Gas Prices...what's your breaking point?

[hutru01]

^ The sad part is that all the gas companies report huge profits and nobody can do anything about it except for keep paying for it.

 

Its not a monopoly, you are right on that account. But its damn close.

[Joon525]

I've been re-thinking the LGT for a while now. Even started plans to part it out but more because I'm not as into cars now as opposed to being afraid of the amount I'd spend on gas.

 

If gas does hit around 8 and I still have the LGT a newer option might seriously be considered. I'm not too worried though.

 

I drive a Honda Fit. Crap... I could cut a hole in the floor and peddle the thing Flintstones style if I wanted too.

The Fit is actually one of the cars I'd be considering. I no longer have the need/desire to have a fast car anymore and the utility of the Fit is something I could use more and more these days.

[f1anatic]

is that full service? I think theres some states where the govt has regulated that full service is required.. I guess some govt bloating to create jobs at the price of the consumer's spending cash..

 

 

Illinois is a Self-Serve state. I have not been anywhere to require full-serve and I would not let anyone anyways. Years ago I ran into this issue in Canada but since about 2002 or so it slowly disappeared...and I have been there every year.

[hutru01]

You are either disabled or straight lazy to not pump your own damn gas. (I don't recall of any gas stations that are full service required either)

[BoozeRS05]

Pinch other pennies..

 

-A 20oz. bottle of water cost $1.09. A Britta water filter cost $23 for 300 gallons.

-A six pack of Labatt Blue bottles cost $7.50. A 30 pack of PBR cost $12.90.

-Smoking can cost $800-$1600/year for the average user.

 

I love my car even if I spend $2000/year on gas.. I might only spend $1500 if I was driving a 2.5i legacy, which isn't worth the drop in performance, or money I would spend trading in cars IMO..

 

At least we aren't paying $1.60/liter or more like everyone else in the world..

[fishbone]

The problem is that OPEC is not regulated. The gas industry is an oligopoly where in this situation it might as well be a monopoly the way gas companies are raising prices. Anyone at 4 dollars a gallon yet for premium?

Not a monopoly, there are many gas companies in the US alone that are competing. You just usually hear of the big names.

[hutru01]

I never said it WAS one. I know the difference between a monopoly and and a oligopoly.

[hutru01]

OPEC is a oligopoly that controls the majority of gas prices.

[fishbone]

Right, you also said in this situation it might well be a monopoly, that's what I was referring to

Raising prices out of the blue for not good reason is a no-no from the law's standpoint, is it not? The Bush administration passed a law that would prevent oil companies from raising the price of gas "in times of need" or something to that effect, I forget the exact term.

[hutru01]

^ It might as well be one large company to begin with. Thats all I meant.

[schneiks]

Paid $3.92/gal for 93 octane again this morning I've seen other stations around here with $4.09 for 93.

[Knight705]

it has been over $4 for 91 for the almost the last two weeks. the cheapest was a gas station that took 6 cents off the price if u paid out in cash. and even then it was at $3.99 9/10

 

i'm sorta happy cause i know this will mean less traffic as prices go even higher. and seeing less SUVs w/ 1 passenger in it.

[rouar]

The pump shut off on me today while filling up the LGT. I looked and saw I hit the $50 credit card limit. First time it's ever happened to me.

 

$3.799 or something like that.

[Jerboa113]

the pumps out where I live have a $75 limit. If prices keep going up they will need to extend that $50 limit because I've been close to $50 in recent weeks per fill up.

 

I know this because my uncle drives an 08 gmc sierra 2500hd quad cab long bed and it costs $100 to fill it up.

 

ya know its a damn good thing I stopped eating out.. its all going to the car to get to work and back these days.

 

I've been driving slower this week and putting up with a lot more road-morons than I normally do. I haven't taken advantage of merge lanes or openings.. its saved me almost 2mpg doing that. I think this whole gas mess is turning me off as a car enthusiast.. its just too expensive to bother having fun.

 

and for the record, whats wrong with people driving suvs? I never understand why so many people want to tell other people what they can and cant do.. sure they use lots of gas but the owner is paying the price for that in the form of more fillups and higher costs.. this suv hatred thing goes deep in a lot of you.. I think you should see a doctor about it. In america.. you dont have the right to tell people what they can and cant have simply on the fact that you may not like it. </mini-rant>

[CTlegacy06]

the pumps out where I live have a $75 limit. If prices keep going up they will need to extend that $50 limit because I've been close to $50 in recent weeks per fill up.

 

I know this because my uncle drives an 08 gmc sierra 2500hd quad cab long bed and it costs $100 to fill it up.

 

ya know its a damn good thing I stopped eating out.. its all going to the car to get to work and back these days.

 

I've been driving slower this week and putting up with a lot more road-morons than I normally do. I haven't taken advantage of merge lanes or openings.. its saved me almost 2mpg doing that. I think this whole gas mess is turning me off as a car enthusiast.. its just too expensive to bother having fun.

 

and for the record, whats wrong with people driving suvs? I never understand why so many people want to tell other people what they can and cant do.. sure they use lots of gas but the owner is paying the price for that in the form of more fillups and higher costs.. this suv hatred thing goes deep in a lot of you.. I think you should see a doctor about it. In america.. you dont have the right to tell people what they can and cant have simply on the fact that you may not like it. </mini-rant>

Because people that buy SUVs they THINK they need and then proceed to drive them ALONE (as daily drivers) without any cargo or anything else that would justify the need for such a vehicle is why we are in this mess. It is great when people that bought SUVs and Trucks (and use them in said manner) are the first to complain about increased fuel prices. Most SUVs are jokes on wheels, I've seen accidents/crash tests where they do worse than a midsize vehicle and they aren't necessary for getting through bad weather if my AWD sedan is doing just fine through winters/rainstorms. If you have a large family you need to haul around then you are justified but most of the time I don't see that and I'm sure others have seen the same trends.

[700watts]

$50 or $75 limit..? what is that ? I've never seen that out here.....It cost me amlost $400 to fill the camper and I never hit a "limIt"

[smokedoutv6]

The $3.85 i paid this week pushed me slightly closer to my breaking point. not to the point of stopping driving but to the point where i b*tch and moan all week about the cost of everything being as high as it is!

 

f'in outrageous!

[mcw82]

-A six pack of Labatt Blue bottles cost $7.50. A 30 pack of PBR cost $12.90.

 

I couldn't replace my beer with PBR at any cost!

[mcw82]

OPEC is a oligopoly that controls the majority of gas prices.

 

Kind of confused on this one. How does OPEC directly control price? They can generally pump more of pump less, but that's more of indirect control. It's not like they wake up one morning and say, "today I want oil to be priced at $300/barrel...muhaha."

 

Also, OPEC doesn't refine the oil into gas and other byproducts for sale in the US, right? That's our local refineries that are generally owned operated by big oil along with smaller independents?

 

I tend to believe the same crusty speculators that caused the mortgage mess is also a main driver for the cost of oil. Even if OPEC pumps more oil, isn't our refining capacity at near peak anyway? If that's the case, other than psychological (which has mysterious influence on prices in general), how does having an extra 10m barrel of oil a day help when we can't refine it?

[iyalla]

I paid 3.73 for regular yesterday here on Long Island at my local BJ's and that came to $54.90, the low fuel light was on when I filled. Everywhere else was at 3.81 for regular so the line at the BJ's was ridiculous.

 

Whats really has me laughing is that a lot of the SUV drivers tend to be the aggressive type of drivers. On my way back from the BJ's I was in the middle lane taken my sweet time and this guy next to me in a Titan 5.6L pickup (with a spoiler of course) was flooring it from stop light to stop light and I swear I could almost see $1 bills flying out of the tailpipe at an incredible rate LOL He had the A/C on too!

 

I think its going to be very very hard for some people to give up the power and largeness of an SUV. Its like crack. They'll sell their kids first I tell ya.

[mcw82]

It is great when people that bought SUVs and Trucks (and use them in said manner) are the first to complain about increased fuel prices.

 

I agree with you 100%, but I also blame the general misconception that bigger is safer too. I just think we need to do a better job advertising the merits of our automobile technologies, whether it's a car or truck, and stop pandering to misconceived fear and greed.

 

I bet most of the public thinks of the current generation diesel engines are as bad as the ones from the 80's...noisy with endless black smoke.

[iyalla]

Kind of confused on this one. How does OPEC directly control price? They can generally pump more of pump less, but that's more of indirect control. It's not like they wake up one morning and say, "today I want oil to be priced at $300/barrel...muhaha."

 

Also, OPEC doesn't refine the oil into gas and other byproducts for sale in the US, right? That's our local refineries that are generally owned operated by big oil along with smaller independents?

 

I tend to believe the same crusty speculators that caused the mortgage mess is also a main driver for the cost of oil. Even if OPEC pumps more oil, isn't our refining capacity at near peak anyway? If that's the case, other than psychological (which has mysterious influence on prices in general), how does having an extra 10m barrel of oil a day help when we can't refine it?

 

Well said.

Its always blame others instead off blaming ourselves.

Who is devaluing the dollar? Who is hedging their funds on oil futures? Who doesn't want yet another refinery in their backyard? Who is driving V8 pick up trucks and SUV's to work with only themselves in the vehicle? Who is getting rich of this right now? Who is at War in Iraq and limiting that countries capacity to only 50%?

 

Those are just some of the questions we need to answer. Before we start blaming "emerging markets" like China and India. I mean its not like all these new car owners in those countries went out and bought Hummers, yachts, jetplanes and helicopters!

 

Like mcw82 suggest above there has not been ONE oil shortage in the world during this price increase. Not one. Everybody is well stocked. Everybody has what their country needs. So where is this price increase coming from?

[Jerboa113]

Because people that buy SUVs they THINK they need and then proceed to drive them ALONE (as daily drivers) without any cargo or anything else that would justify the need for such a vehicle is why we are in this mess. It is great when people that bought SUVs and Trucks (and use them in said manner) are the first to complain about increased fuel prices. Most SUVs are jokes on wheels, I've seen accidents/crash tests where they do worse than a midsize vehicle and they aren't necessary for getting through bad weather if my AWD sedan is doing just fine through winters/rainstorms. If you have a large family you need to haul around then you are justified but most of the time I don't see that and I'm sure others have seen the same trends.

 

so we need regulations to start stepping in and telling us what vehicles are "justified" for our families and our transportation needs? I dont want to divert from the thread topic any further on this issue but I feel like this perspective is a dangerous one for our freedoms. How many times have you been told by a govt employee (mostly teachers in HS for me) that "driving is a priviledge not a right." We may have fuel price problems but if we start inviting regulation of justifyable transportation we could wind up surrendering our freedom of movement.

 

sorry about post size, I wanted to only quote parts of that but it would break your context and I dont want to do that. Where I can see where you are coming from and I agree that america's large consumption vehicles do not help our situation in regard to demand, the market will eventually adjust itself on this one, people will park these things, sell them on the cheap, trade them in, etc. The suv age is pretty much on a sharp decline. I hear that some dealers arent even taking them as trades anymore.

 

oh, in regards to the post directly above mine, yes, thats all factors as well. But we're neither solely responsible nor solely innocent in this one. Changing leadership and usually entire direction every 4-8 years it seems hasnt been very healthy for long term plans in this country heh.

[Knight705]

driving is a privilege. u don't need to drive. heck half of new york don't drive. or even those living inside of major urban centers don't drive. i don't see how their freedoms are being impeded upon. freedom of movement only means the freedom to move about as you please w/o being stopped. if SUVs/trucks were taken away those same ppl can still travel in sedans or minivans. they may not "like" it but they can still move around freely.

 

i would gladly stop commuting to work and school if the public transpo around here is as efficient as the japanese or europeans. i would love to not have to sit in 1 hr of traffic to drive 14 miles.

 

and my hate for the SUV stems from the attitudes of most i've come across. they think since they have a bigger/heavier/taller vehicle they can push others around on the road. i've had more near accidents from SUVs trying to merge into me or cutting me off or tail gating me than any other vehicles on the road. i feel safer in between two semi rigs than between two SUV drivers.

[Woby]

Those that bash people owning trucks and SUVs should come spend a winter up here in the Great White North and maybe you will see how 'unreasonable' these vehicles are. They should also compare the average mileage of SUVs and trucks to crossovers, minivans and many sports cars, these have less interior hauling capacity but get the same or worse gas mileage. SUVs have unjustly taken the wrath of many when there are far more impracticle gas guzzlers out there.

If the crowd of SUV bashers gets their way and gets them off the road they will just move to a different class of vehicle, maybe AWD sedans will be next as comparatively these vehicles get worse fuel mileage then the non AWD vehicles. Sortof like SUVs have taken the hit while minivans haven't.