Report Your Local Gas Prices Here (retired discussion, please see the new one)

bottgers · August 2005

I too believe all the excuses given for these high prices are nothing but bunk. It's all profit driven greed. The powers in control of oil prices are doing a balancing act; they are trying to find out just how high they can go with prices without destroying our economy. I'm sure they're smart enough to know that if they destroy our economy, the money stops flowing into their pockets.

andre1969 · August 2005

US oil consumption has only gone up 16% from 1973-2003. At least, according to this article: http://www.greencarcongress.com/2004/10/conservation_vs.html. Now, I could be wrong here, but when you factor in urban sprawl, the population increase in the US, and so on over the past 30 years, plus all the trucks and SUVs out there that get about the same mileage as some of the bigger 70's cars (and sadly, even some of the smaller ones

), I don't think a 16% increase over three decades is anything to get your panties in a bunch about.

2zmax · August 2005

Corporate greed is the number one cause of these astronomical prices. The sad part about it is that most people don't care anymore. There is nothing you can do to the majority of people, who are so wrapped up in their own little world, they don't even notice how bad things are getting around them.

fintail · August 2005

I wonder what kind of profit records big oil will break this year...and what kind of perks and tax breaks they will receive. Someone's gotta pay for it.

2zmax · August 2005

We are paying for it as we speak, the gas is going up again by $0.10 by the end of the week.

kernick · August 2005

See Fig 5 for confirmation: http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/aer/pdf/perspectives.pdf It looks like increases in nuclear, natural gas, and coal have kept oil consumption down.

Check out Figure 6; though the future is always sketchy based on a lot of assumptions.

jlawrence01 · August 2005

Invest in oil stocks ... the capital gain that I have seen since my 3-30-05 investment more than compensates for the $5-7 per week more I am paying at the pump.

Vanguard offers an Energy ETF that is no-load and low expense.

jlawrence01 · August 2005

If you think the price at the pump is bad ... start looking at natural gas prices on the NYMEX. Paid 0.62/ therm last year ... would expect the price to be closer to 0.80-0.85 per therm this winter with at least one nasty spike.

And it is only going to get worse as the environmentalists and the NIMBY crowd block the development of coal-fired and nuclear plants. When a nuclear plant and coal plant go out of commission, they are replaced by ... a natural gas one.

andre1969 · August 2005

what home heating oil is going to cost this winter. I currently pay $1.74 per gallon, but the contract is up in November. $1.74 per gallon isn't TOO bad, I guess...last winter I only paid like $800 for the whole season. Year before that though, it was only $1.19 per gallon, and the winter of '03-04 ended up costing me about $500.

My grandmother's furnace runs year 'round, because it also heats her hot water. I saw her last oil bill recently...something like $2.30+ per gallon, so I at least have some idea of what to expect. I hope this ends up being a mild winter! :surprise:

But still, to put it in perspective, my Mom & stepdad told me that when we lived in this house back in the 80's, they were only paying about $800 per year for oil. So I guess looking at it that way, things haven't gone up...too badly, at least. I guess we just got used to the artificially low prices for too long, and now it's payback time!

kernick · August 2005

you: Invest in oil stocks.

me: exactly what I was going to say, the other day - pretty obvious. Then the money you pay at the pump can be recycled right back into your pocket, as you'll be one of the owners of the oil and energy companies! Now I've just got to get my money out of those non-energy funds that can get hurt, because inflation and consumer spending are concerns.

lemko · August 2005

What the (more expletives than used in both "Casino" and "Goodfellas") is going on? I left to visit family in northeast Pennsylvania on Friday night. The price of Regular was $2.43, (already 10 cents more than on Monday). I come back to Philly this morning and see Regular going for $2.52!!! How the (censored) can gasoline go up nearly 20 cents a gallon in less than a week? Fortunately, I drove my girlfriend's smaller, more fuel-efficient Buick LaCrosse. Ultra is an absolutely insane $2.79!!! I think this is Enron on a much larger scale. The oil companies are doing to the general public what Enron did to California electric consumers.

This is an issue that concerns ALL of us. A man next to me filling his early '80s Cutlass Supreme sedan vociferously complained, "I guess I won't buy groceries this week so I can pay $50 a week to get to work!" These crazy fuel prices are going to hurt the working poor the worst. Maybe everybody should stay home from work this week to protest.

fintail · August 2005

A general strike could be fun...

$2.85 for premuim in Bellevue WA

ghulet · August 2005

Gas on the north side of Chicago is mostly $2.899/2.999/3.099, I've even seen 93 as high as $3.119

. I'm kinda glad I now use public transportation almost exclusively to get to work, as it's now something like $25 a day to park downtown. The train and/or bus cost about $20 a week, so the decision is easy.

andre1969 · August 2005

I was out today running errands, and noticed that gasoline has suddenly shot through the roof! I'm seeing like high $2.60's on up to $2.70 per gallon for 87 octane. :mad: I'm tempted to walk to work tomorrow just on general principle, but they're calling for thunderstorms tomorrow afternoon. Plus, I guess walking my 3 1/2 mile commute really isn't making much of a statement! :shades:

fintail · August 2005

I'd think of biking my 4 mile each way commute, but as so much of it is a congested urban/suburban mess, it would be hell, and I would be in a foul mood when I got to work. If I bussed it, it would take an hour when I can drive it in 15 minutes. And as I am staying late at work lately, I wouldn't have an easy way home. I'll keep driving.

PF_Flyer · August 2005

Within two and a half hours the price of 87 here went from $2.45 to $2.49 to $2.55. I don't care how or where the pricing is being set, that just isn't right. It's not the price I'm really objecting to, but the way it's being set. Know what I mean??? It kind of goes against the grain of the way everything else we buy tends to be priced.

lemko · August 2005

Good God! What is going on? Sunoco Regular is now $2.589! It jumped six cents in one day! We aren't being gouged - WE'RE BEING RAPED and nobody's doing anything about it!

PF_Flyer · August 2005

Take a look at the way I'm looking at it to try and keep the panic levels down...

pf_flyer, "How Are You Dealing With High Priced Gasoline?" #35, 15 Aug 2005 10:05 pm

bottgers · August 2005

I don't know how you can take these skyrocketing gas prices so well in stride. I can't speak for anyone else in this forum, but the reason these prices upset me so much is because there's no legitimate reason for the prices to have gone up as much as they have over the last year. The vast majority of the increases have been solely because of market speculations. I'm no business professional, but NO product's price should be determined by market speculation, and when it is, there's a huge problem. That problem is rearing its ugly head in a big way in the oil undustry with what we're seeing now; price gouging in a way no one has ever seen. You can keep saying the price of gas isn't the highest it's ever been when adjusted for inflation, but why are oil industry profits higher than they've ever been? I think it's time for another industry investigation.

lemko · August 2005

...and didn't the government just hand the oil companies billions of dollars? Something's rotten and it isn't in Denmark. What upsets me more is that nobody's raising a fuss. This is an issue that affects us all and hurts the working poor the most. This issue should be front page news everyday until it is solved.

andre1969 · August 2005

won't hurt people very much, in and of itself, but the problem is, we're not getting just a 10 cent jump. We're getting a 10 cent jump on top of another 10 cent jump, on top of another, and so on.

It really wasn't so long ago that I could get 87 octane for $1.20 per gallon. At that price, if I do 15,000 miles per year and get 20 mpg, fuel for the year would've only run around $892. But now, at $2.70 per gallon, it's blown up to $2,025 for the year. So figure basically $95-100 more per month in fuel costs for this case.

Now, another $95-100 per month isn't going to hurt me, because I live pretty cheaply and whatever's left over at the end of the month usually ends up getting invested or saved. But to someone who's scratchin' and survivin (good times), hangin' in a chow line (good times), an additional $95-100 could be the kiss of death. Even though that creep-up was over several years and not instant, it's still painful.

anonymousposts · August 2005

I was flipping through my son't baby book and turned to the page where we write down the cost of things when he was born. Gas was $1.61 when he was born on April 2, 2004. So now we are at $2.59 here in Georgia. I can't believe that gas has gone up $1.00 in a little over a year.

nicholasj · August 2005

We live in a capitalist nation that is all about "supply and demand". We demanded SUVs and now we have a wide variety to choose from. It is a free country and people are allowed to make their own choices; even if it means making the wrong ones that hopefully lead to learning a lesson. The only problem we have now is scapegoating, rather than taking a hard look at the facts and moving forward. There is nothing stopping people from selling their gas guzzlers at a loss and buying fuel efficient cars (save for pride). With no end in sight, things are going to get real interesting over the next few years. Will we see SUVs on the used car lots of dealerships who sell fuel-efficient vehicles? It would be a complete role reversal of the late 80s, 90s, and early 21st Century when people were trading in their 30+ MPG vehicles for grossly oversized luxo-trucks. Perhaps with computer and cell phone technology, we can utilize our resources to car pool and trip plan. Even if we did all this and more, the fact that Asia and India are going to be consuming more than us very soon is putting the USA in a position we're not accustomed to. No longer the largest consumer, we'll have to pay gas prices more directly proportionate to the European community and UK. I would like to theorize that demand for hybrid and alternative fuel technologies will create a more diverse market, leading to enviroment-friendly transportation over the next five years. If we use our American know-how, we can turn this unfortunate situation into a positive one by using our vast resources to change with the times.

PF_Flyer · August 2005

All I'm doing is trying to avoid the "end of the world" panic that seems to exist in some folks over gas prices. I couldn't agree more about being upset about the reason for the rising prices. It seems to have almost nothing to do with supply and demand. The specualtors DO seem to be "making the market", and that doesn't sit well.
Perfect example, oil and gas prices went up following the London subway/bus bombings. The reason I heard stated on a radio news story? Well, the attacks were likely to hurt overseas travel, and less people would be flying, and... timeout... LESS travel is going to drive up the price of oil??? :surprise:

Gas prices have always been a topic of discussion at our chats lately!
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andre1969 · August 2005

April 2 is my birthday!! Also Walter P. Chrysler's! Hey, maybe that's why I've always liked his cars! :shades:

PF_Flyer · August 2005

Slow day in State College... NEWS FLASH... gas prices did NOT go up today!

andre1969 · August 2005

I made it a point to scope out the sign at the Citgo station. It's partially blocked by trees, and not as easy to see as the Shell sign. Citgo's holding out around $2.619 per gallon for 87 octane, versus $2.749. I'm surprised that there can be such a disparity, as they're only about a half mile from each other.

PF_Flyer · August 2005

Just like is is with a stock that has run up, gas prices are kind of squirrely. News, good or bad, doesn't seem to have the expected effect. Normal models don't seem to apply. In short, we seem to be at a point where not a lof of this is making much sense.

All we need is the right "pin" to burst the price at the pump

anonymousposts · August 2005

What a coincidence. Guess that means you are on my good list from now on

mark156 · August 2005

Nic.... I have been to India but not China... Yes, maybe India might be using more oil products than before but they have 50 years to go before they catch up with the consumption US. It appeared to me that 80% of the people don't have enough money to buy food much less cars. If their economy is getting better, home heating oil for cooking/heating is the first thing on their list.

Talk about polluting... they don't have the smog devices on their transportation vehicles... they use a lot of vehicles where the oil and gas are mixed.... causing a nice stream of blue smoke. I was shocked when I saw this thinking how far they have to go to be more "Green".

Mark

lemko · August 2005

Andre...April 2 is my sister's birthday too!

mark156 · August 2005

April 2nd is my best friends birthday too...he's 43!

He lives in Chicago and the gas prices there are going through the roof! He drives 2003 Honda Accord V-6 and has cut his driving a good bit Not that it's a major burden, but the fact that we are being gouged makes me want to cut back too, which I have.

Another good friend of mine has purchased the 2006 Lexus 400h (hybrid)....everything seems to be running fine and he likes it really well. It's an odd feeling when there is no motor sound until about 25 mph. The steering and air conditioning are electric; no need for the motor to run for them to work.

M.

explorerx4 · August 2005

just go back to some of the earlier pages of this thread. today when i clicked on it, it displayed page 99. there was somebody bewilderly posting about gas jumping to 1.89 or something like that. after trying to figure out where the heck they lived, i realized it was from months ago!

KCRam · August 2005

My secondary station, Mobil - NJ4 west, Hackensack NJ

87 - $2.599
89 - $2.699
93 - $2.799
diesel - $2.499

$77.50 to tank up the Ram...

kcram - Pickups Host

andre1969 · August 2005

what kind of fuel economy does that beast get? I've always wondered what kind of mileage your typical Diesel pickup gets, but they don't get rated because the GVWRs exempt them from CAFE requirements.

KCRam · August 2005

Let me start by saying I have the heaviest possible Ram - a 3500 Quad Cab dually 4x4, with the Cummins diesel. With me and a full tank, it checks in at ~8000 pounds. I run stock tires (LT235/80R17E) and 3.73 axles.

At a dead 52 mph on cruise control, I can get a steady 21 mpg. At 65, it's about 18.5. If I had gotten the Hemi, I'd be looking at 12-14 mpg instead of 18-21. My tank average is usually around 16 with the diesel, and would likely be 11 with the Hemi. At today's price and my annual driving of 22,000 miles/year:

Cummins - 16mpg and $2.499 would net $3436/year in fuel
Hemi - 11mpg and the recommended use of Plus (89) at $2.699 would net $5398

The Cummins MSRP is $5555 - at those rates, I recover the cost of the engine in fuel savings in about 3 years.

Obviously, I'm lucky that diesel is below all grades of gasoline at the moment. over a year, it usually works out on average somewhere between regular and plus, and that would extend that 3 year estimate to about 5 - still not bad.

kcram - Pickups Host

oregonboy · August 2005

So what do you do with the Ram? I trust that it's not just a daily commuter.

james

KCRam · August 2005

Most of the time, it is a commuter, but I pound out 70 miles every day. I'd kill a car under that use. Plus I live in the mountains, and snow is an issue, so a 4x4 is all but a necessity. Every nbow and then, a friend will need something hauled, and feeding me is cheaper than U-Haul

I live by a lake, though, and future plans include a boat.

But the bottom line is, I always wanted a 4x4 dually from the time I first saw one in 1978. Bought a Ram 3500 diesel dually in 96, and the 05 I have now replaced it after 9 years of trouble-free service. I admit I can afford it... if I couldn't, I wouldn't be driving it.

kcram - Pickups Host

andre1969 · August 2005

the mileage actually seems pretty good! Awhile back, I read somewhere about a guy who took an old Travco motorhome from the 70's, I think a 27 footer, and converted it from an industrial 440 to a Cummins 5.9 Diesel, and he said he was getting around 15-16 mpg on the highway. I'm not sure, but I think he might've converted it to 4wd...well, okay, in this case it would've been 6wd!

mark156 · August 2005

Earlier this summer some friends and I rented two motorhomes. Mine was a 2005 class A diesel motorhome and theirs was a 2005 class A gas unit both with 3 slides. We went on a 2,000 mile trip in nine days.

My unit had a 300 7.2 cat diesel rear engine. I made note of every fill up and the mileage driven per tank . Overall, I got 7.5 miles per gallon. This was a 38,000 lb vehicle at 38.4" in length.

Theirs had a V-10 Ford engine/chassis. It appeared that I got better mileage with the diesel but my friends didn't keep up with the mileage. Seems everytime we filled up, I put in less fuel.

If I win the lottery, I'm buy a motorhome! I had the best time!

Mark

veggygrl44 · August 2005

A boycott has been called to keep from using gas Sept. 5-9th. Some of you might have already heard this, but I'd like to share why this really could work if done right, and why some other plans out there won't work as well. I hope everyone plans to participate, it really could lower the cost of gas for us.

The idea behind a boycott, since some people don't realize this is a critical part of it, is that we MUST STAY HOME, not just not buy gas. If you don't buy gas, there is no effect. You buy gas the day before or the day after, and the oil industry still gets your money.

BUT IF YOU STAY HOME more than you would have in those days, if you don't go shopping that weekend, if you don't go to the movies, if you buy twice as many groceries so that you won't make a second trip, etc, etc...you are (obviously) spending less gas. Therefore, they are losing money when you do not buy gas.

The key for this to be effective is that it has to be a concentrated effort. If you could honestly get 1/3rd of the US to do this for two days, gas sales would drop like a rock. The problem is that, until now, everyone has made their own small attempts at this, but not been able to get enough attention to really make the oil companies notice. What we would have to do for this to work is tell everyone. Coworkers, send e-mails, tell family, etc. If EVERYONE, all at once, vowed to cut back as much as possible all at the same time.....I guarantee that gas prices would plummet.

It may not be feasible for everyone to request off work the 5th of September, but it would certainly be effective.

The idea has been proposed of instead boycotting corporate gas stations. This would not work. The gas stations DO NOT SET THE PRICE OF OIL. The price of oil is set from the people THEY buy it from. They raise it, at most a few pennies, and then re-sell it. There is NO WAY that, by boycotting a station, they would magically be able to say, Oh, okay, here have gas for $1.30 instead. All we would do is put them out of business.

As a second note, gas prices are only as high as they are because we have agreed to pay them. The idea of a gas shortage is nonsense. If there was a shortage, there would be a limit on the amount of gas we could consume. People are using just as much gas as before, simply at a higher rate. This does not indicate a shortage, it indicates that there are greedy oil companies who have paid people to say, I forsee gas prices will rise. Then we all sigh, and gas prices rise. Is it a coincidence that every time someone says it will happen, it does? No one is that good at their job. It's all a ploy by the oil tycoons. They prepare us for it to come, and we resignedly accept it as something beyond control. What a scam we also call speculation.

Oil tycoons are using outdated equipment. They pocket all the profits instead of making more efficient equipment that could be used for cheaper oil. This is, again, because we have not complained loudly enough. As for those of you who say that it would adversely affect the American economy, it won't. Not buying gas will only affect the oil refineries trying to sell it. This is because 1) it's a short term strike and 2) these refineries are not inherently laced into other business. If anything, we're doing our economy a favor. By not letting the oil industry keep a monopoly on us, we're making sure that prices for common items don't go up when the truck drivers have to charge us for their gas.

So I say we show them what's what, and don't use gas Sept. 5-9th!! Make Sept. 5 National Take Off Work and Stay Home Day! Eat dinner with the family! Have a game night! Take a nice walk! BUT DON'T GO OUT IN THE CAR!

ghulet · August 2005

....I know we've had discussions of 'boycotts' (lasting a day or two, usually on weekends), and I think they're nice 'in theory', but then the oil companies, etc. get our money later at some point (and often as much or more, when we 'make up' for the errands not done during the boycott), don't they? Again, not poo-pooing the idea, per se, just don't think they're effective at this point unless it's a protracted, concentrated effort by the majority, which isn't always possible. Lots of Americans (rural, anyway) have to drive miles to work or the nearest food.

Dammit, prices are up AGAIN since last I reported, by about 8 cents (were $2.89-2.99-3.09, now Premium is $3.179 near my place). Sickening.

PF_Flyer · August 2005

I used to think even one day of non-purchase would have an effect since the gas delivery system seems kind of like the LA freeways... a LOT of cars (gasoline) moving through a system that's running at capacity. All it takes is for a few cars to slow down, and the system backs up. Product would back up the same way, increasing supply, yada, yada...

But the way that would probably play out is that futures traders would react to the backup the way they seem to have reacted to every piece of news lately. No matter how the news actually affects supply, it's an excuse to drive the price up.

It no longer seems to be based in reality.

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1racefan · August 2005

page of posts in this discussion. They are from around May of 2000, or as I like to say, over a dollar per gallon ago.

andre1969 · August 2005

I even remember as a kid back in the 70's, people talking about boycotting. Although back then, they were talking more like a year's time. If everybody stopped driving for a year, AND nobody bought a new car for a year, it would drive down auto and fuel prices, the reasoning was.

andre1969 · August 2005

back in 2000, especially during the summer, when gas was creeping up into the high $1.00 range. Back then, we usually fed my Grandma's '85 LeSabre premium, because it was getting up in mileage and carboned up, and would start clattering on acceleration with the cheap stuff. Well, I remember one hot summer day, pulling into the local Shell station. Premium was around $1.9X per gallon. I refused to pay over $1.90 per gallon, so I put in mid-grade.

By late 2001, gas was really cheap again. I remember October of that year, when I brought my '79 NYer home from West VA. I filled up when I got home, to try and get a feel for the fuel economy. Gas was so cheap at the WaWa, that I treated the car to premium, which might've been around $1.12 per gallon. I think 87 octane was in the 90 cent range!

1racefan · August 2005

has their "I remember when" story - but when I was in college I remember my roommate had a Pontiac Sunbird. This was 1997 by the way. We pulled into a gas station across the street from the college to fill up. The price for 87 octane was $.99.9/gallon. As he was filling up, there were other drivers filling up around us, and everyone was making jokes about that probably being the last time any of us would ever fill up for under $1/gallon. Turns out, everyone was right!!!

By the way, I am in Charlotte, NC and 87 has eclipsed $2.60/gallon today.

lemko · August 2005

...or low depending on how you look at it. Sunoco Ultra is $2.949 as of last night. Good God, how did gas go up almost 70 cents in two weeks? I hope these speculators, both in oil and real estate, all lose their shirts never to emerge from poverty again!

PF_Flyer · August 2005

Normally we've been seen about 10 cents between grades around here, but the price of premium fuel has been doing some interesting things. When prices jumped to $2.55 for 87, 89 went to $2.65, and premium went to $2.85. This morning, one chain of convenience store stations seems to have lowered premium to $2.79, while others are still holding at $2.85.

Just seems to me like the market is very skitish at these price levels.

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anonymousposts · August 2005

last night. Everyone else was $2.57. However, last time that one station was $.10 higher than everyone else we thought they were crazy. Next day all prices had gone up to match their levels. So, assuming the same trend this time we would be looking at $2.99 per gallon for premium. Which means our Lexus would cost $60 to fill up and our Civic will cost $30 to fill up.

Report Your Local Gas Prices Here (retired discussion, please see the new one)

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