i do not know how many of you were old enough to remember the "energy crisis"in the U.S.,in 1973...
I'm assuming most folks in here remember it as many of you were probably still teenagers,etc..
anyway the OPEC nations got together and began limiting the amount of crude oil being shipped out to the other nations of the world!
and they were threatning to raise the price of a barrel of crude oil!
can you believe ,as a working man with a family then,that we all went into SHOCK just fearing that gas prices may goto $.55 a gallon at the pump!
no...that's not a misprint! it's $.55(55 cents)a gallon!
prior to that time and as long as i can remember since i earned my DRIVERS LICENSE in 1952 as a 16 year old high school student,
gas prices then ran...(hold on to you hat!!!) $.29 a gallon for regular!
sometime,the little independent stations would have GAS WARS,on the week ends and then you could fill up your tank for $.15 to $.21 a gallon!
all cars were made of METAL then and most automobiles were 8 cylinders!
the "Beatle bug"(voltzwagon)was really the only small car around that that could be purchased for fuel econmy!
so...........we all stood in GAS LINES ,when we needed gas because there was a shortage for every service station in the country!
it got so bad that the NIXON Administration set into force a plan that called for all license automobiles to fill up according to their licene tag number...
if yout tag ended in an even number,then you could buy gas on Monday,Wednesday,Friday and Sunday's!
and of course if your tag ended with an odd number,then you could buy gas on Tuesday,Thursday,Saturdays!!!
and,most gas stations were being supplied on a limited amount of fuel,during this time....
so,to make sure that you could get gas,you had to plan on getting up at 5:00 am, on your day to purchase gas and drive to your favorite gas pump and GET IN LINE!!!!
yes,there would be lines of autos several blocks long,some mornings!
to make matters worse,you could only purchase just a few gallons each time!
BUT,if the station had pumped it's limit before you made it to the pump...tough crap!!!   you got no gas there!
(i know of a few stations where folks and companies would PAD the POCKETS of the service station owner,just to make sure that their vehicles got fuel that day)!!!
the service stations would remain open in the mornings for about 3 hoiurs...usual 6:am to 9:00am...then they would shut down til the late evening for folks to get fuel once again...remaining open only 2 or 3 hours5:00pm to 8:00pm...
and that's the way it went for over a year or so and then the OPEC countries finally got their act together as gas prices across the U.S.,began to rise to $.60....$.65, $.70 and $.75 cents a gallon!
prices soard as time went by,then some stations would reduce prices to keep their customers!
the little CRISIS also was the beginning of the SELF SERVICE gas stations!
until that time,a gas attendent would come out and fill up you auto with whatever amount you asked for!
they also checked your oil, cleaned your winshield, checked your windshiel wipers,tire pressure and even your trasmission fluid,if needed!(all apart of their servive to the driving public back then...for FREE,too!)
THEN CONGRESS got into the act by declaring that the big automakes should spend some of their profits to find new ways to make cars get better gas mileage,etc.!
SOOOO, that's why all autos are made of PLATIC and FIBERGLASS bodies,now!
but the BIG GUNS in the AUTO industry also charge higher prices for the "new"little autos being produced !
for many years after that millions of "small econmy "autos were making their presence know throught the U.S.,and the world!
AUTO SAFETY took a BACK SEAT during that time,too!
BUT,the BIG OIL Companies have yet to produce on a full scale,any new alternatives to gasoline!
Once the big CRISIS was over,the BIG AUTO makers started producing the big SUV'S and GAS GUZZLERS by the millions again!!!
so what's my point here?
well,we are in the rising GAS PRICES because our own country, THE U.S.of A., failed to make better economy cars,and mass produce the GUZZLER'S like there's no tomorrow!
this is really the way it was and any of you 50 years of age and older know it's thre gospel truth!!!
but again,when you blame the BUSH ADMINISTRATION for all the problerms of FUEL COST, ETC.,just remember this story!
Make no DOUBT about it,friends....
WE(our country) brought a lot of these problems on ourselves!!!!
You will hate it the minute that you have to get up at 5:00 am, in the morning to drive to your nearest service station and pump 5 or 10 gallons (whatever the linit maybe...but there will be one!) just so that you can get to work the next two days....
believe me...you really will HATE IT!
tar