Gas Prices hit $2/gallon!

[gotrocks]

Well I just took it last night and had to pay $4.99 for diesel.  Gas was reg. was $4.09.  It took $156.00 to fill up my truck and the low fuel light hadn't even come on.

[Rocksurfer]

I'd agree with you under normal circumstances but at this point I have to bow to some sort of control, the oil companies are making more money than can be imagined by the lay person on the street. Even for myself I can't understand some of what is going on but I sure can see that those that are producing oil even as close as Mexico are paying pennies compared to what we are. The only thing I can come up with is that it is the governments lack of attention to this that is causing the problem. Sure I know the enviro's try to stop the U.S. from even exploring for new sources within our country and to actually produce fuel and I'd love to smash a Nature Nazi in the face but that's not the answer. I think if we stop this rampent bidding on futures the price will come down in a big way. If some contry even sneezes the price goes up because these idiots panic and go into a bid war, and that's just my point I think these price runs are fabricated they just look for the reason and up the price goes. If there were controls that limit this within even just our country it would stop the crazy bidding that goes on just because a flood happens in Turkey or a earthquake happens in Japan.

[abnormaltoy]

I'd agree with you under normal circumstances but at this point I have to bow to some sort of control,

First of all, don't panic!

Are you willing to compromise your principles for temporarily cheap fuel?

Just what would you have the government regulate?

What, in other countries, can they control?

Are you willing to have the government say how much you can earn, for them to tell you what a fair profit is?

Oil companies make an 8%-10% profit; do you think that is unreasonable? As I have said many times...that's the very minimum profit level to keep a business viable.

Can you name me anything, other than the military, that the feds do better than the private sector? What makes you think things will be better if they change their "lack of attention"?

They can legislate all they want...is Venezuela bound by our laws and what about the rest of OPEC? The only things they could do would be to;

A. Set price controls...which will take any incentive out of doing business. Are you willing to let the government set the price you can charge for an oil change no matter how much the product cost you? Price controls never work...but, how could you control the price of an import?

B. Subsidize prices. Where would the money for that come from? It would, of course come from our wallets.

Oil prices will be brought back into balance by market forces (decreased demand, increased supply or both) not by artificial means. Venezuela has gas that cost's 17 cents a gallon, do you think there is any profit being made? No, because the government nationalized the oil industry. What became of the billions of dollars companies had invested in those fields? Do you think Hugo bought out the private oil companies...I don't think so. Do you think it would be fair for the government to come in and take your business because they "think" you're making too much money on your investment?

As Ms. Waters has shown, the left is wet with anticipation at the thought of nationalizing core industries.

No...government regulation is not the answer. They need to open our land for drilling, they need to allow for new pipelines to be laid, they need to allow new refineries to be built and they need to address the devalued dollar. The weak dollar has had more impact, short term than the supply issues and could have a more immediate impact...again, short term, on lowering the price relative to other currencies.

[Stocker]

Abnormal, thanks for the post -- I'll admit I'm not the world's deepest thinker  but you have nailed it pretty well.

I survived the federal wage & price controls of the early seventies (brought on, iirc, by spiraling prices and rampant inflation).  The basics, as I recall, were that my wages were frozen...  but prices somehow continued to rise.   

I believe if we (that is, the gummint) try to control the price of fuel, the result will be decreased supplies.  That means shortages, lines at the pumps, limits on fuel purchases, maybe even rationing.  Come to think of it, I saw all that in the early seventies also, and don't wish to relive it.  Or the NMSL (crawling across the vast open spaces of the American West at a mind-numbing 55 mph).

Personally, though I hate high fuel costs as much as anyone, I'd rather pay the price than have no fuel available. 

[Stocker]

Just found this on another board... 

[abnormaltoy]

Just found this on another board... 

How true...how sad it is that they can't, or won't, see it.

Abnormal, thanks for the post -- I'll admit I'm not the world's deepest thinker  but you have nailed it pretty well.

I survived the federal wage & price controls of the early seventies (brought on, iirc, by spiraling prices and rampant inflation).  The basics, as I recall, were that my wages were frozen...  but prices somehow continued to rise.   

I believe if we (that is, the gummint) try to control the price of fuel, the result will be decreased supplies.  That means shortages, lines at the pumps, limits on fuel purchases, maybe even rationing.  Come to think of it, I saw all that in the early seventies also, and don't wish to relive it.  Or the NMSL (crawling across the vast open spaces of the American West at a mind-numbing 55 mph).

Personally, though I hate high fuel costs as much as anyone, I'd rather pay the price than have no fuel available. 

I remember the embargo's also.

I don't know how they think. OPEC has the oil in production...we don't, are we going to go over and tell them "We're only going to give you half of your regular price"? I'll bet that would get a big ol' laugh from the sheiks.

The thing that drives me crazy...ok, this is just one of the things that drove me crazy...is "We the freaking people" don't do anything. An hour of reading at a few good sites, a little checking on your representatives votes that week, a few well chosen words to that representative and we could stop the idiocy. The "silent majority" needs to wake up and let Congress know...we're in charge, they work for us.

You hit the nail on the head...if you limit people's profit potential, they will limit their product. Oil companies could really give them the shaft...they could make the same bottom line profit, by cutting refinery production and raising prices. Thankfully they choose to make their profit on volume rather than cost per unit.

[BigMike]

abnormal, as always, nice posts.

Tonight my cousin and I were talking about gas prices, and he said something interesting..

The weaker the dollar gets, the less buying power it will have. And the less buying power means that the price will increase to compensate for the lack of dollar value.

That sounds like a loose-loose case for the dollar and our wallets

[Stocker]

The weaker the dollar gets, the less buying power it will have. And the less buying power means that the price will increase to compensate for the lack of dollar value.

Absolutely correct, and it's not just fuel...  it's anything that is imported, and that's a bunch.

The upside of a weaker dollar (gotta be a silver lining here somewhere!) is our products are cheaper for the rest of the world to buy.  Any US company manufacturing anything for export should be seeing significant increases in their overseas orders during this economic downturn.  And foreign tourism (them coming here, not us going there) should also be on the rise.

[te51levin]

The upside of a weaker dollar (gotta be a silver lining here somewhere!) is our products are cheaper for the rest of the world to buy.

On that note, I have been seeing a hell of a lot of Canadian orders lately, as well as a few to Australia, the UK, Norway, etc.  They can't wait to spend their money here whilethe dollar is weak.

[kneedownnate]

Saw $4.10 at the station I usually fill up at today    Glad I'm riding the bike most the time.

[79coyotefrg]

the dollar is weak,  this is true,  so  why buy foreign oil when we can  pump more of our own  out of our own ground

15 years ago  gold was like $350 a ounce,  now its $1000 a ounce

[kneedownnate]

A couple years ago gold was $400 an ounce, it's just risen quite quickly.  I only know cause I used to watch gold panning/mining shows when I got more than 2 channels.

[toywthbdydmge]

wow I honestly never in my right mind thought I'd see unleaded gas at $4.09 a gal & diesel at $5.09 a gal  but I did. I've been using about $200 to $250 a week in gas and it's starting to take a toll on me  . What really sucks is that in saudi arabia it only cost them .65 cents a gallon whats up with that 

[BigMike]

I bet it will hit $5 by 4th of July. Anyone else?

[abnormaltoy]

I bet it will hit $5 by 4th of July. Anyone else?

Where? It won't get that high here. We are always on the lower end of the price scale.

[MiniSimp]

Regular - $4.70  Hume Lake Gas, Hume CA
Diesel - $5.38  Chevron, Alturas CA

I say $4.10 national average by July 4th.

[kneedownnate]

wow I honestly never in my right mind thought I'd see unleaded gas at $4.09 a gal & diesel at $5.09 a gal  but I did. I've been using about $200 to $250 a week in gas and it's starting to take a toll on me  . What really sucks is that in saudi arabia it only cost them .65 cents a gallon whats up with that 

I'm quite a bit luckier, I can get atleast a week out of a tank in the truck usually, that's if I maybe only go to town once or twice.  It's not as nice as when I was about 5 miles from work a couple years ago though.  Didn't matter which vehicle I took to work, even in the 4by I wasn't using a gallon a day.

[46&2]

I'm quite a bit luckier, I can get atleast a week out of a tank in the truck usually, that's if I maybe only go to town once or twice.  It's not as nice as when I was about 5 miles from work a couple years ago though.  Didn't matter which vehicle I took to work, even in the 4by I wasn't using a gallon a day.

Ugh, once summer classes start I am looking at a 400+ miles of commuting a week.....NOT looking forward to that...

[kneedownnate]

Too bad you couldn't do it on a road bike (bicycle)!  You'd come out with some great endurance and beefy legs 

[46&2]

Too bad you couldn't do it on a road bike (bicycle)!  You'd come out with some great endurance and beefy legs 

Hahaha the 50 miles downhill to the sacramento valley wouldnt be so bad, its the 50 miles back UP the hill that would really suck....

[Duffil]

i just paid 4.39 for premium at the Clam here in oakdale...only 2 gallons for a bike though.

[Shamb]

Chevron right around the corner from my house is at 5.29 a gallon for Diesel right now

[kneedownnate]

Just saw $4.50 for regular and $5 for premium at a station in bfe.

[Wermz84]

Just saw $4.50 for regular and $5 for premium at a station in bfe.

[abnormaltoy]

I paid 3.59 this morning.

[MiniSimp]

Regular Gas:
$4.99 Kirkwood
$4.71 Yosemite
$4.70 Hume Lake
$4.69 Bakersfield

Diesel:
$5.40 Oceano
$5.39 South Lake Tahoe
$5.31 Mammoth Lake
$5.31 Angles Camp

[MiniSimp]

A motorist fuels up in Half Moon Bay, Calif., at a station where the price of diesel makes gasoline look like a relative bargain.

Gasoline production drops in California

SACRAMENTO
May 28, 2008 4:13pm

•  Down nearly 11 percent

•  Diesel production cranks up

California's refineries made 6,332,000 barrels of gasoline meeting the clean-burning standards of the California Air Resources Board during the week ended May 23, the California Energy Commission reported Wednesday afternoon.

The amount was 10.9 percent less than in the previous week and 10.1 percent less than was made in the comparable week a year earlier.

But production of diesel fuel was up as retail prices set new records of over $5 per gallon.

Refiners said they made 2,054,000 barrels of "CARB" diesel, 11.7 percent more than the week before but 11.3 percent less than in the same week in 2007.

According to data submitted to the state by the oil companies, refineries reported 5,534,000 barrels of CARB gasoline in inventory as of May 23, which was 1.6 percent less than a week earlier but 9.1 percent more than a year earlier.

Stocks of low-sulfur "CARB" diesel were up by 14.7 percent from the previous week to 2,683,000 barrels as of May 23, according to the energy commission. That amount was 7.8 percent less than what was in inventory a year earlier.

Mechanics, police say gas theft is changing with the times

By JEFF KAROUB AP Business Writer DETROIT (AP) - Dale Fortin is getting a new kind of customer at his Detroit auto repair shop, customers who have not just been in a fender-bender or had a windshield smashed by a rock.

The soaring price of crude oil has turned gas tanks into a cache of valuable booty, and Fortin has replaced several tanks punctured or drilled by thieves thirsting for the nearly $4-a-gallon fuel inside.

Full Story: http://www.2news.tv/news/national/19306489.html

California's average gas price tops $4 a gallon
The nationwide average could hit the same milestone within days, some analysts say.
By Nancy Rivera Brooks, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
12:39 PM PDT, May 22, 2008
California drivers just cruised past a dubious milestone, paying a statewide average of just over $4 a gallon for self-serve regular gasoline today, according to a daily survey of pump prices posted by AAA.

With Memorial Day weekend car trips looming, the California average price edged higher overnight by two-tenths of a cent to hit a record $4.005 a gallon, the electronic survey found. The average is up 14 cents from a month ago and 56 cents from a year ago. The state's average diesel price also set a record today at $4.894 a gallon.

[kiyul4130]

it should seriously be illegal that diesel can sell for $5.40 a gallon. thats fawked up. it pisses me off so much and i dont even own a diesel truck.

[BigMike]

$5 for premium at a station in bfe.

Regular Gas:
$4.99 Kirkwood

RIGHT?? IT'S COMING! $5 PER GALLON: IT'S GONNA HAPPEN BEFORE THE 4TH OF JULY!

[MiniSimp]

RIGHT?? IT'S COMING! $5 PER GALLON: IT'S GONNA HAPPEN BEFORE THE 4TH OF JULY!