With the unstable economy imposing itself in a negative way into the lives of ordinary people it is critical that families economise so that they can use their earnings to maximum potential. One of the major expenses in most family budgets is now gasoline which has surpassed the $4.00 per gallon threshold with the rest of the world seeing soaring gas prices much of the same is expected to hit the average American commuter. American prices are however still a lot cheaper than some places in the world where place like the U.K pay $12.00 per gallon.

How Does the Average Family Reduce Fuel Expenses?

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The worldwide rise in crude oil prices have most of the world lurching from one petrol price hike to the next. Yet people wonder, what determines a rise in prices?

The pricing of petrol in countries is determined by the current crude price, the cost of production, demand by its people, the relative strength of its currency, whether it is an oil-producing nation, whether oil is subsidized by the government, taxation, and other factors.

The largest petrol consumer on the world is the United States, which consumes up up to an average 386 million gallons (or 1.46 gigaliters) a day in the year 2005. Because of this large hunger for oil products, the United States has made making oil available as much as possible a government policy. In the US, the cost breakdown shows that about 52% of the cost goes to pay for crude, 24% to processing, 15% to taxation, and 9% to marketing and distribution.

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Over the last 7 years the price of gas has been in an ever increasing spiral. As the value of the dollar falls (relative to other currencies) and global demand for oil based products increases, the law of supply and demand has propelled the price of a barrel of oil to record highs. So my question is: what can we (the consumer) do about it?

Here are a few ideas to get the discussion started…feel free to add your own

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In Barcelona, Spain last week Honda F1 team has tested its new aerodynamic design which was in the form of “elephant ears”.

The Honda RA107 which was driven by Christian Klien with its protruding elephant ears on its front nose was following the heels on MacLaren’s nose-straddling front wing. Unfortunately it seems like the elephant ears are not really meant for racing, the Honda F1 team has set the slowest time of the day. The team has finally decided not to push through with their new aerodynamic design since it has done nothing to enhance the performance of their car.

According to Jacky Eeckelaert, engineering director, “The main purpose of our test programme this week was to evaluate different aerodynamic configurations which have been developed in order to improve the braking stability of the car. The braking is definitely better now and the lap times have improved and become more consistent, but there is still a long way to go to bring the team back into contention.”

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