Countdown has started

[mbyron]

Originally posted by Carl Childress

The energy department said that crude would remain at $50 a barrel - permanently. That is, the days of $30 crude are over. I suggest the IRS will moderate its tone.

I wouldn't trust the energy department. The oil futures market is the place for this info: some traders are betting on $90, others on $19 for next year, but a plurality are putting their money in the $50-60 range for the first 6 months of 2006. That's not the same as saying that we'll never again see $30 oil.

In any case, if gas is $2.50/gal and your car gets 15 MPG, gas costs you 16¢ per mile, less than 1/3 of the current IRS mileage rate. And, a 20% increase in the price of gas (to $3.00) would raise that number only 4¢.

I paid $2.09 yesterday and get 27 MPG, so gas costs me only about 8¢ per mile. Your mileage may vary.

The main factor in mileage is depreciation, which is only indirectly linked to fuel prices.

Gotta love the off-season.