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To: BigBull who wrote (48163)	7/19/1999 11:58:00 AM
From: Ken Robbins	Respond to of 95453

Crude now flat, NG up .013 <eom>

To: BigBull who wrote (48163)	7/19/1999 12:05:00 PM
From: BigBull	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 95453

Interesting article on European car production and British petrol consumption - both going up. finance.uk.yahoo.com Fool's Eye View -- The Great Car Economy By Rob Davies (TMFEssex) A recent survey on car use in the north of England reached the rather frightening conclusion that petrol prices would have to rise tenfold on certain key routes if car use was to be reduced by 35%. Even that alone would not be enough to achieve the aim; it would have to be allied to a draconian regime of parking controls and road tolls. However, the fact that the survey was funded by Railtrack, Northern Spirit (a train company) and Manchester Airport amongst others gives some clue to the hidden agenda. We all deplore the congestion of pollution caused by other people's cars, but equally we know that the alternatives are even worse. On the Tube, the heat, humidity and air quality levels are so poor that animals would not be allowed to travel in those conditions. Another case of the English treating their animals better than their fellow countrymen. Unfortunately, the government has limited its options for re-financing the Tube by ruling out full-scale privatisation. The alternatives are some form of public/private funding but it will be hard to formulate a structure that gives sufficient upside for a public company in return for risking its capital. For all the faults of the railway privatisation, and there are many, it has delivered a 25% increase in passenger volumes. Moreover, you can now claim compensation when the train is late. That never happened with British Rail. The problem is that we cannot afford not to have a vibrant car economy. This year the UK car market is expected to exceed 2m cars again, making it one of the best years ever. And this vibrancy is not unique to the UK. French carmakers Peugeot and Renault yesterday announced 15% and 9.4% increases in world-wide car sales respectively. Renault has sold 1.7m vehicles and Peugeot 767,000 in the first six months of the year. Spain has been especially buoyant with sales growth of 22% in the period. Car sales in the US are still rising as well, after twenty quarters of growth, and are expected to hit 22m units this year. That is a lot of cars.