Gas Prices...

[Jeegz]

f**k the oil companies its all a big scam gas in wisconsin is f**kin 4.05

$3.77 here in Madison today.

 

[LowNotSlow]

We don't have a shortage of oil, we have a shortage of refineries. There hasn't been a new oil refinery made in the U.S. in 25 years.

We're not even running at full refining capacity.

our dollar isnt worth s**t because of our buddy bush. until we get out of this little depression, were going to be spending a shitload of money on gas. because of this, all sales are down. where i live, nobodys going out to spend money they dont need to. nobody spending money means im not going to have a job much longer and my dream of a new car is shattered. they expected about 60,000 people get laid off because our economy sucks.

good thing i drive a n/a single 28mpg ftw

Bush has nothing to do with the recession, people who bought more than they could afford and then defaulted started this. So you can thank all those dipshits who don't know how to manage their money f**king the banks over.

Which then makes the banks less willing to loan money, which slows the economy, which sets consumers into a panic because somebody used the word "depression" and now they're trying to act like they're trying to save money. The economy will bounce back it's just going to take some time.

 

[connies96hatchie]

$3.77 here in Madison today.

Sunday morning before I headed home, I paid $4 at the Dells. You should have told me to stop in Madison instead and filled up. Meh... I still have 194 miles and the needle is still a little above the halfway mark. It should last me another week or so.

It's still $4 here but I noticed $3.97 at the 7-11 while I was driving by last night.

 

[Akiahara96]

We're not even running at full refining capacity.



Bush has nothing to do with the recession, people who bought more than they could afford and then defaulted started this. So you can thank all those dipshits who don't know how to manage their money f**king the banks over.

Which then makes the banks less willing to loan money, which slows the economy, which sets consumers into a panic because somebody used the word "depression" and now they're trying to act like they're trying to save money. The economy will bounce back it's just going to take some time.

gas was far too expensive by the time this whole loan default issue began. at least, before it became such an epidemic, for lack of a better word.

gas was a dollar in 2001, btw.

 

[tonyM]

greetings from the land where i paid $4.58 a gallon yesterday.
until your prices are above chicago(which by the way has the highest gas prices in america now)
quit bitching!.............and yes, im thinking of moving or getting a different car.
and i better say that was a joke before someone gets their panties in a bunch.

 

[LowNotSlow]

gas was far too expensive by the time this whole loan default issue began. at least, before it became such an epidemic, for lack of a better word.

gas was a dollar in 2001, btw.

Gas was not a dollar in 2001, it was over a dollar in 1998.

And I wasn't equating gas prices to the slump beyond the weakening of the dollar.

 

[Akiahara96]

i distinctly remember gas for .99 in the winter of 2001. it wasn't that cheap where i lived, but it was .99 in my hometown, and it didn't stay that way for very long at all.

i'd chalk it up to faulty memory, but i wouldn't forget that. it was the last christmas i spent with all my family after my grandmother died - a rather memorable event.

 

[LowNotSlow]

It was $1.13 when I started driving in 1998. You must have been in a time warp or something

 

[ShinsenTuner]

Gas prices DO fluctuate from area to area, but whatever.

Filled up yesturday, 3.74 for Regular, 10 bucks to fill up half tank w00t

 

[dank24]

I passed $3.95 yesterday, but it didn't make me mad etc. I am use to this bullshit.

 

[5thGenCX]

$3.85 here in Southern Minnesota. But hey, I have a Civic, i'm not complaining.

 

[Hecz]

last time i put gas in my civic i payed 4.20 a Gal..that was last week.
*sigh*

 

[253eg]

Gasoline Is Cheap. Four dollars a gallon is outrageous! We should be paying much more.
By Robert Bryce
Posted Thursday, May 15, 2008, at 3:24 PM ET
Illustration by Rob Donnelly. Click image to expand.

The next time you have to take out a loan just to fill up your tank, remember this: Four-dollar-per-gallon gasoline is cheap.

There's no doubt that high fuel prices are hurting low-income consumers, and high energy costs are placing a tax on the economy that is slowing investment while sending billions of dollars overseas. It's unsurprising that presidential candidates and members of Congress issue new proposals practically every day to lower gas prices: Stop filling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve! Suspend the federal gas tax! Open ANWR to oil drilling!

These proposals are delusions, and Americans are living in a fantasy land when it comes to energy and energy prices. Over the past few years, consumers have been inundated with news stories about the soaring price of gasoline. Invariably, these stories include comments from a motorist who is outraged at the evils of a) Saudi Arabia, b) OPEC, c) Big Oil, d) all of the above.

But by almost any measure, gasoline is still cheap. In fact, it has probably been far too cheap for far too long. The recent price increases are only beginning to reflect its real value.

When measured on an inflation-adjusted basis, the current price of gasoline is only slightly higher than it was in 1922. According to the Energy Information Administration, in 1922, gasoline cost the current-day equivalent of $3.11. Today, according to the EIA, gasoline is selling for about $3.77 per gallon, only about 20 percent more than 86 years ago.

Given the ever-increasing global demand for oil products—during the first quarter of this year, China's oil consumption jumped by 16.5 percent—and the increasing costs associated with finding, producing, and refining crude oil, it makes sense that today's motorists are paying more for their motor fuel than their grandparents and great-grandparents did.

Gasoline is also a fairly minor expense when you consider the overall cost of car ownership. In 1975, gasoline made up 33.4 percent of the total cost of owning and operating a car. By 2006, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, gasoline costs had declined to just 17.1 percent of the total cost of car ownership. Of course, fuel costs have risen by about $1 per gallon since 2006, but even with those increases, fuel continues to be a relatively small part of the cost of car ownership. By contrast, the fixed costs of ownership—insurance, licensing, taxes, and financing—have increased nearly fivefold since 1975. Maintenance costs have also quintupled over the same time period. Given those increases and the relatively low price of fuel, it's not surprising that Americans are opting for big vehicles with powerful engines. Considering the overall cost of owning a vehicle, fuel expenses just aren't a very big deal.

History shows that significant declines in U.S. oil consumption occur only after prolonged periods of high prices. Over the last two decades, U.S. consumers have been spoiled by low fuel prices. And those lower prices led to a buying binge that put millions of giant SUVs, pickups, and other gas guzzlers on our roads. Today's higher prices are forcing consumers to adapt. The EIA now expects U.S. gasoline consumption to decline this year—the first drop in demand in 17 years. In April, sales of small cars in the United States were up by 17 percent over the same period a year earlier while sales of SUVs, trucks, and large cars all fell by about 30 percent.

On the environmental front, people concerned about greenhouse-gas emissions should be cheering today's oil prices. Expensive motor fuel is the only thing that will lead consumers to use less oil and make the switch to hybrid vehicles, smaller cars, and public transit. Higher oil prices are convincing automakers to change their fleets. Earlier this week, Nissan Motor Company announced that it will begin selling an electric car in the United States and Japan by 2010. Carlos Ghosn, the chief executive of Nissan, made it clear that fuel prices were a factor in the company's decision to build electric cars, telling the New York Times that "the shifts coming from the markets are more powerful than what regulators are doing."

American gasoline is also dirt-cheap compared with gas in other countries. British motorists are currently paying about $8.38 per gallon for gasoline. In Norway, a major oil exporter, drivers are paying $8.73. In 2007, out of the 32 industrialized countries surveyed by the International Energy Agency, only one (Mexico) had cheaper gasoline than the United States. Last year, drivers in Turkey were paying three times as much for their gasoline as Americans were. The IEA data also show that in India—where the per capita gross domestic product is about $2,700 (about 6 percent of the per capita GDP in the United States)—drivers have been paying more for their diesel fuel and gasoline than their American counterparts.

(Gasoline is also cheap compared with other essential fuels. A Starbucks venti latte costs the equivalent of $23 per gallon, while Budweiser beer runs $11 per gallon.)

The simple truth is that Americans are going to have to get used to more expensive gasoline. And while they may continue grumbling at the pump, they need to accept the fact that even at $3.50 or $4 per gallon, the fuel they are buying is still a bargain.

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Deal with it, people.

 

[Hecz]

lol.

 

[vjf915]

Deal with it, people.

I agree with a good portion of that. I hate people who drive SUV's so they think they have the right of way against my little Honda . The only part about that piece that I dont agree with is the "other essentials" such as Starbucks and beer. Thats total bullshit. Gas is essential, I need it to get to work and school. I can easily live without drinking f**king Starbucks.

 

[Hecz]

Lol .. About The Suv Thing.

 

[253eg]

I agree with a good portion of that. I hate people who drive SUV's so they think they have the right of way against my little Honda . The only part about that piece that I dont agree with is the "other essentials" such as Starbucks and beer. Thats total bullshit. Gas is essential, I need it to get to work and school. I can easily live without drinking f**king Starbucks.

True, but to a lot of Americans, those are essentials.
And that's sad.

 

[vjf915]

Seriously though, like when theyre turning left on the opposite side of an intersection and Im turning right. I swear one of these times Im just going to keep driving, if they hit me then itll be their fault. Then maybe I'll fake a neck injury......Kswap here I come .

 

[N/A D-Series]

Keep them coming guys got another week before its due.

 

[vjf915]

Sorry for getting off topic. Good luck on the paper bro :.