My F150 has a 36 gallon tank and get's 12/18. That's nobody's fault but my own, so I don't blame anybody for my choice of an inefficient vehicle for a daily driver that isn't paid for yet...but it still *****. I will stick with my little creek boat, and might pick up an old used jon for a little local lake that is 5 minutes from my house. That'll probably be the extent of what I do this year...might take a planned trip or two, but who knows.

To add to elwood's list...In my industry (tires), tire prices are going through the roof too...we are taking 6-8% price increases every couple of months on the passenger and light truck tires. A tire that cost the consumer $100 a few months ago, now costs more like $125. Seeing even higher 10-12% increases on the bigger commercial truck tires...and every indication is that they will keep coming until sometime late this year. I have received at least 10 letters from our suppliers over the last couple of weeks already announcing the next round of increases for April.

A combination of flooding in Southeast Asia where all of the rubber trees are, the Chinese market growing and consuming more of that rubber for tires, and the value of the dollar...means tight supply. Throw in increased oil prices (there are petroleum products in a tire) and we now have never before seen price hikes. I work with guys that have been in the business 40 years - They've never seen it.

Folks are going to (a) drive less miles, (b) not buy tires for their vehicle as often, and (c) not be able to afford to replace worn/dangerous tires.

Also, because the value of the dollar ***** compared to some other countries, some of the foreign manufacturers that we now rely on are starting to ship product to other countries before the U.S. because they can make more money with the exchange rate. That means tires are getting hard to source, so supply is smaller than demand, and prices skyrocket. I'm sure other industries are seeing similar issues.

The price (and profit) of oil is all about speculation. When the price on the sign at Speedway jumps .30 overnight, they don't actually have .30 more in the gas that is already in the ground. It will be some time before the crude oil that the refineries are buying right now at a higher price will actually make it's way to your local gas station. It's a Wall Street controlled game...

That one price...a barrel of sweet crude oil...makes us or breaks us. It's the starting point for what determines so much of our economy.

Axe the unions, fire up American plants, and tap our own oil supply in places where we know it exists!!!!!