almost every Friday night and hook up his father’s cabin cruiser and tow it south of the city to around Delecroix Island. We launched the boat and sleep in it. Saturday morning we would be fishing for speckled trout, red fish and sheepshead in the brackish waters between Lake Ponchartrain and the Gulf. My buddy now owns a home in Slidell, LA with a covered boat dock with direct access to Lake Ponchartrain. He had to rebuild it after Katrina.

When I first came to California I tried fishing a few times off of the pier but saw it as a waste of time and quit.

Also, My Wife and I have been all over Florida and can see that there is way more boat activity.

PS: All of my money has been spent on cruise ships. I elect to go first class and be pampered by others :jono:

Probably TMI
 
The amount of folks who fish here on the Chesapeake Bay is pretty staggering, from my observations out on the water. I have never been a fisherman (not patient enough), so that's not my vibe, but I appreciate those who do. Center console boats are very popular here as fishing boats (I think even more so down in Florida). Our vibe is more exploring the area by water.

Having grown up in the Seattle area and on Puget Sound and Lake Washington, I grew up with a lot of buddies who had boats. We would go all over the place. The Chesapeake Bay is by water area almost 5x the size of Puget Sound (4,500 vs. 1,000 square miles), so it is a LOT of area to explore. Not to mention going up or down the coast (Delaware Bay, New Jersey, New York, New England) or the Virginia and North Carolina coasts.

Florida is pretty much boating Mecca, in my opinion. I can't wait to visit my boat's manufacturer, and get a tour of their manufacturing facility, when I visit Orlando on a business trip next month. I really do think it's hard to beat Florida if you are really into boating.
 
I have some observations from both living in Florida and Wisconsin (owned a home on Lake Michigan) and working with the boating industry in a previous career:

1.) Boating is a lifestyle. If you don't embrace it, you'll be a slave to it.

2.) If you're worried about the cost, don't.

3.) It is possible to own a boat and not be under water (literally and figuratively.) My deceased father in law had a 17 foot "runabout" with a decent sized outboard motor and a Bimini top. It fit perfectly in his carport and was easily towed with his Buick. I think he paid around $4500 for it some years back. He could take it out on a whim, enjoy some fishing or crabbing or just puttering around either inland waters or the Gulf for a day with minimal effort and cost. I think when he sold it he broke even. Considering the value he got out of it I would say he ended up ahead of the game.

4.) Whenever possible, live on the water and have your own dock/slip.

I would avoid going to a manufacturer unless they build wooden boats. I've spent time in a number of the boatbuilder's plants, like Hatteras and Carver, and if you're in their place more than a few hours it will take weeks to get the odor of fiberglas epoxy out of your sinuses. Nasty stuff.

Dan
 
A friend in a local boating haven in MI (Grosse Pointe Farms / St. Clair Shores) maintains, fixes and restores boats. Our boys grew up together in a small private school (I think they had 9 classmates most years), scouted and played sports together all of their lives, which left Matt and I with plenty of time to get close. This is a 3rd generation business for him, as @LWB250 says "lifestyle". So observing people who buy, rent, sell and own boats as baubles, compared to Matt and his family and clientele, @LWB250's words ring very true. I could see myself one day going whole hog for boating as a "Salt Life" thing, or restoring a wooden one (as one of my former clients did for hobby losses) but that day is not today. Plus I would want a powerboat. A friend used to have one with dual GM crate motors that we'd bounce across and around the Chesapeake Bay in, but that was before kids. I don't know how you do it with kids, except as @LWB250 has stated above.

Funny pic from those days, the boys in the back of the Allroad, wiped out from a 3 day camping trip.

maw
 

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Are fuel prices still rising your side of the pond?

Diesel prices were pegged high at £1.99 per litre here for a few weeks there and just yesterday "fell" to £1.79 per litre. I filled my w221 from quarter tank for only £140 today 😬

Hopefully the pump prices keep falling here and put some sense back into living costs FFS
 
RicardoD said:
Gas prices have been dropping for the past 30 days or so. Time to fill up our V8s!
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I took a nice drive up and down I280 this past week in my v8 powered, gas chugging chariot. It felt great - an indescribably commanding feel of the road at 80+ mph. I felt like I was piloting a shark, parting the waters in a sea of generic soapbox anodyne modern day AMG whatevers and Tesla Dove Bars that make up 50% of NorCal Bay Area I280 Traffic.

The one exception was the guy in the early 90s Teal IROC-Z. He understood. 😎
 
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