Gas skyrocketed in a night....

[John Larkin]

What I have noticed is that the distributors or filling station owners (pick one or the other) are reacting to oil future prices. In other words, when the price of crude goes up or down, they adjust their pricing based on that alone. Funny how their tanks are full and the price changes. The gas in the tank is the same gas they paid "x" for but they still change the price. They are passing along future costs to all of us now. However, coming down is alot more slow that going up for sure.

 

[jdpolzin]

Did you guys hear that Illinois has had a total increased revenue of 64 million dollars strictly from the increase in gas prices??

 

[acoen]

What I have noticed is that the distributors or filling station owners (pick one or the other) are reacting to oil future prices. In other words, when the price of crude goes up or down, they adjust their pricing based on that alone. Funny how their tanks are full and the price changes. The gas in the tank is the same gas they paid "x" for but they still change the price. They are passing along future costs to all of us now. However, coming down is alot more slow that going up for sure.

That is correct....prices you hear every day are oil futures, not necessarily what is actually being paid for a barrel of oil today. I'm not an expert but I would imagine why distributors raise there prices along with oil futures is not to shock the public with a sudden $0.30 one day jump in fuel prices. Just a guess, but I would think I'm pretty close.

 

[SilverSleeper]

Im glad I traded my gashog when I did.
Now Im driving a 4cyl 5 speed, getting between 23-30mpg.
And I moved closer to work, so my commute is around 3 miles a day instead of 60.
Although, once Im laid off come the end of next month, I may have to go back to driving 60 miles or more a day just to get a job. Combine that with the cost of keeping a car, insurance, payments, etc, and it would be cheaper to take unemployment!
One of the biggest problems around here though, is that everyone commutes so far to work. The cost of living close to where the jobs are, is so high, people would rather live in the country and drive 30 miles or more a day to work.
Regular here as of this morning was 2.65 for 87 octane!
At the end of last month, it could be found for 2.29!

 

[n20junkie]

its cheaper to fly my airplane than it is to buy premium, airplane gas is only 2.85 a gal. I used to be that many people got authorization from the faa to use auto gas, won't be that way anymore.
Grant

 

[MaxVO2]

Im glad I traded my gashog when I did.
Now Im driving a 4cyl 5 speed, getting between 23-30mpg.
And I moved closer to work, so my commute is around 3 miles a day instead of 60.
Although, once Im laid off come the end of next month, I may have to go back to driving 60 miles or more a day just to get a job. Combine that with the cost of keeping a car, insurance, payments, etc, and it would be cheaper to take unemployment!
One of the biggest problems around here though, is that everyone commutes so far to work. The cost of living close to where the jobs are, is so high, people would rather live in the country and drive 30 miles or more a day to work.
Regular here as of this morning was 2.65 for 87 octane!
At the end of last month, it could be found for 2.29!

*****It's more of the same around here - most people drive 20-30 miles to get to work, since housing prices are out of control. A townhouse in the suburbs now is going upwards of 350k depending upon the neighborhood!. A small condo in a good downtown location is 300k now, with no parking spot. Greeeeeaaatt....

Gas around here is about 2.76 for 87 octane and for the 1st time I have ever seen, over $3 (Heck it was $3.07!) for premium at many stations now.. I have old gas receipts in my GN from a couple of years back... $1.57 for premium.. I have other receipts from the late 80's and early 90's for regular 87 for under .80 cents a gallon! The 87 octane went into my beater car at the time... not the GN... 93 octane was $.99 cents at that time...

My neighbor that I wrote about a couple of weeks ago on another thread, who has a Hummer, and spent an (at the time) $119 to fill up his SUV has just topped the $130 per fill up range today. My jaw just dropped. He puts premium gas in that thing too! Yipes..

I'm still in shock about it.. $130 to fill up. Wow

Billy
Montgomery Village, MD

 

[justabuickv6]

The price will go down after Labor Day.

 

[Ak sy]

Everyone wants to blame Bush for the fuel prices today, how about looking in the mirror at yourself who bought the vehicle that gets 11mpg instead of a car that can get 30? Bend over thats what you get for your own decisions.


Back to Bush, anyone remember the mid 70s? Rations of 5 gallons of fuel and .85 cents a gallon prices up from .45cents? How soon we forget, Ford and one of the worst Presidents in history Carter were in office, what was learned and done from this crisis that showed how dependant and vulnerable we were on oil? Not much, Carter lowered the speed limit to 55 that was about it, no grants or mandates for new energy research on the big 3 auto makers, nothing serious that is, just a few token fuel economy mandates easily met and gas guzzler taxes for the Feds and more EPA regulations, other than that business as usual till today.

It comes down to personal responsibility for each concerning the planet, 5 years ago gas was cheap, .99 cents a gallon and people were happy as pigs in $hit buying SUVs like crazy and for some reason they kept getting bigger and bigger to Leviathon size, add one of the greatest poser guzzler pigs the H2 was born also, only in America could this bunch of vehicles be as much a success as they were.

Who cares about the resources they waste, the much greater pollutants they create since they are classified as trucks and can get away with it, I want whats in it for me, well now its biting them in the a$$ everytime they fill up and it serves them right, sooner or later the financial pain will be too great to use them as everyday transportation and they will be parking them except for special occasions, kind of natures revenge or natural selection of these vehicles, soon they will be the way of the huge hunks of iron from Detroit in the early 70s.Some look at the 59 Cadillac as a exercise in excess for the late 50s and early 60s the same will be said for a 2005 Excursion , H2 or Esclade in the future.

Where does it say we have a constitutional right to cheap gas?

 

[chevyII]

17 billion dollars a year in profit for US oil companies. Seems like Every other type of utility is regulated,natural gas,telephones,cell phones,and ellectricty. Why dont they regulate petro....HUMM maybe because we have an oil man and oil men who have paid his way . I heard alot of BS about this. 2 things would make the gas cheaper today. A cap on profit wpuold need to be put in place. No more buying crude while the price was cheap then sell it sky high a month later when a car bomb or two goes off in Iraq. A simple % of how much the gas could be sold at,th price isnt set till it hits our shores anyway. Second why do we refine 31 different blends? Because every state thinks they need a different enviromental package. Both can be solved by one person George Bush AKA John FN Wayne.

 

[chevyII]

Oh buy the way US oil companies break even at $28 dollars a barrel

 

[SinistrV6]

Break even?

The refining business is HEAVILY regulated by the federal gov't. Hence all the different grades of gasoline for each season and the regional blends (thank you EPA and the liberals who give them so much power! ) If you're suggesting a profit cap, that's so anti-capitalism that it's ridiculous. No other industry has their profits capped!!! You gonna support gov't subsidies if you hold oil companies to the break even point or a small loss every quarter?

The President is like NFL quarterbacks, too much credit when things are going well, too much blame when they go to hell!

 

[acoen]

The only was to lower the price of fuel in the short term is to use less of it. As a family, we have become much more conscious of where we go, how fast we drive and what we drive to get there. If everyone would cut back this coming Labor Day and postpone trips, take vacation closer to home, that could help reduce prices in the short term. I'm sure the distributors are gearing up for a busy holiday weekend. If we were postpone travel during the holiday, prices would definitely come down as surplus would continue to grow. This is only a short term solution, and not an exact science. I don't complain about fuel prices too much I just learn new ways to stretch my dollar, at this point changing my driving habits is working....But I understand this is not for everyone.

 

[n20junkie]

we can reduce our use of gasoline, but the price increase is mainly due to the upcomming countries such as china that are using more than the US. in the past we were the primary users of gas, and we got the largest share and at a better price, but now that china is the largest user, we have to pay more to get the goods. we can reduce our use of gas, but it won;t change the pricing much, cause the supply will shift with our usage, and the prices will stay high, thats life i guess.
Grant

 

[The Blob]

A cap on profit wpuold need to be put in place.

That is an excellent idea... if you want to wait for hours in gas lines.

 

[SinistrV6]

Have you seen the price of milk?!! Damn that George Bush! When he gonna do something about it??

 

[jpratt]

Have you seen the price of milk?!! Damn that George Bush! When he gonna do something about it??

You are right. He must have something to do about that, after all he is the President. While he is at it he should fix all the spam that I get.

 

[SinistrV6]

Here's my list!

You are right. He must have something to do about that, after all he is the President. While he is at it he should fix all the spam that I get.

You're right, I hadn't thought of that! Man, I gotta start a list of stuff beyond the President's control that I want him to fix just 'cause I want it! Never mind the legalities and damn the laws of economics, just do it 'cause I said so!!

1. "reality" television has got to go
2. Boom stereos that sound like crap in cars worth 1/10 of the system's cost. Anyone playing music with profanity blasting should be shot on sight. I don't like my kids hearing "MF this" and "MF that" from your pimpwagon.
3. Ricers (not all modified imports, you know the ones I'm talking about)
4. Make it not so hot in the summer and not so cold in the winter, no matter where I am.
5. All professional sports should have their salary based on performance. You get hurt or don't meet the goals set for you by the team, you get paid less. Fall too short and you go bye-bye.
6. Any professional sports player involved in any way shape or form in any criminal activity is immediately cut from the team and forfeits all pay. No questions asked, no exceptions.
7. Celebrities are no longer allowed to espouse their political views in any public forum other than the ones that regular citizens have access to. You must also be an American citizen and prove that you've voted in at least 75% of the elections in the last 10 years.

Lots more.... Get to work GWB! Stop loafing and fix my stuff! If you don't I'll protest on your front lawn and let the media use me any way they want to (no, wait, that's already being done. Dangit!)

 

[chevyII]

Like I said every other utility is regulated by how much they can charge which relates to how much profit. Anticapitolism is being raped to the tune of 17 billion in profit a year for the US oil companies. Oh by the way if Bush doesnt want to lead dont become a leader

 

[acoen]

Once you start regulating profit, Us oil companies will have less opportunity to compete in a world market. By placing caps on US oil companies these so called "HUGE" profits will go into maintaining equipment and keeping up with the status quo. This means no new equipment, little or no money left for exploration and larger shortages of oil. Imagine for a moment if the US oil companies were to use these "HUGE" profits to explore and extract oil here in the US. At this point in time the oil companies are restricted where and how they extract oil . If they were given the chance to extract oil here in the US you would see these profits going directly back into exploration, extraction and refinement. Regulation, and Price caps are not the answer....True Capitalism is the answer the growing problem. Give the oil companies the opportunity to explore, extract and refine prices will fall. Heck as it sits now the Libs should be happy 17 billion in profits spell taxes, taxes and more taxes.

Man...I know I'm going to catch Hell

 

[whitehot84]

Where does the line between supply and demnd (capitalism if you will) and gouging appear? I seems to me that the government did step in after hurricane HUGO and nail the big wood suppliers for raising their prices in order to increase their profits. Aren't the big oil companies doing the same? When our initial shortage was reported and gasoline went over $2.00 a gallon Exxon Mobile reported the largest profit in their history for that same quarter. Duh !!!
Also, when will the auto manufacturers take some initiative in this battle?. Where is Lee Iacocca when you need him. I remember, as a boy in the 60's, reading about a guy building a carburator that got 50 or 60 mph. He then promptly fell off the earth. Duh!!!
Am I being too cynical??????