Your salary increase is nice, but I don't know if reflects the population in general - that comparison being what matters. I am sure many people have far outpaced the rise in gas prices. But have most?
Really? What rock have you slept under in the last 5 years or so? Or do you eat hamburgers three times a day? Go to your local supermarketand buy several poundsof good quality fresh fruits and vegetables!. Everything that is good for you has skyrocketed in price.
Has it doubled in the past 5 or 6 years? My grocery bill says otherwise. Maybe it's different here, as my area is more fitness-oriented than most, and there's maybe more supply.
I don't know...the areas I have personal experience with (coastal, logging more than farming) tend to be relatively liberal/progressive and very pro-union. Maybe it's not the same to the south and east of these areas. It'd be nice to live somewhere where 150K will get you a very respectable home, but there are few other benefits, at least to a young person. 95% of people I knew in that area as a youth got out if they could, unless they were set to inherit a family business - the best way to succeed in such places. I'll be headed down there in a couple weeks...where cars all seem to be 10 years older, personal grooming is optional, and family trees don't fork so often. I'll gas up here too, as it costs more there.
with food prices because when I go to McDonald's or Wendys I usually order off the 99 cent value menu! And we usually buy our stuff bulk at Costco. I bought a gallon of milk this morning for $3.39 at 7-Eleven. Anybody have an idea of what milk might've cost, say, 20 years ago? I know it'll vary by region. I'm sure if you live in a farm state the prices are lower.
I remember in college though (~1990), you could get something like a Big Mac value meal for $2.99 + tax. Sandwich, regular fries, regular Coke. I think just the sandwich is $2.89 these days, so I'd guess the value meal is more like $4.49 or something?
As for housing, in my zip code you could get a 2 bedroom, 1 bath house on maybe 1/3-1/2 acre for about $250K. Doesn't sound bad at first, until you read the listing and it says "House needs to be bulldozed, value is in the land. Build your dream house in a sought-after location!" :sick:
One good example of how gas prices could affect a person...back when I used to deliver pizzas, in the 1996-1999 timeframe, on a really busy Friday/Saturday night, I could easily put 200 miles on the car. On something like my Dart, Gran Fury, or '79 Newport, that would burn through a good deal of the tank. Usually took about $20 to fill up. But I was guaranteed to be walking out of there with $150-200 in cash that night, so $20 was nothing. Once I got the Intrepid, a similar night would've only cost me about $10-12 in gas, except that prices started going up around that time.
Nowadays if I were still delivering in one of those old guzzlers, that $20 would be more like $50-60. Now when you're making $150-200 and have to put out $20 in gas, you really don't think about it. But when it comes to $50-60, you start to question if it's really worth it. And even with something like my Intrepid, that $10-12 would be closer to $30-35 today.
If I ever had to pick up a part time job today, I think I'd try being a bartender, waiter, etc. Pizza delivery just isn't worth the aggravation, fuel costs, wear and tear on the car, etc.
But milk currently is around $2.99/gallon at its lowest (around the same as gas).
Back in 1975, when I moved into my first apartment, I remember paying $1.29 for it, and 75 cents for the largest size can of Minute Maid concentrate orange juice. Rent was a whopping $132 a month (Bloomington, IN)!
And back in 1962, I remember walking to the Mom and Pop store to buy a loaf of locally made Italian bread for 27 cents. Those wooden model airplanes where you just inserted the wings through a slot in the fuselage that you could then fly cost 10 cents. And pretzel rods that you got out of a large container on the checkout counter cost 1 cent each.
Wow, maybe food is cheaper here. I don't have anything really off the top of my head (as I am single and don't buy much), but I know milk can be found many places here for $1.99. Maybe it's to make up for our gas prices which are jacked up most of the time.
Right now the Chevron I patronize has regular at 3.04, with normal 10 cent increments.
And Andre...do you think people might tip less these days with everything else being so much more expensive? It might really be no fun to be a driver now.
fin: Your salary increase is nice, but I don't know if reflects the population in general - that comparison being what matters.
me: that is more a function of lower wage areas of the globe acquiring manufacturing facilities and competing with higher paid U.S. workers. So yes some people who made a good wage certainly are making less now relatively.
But the price of gasoline over a long-time period has not been that bad. As I said, gasoline @ $1.25/gal in 1985 and gasoline today at $3.10/gal is equivalent compared to many other costs. I had an apartment then for $430/month including heat/hot water/and a pool. Today that apartment rents for about $1,000. A med. pizza then used to cost about $5; I went to Pizza Hut the other day and it was $11.
that milk was kinda expensive this morning was because I bought it at a convenience store. Although at Giant, the local grocery store, I think it's only about 10 cents cheaper, like maybe $3.29 versus 3.39. When we go to Costco I think it's abotu $2.75. I buy the whole vitamin-D artery-clogger stuff though, and it tends to run a bit more pricey than 2% and the like.
As for pizza delivery, one thing I do remember is that right after 9/11, business really dropped off. I had quit that job in April 2001, but went back in September just to pick up some extra spending money. Once the 9/11 tragedy hit, it sunk our business. At that point, at least, people weren't tipping any less, but there were just fewer customers.
I had some friends over a few months back, and one of them ordered a delivered pizza. When it came, there was a delivery charge of something like $2.00 in the bill. When I worked at Little Caesar's, they tried that once. Unfortunately, people started reducing the tip amount. And Little Caesar's kept that money. They said it was because having delivery service ran up their insurance costs something fierce. Once we drivers started complaining though, and threatening to quit, reducing our hours of availability, etc, they dropped it!
One of my roommates was a waiter for awhile, and is now a manager as some upscale crab/rib shack (I know that sounds contradictory) in a tourist area. From what I've heard him say, the average customer seems to be tipping better than ever, in spite of increasing prices. Pizza delivery was always different though, when it came to people tipping. I think I averaged about $2.50-3.00 per delivery, but it varied widely. Some extra-generous person who lived around the corner and thought I was cute might give me a $5-6 tip on a $9.00 order, but then some people throwing a party in some obscure area out at the fringe of our delivery zone might order $80-90 or more, and I'd still only get, at best, a buck or two.
I always thought that the further you were from the store, the more you should tip since the driver has to drive further, and in the amount of time it takes him to take your one delivery, he could have made 3-4 close-in deliveries. But oddly enough, it usually worked just the opposite, with the closer people tipping better. :confuse:
things tend to average out and not seem so bad, but part of the problem is that it seems we've had a massive run-up in costs in just a few years. For a long time it seemed, prices were fairly stagnant so if you kept getting raises and promotions and could save some money, you could get ahead.
I got a 5% raise this year. Last year I got two separate ones: a 5.5% and a 2.9%. Year before that I got a 5%. However, in the same amount of time, gasoline has roughly doubled, if not more. My property taxes went up 8% in 2005 and another 10% this year, and they haven't even assessed me for the garage I had built yet! In 2003-2004 I paid $1.19 per gallon for home heating oil. Next season it went up to $1.74. For the current 2005-2006 season, it's simply "market price with a $3.19 cap) Fortunately we had a mild winter, and I only had to fill up twice, at $2.54 per gallon and then again at $2.64.
In 2000, a McMansion orchard sprung up down the street. Starting prices back then were $264,000. Nowadays the cheapest one in there is probably on the market for about $600K.
Do you happen to know what the Sunoco stations on the NJ Turnpike are charging for 87? I'm going to NYC this Saturday, and generally the NJTP has been a pretty good deal compared to DC, MD, DE, and PA.
The article asks: when is the tipping point? I'm guessing, around $6 a gallon. At the moment. despite increasing prices, people are driving even MORE.
With ultra low sulphur diesel looking to enter the market, I think there will be a major shift towards diesel as gas prices continue to rise. As diesel cars are more fuel efficient, people are unlikely to drive less, maintaining or increasing demand. However, shifting to diesel would only be temporary relief - eventually, diesel will go up in price too.
It would probably take a doubling in price before people really start to drive less (instead of just saying they will). After all, gas prices as a percentage of after tax income is quite low in the US - whereas in Europe you need to pay more while having less to spend in the first place due to higher income tax rates.
Currently, despite higher gas prices, demand for SUVs and pickups have 'only' dropped what, 15% (pulling number out of my bum)? Sounds like a lot, but people are still buying hundreds of thousands of them. Rising gas prices obviously haven't affected those hundreds of thousands of people much in their decision.
Also, summer is ending, which means the annual summer gouging period should start to tail off. As gas prices fall a bit over the winter, demand for SUVs and trucks should start to recover a bit.
I reported before about the local Sheetz station with two different prices for 93 - depending on which side of the sign you're reading.
Well today, they upped the price by 10 cents, on each side. So now, northbound drivers pay $3.29/gallon and southbound drivers pay $3.39. Meanwhile 87 is unchanged at $2.89.
Gas was already $3.40 a gallon for the LAST THREE MONTHS STRAIGHT in Los Angeles. The article really needs to adress the fact that we'll be gouged ~3.95 for premium within days becaus, well, they have a captive audience and there's nothing we can do about it.
Andre, being from the south, we never had heating oil tanks. What does that fuel look like, is it like diesel?
Y'know, this is going to sound funny, but I never really paid attention to what the oil looks like! For some reason I always thought it looked like motor oil, kind of a honey-brown and thick, but I know that can't be right. When I go home tonite I think I'll turn the little valve at the bottom of the tank so I can see what comes out! :P
Actually, I think it is kind of like Diesel. At least, I've heard people say that. I think it has kind of a reddish tint to it. I'm on a plan where the oil company makes an estimated guess of my oil usage based on the outside temperature, past oil usage, alignment of the planets, whether the next Bewitched Episode on TVLand will have Darrin #1 or Darrin #2, and some other variables, and plans their trips accordingly.
It's a 275 gallon tank, and it has a little gauge on top...a little plunger in a clear tube that rises and falls with the fuel level. I'm guessing because of the shape of the tank though, which is rounded at the top and the bottom, that the first "quarter tank" depletes pretty quickly, while next one takes much longer, and when it reads a half-tank, it's back to being accurate again. They're usually pretty good about coming out. I don't think they've ever had to put in more than 150 gallons at a time.
I think oil is a dying breed when it comes to heating a residence, although it still seems to be popular in rural areas I guess. I like it because it heats the place up quicker than a heat pump could. And I've always been afraid of natural gas. I don't know anyone personally who's ever had their house blown up from a natural gas leak, but I've heard it on the news every once in awhile. And I've seen it in enough movies over the years. For some reason "Dark Night of the Scarecrow" comes to mind.
My dad has an oil heater, and the stuff has that off-road red dye in it. It's a bit thicker than diesel, but close enough that you could use it as diesel if you needed to. Usually they just come by and top it off every other month during the cold months.
It is funny. Virginia was the ONLY place that I had ever seen heating oil.
As for filling a tank - which was a real PITA as a RENTER - it always seemed like the oil company wanted to fill up the tank no matter how much you were goign to use.
Natural gas is pretty safe as long as you don't let unqualified people monkey with the controls. IOW, use qualified plumbers / HVAC people to install water heaters and gas furnaces.
" think oil is a dying breed when it comes to heating a residence, although it still seems to be popular in rural areas I guess."
Oil is still very prevalent in the New York area and New England. And not just in the country -- oil's usually what's heating all those fancy brownstones in Brooklyn and the Upper West Side, and I see delivery trucks in midtown Manhattan all the time.
I think that whoever owns the home heating oil company(ies) that services those ritzy Fairfield County (CT) suburbs must just be filthy, stinking, ridiculously rich. You've got a high concentration of fabulously wealthy people living in 100, 200, or even 250+ year-old homes that must leak a ton of heat regardless of any modernization, and these probably aren't the type of folks to throw on an extra sweater and tough it out.
My dad has an oil heater, and the stuff has that off-road red dye in it. It's a bit thicker than diesel, but close enough that you could use it as diesel if you needed to.
So then could you do just the opposite, and run an oil furnace on Diesel fuel? Not that I'm planning on trying it out. There would have to be a huge discrepancy in the prices to justify me trying to lug enough Diesel home to keep topping off a 275 gallon tank! :surprise:
You could if you wanted to spend the extra money. Red-dye fuel has the dye to signify that you didn't pay the highway taxes on it. Off-road diesel is about 50 cents cheaper here.
After WW II, when gas was five gallons for $1, my folks heated their rental with oil. Later, we moved to their first owned home and it had a sawdust furnace in the basement. They were very common in SW WA. A big dump truck would unload a unit of sawdust onto a cement slab and we then shoveled it, thru a basement window, into the sawdust bin in the basement near the furnace. The furnace had a hopper with a grate at the bottom which would allow the sawdust to gradually feed into the burner. The hopper was filled at night and again in the morning during the Winters. We got $1 for throwing in a load and as kids, we would help each other with a load after school. It smelled great when you entered the house to smell fresh sawdust throughout.
and a hog or two to fatten, coupled with football on the TV and some fizzling Mountain Dew to drink, we do have it made here in these United States, now don't we?
Not to mention fine subcompacts to choose from come new car purchase time, too. I just read that Suzuki is planning on building a new $500 million dollar factory in Japan. They are making money hand over fist!
The Mustang gas station about a mile away from me is now the cheapest provider of 87 no-lead, currently asking $2.85/gal. Guess where I call home now, car nuts? You'll never guess!
I talked to my fellow workers in Prudhoe Bay yesterday. They said the whole pipe deal is blown out of proportion. It is a feeder line from the West side of the field. The truth is BP does not do repairs before they are needed. Many of the pipelines on the BP side of the field are in poor condition. The ARCO side of the field (East side) is in much better condition. ARCO ran a pig and replaced pitted sections before they started to leak. Now that BP is the major operator, I would expect more of these disruptions. My buddy said that Browne had just gotten on his jet and left when they found this current leak. He was up inspecting the repairs from the one last winter.
I have not seen any change in San Diego gas prices as a result of the leak. Still holding at $3.16 per gallon at Costco.
here's a hint: the state I now live in is very, very warm and if you look around a little you'll see these tall, prickly things standing all around the landscape like keepers of the...ummm...keepers of the...very, very warm, hot place. We're currently experiencing what the locals call the monsoon season here.
50 free looks at the 2006 Scion xA if you can guess which state I moved to.
Oh, ghastly is only $2.85 at the Mustang gas station in town. My son just started working there...I wonder if they give discounts on ghastly prices to worker's family members?
you are good, sir. We moved to a little town in SE Arizona called Willcox, AZ. The home of "The Singing Cowboy, Rex Allen."
We have a good-sized truck stop here so if you're a trucker, or know one, or used to e one, you know where Willcox, AZ is. I saw my first bobcat out in the wild at the Chiricahua National Monument(some very cool looking rock formations formed from an old volcanic eruption millions of years ago). It was a small one that was very, very wary of me sittng there in my Sportage 4x4 idling at just staring at him. He cautiously got up and left the scene(he was laying underneath a tree to get out of the hot sun).
Keep cool down there. We were through on our trip to TX. Spent the night in Benson. If you like high desert that is nice. Great bird watching south of you. Try to keep the gas prices down for our trips through there.
Unfortunately, I don't know that (since I don't live or work near the Pike). It had been a terrific buy until last year - Turnpike regulations only permitted price changes once a week. After Katrina, they relaxed that reg and it now matches the overall state law of no more than one change per day - but the whole Pike has to change at once.
if you want to fill up in Willcox, exit at the first Willcox exit as you come into town from the west. Keep going several miles(it's the first exit...the Business I-10 exit)until you hit downtown. Off to your right will be a Mustang gas station. My son just started a job manning the cash register at Mustang. It is busy nearly all the time, the locals love that station.
They have the lowest ghastly prices in Willcox, AZ, and always have the lowest prices. Currently 87 no-lead is selling for only $2.91 a gallon.
My 11 month old daughter recieved 2nd degree burns on the 10th and had to be rushed by ambulance to Texas Tech, Burn Unit at the University Medical Center.(She's going to be just fine, and won't have any scars thank-god. ) -If any of you have small children, PLEASE turn down your hot-water heater to 120 degrees so this doesn't happen to any of you.
Well on our way home, I did pay special attention to gas prices. Gas ranged from $2.86-2.99 in Lubbock. On my way home on the 12th I baught gas in Canyon, Tx. (Suburb of Amarillo) for $2.87 and to my surprise they had 87' as regular. No 86' SLOP :surprise: They also had to my surprise 88, 90, 91, octanes available. The gas station name is "Loves" and their are a couple around Amarillo, and the Greater Amarillo, area's. They also are made to accomidate Truck Drivers. I'm sure rorr, has heard of Loves.
Well since we will be returning back to Lubbock, for my daughters check-up, I'll report again.
Oops, I almost forgot to report Dumas, gas prices. Dumas at the Walmart gas station was $2.87. Yes if ya get the discount card you can knock-off another $0.02 of that price. The rest of the town was running at $2.88 (well on the S' side of town)
The article asks: when is the tipping point? I'm guessing, around $6 a gallon. At the moment. despite increasing prices, people are driving even MORE.
I agree. I think it's going to have to hit $5 to do any damage (by damage I mean people driving less, driving less fast, etc.) Everyday people pass me up like I'm standing still, or tailgate me in the right-line. Most of my route to work is on state routes and divided highway and I do the limit (has helped quite a bit in the mileage), only get in the left-lane when I have to. I don't drive so slow that I hold up traffic but people are still gunning to the next red-light. And I just ease up and catch them. But the kicker is the majority of the ones doing this are the huge truck/SUV and gas guzzler drivers :confuse: . But yet they complain about fuel.
Not sure if the sales will recover during winter or not as natural gas prices are jumping now (basically the same game as gasoline-report a glut of supply, 2 days later someone comes out and states the opposite). And lately been seeing commercials for ComEd saying there are going to be rate increases. Merry Christmas
>But the kicker is the majority of the ones doing this are the huge truck/SUV and gas guzzler drivers
I was thinking that before I got to your sentence. I've noticed the same thing.
Gas prices here are "down" to $2.74. But since oil dropped $1.50 approx yesterday I expect the same $.30 drop to match the $.30 rise they would have imposed immediately if oil were to have risen $1.50 quickly.
for the same reason they drive expensive vehicles. It is to impress the rest of us that they have the much higher income, status, position, & arrogance, but when the teeny boppers stop racing their rice rockets from light to light, the price of fuel will have hit the wall.
Those fart can cars burn less gas racing around than a bloatmobile going 40.
I see an ironic arrogance in driving a TC...what passed as status and position 30 years ago.
Gas could be $5 a gallon and you'd still see the guzzlers racing around...they'll just cash out some more home equity to keep the tank full. When that market collapses is when we'll see the reality check, as it is keeping things going to begin with.
We're down a little bit here in the Bronx, too: all of the nearby outlets are in the $3.27-3.29 range for 87.
I had another errand take me to NJ this weekend, though, so I've gotten my last two fill-ups of $2.97 Shell. And then promptly forked over the savings to the fine folks at the Port Authority.
Compared to the prices quoted $2.74 for name brands is great. I feel better about our gas prices.
A short 10 minute drive east to the gas war area nets $2.50 at Clark and others $2.61 and up at various stations along a strip with competition. $2.63 at Kroger with 0.15 off ofthat for $2.48.
Comments
Really? What rock have you slept under in the last 5 years or so? Or do you eat hamburgers three times a day? Go to your local supermarketand buy several poundsof good quality fresh fruits and vegetables!. Everything that is good for you has skyrocketed in price.
Savings and Investments are the rule as Bankruptcy is scorned around here.
No "marches" except for curing Cancer and petrol is reasonable at Safeway at less than $3 for 87.
My god who's going to beable to afford to drive anywhere but to and from work ?
Rocky
One station I passed this morning:
Reg unleaded: $2.99
Diesel $3.29
Phoenix Gas Prices website:
Lowest Unleaded $2.71
Lowest Diesel: $2.75
I remember in college though (~1990), you could get something like a Big Mac value meal for $2.99 + tax. Sandwich, regular fries, regular Coke. I think just the sandwich is $2.89 these days, so I'd guess the value meal is more like $4.49 or something?
As for housing, in my zip code you could get a 2 bedroom, 1 bath house on maybe 1/3-1/2 acre for about $250K. Doesn't sound bad at first, until you read the listing and it says "House needs to be bulldozed, value is in the land. Build your dream house in a sought-after location!" :sick:
One good example of how gas prices could affect a person...back when I used to deliver pizzas, in the 1996-1999 timeframe, on a really busy Friday/Saturday night, I could easily put 200 miles on the car. On something like my Dart, Gran Fury, or '79 Newport, that would burn through a good deal of the tank. Usually took about $20 to fill up. But I was guaranteed to be walking out of there with $150-200 in cash that night, so $20 was nothing. Once I got the Intrepid, a similar night would've only cost me about $10-12 in gas, except that prices started going up around that time.
Nowadays if I were still delivering in one of those old guzzlers, that $20 would be more like $50-60. Now when you're making $150-200 and have to put out $20 in gas, you really don't think about it. But when it comes to $50-60, you start to question if it's really worth it. And even with something like my Intrepid, that $10-12 would be closer to $30-35 today.
If I ever had to pick up a part time job today, I think I'd try being a bartender, waiter, etc. Pizza delivery just isn't worth the aggravation, fuel costs, wear and tear on the car, etc.
It's been this way for days now.
So if you're going northbound, you get a lower price!
BTW, 87 at this station is $2.89; lowest around that I've seen in my area (central VA) is $2.83 at Kangaroo and $2.85 at Hess.
But milk currently is around $2.99/gallon at its lowest (around the same as gas).
Back in 1975, when I moved into my first apartment, I remember paying $1.29 for it, and 75 cents for the largest size can of Minute Maid concentrate orange juice. Rent was a whopping $132 a month (Bloomington, IN)!
And back in 1962, I remember walking to the Mom and Pop store to buy a loaf of locally made Italian bread for 27 cents. Those wooden model airplanes where you just inserted the wings through a slot in the fuselage that you could then fly cost 10 cents. And pretzel rods that you got out of a large container on the checkout counter cost 1 cent each.
Right now the Chevron I patronize has regular at 3.04, with normal 10 cent increments.
And Andre...do you think people might tip less these days with everything else being so much more expensive? It might really be no fun to be a driver now.
me: that is more a function of lower wage areas of the globe acquiring manufacturing facilities and competing with higher paid U.S. workers. So yes some people who made a good wage certainly are making less now relatively.
But the price of gasoline over a long-time period has not been that bad. As I said, gasoline @ $1.25/gal in 1985 and gasoline today at $3.10/gal is equivalent compared to many other costs. I had an apartment then for $430/month including heat/hot water/and a pool. Today that apartment rents for about $1,000. A med. pizza then used to cost about $5; I went to Pizza Hut the other day and it was $11.
As for pizza delivery, one thing I do remember is that right after 9/11, business really dropped off. I had quit that job in April 2001, but went back in September just to pick up some extra spending money. Once the 9/11 tragedy hit, it sunk our business. At that point, at least, people weren't tipping any less, but there were just fewer customers.
I had some friends over a few months back, and one of them ordered a delivered pizza. When it came, there was a delivery charge of something like $2.00 in the bill. When I worked at Little Caesar's, they tried that once. Unfortunately, people started reducing the tip amount. And Little Caesar's kept that money. They said it was because having delivery service ran up their insurance costs something fierce. Once we drivers started complaining though, and threatening to quit, reducing our hours of availability, etc, they dropped it!
One of my roommates was a waiter for awhile, and is now a manager as some upscale crab/rib shack (I know that sounds contradictory) in a tourist area. From what I've heard him say, the average customer seems to be tipping better than ever, in spite of increasing prices. Pizza delivery was always different though, when it came to people tipping. I think I averaged about $2.50-3.00 per delivery, but it varied widely. Some extra-generous person who lived around the corner and thought I was cute might give me a $5-6 tip on a $9.00 order, but then some people throwing a party in some obscure area out at the fringe of our delivery zone might order $80-90 or more, and I'd still only get, at best, a buck or two.
I always thought that the further you were from the store, the more you should tip since the driver has to drive further, and in the amount of time it takes him to take your one delivery, he could have made 3-4 close-in deliveries. But oddly enough, it usually worked just the opposite, with the closer people tipping better. :confuse:
I got a 5% raise this year. Last year I got two separate ones: a 5.5% and a 2.9%. Year before that I got a 5%. However, in the same amount of time, gasoline has roughly doubled, if not more. My property taxes went up 8% in 2005 and another 10% this year, and they haven't even assessed me for the garage I had built yet! In 2003-2004 I paid $1.19 per gallon for home heating oil. Next season it went up to $1.74. For the current 2005-2006 season, it's simply "market price with a $3.19 cap) Fortunately we had a mild winter, and I only had to fill up twice, at $2.54 per gallon and then again at $2.64.
In 2000, a McMansion orchard sprung up down the street. Starting prices back then were $264,000. Nowadays the cheapest one in there is probably on the market for about $600K.
87 - $2.979
89 - $3.079
91 - $3.149
93 - $3.179
diesel - $2.899
kcram - Pickups Host
Seems out of touch, especically if you read these articles:
PU Sales
West Coast Gas Prices
Man, am I glad I don't live on the West Side - they're getting nailed!!
With ultra low sulphur diesel looking to enter the market, I think there will be a major shift towards diesel as gas prices continue to rise. As diesel cars are more fuel efficient, people are unlikely to drive less, maintaining or increasing demand. However, shifting to diesel would only be temporary relief - eventually, diesel will go up in price too.
It would probably take a doubling in price before people really start to drive less (instead of just saying they will). After all, gas prices as a percentage of after tax income is quite low in the US - whereas in Europe you need to pay more while having less to spend in the first place due to higher income tax rates.
Currently, despite higher gas prices, demand for SUVs and pickups have 'only' dropped what, 15% (pulling number out of my bum)? Sounds like a lot, but people are still buying hundreds of thousands of them. Rising gas prices obviously haven't affected those hundreds of thousands of people much in their decision.
Also, summer is ending, which means the annual summer gouging period should start to tail off. As gas prices fall a bit over the winter, demand for SUVs and trucks should start to recover a bit.
Averaging 1.18 CAD per liter here.
Well today, they upped the price by 10 cents, on each side. So now, northbound drivers pay $3.29/gallon and southbound drivers pay $3.39. Meanwhile 87 is unchanged at $2.89.
Also, do you have to check the tank yourself or does the oil tanker come by periodically to check it?
Mark
Y'know, this is going to sound funny, but I never really paid attention to what the oil looks like! For some reason I always thought it looked like motor oil, kind of a honey-brown and thick, but I know that can't be right. When I go home tonite I think I'll turn the little valve at the bottom of the tank so I can see what comes out! :P
Actually, I think it is kind of like Diesel. At least, I've heard people say that. I think it has kind of a reddish tint to it. I'm on a plan where the oil company makes an estimated guess of my oil usage based on the outside temperature, past oil usage, alignment of the planets, whether the next Bewitched Episode on TVLand will have Darrin #1 or Darrin #2, and some other variables, and plans their trips accordingly.
It's a 275 gallon tank, and it has a little gauge on top...a little plunger in a clear tube that rises and falls with the fuel level. I'm guessing because of the shape of the tank though, which is rounded at the top and the bottom, that the first "quarter tank" depletes pretty quickly, while next one takes much longer, and when it reads a half-tank, it's back to being accurate again. They're usually pretty good about coming out. I don't think they've ever had to put in more than 150 gallons at a time.
I think oil is a dying breed when it comes to heating a residence, although it still seems to be popular in rural areas I guess. I like it because it heats the place up quicker than a heat pump could. And I've always been afraid of natural gas. I don't know anyone personally who's ever had their house blown up from a natural gas leak, but I've heard it on the news every once in awhile. And I've seen it in enough movies over the years. For some reason "Dark Night of the Scarecrow" comes to mind.
As for filling a tank - which was a real PITA as a RENTER - it always seemed like the oil company wanted to fill up the tank no matter how much you were goign to use.
Natural gas is pretty safe as long as you don't let unqualified people monkey with the controls. IOW, use qualified plumbers / HVAC people to install water heaters and gas furnaces.
Oil is still very prevalent in the New York area and New England. And not just in the country -- oil's usually what's heating all those fancy brownstones in Brooklyn and the Upper West Side, and I see delivery trucks in midtown Manhattan all the time.
I think that whoever owns the home heating oil company(ies) that services those ritzy Fairfield County (CT) suburbs must just be filthy, stinking, ridiculously rich. You've got a high concentration of fabulously wealthy people living in 100, 200, or even 250+ year-old homes that must leak a ton of heat regardless of any modernization, and these probably aren't the type of folks to throw on an extra sweater and tough it out.
So then could you do just the opposite, and run an oil furnace on Diesel fuel? Not that I'm planning on trying it out. There would have to be a huge discrepancy in the prices to justify me trying to lug enough Diesel home to keep topping off a 275 gallon tank! :surprise:
Sometimes I see pumps at stations that carry so-called "off-road" diesel and posted signs say that it's not taxed.
Not to mention fine subcompacts to choose from come new car purchase time, too. I just read that Suzuki is planning on building a new $500 million dollar factory in Japan. They are making money hand over fist!
The Mustang gas station about a mile away from me is now the cheapest provider of 87 no-lead, currently asking $2.85/gal. Guess where I call home now, car nuts? You'll never guess!
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
PS
We had a sawdust furnace in Portland Oregon in 1952-1956.
I have not seen any change in San Diego gas prices as a result of the leak. Still holding at $3.16 per gallon at Costco.
50 free looks at the 2006 Scion xA if you can guess which state I moved to.
Oh, ghastly is only $2.85 at the Mustang gas station in town. My son just started working there...I wonder if they give discounts on ghastly prices to worker's family members?
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
We have a good-sized truck stop here so if you're a trucker, or know one, or used to e one, you know where Willcox, AZ is. I saw my first bobcat out in the wild at the Chiricahua National Monument(some very cool looking rock formations formed from an old volcanic eruption millions of years ago). It was a small one that was very, very wary of me sittng there in my Sportage 4x4 idling at just staring at him. He cautiously got up and left the scene(he was laying underneath a tree to get out of the hot sun).
What a genuine treat!
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
They have the lowest ghastly prices in Willcox, AZ, and always have the lowest prices. Currently 87 no-lead is selling for only $2.91 a gallon.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
Well on our way home, I did pay special attention to gas prices. Gas ranged from $2.86-2.99 in Lubbock. On my way home on the 12th I baught gas in Canyon, Tx.
(Suburb of Amarillo)
for $2.87 and to my surprise they had 87' as regular. No 86' SLOP :surprise: They also had to my surprise 88, 90, 91, octanes available. The gas station name is "Loves" and their are a couple around Amarillo, and the Greater Amarillo, area's.
Well since we will be returning back to Lubbock, for my daughters check-up, I'll report again.
Oops, I almost forgot to report Dumas, gas prices. Dumas at the Walmart gas station was $2.87. Yes if ya get the discount card you can knock-off another $0.02 of that price. The rest of the town was running at $2.88 (well on the S' side of town)
Rocky
Rocky
I agree. I think it's going to have to hit $5 to do any damage (by damage I mean people driving less, driving less fast, etc.) Everyday people pass me up like I'm standing still, or tailgate me in the right-line. Most of my route to work is on state routes and divided highway and I do the limit (has helped quite a bit in the mileage), only get in the left-lane when I have to. I don't drive so slow that I hold up traffic but people are still gunning to the next red-light. And I just ease up and catch them. But the kicker is the majority of the ones doing this are the huge truck/SUV and gas guzzler drivers :confuse: . But yet they complain about fuel.
Not sure if the sales will recover during winter or not as natural gas prices are jumping now (basically the same game as gasoline-report a glut of supply, 2 days later someone comes out and states the opposite). And lately been seeing commercials for ComEd saying there are going to be rate increases. Merry Christmas
I was thinking that before I got to your sentence. I've noticed the same thing.
Gas prices here are "down" to $2.74. But since oil dropped $1.50 approx yesterday I expect the same $.30 drop to match the $.30 rise they would have imposed immediately if oil were to have risen $1.50 quickly.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I see an ironic arrogance in driving a TC...what passed as status and position 30 years ago.
Gas could be $5 a gallon and you'd still see the guzzlers racing around...they'll just cash out some more home equity to keep the tank full. When that market collapses is when we'll see the reality check, as it is keeping things going to begin with.
I had another errand take me to NJ this weekend, though, so I've gotten my last two fill-ups of $2.97 Shell. And then promptly forked over the savings to the fine folks at the Port Authority.
A short 10 minute drive east to the gas war area nets $2.50 at Clark and others $2.61 and up at various stations along a strip with competition. $2.63 at Kroger with 0.15 off ofthat for $2.48.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,