Gas Prices are making me nauseous!

[LVSteve]

You boy's ain't going to like this but I'm thinking it ain't high enough yet! Just yesterday coming home from work (I drive 70 miles round trip) on the E way I was getting passed by everyone and their brother, I drive 65 to save gas and I'm telling you that a guy can get run over real fast. The same people that cry about gas prices won't be bothered with trying to lower their cost of driving by using their right foot a little less. Seems that people today want someone else to fix their problem instead of changing the way they do business. Maybe if gas gets to $6.00 a gallon these people won't be able to drive their 4/4s,Suv's and every thing else 80 miles per hour. Just my 2 cents.

I've had this discussion with several co-workers through the last few gas price hikes. I tell them flat that I don't want to hear any griping about gas prices when I see them going to work weaving and dodging down the freeway with lots of harsh acceleration and braking. All that is usually in the name of "keeping up with traffic" or some other lame excuse for speeding. It is simple to save gas on the freeway. If possible, pick one lane, stick the cruise on at the limit or a few over and stay that way until your exit whenever possible.

My bigger worry when gas prices go up are the clowns who try to join a 65mph+ freeway at 40 because they don't want to push the gas pedal. Last gas price hike there was a noticeable hike in "top of the on-ramp" wrecks.

 

[Frank237]

We were at $2.98 here for a month or so...now up to $3.40 or maybe more. Seems to go up a few cents every day.

How would you like to be a 90 mile round trip to Town? Thats our dilemma. Everything out here is a long drive. If it goes up to $5 or more ,we are doomed out here in rural America.

I expect Fed-Ex/UPS to raise their rates here real soon. So getting an item shipped IN will cost more. Ya can't win.

FN in MT

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

Well, I guess I'm to blame. My suburban gets 16-17 MPG (used to get 18 until everything went to 10%) and it cost me around 120 to fill it up if I let it get down to empty (usually though I let it only get to the $100-$105 mark). But it DOES tow my boat and it IS paid for. I really see no sense whatsoever in shelling out 35k for an almost new Suburban just to get a smaller gas tank and 18-19 mpg.
And as far as ladies driving suburbans when they don't have to-my daughter drives a suburban and she doesn't tow boats or anything. But she was able to buy it for 10k two years ago (2004 model with 41,000 miles on it). I figure that she is still ahead on the gas than if she had bought that new Accord for 24,000 and she is a hell of a lot safer in that suburban than the Honda.

 

[LVSteve]

Well, I guess I'm to blame. My suburban gets 16-17 MPG (used to get 18 until everything went to 10%) and it cost me around 120 to fill it up if I let it get down to empty (usually though I let it only get to the $100-$105 mark). But it DOES tow my boat and it IS paid for. I really see no sense whatsoever in shelling out 35k for an almost new Suburban just to get a smaller gas tank and 18-19 mpg.
And as far as ladies driving suburbans when they don't have to-my daughter drives a suburban and she doesn't tow boats or anything. But she was able to buy it for 10k two years ago (2004 model with 41,000 miles on it). I figure that she is still ahead on the gas than if she had bought that new Accord for 24,000 and she is a hell of a lot safer in that suburban than the Honda.

This is the point that so many miss. Gas is only one part of the cost of motoring. Here in NV insurance and registration on newish vehicles is quite a chunk as well as the gouging dealers' selling prices.

Here is my own example. My latest car averages 20-21mpg where the last one did 23-25mpg. I'm not worried because I will probably sell my late wife's van this year and save a bunch in those other costs. With the reduced insurance and registration together with cash in my hand, even with gas at $4/gallon it would take years for me to get "behind" as it were.

 

[Steve in Vermont]

I watched a special on TV the other night in which a commentator was reporting from Mongolia. Behind him was a traffic rotary buzzing with small cars. He went on to explain that a few years ago cars were virtually unknown in that city. Now they can't build roads and cars fast enough. And this is happening in hundreds of cities throughout the world. People have discovered cars and like the mobility it gives them. Add to that the increase in population, the need for more fertilizer, etc, and we in the US are now competing for a finite resource. How many times have we heard people say "let's go out for dinner" and drive 20 or 30 miles to do so? Or "It's a nice day, let's go for a drive"? Or sit in their (running) cars at a drive through coffee shop or burger joint? Simply put, we are going to have to change our driving habits. We can no longer treat oil as an inexhaustible, cheap commodity. Want to bring the price down? Drive less.

 

[Sebago Son]

Steve,

Reducing our consumption will actually drive the cost per gallon upward. Fewer gallons in throughput against fixed refinery costs will increase the cost load per gallon.

There is no oil shortage. And actually, there is sufficient US refinery capacity to serve domestic needs. Note we are not seeing widespread outages of refined products.

The problem is that international influences on crude pricing are driving up domestic prices. It sure as hell didn't COST $30 more per barrel to extract, transport, refine and distribute Texas sweet crude between October 2011 and March 2012, even though the PRICE increased dramatically.

We could all be driving Yukons or Geos and it wouldn't influence the pump price one bit. The only "benefit" would be that individually we would pay less to go the same miles. People like to hold up Europe as an example. Look at the cars they drive. 30+MPG is common place, yet their fuel costs are double what they are here... In fact, here in the US, since the CAFE for passenger vehicles was established in 1975, fuel efficiency has actually increased from 18 to 30MPG while at the same time fuel prices have increased almost 1000%.

With the current economic petroleum model, the only way that the US Consumer is going to see any real, consistent relief is if domestic production produces a glut of refined product and there is no offshore market access or even market influence sufficient to offset the advantages of selling gasoline (or Diesel) on the international market.

As further development of this position requires the discussion of politics, I'll leave it right there.

Drew

 

[OFT II]

Drew, West Texas Intermediate sold for $93.30 in the middle of October, 2011 and sold for $106.59 on February 28, 2011. That's a little over $13.00 for 42 gallons of oil. Now, I did show the price for WTI, not WT sweet since it's the most common crude refined into gasoline.

You, sir, are absolutely right.

 

[loknload]

How many times have we heard people say "let's go out for dinner" and drive 20 or 30 miles to do so? Or "It's a nice day, let's go for a drive"? Or sit in their (running) cars at a drive through coffee shop or burger joint? Simply put, we are going to have to change our driving habits. We can no longer treat oil as an inexhaustible, cheap commodity. Want to bring the price down? Drive less.

Nope I'm not bending over for the Global market. I'm not changing my way of life to appease the upbringing of some other country I could care less what they are getting to like. We have the oil in this country and we need to start drilling and refining it for our use and not for the use and greed of Speculators.
Sorry but The U.S. comes first in my book, and we've been bent over by the others a little to long now!

 

[TNFrank]

Main thing is get something that's fun to drive, that way you'll get your money's worth.

 

[Cyrano]

Yesterday gas was $3.50± in El Paso. No telling what it is today.

But what's the price of a gallon of Jack Daniels these days?

 

[Duster42]

$4.00 for reg.

 

[Moonman]

Oil supply is UP, Demand is DOWN, supply and demand no longer works as the whole system is broken.

SPECULATORS and Goldman Sachs have a monopoly FIX going on the market place of oil.

I just heard on the radio that gas will be $5 gallon in may.

 

[joeintexas]

$103.00 a gallon here....oh wait...that's for a gallon of my crown royal..sorry. $3.69 for the gas to get there.

 

[cussedemgun]

Oil supply is UP, Demand is DOWN, supply and demand no longer works as the whole system is broken.

SPECULATORS and Goldman Sachs have a monopoly FIX going on the market place of oil.

I just heard on the radio that gas will be $5 gallon in may.

Yesterday I paid $4.549 for regular. As per the above posts, I think we are trying to over simplify the big picture.

Supply) To increase crude production will do nothing to increase refinery output. Fact is refinerys have been running to capacity or nearly so for a few years now. To bring a new one online here in the good ol' U.S.A. will take at least 10 years worth of study (EPA statements) gov. permits, court challenges, ETC. before construction could begin.

The second choke valve limiting supply to the consumer is the transport infrastructure for moving crude to the refinery & also transporting finished product to the market place. Such things as super tankers & pipelines don't happen overnight.

I am pinched as much as the next by the high prices & a fixed income, but I am still happy I live in a free economy. I for one DO NOT want gov. price fixes. If we can't afford gas now, just wait 'till the beaurocrats get involved further & decide it needs "reforming".

 

[jag312]

It was $4.35 at a Shell station when I filled the tank this past Sunday. Soon it will be warm enough to ride my motorcycle to work.

 

[o3rugby1]

3.56 In central Ky... Its these poor Big Rig drivers I feel for...