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N0KFQ > TODAY 16.12.14 19:15l 57 Lines 2678 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 42322_N0KFQ
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - Dec 16
Path: IZ3LSV<IR1UAW<IQ5KG<I0OJJ<N6RME<N0KFQ
Sent: 141216/1815Z 42322@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA BPQK1.4.62
Dec 16, 1979:
OPEC states raise oil prices
On December 16, 1979, the night before the Organization of
Petroleum Exporting Countries' annual price-setting meeting in
Caracas, two member states (Libya and Indonesia) announce plans
to raise the price of their oil by $4 (Libya) and $2 (Indonesia)
per barrel. (The resulting prices--$30 and $25.50 per barrel,
respectively--were among the highest they had ever been.) These
diplomatic maneuverings were intended to keep OPEC's "price
hawks" from raising them even further; nevertheless, by the end
of 1979 the cost of oil had more than doubled since the end of
the previous year.
This price hike only exacerbated an energy crisis that had been
going on since the beginning of 1979. An Iranian oil-field strike
and the January revolution had disrupted oil supplies from that
part of the Middle East, and an earlier OPEC fee increase had
sent prices inching toward an all-time high. By the time the
Iranian hostage crisis began in November, Americans were already
dealing with the effects of this "oil shock": long lines and
short tempers at gas pumps, panics over gasoline and heating oil
shortages, and frustration with the inefficient, gas-guzzling
vehicles manufactured by American automakers.
These inconveniences reminded many Americans of the oil crisis of
1973-1974, when an Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
(OPEC) embargo sent gasoline prices through the roof: By the time
that embargo ended, the average retail price of gas had climbed
to 84 cents per gallon from 38 cents per gallon. As a result, the
big, heavy cars that American automakers were famous for became
incredibly expensive to operate--many got fewer than 10 miles to
every gallon of gas!--and many people traded their gas-guzzling
muscle cars and gigantic luxury sedans for more fuel-efficient
compact cars. This episode had not ended well for American
carmakers, who had rushed some smaller cars to market without
thoroughly checking them for problems and quirks, which in turn
contributed to their growing reputation for unreliability and
poor craftsmanship. Once the immediate crisis had subsided, most
of those domestic compacts were left to languish on dealers'
lots.
However, during the 1979 energy crisis, Japanese carmakers gained
a reputation for building inexpensive, reliable, efficient cars
that were particularly well-suited to the new era of austerity.
That year, Datsun, Subaru, Toyota and Honda--whose Accord sedan
was one of the most successful cars of 1979--all gained a
permanent foothold in the American marketplace.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: kohiggs@gmail.com
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