The price of New York crude oil hit a record high of US$107 per barrel on Monday amid a weak dollar and growing concerns over tightening supplies.
It beat the previous all-time record of $106.54 reached last Friday.
I was but a young lad back in 1974 or soo.. okay I was 7... ANYWAY Sitting at the dinner table my father recounts the daily sales; as he was a Salesman at Sears in the Automotive Department. From that earnings he was able to support his family.
I remember the Hurried rush to a gas station back when the Nixon era oil embargo to fill up his and me Mums cars... Big beast that got maybe 15 miles to the gallon. Buick Electra 225 with a MONSTER 455 cubic inch with a equally monster 4 barrel Rodchester Carberator.
Sorry for the minute diversion.
On this particular day of sales a Gentleman comes in BOASTING that his Pontiac (can't recall if it was a Grandville or Bonnieville) with a big old 400 cubic inch 8 cylinder engine was getting almost 30 miles to the Gallon!!!!!!!!
THIS during an era where a car that got over 20MPG was a small sub compact and usually was made by either American Motors (remember the Gremlin?) or a Japanese manufacturer.
After stating about this gentleman's happiness about how his car could drive then a miracle mile, this person came in to have a scheduled maintenance.
My Father said that when this guy drove out he wasn't going to have such of a great gas mileage...
WHY?! do you ask... according to my father, Union 76 among other oil companies. had a bounty on Carberators that were Test units; that somehow found their way into the regular production line...
$500.00 was the bounty... (that was like maybe $2,000.00 today)
NOW hearing of a car that gets 30+MPG today well that is a... what maybe a small 6 cylinder front wheel drive with electronic fuel control.
What I am getting at is back in the earily 1970's engineers had the right formula for obtaining a grander gas mileage and even in a car that weighed better than 2 tons. If ( yeah "if" dandelions were money I wouldn't care how bad my lawn got) Oil Companies didn't meddle in our lives as they have and are doing now... I wonder how grand life would be
Unknown "DUCKIE!"
- 16 years, 8 months, 15 days ago