I read the sticker on a Volvo driven into a Costco warehouse to advertise new car discounts offered to Costco members. That was just last Sun.

My aside was intended as a reminder to people (if they need a reminder) that there are people who, if they can afford to buy an expensive automobile, can also afford the gas that feeds it. We have a thread for gas price updates. This thread is about the price of oil and what, if anything, can be done about it.

I'm perfectly happy with my little 16 yr. old Isuzu I-Mark. That's the model Isuzu put an 8-cylinder engine into and had handling designed by Lotus because it's so quick. It also gets 24-32MPG.

interesting, Liz...you look down on WalMart and assure us all you never frequent that den of inequity but you have no such qualms with Costco...

As for the price of oil and cars...Lets not give up on the internal combustion engine too quickly. The latest Popular Mechanics had a rather interesting article about a new kind of internal combustion engine that rivals the latest hybreds in terms of emissions and fuel economy. Do a web search of HCCI engines or go pick up the latest PM.

Homogeneous Charge Combustion Compression engines are hardly new, Law. First production was in the 1890s. I remember (well, read about, I’m not that old) the Hot-Bulb HCCI engine that held 80% of the marine engine market in the 1920s. I’ve heard that some of the Atlas marine engines are still in use here on the west coast.

While it is true that HCCI provides up to a 15-percent fuel savings, while meeting current emissions standards, it does have a number of disadvantages: High peak pressures that tend to destroy the engine if the mixture gets a little too rich, a limited power range, and difficulty of control. HCCI engines are really only suitable for more-or-less single speed operation such as marine engines and electrical power generation. In addition, even though NOx levels are essentially eliminated, they have high carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon emissions, although these can be reduced using catalytic converters.

I’m not sure what Popular Mechanics magazine has to say about them, but I’m not about to waste my money on an pseudo-engineering tabloid publication.

In my opinion (mechanical engineer, propulsion specialty), HCCI engines would be a good candidate for some types of hybrids: where they could be run at constant speed to charge batteries/flywheels/whatever. There would have to be some trade-offs, however, because of their weight: they must be very stout to withstand the knock problem.

Regarding Costco:

We have several Costco stores in the Seattle area. They are held in universally high regard for the quality of their products, reasonable prices, and happy cooperative employees. Their employee compensation is sufficiently generous that they are able to pick and choose from a long line of applicants. This stands in sharp contrast to Wal-Mart, which has a reputation for having low prices at the expense of product quality and bottom-of-the-barrel employees that are willing to work for minimum wage and no benefits.

There is a message here. Costco is quite profitable because they are willing to treat their customers and their employees fairly, while achieving their success through efficient operation. Smart, not simply greedy.

And no, I don’t own any Costco stock.

To get back to the price of oil: Many Costco stores have a large gas station in their parking lot that sells gas to Costco members at several cents below the local cut-rate stations.