gas prices

[RoraStar96]

Ha! Good thing I topped up last night!

No gas on the 19th

[eckoman_pdx]

No gas on the 19th, got it...I'll tell who I can too (better tell em soon too, so they can put in tomarrow what they'l need if they're a little low, lol).

Anyways, it's rediculious...a station 3 or 4 miles from my house is trying to charge $2.32 a gallon for regular...and people are paying...it's nuts...it's all false inflation in pricing...greedy companies.

OPEC ordered more oil produced, but that wasn't really the problem. Even when they cut it back, they were still producing about what they normally average. The gas companies just new this wasn't commen knowlegde and jumped on it...now that OPEC has upped production, the big gas companies are trying to blame in on US refineries...when word gets out on one thing, they just give another excuse...it's serious gotten me car pooling now when I can or taking public transportation...it beats giving more $$ to the greedy gas companies.

Anyways...back on track...make sure to tell my friends and whoever else I can no gas on the 19th.

[Auror_AH]

I put it up on the site chris so we'll see what happens...

[cpl mac]

may 19th is national gasoline boycott day. supposedly the oil companies would lose several billion dollars in sales if no one bought gas for one day. so the message is out there may 19th keep clear of the pump. who knows, maybe enough people actually do it they notice.

[kev's 96 Aurora]

Its kinda nice in the section of town I live in...we have 5 gas stations in a 1/4 to 1/2 mile strip so they fight about the prices..its right at $2.00 but across town you will pay $2.05 to $2.07. I have been limiting my driving unless someone else wishes to donate for the trip.

[ugsrich]

In 1979 - 1980 I would travel back and forth between St Louis Missouri and West Lafayette, Indiana as a student. I made the drive on U.S. Interstate Highways 70, 57, 74 and then on U.S. Highway 231. Door to door distance: 300 miles. In the best conditions I would get about 15 miles to the gallon in my 1972 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme 350cu-in. 4-bbl. The price of gasoline at that time was around $0.90.

Today I make the same trip, on the same roads in my 1995 Oldsmobile Aurora. In the best conditions I get about 25 miles to the gallon for the 300 mile trip. The local price for gasoline in the St. Louis area is $2.07 for MOBIL Premium.

So, my cost per mile for fuel in 1979 was about $0.06. My cost for fuel in 2004 for the exact same trip is about $0.08 per mile.

WOW! What a bargain. In 25 years, let me repeat that, in 25 years my fuel cost to take my son to school in West Lafayette has only increased by $0.02 per mile from when I used to make the trip. That's an absolutely incredible bargain don't you think?

We simply can not look at the static factors such a the price alone. All the technological advances have made our automobiles so much more fuel efficient and environmentally sound. Combine that with incredible performance and luxury that I never had in the 1972 Cutlass (and it was a GREAT car!). We have the most efficient price/performance available even at today's fear induced futures market prices.

Here's an interesting graph to help illustrate the FANTASTIC bargain that gasoline is for those of us in the USA. Drive-On Brothers and Sisters!

http://www.ghg.net/stuart/gasprice/gasprice.html

[eckoman_pdx]

Originally Posted by ugsrich

In 1979 - 1980 I would travel back and forth between St Louis Missouri and West Lafayette, Indiana as a student. I made the drive on U.S. Interstate Highways 70, 57, 74 and then on U.S. Highway 231. Door to door distance: 300 miles. In the best conditions I would get about 15 miles to the gallon in my 1972 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme 350cu-in. 4-bbl. The price of gasoline at that time was around $0.90.

Today I make the same trip, on the same roads in my 1995 Oldsmobile Aurora. In the best conditions I get about 25 miles to the gallon for the 300 mile trip. The local price for gasoline in the St. Louis area is $2.07 for MOBIL Premium.

So, my cost per mile for fuel in 1979 was about $0.06. My cost for fuel in 2004 for the exact same trip is about $0.08 per mile.

WOW! What a bargain. In 25 years, let me repeat that, in 25 years my fuel cost to take my son to school in West Lafayette has only increased by $0.02 per mile from when I used to make the trip. That's an absolutely incredible bargain don't you think?


We simply can not look at the static factors such a the price alone. All the technological advances have made our automobiles so much more fuel efficient and environmentally sound. Combine that with incredible performance and luxury that I never had in the 1972 Cutlass (and it was a GREAT car!). We have the most efficient price/performance available even at today's fear induced futures market prices.

Here's an interesting graph to help illustrate the FANTASTIC bargain that gasoline is for those of us in the USA. Drive-On Brothers and Sisters!

http://www.ghg.net/stuart/gasprice/gasprice.html

If I could get premium for $2.07, that would be MUCH NICER than the prices here, though it's still much higher than it was a few years ago. I don't buy those math numbers, they are real numbers, buts it's just a way to logically justify too high of prices. Here I paid $2.43 for Premium 2 days ago, today it is $2.48. The prices seem to go up every few days, it's crazy. 3-4 years ago when I bought my car, $1.50 was high for the SAME GAS....forget the 25 year average...over the course of 3 years or so, $1-$1.20 hike in this area....that is just too much for such a short period of time...justify it all you want, I'll still complain until they stop messing around. There is no need for the prices to hike up as quickly as they are around here...it's just greed. No matter what anyone says, I'll complain until they get a change or heart and straighten up. Until a few months ago, I had NEVER had to pay $2.00 a gallon for PREMUIM IN MY LIFE...now I am lucky if I can get premium at $2.43, as most stations here are between $2.48 and $2.53 fo premium...No matter what numbers they show me, those prices are way to high, and my opinion will never change.

[ugsrich]

My arithmetic is accurate and my facts regarding prices are within reasonable tolerances. Interestingly I paid $2.17 when I filled up yesterday (so, clearly my numbers will have changed). The FACT remains, that over the course of 25 years the overall increase in gasoline prices as compared to our vehicle consumption rates combined with today’s temporary increases STILL makes gasoline a FANTASTIC bargain! I included a URL in my earlier posting so that we can see the inflation adjusted price of gasoline over the past 25 years. As you will notice from the graphical representation, while the price of gasoline today is greater than it was a few years ago, adjusted for INFLATION over the same period the price of gasoline has remained nearly flat or even declined when compared to our overall price of goods and services. (Where’s the outrage over the price of hamburger at McBurgerDoodle, or cup of coffee, or a loaf of bread, or a can of soup?)

Inferring from my posting that I am somehow attempting to “justify” the present spike in gasoline prices has no basis in fact. In fact, I am NOT attempting to “justify” anything. (Please refrain from “reading” anything but the words I write.) I am attempting to remind ourselves that we really have things very very VERY good! I fully concur that gasoline was below $1.00 per gallon within the past 3 years. In fact, that lower price was considered at the time to be an unusual negative spike in price just as today’s $2+ (premium) price is a positive spike. (I didn’t hear anyone lining up saying “hey, in the last 3 years we’ve been paying $1.25 per gallon. What gives?). We all know that in the realm of global economic forces (whatever their origin) 3 years is simply too short a time to truly gauge and evaluate the longer term result. That’s why when evaluating the performance of economies, or businesses, or markets, or any other significant globally oriented institution “we” measure it over many more years and we examine the present conditions in the context of a clear view of the past. The view of the past becomes clearer with time and we are able to see how really better off we are. Of course, the “got have it all now” crowd can only seem to measure progress in the context of the past 24 hours and we cede our intellectual analysis to a depression over an unanticipated change for which we have failed to adequately prepare or consider in a broader context.

I find the current hoooo haaaaa surrounding what will end up being a temporary spike in prices a lot of whining by a bunch of spoiled brats who forget how good they have it. Let me provide another fact: At 25 mpg in my fancy 8-cylinder Aurora (a vehicle I purchased new and really like) it cost only $30.00 for me to drive my son to school at West Lafayette, IN from my home in St Louis MO (that’s calculated using $2.50 per gallon). Imagine that $30.00 to go 300 miles any time 24x7x365! Give me some insight as to a better, more economical means for me to move my child and all his fancy 21st century “gear” 300 miles whenever I (he) chooses unencumbered by time of day, security checks, or desired route of travel. (Let me help with the answer: There is no better way that we have available today – period.)

Finally, in the mid-70’s gasoline rose from around $0.40 up to around $1.00. At one point during the Mid-East embargo you waited in line for as long as several hours at the gasoline station. There was no war. There was an embargo and the there were government price controls and there was NO GASOLINE. Everyone thought OMG prices will never come down….well, you and I both know that’s not true. Sit tight, be cool, the sky is not falling. All will be right with the world. Equilibrium will be reached and we’ll all forget how “terrible” this was.

[RoraStar96]

Fair enough, however I dont have the ability to compare prices in the past, for I have only been driving for 3 years (25 years old) granted Canadians pay 30-40% more for gas AFTER the conversion from USD to CDN currency if we want to nitpick, all I know is that last year when I purchased my Aurora in Aug 03, I paid about .70 cents per L or $2.64 per gallon (CDN) now I am paying a whomping $1.10 a litre or $4.16 per gallon. This is a staggering increase over a very short amount of time. Thats what is so hard to swallow.

[ugsrich]

Here's just one historic look at gasoline prices.

http://www.ghg.net/stuart/gasprice/gasprice.html

I can't comment on prices in Canada (I'm not a resident, I'm terrible with exchange rates and the metric system ). Of course, everyone here in the lower 48 is real envious of your "free" healthcare and "low cost" prescription drugs. Interestingly, it seems as if you pay a lot more per gallon for gasoline than we do here. Hummmm, weird "free" healthcare higher gasoline prices, weird, wacky, wild. There's no such thing as a free-lunch. We haven't even begun to bring taxation into the discusion. Nor have we brought into the discussion the obvious ecological benefit of higher gasoline prices.

[RoraStar96]

Well based on our recent provincial budget for 2004, our "free" healthcare is getting more pathetic by the day, goodbye free chiropractic and orthopedics...but lets not get too off topic.

We have a federal excise tax placed on whats considered to be "non essential" products. Cigarettes, alcohol and yes...gasoline. Now last time I checked fuel is an essential product for the economic stability of this continent. Now our Ontario provincial gov't is legislating that 2% of gas prices go to fund public transit...ah! a good decision, and a legitmate reason for a higher fuel price, put it back into the system. Encourage public transit in metropolitan areas.

I believe that prices are higher in Canada due to total taxation revenue, a smaller market and unleaded fuel as an end product in refining.

The government isnt going to lift an excise tax any time soon, we only have 28 million residents of this country whereby the US has over 250 million people and by the time the sludge reaches your local corner gas station, its been uber refined for the airlines, railways and boating industries. Whats 94 octane when planes drink ethanol or whatever...

So when does it end? summer cyclical gas insanity?or mounting prices for ever and ever amen?

Ok sorry rambling over :/

[cks316]

I paid 2.69 here in chicago

[ugsrich]

You’re correct in keeping ancillary matters out of the discussion of gasoline prices. When considering economics a commodity prices and taxation my theory of relativity applies – It’s all related. But we’ll leave that matter to rest.

On gasoline: I’ll take a free market that makes available an abundance of gasoline at any of the thousands of refueling locations 24x7x365 without a wait in line, without rationing system and at a price that the market will bear. Gasoline prices are not totally elastic. People (market makers) will adjust behaviors and the natural laws of a free market (not withstanding OPEC, government regulations, terrorists, or natural disasters) will drive the price of gasoline down. The simple fact is that each of us CHOOSE, everyday, to fill our tanks. I want to always have that CHOICE. Free economic markets provide us those choices through abundance and availability. It is a choice, whether a lifestyle choice, an employment choice, a housing location choice. Each of these decisions (choices) affect our individual “need” for gasoline. I will take the freedom to choose with a broad set of choices driven by a free market over any other gasoline price related alternatives. People will in the end determine the price (value) of gasoline based on their choices. And from the URL I’ve posted twice now you can see that compared to other goods and services, with respect to inflation, gasoline is the STILL the best bargain for the U.S. consumer.

[RoraStar96]

Well put, for now I choose to piss and moan every time I pass Esso or PetroCan but in the end, you gotta pay. With the combination of skyrocketing insurance rates, coupled with the rise in gasoline. Driving is an expensive way to travel day in and day out

[eckoman_pdx]

My point was, weather or not you feel gas is still a "fantastic bargin," the fact remains it's not. Maybe in a long-term historincal perstpective, it seems so, but look at the shirt term. Gasoline has had a huge spike in price within the last year. A good chunk of it was artificel. They companies at first used OPEC's oil barrel per day reduction, but OPEC only reduced it the their typical average numbers. Then OPEC RAISED the barrell per day count, and now they say it is due to refineries here in the US. It's just artifical hikes, because they know that we have no choice but to pay, this world needs petrolium. Maybe the prices they raised it too seem like a bargin in a 30 year historical context, and the gas companies have used that to try and justify it as well (I am not saying you are a gas company rep). My point is, however, that these prices are not a braggin, especially under these circumstances. The prices have soared skywars within the last year. The rise in prices to this level wasn't a gradual rise due to inflation to the current level, it was a drastic raise in prices. It may have started due to very real circumstances or fears. However, it quikcly changed from a raise due to real conditions and fears to price gouging due to the fears in the market and the public. I don't see the prices as a braggin under these conditions. Even if the historical price perspective shows the prices are in line when inflation is taking under account, they are not a braggin by any means. The drastic price hike has been due to fears and worries they knew they could expliot. Expliot them they did, and these prices aren't a bargin. Under the circumstances they were raised, it's just plain wrong.