Douglas Allen Fais

To the editor,

Gasoline prices are right in line. In 1955 you could buy a Ford for $2,000. Gas was 28 to 33 cents depending on how far from the refinery you were. A pleasant house was about $25,000, and a can of soup was 12 cents.

Fiat (paper) money printed over the years without regard for the future puts the Ford today at about $20,000, (if you're lucky), the house at $250,000, and the can of soup at $1.29. Why should anyone be surprised that gasoline has increased by the same factor of 10?

Gasoline is subsidized by the government in many obscure ways. The Wall Street Journal had a revealing article on the subject a number of years ago, which was a surprise to me. It seems with taxes that subsidization is just a figment of the imagination, and yet with gas at $6.80 in the Netherlands, around $5.00 in Europe, and something like $5.50 in Japan, it is obvious that our gas prices are a bargain and made so by practical governmental administration (no matter who's in power).

Still, it is obvious that we have painted ourselves into a corner, so to speak. With gas held artificially low for decades we have a gas-dependent economy. We all know that and haven't much idea of what to do about it, but you will certainly see a thrust toward much smaller vehicles — already apparent.

Europe has gone mostly diesel, with the notion that that is the way to go for economy. The basic idea is that diesel results in 1/3 better mileage. A refinery can extract 16 gallons of diesel fuel from a 42-gallon barrel of oil — or it can get 23 gallons of gasoline, but not both. A gas-powered car getting the CAFE of 27 mpg can therefore go 611 miles on 23 gallons of gas. The diesel car will get 36 mpg (1/3 of 27 = 9. . .27 + 9 = 36) and will go 576 miles on its product of the 42-gallon barrel.

The individual owner thinks this is great-from the national standpoint it is a loss, unless the refineries are reconfigured to produce much more diesel, which is what the European refineries are busy doing, and that wilI result in overall mileage benefit. As a result of Europe having little use for gas, it has been shipped over here artificially keeping our price low and encouraging everyone to drive a "truck".

If it is any consolation, Europe is now confronted with a huge pollution problem, for though new diesel cars have more pollution controls, the older ones do not, and none of the new or old controls begin to match what gasoline cars sold in America must achieve.

One more point. Like the diesel notion, hybrids are of benefit only to the owner. Americans don't stint, and historically if they drive a car that gets 21 mpg, and then get one that averages 42 mpg, they drive twice as far. Hybrids do very well in town, but the highway mileage is gas mileage, and is usually disappointing at modem American highway speeds.

Be happy with our low gasoline prices!

Douglas Allen Fais

Meredith