1980s Perspective

[srercrcr]

I know alot of you younguns have been puzzled why so many of our GBodies had SIX-cylinder engines. How could we go from the ABodies with the 400 engines down to 231 cubes etc? It would have been ideal to have the downside G with the old 400!!
Well the forces today....the shock and disgust and surrender auto buyers are experiencing now by downsizing to small and thrifty is the same we saw in 1980. Gas prices were similar to todays (same dollars) due to the shutoff of oil from our "friends" in the Mideast. GM ran print advertising comparing the gas mileage of the six cyl Grand Prix against the Toyota Corolla I believe it was.
Panic time once again, but I don't think we're going back to cheap gas this time.

 

[GP403]

GM ran print advertising comparing the gas mileage of the six cyl Grand Prix against the Toyota Corolla I believe it was.

It was a Datsun actually 😀 But yeah, that's the gist of it. That and the great 55mph speed limit. God help us if they think of *that* again. Growing up I never knew anything but 55mph, and once it was lifted in the mid 90s it was like 'WTF?! Why didn't we do this before!!!' 😀

 

[Tony_SS]

Anyone remember the roaring 90s? Heh...

I do to think were in the same pattern here... but also I think the oil companies see the writing on the wall... like competing energy sources powering cars or more extremely efficient cars. Lets hope they are digging their own grave with their greed.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

Actually, oil companies are some of the biggest investors in alternative energy development, most notably Shell and BP. If there is to be a new wave of energy supply, it most likely will come from the oil companies as they are the ones with the financial resources to bring it to market.

 

[Tony_SS]

There are rumors of Chevron having control of patents over the NiMH battery tech thus controlling that market as well. However, I'm sure they won't leave anything on the table as far as the oil industry goes so they'll surpress the EV tech until oil is not longer profitable and more on to the next wave. But not a moment too soon as they don't want to compete with themselves.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

The thing most people don't think about also regarding 80's cars, is that there were six cylinder versions of all the Musclecars of the 60's as well. Yes, you really could get a 1969 "Dukes of Hazzard" style Charger with a 225 slant six as it was the base engine. Most of them were similarly slow to a six cylinder G body, and most base V8's of the 60's were comparable to the V8's of the 80's. A SS350 Nova or Camaro of 1969 was about a mid 15 second car, about the same as a MCSS with the HO 305. The big difference was in potential. The heads, cams, etc. from a 60's car were much better than those in the 80's and they responded to modifications very well. The exhaust system in a dual exhaust big block car was the same as a small block car at about 2 inches in the 60's. GM internal documents even stated that this exhaust could not flow enough to support more than 275hp. This is why these engines really woke up with better exhaust and tuning, and why the magazines of the day were given ringers, and not actual production cars.

 

[DrRansom442]

but also I think the oil companies see the writing on the wall...

They sure do and that word is "profit". 4 out of 5 of the world's most profittible companies are ... oil companies. Why fix what's not broke? They can charge what they feel like and it WILL be paid. Supply limitations, production costs, transportation ... all smoke screen. A 4 billion a year company still makes a profit, if they only make 1 billion. Now if they aimed for only a quarter of the profits, imagine how much cheaper gas COULD be. Product price increases should be to cut loses or to keep up with inflation (IMHO) not to fuel excessive greed. The people who make money from oil, don't care how it impacts the everday man. Just as long as their stocks climb. Something that one should remember when electing politicians from rich Texas oil families.

 

[srercrcr]

You don't understand business at all, you're talking like a spoiled kid who wants his cheap gasoline.

So tell me something genius, how much profit does Exxon make for each dollar of revenue they generate? How does that compare to other industries? Or are you just looking at the profit dollars and saying "that's too much".

I'll tell you one thing, bypassing everything you uttered, if the oil companies don't get a return on their investment and decide it's not worth exploring new fields, who you gonna cry to then?

 

[STLRegal]

ive heard that the goverment makes more off the taxes for each gallon of gas, than the actual gas companies make for each gallon. If thats the case, it may not be the gas companies who are ****ing us.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

The oil companies make around $0.08 per gallon of gas while state and federal taxes are between $0.40 and $0.67 per gallon. The main problem is supply, and the refusal by Marxist leaning Democrats and environmentalists to actually tap into what we have in our country. This forces us to go elsewhere to buy our oil from the supplies of other nations. Plus, we have not built any more refining capacity in this country since the 70's, so now 30% of our refining has to be done in other countries then shipped here. These are facts, not speculations. However, the Stalinists in the Congress find it necessary to put on show trials of corporate executives to try and place the blame on someone else's shoulders, much like what was done in the old Soviet Union. During the most recent show trials, Speaker of the House Nancy Pulosi has even said she wanted to nationalize the oil companies if prices get too high. So, really, that is the true objective, the nationalization of private industries and progressing away from the capitalist model of economics and into the Marxist one. After all, if the cornerstone of our economy, petroleum, can be taken over by the government, then it will be fairly easy to eliminate private ownership of other, smaller sectors of the economy. Like health care, or automobiles, or houses. Look at where Great Brittan is going, with "Carbon Rationing Cards" to see just how much of a democratically elected tyranny a modern nation can get itself into when people give up personal liberty for a false sense of security or morality.