every one please read this about gas prices

[threewheelin-feelin]

i dont know how many of you heard about this but i heard it this morning on CNN.....im sending this out to every forum im a member of....its time to make a stand here guys so the gas companys will stop rapping us! im gonna try and find more info on this but my computer is being so slow tonight i dont feel like messing with it.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/stories/MYSA042606.01A.gas_boycott.a7f4954.html

[3Razors]

I agree. These gas companies are just milking this whole "the world needs more energy" crap. I also believe that our own government has a hand in it too!!!!

[travis712]

I doubt this will work. Exxon will just sell there gas to other companies, thus all the companies will sell for a little higher price. Its not like no one will buy from exxon, its just no one will buy from exxon directly. Its a good idea though, nothing else is being done.

[OldSchoolin86]

If you look at the history of fuel prices from the late '70s you'll see that fuel prices are just finally catching up with inflation. Seems like a lot of people are crying about "big oil" making record profits but with the world growing as fast as it is of course they're going to be making more money. Prices go up, consumption goes up and so does profit. Actually their margins are lower then normal businesses. I'll pay $3+ a gallon all day, everything else has doubled or tripled in the last couple decades, why shouldn't fuel prices?

[crackshot]

If you look at the history of fuel prices from the late '70s you'll see that fuel prices are just finally catching up with inflation. Seems like a lot of people are crying about "big oil" making record profits but with the world growing as fast as it is of course they're going to be making more money. Prices go up, consumption goes up and so does profit. Actually their margins are lower then normal businesses. I'll pay $3+ a gallon all day, everything else has doubled or tripled in the last couple decades, why shouldn't fuel prices?

Agreed. USA is long overdue for increased gas prices.
England is like 7.00 per gallon except gas is sold per litre.
Say goodbye to .98 to 1.00 per gallon days, 3 bucks per gallon is here to stay.

[ATC crazy]

I'll pay $3+ a gallon all day, everything else has doubled or tripled in the last couple decades, why shouldn't fuel prices?

Yea, milk is around $3 a gallon....but do you buy 30 gallons of it a week? Same with shampoo...Im sure you dont go through 30 gallons a week! That goes for coffee, makeup, drinks, ect....

You go right ahead and pay $3 a gallon. The only way I will pay that is if I ride my motorcycle 5 days of the week. To fill a 4 gallon tank at $3, it would be $7, and that would last me 2 weeks.

Now my truck: 25 gallon tank @ $3 would be $75 a week for me. I make about $220-250 a week working part-tme. I dont have that kind of money to be spending on gas! If you do, then go right ahead...

[OldSchoolin86]

Yea, milk is around $3 a gallon....but do you buy 30 gallons of it a week? Same with shampoo...Im sure you dont go through 30 gallons a week! That goes for coffee, makeup, drinks, ect....

You go right ahead and pay $3 a gallon. The only way I will pay that is if I ride my motorcycle 5 days of the week. To fill a 4 gallon tank at $3, it would be $7, and that would last me 2 weeks.

Now my truck: 25 gallon tank @ $3 would be $75 a week for me. I make about $220-250 a week working part-tme. I dont have that kind of money to be spending on gas! If you do, then go right ahead...
So you don't think fuel is allowed to rise with inflation? I understand that nobody wants to pay a lot of what they earn in fuel costs but why doesn't oil have the right to increase with inflation? I could see this being a little harder with the younger guys because prices caught up in a hurry and all they saw was a big jump but the cost of fuel has been long over due for an increase. It's not about wanting to pay more it's just life. I'm not going to complain about fuel costing what it should. Look at about 2 decades of fuel prices then compare it to everything else. Have the prices of homes and car doubled and tripled in the last 20 years? Of course they have. 20 years ago 8-9 bucks an hour was decent, now you have a hard time getting even a high school kid to work for that. I guess I just don't see why America is so shocked.

Personally I think it's a lot like a South Park episode I saw last night. It was about child abductions and every time the "media" started preaching another angle the "public" started freaking out again. The other day I heard a report that was aimed at stirring the pot and it talked about what fuel costs are in Venezuela and Iraq. Well of course the price is going to be outstanding they make their own and use it as a world bargaining chip! It just kills me what the media tries to pull over the public. Take a look at what Canada, Japan, China and most European countries are paying, we're getting off pretty easy at $3 a gallon. No offence but this battle to lower fuel prices really doesn't make any sense.

[200xcellent]

Yea, milk is around $3 a gallon....but do you buy 30 gallons of it a week? Same with shampoo...Im sure you dont go through 30 gallons a week! That goes for coffee, makeup, drinks, ect....

You go right ahead and pay $3 a gallon. The only way I will pay that is if I ride my motorcycle 5 days of the week. To fill a 4 gallon tank at $3, it would be $7, and that would last me 2 weeks.

Now my truck: 25 gallon tank @ $3 would be $75 a week for me. I make about $220-250 a week working part-tme. I dont have that kind of money to be spending on gas! If you do, then go right ahead...

How is 4 gallons of gas 7 dollars at 3 dollars a gallon? Gas prices of the early 80s compared with the average income would be like paying over 3 dollars a gallon now. Its not the first or last time our country is going to have to deal with this.

[okieRrider]

4 gallons x $3 = $12

[dreadhed]

If you look at the history of fuel prices from the late '70s you'll see that fuel prices are just finally catching up with inflation. Seems like a lot of people are crying about "big oil" making record profits but with the world growing as fast as it is of course they're going to be making more money. Prices go up, consumption goes up and so does profit. Actually their margins are lower then normal businesses. I'll pay $3+ a gallon all day, everything else has doubled or tripled in the last couple decades, why shouldn't fuel prices?

I agree with you. Most don't know that the oil CO. only makes about 8-10% profit. For those that can't afford to pay that much for a truck need to get a diffrent car or change how they spend thier money.


Agreed. USA is long overdue for increased gas prices.
England is like 7.00 per gallon except gas is sold per litre.
Say goodbye to .98 to 1.00 per gallon days, 3 bucks per gallon is here to stay.
Your comprasion to Englans is apples & oranges. The gas is so high thier because of taxes. Same with Canada. Our gas should be lower & if it ever gets that high due to taxes the USA has a serious problem we are all ready over taxed & the Gov. just keeps spending money we don't have.

For those who don't like paying $3 or more than they should look at other ways of getting around. I am looking at getting a watse vegatble oil kit for my work truck. You can use oil for restraunts to run a diesle motor. I drive any where from 50 to 200 miles a day & if I can do that on vegie oil that seems like a good idea to me. YOu can also make diesle from vegie oil & pour it right in you tank for much less than the cost of gas.

If we wanted lower prices they should have built oil refineries a long time ago, & also drill for oil. Although I think it would help if they looked into other forms of fuel like Brazil. Thier cars run on diffrent types of fuels. I think the oil CO.s don't want to switch & that is where they a screwing us.

[Howdy]

When I started my first non-farm job I was making $1.65 a hour. I had to buy my own gas at $0.69 to $0.79 a gallon. I spent $15-$20 a week in gas back then ( 1/2 my pay check ).
Now many years later gas has went up 400% ( from when I was a kid ). My income has risen a lot more than 800% ( from back then ). I am a lot better off now even with gas at $3 a gallon. Do I like paying $3 a gallon? Not at all. I would rather rhave the money I am spending on gas for other things.

The problem here is that everyone got acustom ( sp? ) to cheap fuel. We all bought big cars, trucks, SUV's, ect. Now that fuel prices have went up some of us can't afford to drive these vehicles. Gas prices went up and everyone is cry foul. In reality we all should be happy we got off cheap for as long as we did.

Bottom line is this: If everyone wants to get fuel prices to drop, then:Bounce they must make some sacrifices. Give up the gas guzzler and start driving something that gets better gas mileage. Instead of going to the store every day, go once or 2 times a week. Other way to save fuel: Car pool to work, keep proper maintance on your vehicles, ect. Boycotting 1-2 gas companies will NOT work. This will put a strain on the other companies and they will end up buying the extra gas that the 1-2 boycotted companies produce any how. It does work this way.

To get the prices to drop EVERYONE needs to conserve fuel. The more we can conserve the better off we will be. I know I have really cut back useage. Just driving my car verses my truck has saved us 15-20 gallon of gas per week. Just think what would happen to gas prices if 1/2 the drivers were able to do this. Just 1 million drivers doing this would save 15-20 million gallons of gas per week. Just think if 10 million people did this. It's not hard to do IF you really want to.


Edited: FYI, Back when I was a kid we could get 12 loafs of Bread for $1. Yes, it was FRESH bread!! Try doing that now. You can't even make your own for that now. And milk was mentioned above. We got that for $0.49 a gallon ( 3 gallon for $1.00 when it was onsale ). Times have changed, and prices for everything are changing as well.
Howdy

[timex69]

hey
i like this thread and i thought id post my 2 cents on this issue. I wasnt around when fuel was really cheap because im only 16 but in my life ive watched it go from 60 cents a litre all the way to 1.13. During huricane katrina gas in my province went up to 1.60 i beleive it was per litre. Petrolium is going to keep going up due to supply and demand.

I think the best thing you can do is try and use as little fuel as possible and drive cars/trucks that get decent fuel econemy. I got my drivers licence about 8 months ago and i drive 2 vehicles a 1999 toyota tercel that gets about 40 miles/gallon but its too damn small and then when i want to spend a fortune in fuel i drive a 1994 GMC sierra that on a good day gets about 14 miles/gallon. I dont know about you guys but it seems the best thing we can do is drive 4 and 6 cylinder cars and trucks.

My hat is off to everyone who can afford to run 1/2 pickup trucks because i sure cant.


thats my story

[TimSr]

Blaming and demonizing corporations is what lazy government officials do as a smokescreen to cover their own incompetence and stupidity.

Oil companies average an 8-9% profit margin. The government makes 20-22% profit on a gallon of gas (taxes) that they did absolutely nothing to produce or deliver other than make it more difficult to do so. WHO is screwing WHO??????? If people put half as much effort into holding blowhard politicians accountable as they are willing to blame publically owned corporations, politicians might do something besides run their mouths. On top of that, its pretty simple which government policies have driven prices to the current level. Thanks, Jimmy Carter and all the spinless nitwits on both parties who followed his "wisdom". Thanks to all those past and present politicians who are owned by the fringe tree hugging whackos.

We could turn the corner tomorrow, but it will take several years to see any results because it should have begun 30 years ago when we saw it coming. But hey, why not start now so that my kid can afford to drive someday?

1. Allow oil companies to build domestic refineries NOW!!!
2. We have oil all over the US. Pump it out of the ground and refine it!!!! (DUHHHH!!!) Why do we buy at $75 a barrel from people who hate us?
3. Get rid of all these custom fuel blends that are different from one county to the next. Make "gas", once again, simply mean "gas". Maybe two or at most 3 blends to cover the entire country year round. Its really stupid, for example, to pay $4 for Michigan gas because there is a shortage of that blend while Kansas gas is readily available for $2.50 but cant be sold in Michigan.
4. CUT THE TAXES. Limit gasoline tax to the state sales tax level. .50-.65 per gallon tax is the REAL greedy ripoff here.


WOW!!! I JUST SOLVED THE GASOLINE PROBLEM!!!! IM A FREAKIN" GENIUS!!!!

[Mr. Sandman]

This came from an email I received last year when prices were topping $2.25 a gallon so I'm sure the items below have gone up as well but it still gets the point across.

Think a gallon of gas or diesel is expensive? This puts things in perspective...

Diet Snapple 16 oz $1.29 ........ $10.32 per gallon
Lipton Ice Tea 16 oz $1.19 .......$9.52 per gallon
Gatorade 20 oz $1.59 ............. $10.17 per gallon
Ocean Spray 16 oz $1.25 ........ $10.00 per gallon
Brake Fluid 12 oz $3.15 ........... $33.60 per gallon
Vick's Nyquil 6 oz $8.35 ............$178.13 per gallon
Pepto Bismol 4 oz $3.85 ............$123.20 per gallon
Whiteout 7 oz $1.39 ................$25.42 per gallon
Scope1.5 oz $0.99 ...................$84.48 per gallon
And this is the REAL KICKER... Evian water 9 oz $1.49..........$21.19 per gallon?! $21.19 for WATER - and the buyers don't even know the source. (Evian spelled backwards is Naive.)

So, the next time you're at the pump, be glad your car or truck doesn't run on bottled water, Scope, Whiteout, or God forbid Pepto Bismol or Nyquil.

[nate b]

I'll pay $3+ a gallon all day, everything else has doubled or tripled in the last couple decades, why shouldn't fuel prices?[/QUOTE].


because now that fuel has almost doubled in the past 2 years, the cost of everything else is going to have to get inflated again. and also if the gas companys and gov. notice that people are happy with paying 3 bucks a gal., it wont stay at $3 for very long. would you be willing to pay 5 bucks. Dude were screwed either way you look at it. I'm still happy driving my gas guzzling 3/4 ton v-10 because I just pass it on to the customers of my buisiness.

[PowerTrike]

...
1. Allow oil companies to build domestic refineries NOW!!!
2. We have oil all over the US. Pump it out of the ground and refine it!!!! (DUHHHH!!!) Why do we buy at $75 a barrel from people who hate us?
3. Get rid of all these custom fuel blends that are different from one county to the next. Make "gas", once again, simply mean "gas". Maybe two or at most 3 blends to cover the entire country year round. Its really stupid, for example, to pay $4 for Michigan gas because there is a shortage of that blend while Kansas gas is readily available for $2.50 but cant be sold in Michigan.
4. CUT THE TAXES. Limit gasoline tax to the state sales tax level. .50-.65 per gallon tax is the REAL greedy ripoff here.


WOW!!! I JUST SOLVED THE GASOLINE PROBLEM!!!! IM A FREAKIN" GENIUS!!!!

Agreed. Thank you Mr.TimSr!

[threewheelin-feelin]

well i have to agree with you guys on gas prices are going up just like the price of everything else in this world....but why arent we making more money? i mean minimum wage is like $5.50 an hour it think.....who can live off of that now adays.....businesses are making more money with the rissing price....its time for are pay checks to go up!

[threewheelin-feelin]

Agreed. Thank you Mr.TimSr!
:w00t: YES BEST THING SAID IN THIS THREAD!!!! F*** the invormentilist ....lets start drilling in alaska! and anyh where else in the us

[smokinwrench]

[QUOTE=threewheelin-feelin] .....businesses are making more money with the rissing price....QUOTE]


Businesses are making less money now days. I bet the rise in fuel cost is costing my company and extra $2-3,000 per day. Eventually we will raise our mileage rates to compensate for some of it, then our customers will have to increase their rates.

Only good thing about all this is the gas companies (Duke, BP, Northern Natural, Anadarko) are spending huge amounts of money with us. Which in turn means I will more then likely get a huge pay raise.

I will keep driving my gas guzling pickup :beer . I did how ever buy a CBR 600 I am guessing that with insurence price I will only loose an extra $30 per month buying another vehicle.

[seadoo650]

This came from an email I received last year when prices were topping $2.25 a gallon so I'm sure the items below have gone up as well but it still gets the point across.

Think a gallon of gas or diesel is expensive? This puts things in perspective...

Diet Snapple 16 oz $1.29 ........ $10.32 per gallon
Lipton Ice Tea 16 oz $1.19 .......$9.52 per gallon
Gatorade 20 oz $1.59 ............. $10.17 per gallon
Ocean Spray 16 oz $1.25 ........ $10.00 per gallon
Brake Fluid 12 oz $3.15 ........... $33.60 per gallon
Vick's Nyquil 6 oz $8.35 ............$178.13 per gallon
Pepto Bismol 4 oz $3.85 ............$123.20 per gallon
Whiteout 7 oz $1.39 ................$25.42 per gallon
Scope1.5 oz $0.99 ...................$84.48 per gallon
And this is the REAL KICKER... Evian water 9 oz $1.49..........$21.19 per gallon?! $21.19 for WATER - and the buyers don't even know the source. (Evian spelled backwards is Naive.)

So, the next time you're at the pump, be glad your car or truck doesn't run on bottled water, Scope, Whiteout, or God forbid Pepto Bismol or Nyquil.

This does'nt really put things into perspective since I don't go through 60 gallons of any of that stuff a week. And I drink water from my faucet. Costs about 10 cents a gallon. HAHA.

[rdnkoutlawinca]

If the Gov. , who is raking in hundreds of BILLIONS yearly, put that money towards domestic oil(ie: building refineries here), I believe they could (but wont) cut taxes/gallon, pay off the deficit and get our country on its feet again financially. BUT, we all know that aint gonna happen. Gas prices really started going up during desert storm and now again with Iraq. War costs and we pay for it, regardless if its at the pump, through our paychecks, at the grocery store,etc....Quick solution....Fly big planes, drop big bombs, fill hole with water, put up hotel, take oil....didn't say it was the right way, but I haven't seen any Gov. plans yet! We should have done that 15 years ago. Big Brother wouldn't let Bush Sr. do it, nor will they allow "W".

[ATC crazy]

How is 4 gallons of gas 7 dollars at 3 dollars a gallon? Gas prices of the early 80s compared with the average income would be like paying over 3 dollars a gallon now. Its not the first or last time our country is going to have to deal with this.

Heh....I got my (x) and (+) mixed up. I had to use the calculator....

[200xcellent]

Heh....I got my (x) and (+) mixed up. I had to use the calculator....

Happens to the best of us:beer

[TimSr]

If the Gov. , who is raking in hundreds of BILLIONS yearly, put that money towards domestic oil(ie: building refineries here), I believe they could (but wont) cut taxes/gallon, pay off the deficit and get our country on its feet again financially.


The absolute worst thing you could ever do with any inductry is get the government involved, and the last thing you want the government to do is build oil refineries. You want to see real industry problems, just let the government run it! Do not mistake any of my suggestions as a need for government involvement. Reread them. EVERY single one is an example of the government standing in the way of allowing a private industry to correct itself and its market.

Let oil companies build oil refineries. The problem is not that the government is not building them. The problem is that they are standing in the way.

Let oil companies drill for oil. The problem is not that the government is not drilling. The problem is that they are standing in the way

The county by county custom fuel blends are yet another example of goverment "efficiency". They area roadblock to effeciency that the government has set up.

When was the last time either consumers or oil companies requested more gas taxes?

To make any industry work better, get government OUT OF THE WAY. NEVER request their involvement!




Also to be considered, we have those left leaning solutions to the problem - That we need higher profit taxes on "big oil" companies. I just want one person out there to explain to me how that will bring down gas prices. Sounds to me like an increase in govt profits that we will pay at the pumps.

Finally, let me suggest that the "rising cost of gasoline" is not the problem we are dealing with. The problem we have is all these huge price spikes every time a pipeline needs maintenance or some Arab catches a cold. Is it rocket science that this indicates we need more supply, and more suppliers so that the tinest interruption does not cause a giant price jump every time one happens?

[Chevy200s]

Blaming and demonizing corporations is what lazy government officials do as a smokescreen to cover their own incompetence and stupidity.

Thanks to all those past and present politicians who are owned by the fringe tree hugging whackos.

1. Allow oil companies to build domestic refineries NOW!!!
2. We have oil all over the US. Pump it out of the ground and refine it!!!! (DUHHHH!!!) Why do we buy at $75 a barrel from people who hate us?
3. Get rid of all these custom fuel blends that are different from one county to the next. Make "gas", once again, simply mean "gas". Maybe two or at most 3 blends to cover the entire country year round. Its really stupid, for example, to pay $4 for Michigan gas because there is a shortage of that blend while Kansas gas is readily available for $2.50 but cant be sold in Michigan.
4. CUT THE TAXES. Limit gasoline tax to the state sales tax level. .50-.65 per gallon tax is the REAL greedy ripoff here.



agreed, there is a ton of oil in this country, especially in alaska. If we werent so worried about cutting down trees or hurting the occasional beaver's habitat we might actually be able to lower the cost of gas.:crazy:

As far as comparing japan, england and the other european countries, I dont think thats very accurate. While it does make us appreciate the lower costs we pay per gallon, there are too many variables that are different. These countries are much smaller and more crowded as far as space goes, more people on the roads driving smaller vehicles. They have a lot more people per square mile than we do, those people gotta drive too. They have entirely different taxes too.

I have made it a point to not buy from mobil stations, Im not sure if it will do anything but I figure it cant hurt much. Also, I am doing some mods on my truck that increase my efficiency. If you drive a car that is OBD1, (pre 1996) it isnt all that hard to squeeze out a few more miles to gallon at a low cost to you. Better air filter (K&N on my truck), ignition wires, exhaust work, ...

My truck is an 87 chevy K-5 Blazer, its a pig on gas. TBI 350, when I got it the mileage was about 8-10 (has a lot of miles on it). Now I get 15 on the highway and Im not done yet. All I did was "modify" my converter, put on a more free flowing muffler than stock, K&N air filter, and cap off my EGR valve on the vacuum line.

Parts that normally increase performance as far as acceleration and power can actually help efficiency if you dont have a heavy right foot. Im looking into a set of headers for the truck next, and a TBI riser after that.

And if those things dont do enough to lower what Im paying, I bought a 74 Honda CL 450. My dad had one 20 years ago and said he got 45 miles to that gallon. anyways, thats my 2 cents, sorry it took such a long post to get it all out

[grundlegrabber]

There is no way that taxing oil companies will result in lower prices at the pump. Oil companies need to make a profit, and if it costs more for them to do business, all they are going to do is raise their prices to compensate.

True, oil prices have not seen the inflation rates that other goods and services have had over the years. It is catching up now. However, as oil prices rise, so does the cost of everything manufactured or moved by oil. Rising oil prices lead to price increases in just about everything you can think of. I'm sure all of you have seen the "fuel surcharge" that companies like UPS add to their rates.

The government is the most inefficient organization there has ever been. Everything the government gets involved in is subject to mountains of paperwork, red tape, corruption, you name it. I have a friend who had a government job once. He can tell you stories that would literally make you vomit in disgust, that your tax dollars are so blatantly wasted. The last thing we need is for the government to get involved here. The only thing government could do that would help here is to aid and promote conservation and research into alternative or synthetic fuels.

I understand the points of view of people who think wilderness areas should be open to oil drilling, but think about how little land is left here that has been untouched by humans. The last natural places that remain in our country should stay that way. It is really ignorant of us to think that our hunger for oil is so important that we should ravage the earth to extract every last drop. I am by no means a tree hugger, but think about the big picture. Oil is a nonrenewable resource. Alaskan oil drilling is only a temporary solution.

I see so many ways that people waste oil and energy every single day. People who leave lights and electrical devices on when not needed. Much of the country's energy is produced by burning fossil fuels. Wasting electricity=wasting fuel. As an auto mechanic, I am appalled by how lazy people are about checking tire pressures. Literally about 80% of the cars I work on have underinflated tires, which leads to increased fuel consumption. Not to mention the fact that nobody wants to spend any $$ to keep their car running efficiently. And what about fuel oil? Think about how much oil is wasted when people keep their thermostats at home turned up while they are at work! A small investment in new windows and programmable thermostats can make all the difference in the world when it comes to heating oil consumption. If the government wants to dosomething good, how about offering tax credits for home improvements that result in lower energy consumption? All we hear about from the gov't and media is gasoline consumption. What about the other ways in which oil is consumed?

Everyone is talking about how we can get more oil, cheaper oil, drill here, drill there. Just today I passed three Hummers, all within 5 miles, turning into , you guessed it, GAS STATIONS! The house next door to me has large areas where siding is missing and the underlying clapboard is exposed. I can't even imagine how much oil they use throughout the colder months. The truck is there twice a month in the winter! The money they spend in heating oil in ONE SEASON would pay to have the house insulated and resided!! Quit wasting oil, people. The time has come to think about efficiency and conservation. Everyone must do their part. Subtle changes in your lifestyle can go a long way.

This is a good thread, lots of interesting discussion and opinions here!

[qdmr666187]

did you know the oil companies only make about 3-8 cents a gallon the rest is taxes and yes this is the truth i know it for a fact!! so we should be mad at the high taxes on gas not the oil companies they have to make some money.

[dreadhed]

did you know the oil companies only make about 3-8 cents a gallon the rest is taxes and yes this is the truth i know it for a fact!! so we should be mad at the high taxes on gas not the oil companies they have to make some money.
The rest of the money is not all taxes. The stations also make thier money, but yes we should be yelling for the Gov. to lower the taxes not tax the oil CO.s more.

[travis712]

The rest of the money is not all taxes. The stations also make thier money, but yes we should be yelling for the Gov. to lower the taxes not tax the oil CO.s more.


Yeah, the station makes about 7-8% of the money, though(CNN says).

[rally4x4racer]

if you dont like it - I will take your threewheeler!!!! I will put gas in my machines all day long no matter what the cost!

I am impressed that so many ppl actually understand whats really going on here at three wheeler world. HATS OFF!!

gas is cheap ppl. keep pissin on Exxon and Big Oil maybe they will shut down and find a less "picked on" business. then what? try 6$ a gal. maybe 10$

I hope im not alive when they outlaw the gasoline vehicles ( like our toys)

untill then, i prefer to pay more - because the alternative is - ride less.

[Billy Golightly]

DO not not how accurate this was, but I heard on the Neil Boortz show over the weekend that if every single oil company stopped making money and went 100% non-profit, it would only lower the cost per gallon 3 hundredths of a penny.

[cliff2302]

DO not not how accurate this was, but I heard on the Neil Boortz show over the weekend that if every single oil company stopped making money and went 100% non-profit, it would only lower the cost per gallon 3 hundredths of a penny.


Let me put my boots on, cause that BS is getting pretty deep. Sorry, i just refuse to believe that, i'd like to see the math work, i may look up this Neil Boortz guy.

One thing i dont understand about the situation is everybody is saying there is a lack of refineries, which i understand to be true, ie increase in price after Katrina. But, i know of one, and i think there may be 2 more, refineries near Buffalo which are shut down. Its kinda ironic that there are to few refineries and there is 1 (3 possible) vacant refineries right in my area.

I think the best thing we can do is to grin and bear these prices. I'm not going to change my lifestyle because of the prices, i will change my habits though. I read some real good things in this thread, someone said gasoline is a non-renewable resource and we need to start finding other energy sources. They are absolutely correct. Why continue to be slaves to the middle east and ruin our atmosphere when we could be driving on so many other sources of fuel. And no, i'm not saying outlaw gas vehicles, but start investing in and building alternate fuel vehicles. IDK, it just seems to make alot of sense to me.

Also, alot of people don't realize that we dont just use that crude oil for gasoline and diesel, we use about half or more for completely different things from chapstick, plastic, paint, to blacktop tar, etc.

[3Razors]

America is the land of greed!! It all comes down to money!!

[Billy Golightly]

Refineries are closed because of government regulations and tree huggers. Hell I cant even get a motocross track opened up in the middle of 80 acres 12 miles from the closest town, you think a refinery is something easy to keep open?!?


BTW, I looked on boortz's website and didn't find anything but emailed him. Doubt I'll get a reply but if I do I will post it here. I found it pretty interesting.

[cliff2302]

Thanks, i appreciate it. Who is this guy anyways, a radio host or something?

[dreadhed]

Yes he has a plotical talk show. He is pry the fairest host I know of. He is a Libertan(sp?). Which I think is pry the best party out there. He calls out the Dems. & Reps. for the crap they pull & gives them credit when it is due.

[cliff2302]

Nice, i like to get unbaised info, which is super hard to find nowadays. My one professor suggested reading "The Economist" I guess its one of the most highly regarded papers in the world. Only comes out once a week which is good for me. He said there si some interesting stuff in there. He said that most of the oil we pump out in Alaska goes to Japan because the companies can make more money on it, which makes sense to me. He said that even if we start drilling more there, it will just mean more oil for japan, kinda interesting. This is just what he said, i haven't read this and have no proof, so take it as it is.

[dreadhed]

He said that most of the oil we pump out in Alaska goes to Japan because the companies can make more money on it, which makes sense to me. He said that even if we start drilling more there, it will just mean more oil for japan, kinda interesting. This is just what he said, i haven't read this and have no proof, so take it as it is.
Yep that's where it goes. kinda wierd. I guess that just how the free market works.

[TimSr]

He said that most of the oil we pump out in Alaska goes to Japan because the companies can make more money on it, which makes sense to me. He said that even if we start drilling more there, it will just mean more oil for japan, kinda interesting. This is just what he said, i haven't read this and have no proof, so take it as it is.

It is true that most of it goes to Japan, but not because it brings more money there. It is much, much cheaper to float a tanker with millions of gallons of crude to an overseas refinery than it is to truck it acroos two countries to a domestic refinery 8500 gallons at a time. Now if we were to add a few west coast refineries.....but then trying to get approval to build a new refinery on the west coast, you may as well try to put one on the moon. It would be easier.

[1984kxtTECATE]

I dont mind paying the money, I make it, I just get aggravated at the rate of increase, for a while it was going steady, then all the sudden I see it jump 50 cents in a few weeks, and that is what is killing me. Not the price its self just the rate of increase it has been going. I need to adjust the way I live to spend my money and not get into debt and its hard when I see a increase like that. Ive already got a few fuel savers on my truck as it is and I am now seeing 15 mpg on the highway.....but going to stop signs...thats a different story, lol.

[wanta250r]

How do you guys figure out your mpg?

[Howdy]

How do you guys figure out your mpg?

Fill your gas tank up, and write down your odometer reading. Then when you need gas again fill the tank up, and write down how much gas it took to fill it. Then write down the odometer reading again. Then subtract the first odometer reading from the second and get the miles traveled. divide that by the amount of gas it took to fill up. This will give you your MPG.

Example ( this is actual info my last fill up ): I traveled 338.3 miles, I stopped and filled up my gas tank. It took 12.37 gallons. 338.3/12.37 = 27.3 MPG. This isn't bad for a 1991 Taurus, it has the 3.0 ( V6 ) with 243,000 miles on it. The body is falling apart, but the motor just keeps on ticking.
Howdy

[TimSr]

I dont mind paying the money, I make it, I just get aggravated at the rate of increase, for a while it was going steady, then all the sudden I see it jump 50 cents in a few weeks, and that is what is killing me. Not the price its self just the rate of increase it has been going. I need to adjust the way I live to spend my money and not get into debt and its hard when I see a increase like that.

This is what we call market forces which is a fancy term for supply and demand.

Lets say you have 100 refineries and they are all operating at 50% capacity to supply our nation's needs. Then something happens and bumps 50 of them suddenly out of commission. In theory the other half simply beef up production and there is no interruption in supply.

Lets say you have 50 refineries running at 100% capacity to suplly our nation's needs and you suddenly loose 2 of them in a flood. Guess what happens? You get an interruption in supply and the price spikes the day after the flood.

Guess which scenario closest reprsents our situation? Our nations refineries are adequate to supply our needs, provided everything operates perfectly 100% of the time, 365 days a year.

Similar situation when 85% of our crude comes from foreign sources. Every time some towel head threatens war, the price jumps which doesnt help in a region that stable. We also get western crude but they still belong to this alliance with the middle east known as OPEC whose sole purpose to to jointly bend the world over. The dumb part is we can get what they are holding us hostage for right here, but have not been willing.

[CorbinKale]

TimSr has it right.

Our government has, at every turn, made the wrong decisions that put us in our current state. One more thing I didn't see mentioned is the ethanol additive to replace the MTBE oxygenates that were banned. Great idea... except that we don't have the infrastructure to deliver the needed ethanol. Way to go, Congress! Require an additive that we don't have enough of, nor the ability to transport it in large enough quantities, thus creating a gas shortage, raising the price, yet again. Also, our government makes more off a gallon in taxes than the oil companies do, but do they repeal the highway tax that was enacted to build our highways? (they are built now, btw) No, they want to give everyone $100. That makes me furious. Their other suggested solution was ANOTHER tax! Anyone remember the last time we had the Windfall Profit Tax? All it did was raise prices, as the additional cost was passed on to the consumers. But our elected idiots can't come up with anything else. I want to fire the whole lot of them! :lol:

Speculators are also driving up the price. Our refineries are not operating at 100% capacity. I know of the BP refinery in Houston that was taken offline before Rita last year for refitting is STILL offline. Bringing it back online will reduce the fuel supply problem, but that would lower the price, something the market speculators and oil companies DO NOT want. I expect it to remain offline until after the summer driving season is over.

The only thing that will lower the price now is if everyone stops using the product. As long as the market will bear the price, it will only continue to rise. I do not doubt we will see $4/gallon before the end of the year. Remember a few decades ago when gold shot up to over $800 an ounce? The same sort of thing is happening with fuel right now. It will come back down to current levels soon, but the speculators are going to get it as high as they can, first. Greed and fear are the dominant factors right now. I suggest everyone remain calm and drive as little as possible. It will work itself out. One of the good things about the price is that it has created a real market for alternative fuel sources. Before this, it was a fringe market, at best.

I am saving my money so I can make the 1640 mile round trip to TF. I might have to take out a loan for my gas bill! :lol: