F... gas prices
 

[B]F gas prices and F big oil companies who are making record profits at our expense.[/B]

Re: F... gas prices
 

I broke down and got my wife a Pruis.

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[quote=Mattyk72][B]F gas prices and F big oil companies who are making record profits at our expense.[/B][/quote]I would like to second that F

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[quote=EEich]I broke down and got my wife a Pruis.[/quote]

Thank god I have a car thats good on gas, its going to make my trips down to DC run around $90.00 a game now tho :(

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I was so happy when gas was finally below $2 again here in Richmond and then within 2 weeks it had gone up to $2.60 so yeah a SUPER HUGE F TO GAS PRICES AND THOSE WHO CONTROL THEM!!!!

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i would kill to pay 2.60...
its around $3 in socal and it sucks!

F THEM ALL!

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Long Island hit $3.00 yesterday!! F...Dat shit!!

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It's always freakin' one step forward, two steps back with this crap. In a month or two prices will go back down to $2.25 or so and we'll be so happy (even though they were under $2.00 a couple months ago). I hate this, I even drive a little Mazda3 and I'm thinking of trading it in for a hybrid.

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It was a very mild winter in the northeast, one would think that would have helped but NOOOOO, gas prices are climbing through the roof again.

My car is pretty good on gas and I have a pretty short work commute, I only have to fuel up every 7-10 days, but when it's starting to cost $25+ to fill the tank, that hurts.

F Bush too.

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Seriously.

You'd THINK we would have developed an alternate fuel source by now, but NOOO. Thank the oil companies for lobbying against THAT.

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i have a ford taurus that gets roughly 18-20 miles/gallon mixed driving. I commute 350 miles round trip per week, combine that with all the other driving, and we're talking 500 miles a week is fairly average.

As I am a big guy, I really don't want a commuter car because they are too small, yet I can't afford one of the newer hybrids. So call me screwed...

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[QUOTE=TheMalcolmConnection]Seriously.

You'd THINK we would have developed an alternate fuel source by now, but NOOO. Thank the oil companies for lobbying against THAT.[/QUOTE]
It's not really the oil companies. It is the car companies. Oil companies know they'll be able sell whatever fuel we need for our cars with minimal investment. Car companies on the other hand will need to spend billions in R&D to make full lines of viable alt fuel vehicles.

Along the same line we all need to give ourselves a big fat
F...US
for not demanding more alt fuel vehicles. If there was demand from us then the car companies would do it. What a total CF this whole situation has become.

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F SUV drivers too, especially hummers

Why do people feel the need to drive tanks?

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Uh oh, this thread is going political.

Hybrids are not the answer. They typically cost on average $4000 more than the comparable non-hybrid model. The savings on gas doesn't offset the increase in price.

Blaming the oil companies is like shooting the messenger. The price of oil as a commodity has gone up because of stronger demand from China and India's economies, which are growing like wildfire. Middle east tensions between the Iraq war and the tension with Iran are also causing oil prices to rise. There's no conspiracy occurring between the big oil firms to price gauge the consumers, it's quite simply a matter of supply and demand when it comes to oil.

Alternative energy sources are the real answer. You have to reduce America's demand for oil in order to insulate the American consumers from oil prices.

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[quote=Mattyk72]F SUV drivers too, especially hummers

Why do people feel the need to drive tanks?[/quote]

I second that. That's ONE of the reasons gas prices stay as high as they are. More need = higher prices. Simple formula.

Drive more fuel efficient cars, less gas is used, prices go down. That would be a start anyway. But I agree (to a point) to also send out an F...Us for ALWAYS wanting the beast SUV to drive one person around in.

And Matty, those are on my list right below girls who drive Jettas. That is girls at college who's daddies bought them enormous monsters of cars that they can hang their leis and and talk on cell phones causing accidents.

Hollaback girl. Woot woot.

Re: F... gas prices
 

[quote=TheMalcolmConnection]I second that. That's ONE of the reasons gas prices stay as high as they are. More need = higher prices. Simple formula.

Drive more fuel efficient cars, less gas is used, prices go down. That would be a start anyway. But I agree (to a point) to also send out an F...Us for ALWAYS wanting the beast SUV to drive one person around in.

And Matty, those are on my list right below girls who drive Jettas. That is girls at college who's daddies bought them enormous monsters of cars that they can hang their leis and and talk on cell phones causing accidents.

Hollaback girl. Woot woot.[/quote]

SUVs represent an incremental increase in demand that is a pittance in comparison to the increasing oil demand from India and China. It's a drop in the bucket and is maybe responsible for moving gas prices from $2.58 to $2.59. SUVs are not the problem with oil prices.

But I will say F SUVs in general because I think they're so unsafe. If I get in an accident with a Hummer, and I'm driving around in my Toyota Camry, I'm not standing much of a chance. Plus SUVs love to roll over. They're just bad news in general.

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I hate chickenheads.

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[quote=Schneed10]SUVs represent an incremental increase in demand that is a pittance in comparison to the increasing oil demand from India and China. It's a drop in the bucket and is maybe responsible for moving gas prices from $2.58 to $2.59. SUVs are not the problem with oil prices.

But I will say F SUVs in general because I think they're so unsafe. If I get in an accident with a Hummer, and I'm driving around in my Toyota Camry, I'm not standing much of a chance. Plus SUVs love to roll over. They're just bad news in general.[/quote]

Then tell the Indians and Chinese to stop driving SUVs. They're too short to drive them anyway. :)

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[quote=TheMalcolmConnection]Then tell the Indians and Chinese to stop driving SUVs. They're too short to drive them anyway. :)[/quote]

LOL

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Let's look at it from another angle. Say you're a bread store owner, and another natural disaster has created a shift in supply and demand that will greatly affect the price of bread -- maybe it's wildfires across the wheat fields of the midwest.

As the bread store owner, you see that since the wildfires have consumed a great portion of available wheat, you have to take action. Even if you have just received a full shipment of bread at normal market prices, you know the next shipment will cost much more. Since you have to pay for overhead, pay your employees, pay the onslaught of federal and state taxes associated with doing business, plus a little for yourself (you're not doing this for free, right?) you know that if you charge the same amount for the bread that you did before the wildfires, you will not be able to afford the next shipment without going out of business. So what do you do? You have to increase the price of the bread that you've already got stocked on the shelf in anticipation of the rising cost of bread that is sure to ensue.

The same thing is happening with mom and pop gas stations, even franchises all over the country. The evil, cold-hearted "Big Oil" companies are often the target of scourn and ridicule, but in reality, it's all a part of supply and demand folks.

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[QUOTE=Beemnseven]Let's look at it from another angle. Say you're a bread store owner, and another natural disaster has created a shift in supply and demand that will greatly affect the price of bread -- maybe it's wildfires across the wheat fields of the midwest.

As the bread store owner, you see that since the wildfires have consumed a great portion of available wheat, you have to take action. Even if you have just received a full shipment of bread at normal market prices, you know the next shipment will cost much more. Since you have to pay for overhead, pay your employees, pay the onslaught of federal and state taxes associated with doing business, plus a little for yourself (you're not doing this for free, right?) you know that if you charge the same amount for the bread that you did before the wildfires, you will not be able to afford the next shipment without going out of business. So what do you do? You have to increase the price of the bread that you've already got stocked on the shelf in anticipation of the rising cost of bread that is sure to ensue.

The same thing is happening with mom and pop gas stations, even franchises all over the country. The evil, cold-hearted "Big Oil" companies are often the target of scourn and ridicule, but in reality, it's all a part of supply and demand folks.[/QUOTE]

This statement has alot of validity to it and is PART of the problem. Don't ever forget that most of the government leaders in this country are very wealthy and a majority of them are invested in either defense or oil companies.

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Gas jumped from $2.20 p/g to $2.80 p/g in three weeks here in the Seattle area! I hope the bastards die a slow painful death.

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Supply and demand is such an easy cop-out, we all know there are many layers to any issue and big oil is certainly no different. Is supply and demand a part of the big picture? Sure. Is it the end all explanation? No way.

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Okay so DC v. MD v. VA; DC has the most expensive gas on average right now which is about $2.86. By the end of summer, how much do you all (or the media) estimate the prices?

It looks like they are definitely gonna get higher than they were post-Katrina.

But.. *crosses fingers*

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[quote=Schneed10]
But I will say F SUVs in general because I think they're so unsafe. If I get in an accident with a Hummer, and I'm driving around in my Toyota Camry, I'm not standing much of a chance. Plus SUVs love to roll over. They're just bad news in general.[/quote]

lol, first ATVs, now SUVs. You should come take a peek in my garage. It's filled with all kinds of stuff you don't like. :D

As far as gas prices go, I don't really mind them; and I drive 120 miles a day.

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i mind the gas prices and sorry for driving a tahoe ,but to blame the high gas prices on what vehicle you drive is stupid.if everyone owned a tauras gas would probably be about 5.00 a gallon so the big oil companies could substain their record profits.the problem is that there is not one person sitting in d.c. that has the balls to cap the price.it is done with milk,and other things so dont tell me it cant be done.politicians are very concernd with immigrants right now that i could give a rats ass about.please stick to the REAL issues

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F Gas Prices!

Although take into consideration that as high as the price of gas is right now, it's still very cheap when compared with any other fossil fuel. I think I read somewhere that gasoline, as a substance, is closer to the value of water then to any other fuel producing substance.

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97 Chrysler LHS, big car but awesome milage as I am averaging around 24.7 MPG.

But on days that I am late for work I usually end up getting about 19. It's amazing how much gas you use going from 65 mph to 80 mph.

Has anyone tried out the gas savers? Things like the Tornado fuel saver, K&N air filter, or any other kind of car modifications to get better mileage??

Gas in Iowa is 2.65 right now. There was a 20 cent jump since Sunday.

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[QUOTE=drew54]97 Chrysler LHS, big car but awesome milage as I am averaging around 24.7 MPG.

But on days that I am late for work I usually end up getting about 19. It's amazing how much gas you use going from 65 mph to 80 mph.

Has anyone tried out the gas savers? Things like the Tornado fuel saver, K&N air filter, or any other kind of car modifications to get better mileage??

Gas in Iowa is 2.65 right now. There was a 20 cent jump since Sunday.[/QUOTE]
Tornado is crap. K&N filter won't do anything but elevate the level of SI in your oil.

The best thing you can do is make sure you run proper air pressure in your tires. Also, don't haul around fat people. They'll kill your mileage.

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[quote=Mattyk72]Supply and demand is such an easy cop-out, we all know there are many layers to any issue and big oil is certainly no different. Is supply and demand a part of the big picture? Sure. Is it the end all explanation? No way.[/quote]

Supply and Demand is definitely the all-encompassing argument and is the biggest driver. But it's important to look at what's driving the increases in demand. A big part of it is developing markets (China and India) ramping up their manufacturing and using more oil. On the supply side, supply is dropping because of conflicts in Iraq and tensions with Tehran. Here's where you can get political, and I'm not going to jump into the fray in a political argument, but Bush's excursion into Iraq is definitely not helping gas prices. Whether or not we're justified in being there, that's another story and again I'm not going there.

But Matty, those are the two biggest factors at play here. What else is it? Are you accusing big oil of price gouging? Because if so, I hope you have some numbers to back that up.

Re: F... gas prices
 

[quote=Beemnseven]Let's look at it from another angle. Say you're a bread store owner, and another natural disaster has created a shift in supply and demand that will greatly affect the price of bread -- maybe it's wildfires across the wheat fields of the midwest.

As the bread store owner, you see that since the wildfires have consumed a great portion of available wheat, you have to take action. Even if you have just received a full shipment of bread at normal market prices, you know the next shipment will cost much more. Since you have to pay for overhead, pay your employees, pay the onslaught of federal and state taxes associated with doing business, plus a little for yourself (you're not doing this for free, right?) you know that if you charge the same amount for the bread that you did before the wildfires, you will not be able to afford the next shipment without going out of business. So what do you do? You have to increase the price of the bread that you've already got stocked on the shelf in anticipation of the rising cost of bread that is sure to ensue.

The same thing is happening with mom and pop gas stations, even franchises all over the country. The evil, cold-hearted "Big Oil" companies are often the target of scourn and ridicule, but in reality, it's all a part of supply and demand folks.[/quote]

This is exactly right. Gas stations actually use the futures contract on crude to guage the appropriate price per gallon for that day. The daily % increases in the futures contract on a barrell of crude tell the gas station what % increase they should apply that morning when they open the station.

Futures prices factor in future expectations for supply and demand. So when a hurricane appears in the gulf, and is forecast to head for the oil refinery regions, the futures price jumps up in anticipation of a negative shock to supply. Gas prices basically follow the futures contract of crude oil.

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Where oil companies make all their money is when oil prices start coming down from a peak. Gas stations will raise the price of gas when the price of a futures contract for oil rises. But when the futures contract drops, gas stations aren't in a real big hurry to drop prices back down. The principle at play is called inelasticity of demand, for all you econ nerds out there. Basically it means that gas is something we all need, and we're willing to keep paying for it even as prices get to exhorbitant levels.

Gas prices seem to go up so fast because on the way up, they're simply following the price of the futures contract. But when the futures contract drops, gas stations know they don't have to drop prices right away, they know that if we were willing to pay $2.70 per gallon for the last week, we'll be willing to pay it again this week. So they try to hold it at $2.70 as long as they can. Then a station decides I'll set my price at $2.68 and people will flock to me to save money. Then the next station sets the price at $2.66, and then someone comes in at $2.64. And slowly but surely, this price competition brings the price back down.

That's why gas prices seem to go up so fast and come back down so slowly. It's a commodity we need, and we're kind of at the mercy of those who set the prices.

I mean think about it. At what price point would you decide OK that's it, I'm selling my car and taking the bus/train everywhere. It would have to get to like $5.00 for me to make that move. It's just the nature of the beast. The prices are what they are because America can't shake it's need for oil.

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And you can't blame the gas stations for lowering the prices slowly like that. They're just trying to make a buck when the opportunity presents itself. Blaming them would be like blaming Chris Samuels for negotiating for a salary befitting a pro-bowl LT. If you were in Samuels' shoes, you would try to get the money that was coming to you, too.

Crying about big oil or the prices set by gas stations does not get at the heart of the problem. If America wants oil prices to drop, we need to stop being dependant on oil.

OK that's enough posts in a row. I feel like I'm talking to myself. Goodnight boys.

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[quote=Schneed10]Supply and Demand is definitely the all-encompassing argument and is the biggest driver. But it's important to look at what's driving the increases in demand. A big part of it is developing markets (China and India) ramping up their manufacturing and using more oil. On the supply side, supply is dropping because of conflicts in Iraq and tensions with Tehran. Here's where you can get political, and I'm not going to jump into the fray in a political argument, but Bush's excursion into Iraq is definitely not helping gas prices. Whether or not we're justified in being there, that's another story and again I'm not going there.

But Matty, those are the two biggest factors at play here. What else is it? Are you accusing big oil of price gouging? Because if so, I hope you have some numbers to back that up.[/quote]

Are you implying big oil is just an innocent profiteer? They're just simply raking in record profits because of good 'ol economics 101, supply and demand? Please.

I'm not exactly bringing up a new concept here regarding oil companies and accusations of price gouging.

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Supply and demand is the sole culprit when it comes to PRICE of gas. Oil companies are far too public to have legitimately gouged consumers.

Now the real complicated issues lie with the supply part of the equation. That's where eveything is totally F'ed up. Screw big oil for that and especially the f'ing weather that is killing our supply. Oh yeah and F our entire government for not taking action to reduce our demand for oil. If the government would make alt fuels viable(ie: cheap and effective enough to drive demand) then we wouldn't be in this shape. There needs to be serious tax breaks for alt fuel vehicle owners and gigantic tax breaks for car companies who develop them. I am not a big subsidy type guy but in this case the only thing that is going to move the car companies along is money. There is no other good incentive for them to get us quickly into position to use enough alt fuel vehicles to actually make a difference.

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part of the problem may be supply and demand but the other problem is competition. companies drive prices down to get you to buy from them not someone else. When all the companies are getting together and setting prices this is preventing competition. They realize ppl need gas and that ppl will pay no matter what so they can set it higher.

i dun understand that futures thing that guy was talkin about it was wayy too much reading.

mine is shorter so believe me cuz mine is quicker to read

o and dont read his

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[URL="http://money.cnn.com/2006/01/30/news/companies/exxon_earns/"]By the Numbers[/URL]

Exxon posted a 30% profit increase during the last quarter from the previous year... the annual 36 billion earning was the largest net profit in US history. Overall, the 12 US oil companies in the S&P saw close to a 50% increase over the fourth quarter.

We're not using twice as much oil as the year before... supply and demand is a part of the equation. but there's a correlation between what we're paying at the pumps and the increasing belt size of these fat cats.

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all it took to lower the prices was an hearing by congress to TALK about gouging and the record prfits being enjoyed by all the big oil companies.if bush wouldnt have so many buddies in the energy field,he might actually try to do something about this problem.but then again,why bother when the man doesnt even own a legal driving license

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sorry about the rambling

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[QUOTE=cpayne5]Also, don't haul around fat people. They'll kill your mileage.[/QUOTE]

So that's my problem. Damn...I need to lose some weight then ;)

The one thing no one has pointed out is the reduced amount of refinery production in the last 10+ years. There is sufficient supplies of oil coming into the country, but because of refineries closing and/or not being run, the supply of usable fuels has dropped. Part of Big Oil's profits come from the fact they have less maintenance and labor to pay for in regards to their refineries. And from what we saw from Katrina, a 1% drop in refinery production can wreak havoc.