Gas Prices hit $2/gallon!

[toyotanner]

i saw $4.15 today

[unclejpl4x4]

I think bigmike needs 2 change the poll   " will gas prices hit $5"

[MiniSimp]

I think bigmike needs 2 change the poll   " will gas prices hit $5"

They already touched 5, so how about 6?

[kneedownnate]

I think he means more as an average, not in bfe where they rape people.

[Duffil]

I paid 4.29 this morning.

[te51levin]

Why would you buy a car just to get better mileage?  Every time I hear that, or that somebody's going to buy a motorbike because it gets better mileage, I can't help but    You're SPENDING MONEY to try and save money?  If you need to purchase a vehicle that's one thing, but if you're buying one to save on gas then you really need to take a deeper look at your logic!

Your pickup is paid off, so there's no monthly payment to consider, and you get better mileage than most here.  Just because something doesn't make sense for your situation doesn't mean it defies logic.  Ever hear of stepping over a dollar to pick up a dime?

For a moment, let's assume a fuel price of $4/gal.  If you get 26mpg and only drive 1000 miles a month, you're buying 38.46 gallons of fuel per month, spending $154.  And it might not make sense to buy a vehicle to save money on fuel unless it was REALLY cheap. 

Now look at MiniSimp's situation. 115 miles per day at 20mpg just for his commute alone.  That's 575 miles a week, not including weekends.  I'll use fuel prices of $4 just to eliminate that variable.  575 miles divided by 20 miles per gallon equals 28.75 gallons.  Multiply that times $4/gal and he'd be spending $115 a week on fuel.  There are an average of 4.333 weeks per month, so 4.333 weeks times $115/week equals $498 per month in fuel costs.  That's much less than MiniSimp calculated, but he also figured gas at $5 a gallon, and he calculated commuting 30 days per month...

From there it's a smiple matter of calculating what he spends on his car payment and fuel bill every month.  If the total is less buying a more efficient vehicle, he is saving money, assuming things like depreciation, repairs, insurance etc are relatively constant.  There is no black magic at work here.  It's only numbers.

[MiniSimp]

It's only numbers.

Exactly what I was saying.

[kneedownnate]

Your pickup is paid off, so there's no monthly payment to consider

So why am I giving the bank $150 a month then?

Kyle's situation is fairly isolated and not really what I was talking about.  Yes, in his situation it can make sense to buy a different vehicle, especially if he's already making a payment and will be replacing it with another payment. 

I guess I should have made more emphasis that I was referring to the people who say they're going to buy a car or a motorbike because it gets better mileage than their current vehicle.  Few people who do this cover near the mileage mini does and truly are stepping over a dollar to pick up a dime.

Ever hear of stepping over a dollar to pick up a dime?

Seriously?  Do you even remember where I work? 

[MiniSimp]

$4.25 this morning in San Jo.

Regular High - $4.89 in Wrightwood & King City
Diesel High - $5.49 in Gorman

Regular Low - $3.90 in Petaluma
Diesel Low - $4.79 in El Centro

[MiniSimp]

Five-Dollar-a-Gallon Gas is Just "A Hurricane Away . . . "
Posted: June 1, 2008 11:37 PM PDT
Updated: June 2, 2008 12:27 AM PDT
Remember when Hurricane Katrina hit, and sent gas prices skyrocketing up to three-dollars-a-gallon? Well, imagine that same scenario today.  Analysts say a moderately strong storm, in the right place, could send prices up to five-dollars-a-gallon. Refineries have been cutting back their production in conjunction with Americans cutting back on their driving. That means gas supplies are tight, and the margin for error even tighter. Forecasters are predicting an active season with 8 or 9 total storms.  However, they've been wrong the last two years with similar forecasts.

Cheap gas in Mexico lures Americans
"I filled up this morning for $2.18 a gallon," he said last week. "It has gone up; it was about $1.97 about four or five months ago."
http://www.lcsun-news.com/ci_9449975

Fuel prices cut electricity in Marshall Islands
...the price of diesel fuel for the electrical generators has leaped from about five US dollar a gallon to almost seven dollars virtually overnight following surging global prices.
http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/200806/s2261723.htm?tab=pacific

Economy slows NASCAR fans, teams, tracks
"We move 75 people a week [to racing venues]. With the price of petroleum, oil and gasoline, our fuel costs have increased $400,000 this year. When you're talking about a $400,000 unexpected increase in expense and you have a decrease in revenue because some of the sponsors weren't able to maintain their marketing dollars, the gap starts to widen in the wrong direction." Teams travel in haulers that typically have 300-gallon gas tanks and cost $1,200 to fill. The haulers get between five and seven miles per gallon.
http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080601/SPORTS06/806010340/1002/SPORTS

[te51levin]

So why am I giving the bank $150 a month then?

Kyle's situation is fairly isolated and not really what I was talking about.  Yes, in his situation it can make sense to buy a different vehicle, especially if he's already making a payment and will be replacing it with another payment. 

I guess I should have made more emphasis that I was referring to the people who say they're going to buy a car or a motorbike because it gets better mileage than their current vehicle.  Few people who do this cover near the mileage mini does and truly are stepping over a dollar to pick up a dime.

Seriously?  Do you even remember where I work? 

Sorry, I thought the blue thing was paid for.  And yes, I remember where you work; Bikini Safety Corps, Delta Squadron, Opacity and Transparency Inspection Unit 14.  You have shown me the ID card many times.

[Plekto]

Not only that, but it only gets 30mpg?  My 91 2wd toyota gets 26mpg doing dd and often gets 30 on road trips, even while hauling several hundred pounds of parts or motorcycles! 

You forgot that the car is NATURAL GAS powered.  "30MPG" is based upon energy equivalence to gasoline.  But that amount of energy only costs about $1.20 and not $4+.  In effect, a CNG powered vehicle gets 90mpg+ compared to a gasoline powered vehicle because of this.

[kneedownnate]

I never saw where he mentioned getting a natural gas powered civic 

[unclejpl4x4]

I just got 5gals for 20$ at $3.87

[Plekto]

I never saw where he mentioned getting a natural gas powered civic 

I suggested it as another option.  It's very frugal and costs quite a bit less to run than most anything that uses gasoline.

[MiniSimp]

I just got 5gals for 20$ at $3.87

Is that special uncle math, or did you forget to pick up your change?

[jrock]

San Mateo on El Camino and 20th Ave SHELL = $3.89 REG

[abnormaltoy]

You forgot that the car is NATURAL GAS powered.  "30MPG" is based upon energy equivalence to gasoline.  But that amount of energy only costs about $1.20 and not $4+.  In effect, a CNG powered vehicle gets 90mpg+ compared to a gasoline powered vehicle because of this.

I don't think that's the best way to compare the costs. It doesn't get the equivolent of 90MPG...it may, however, get 3.3 times the MPD (D=dollar).

The fields in the Dakotas are thought to hold somewhere around 275 Trillion cu/ft of natural gas.

[93tonkatoy]

If the idiot greenies would get their out of the way, the Gulf of Mexico, also, has large deposits of natural gas. But, they are too scared that drilling for it will effect tourism by destroying the beaches. When will they ever take a step back and listen to their BS?

Not to mention the deposits of frozen methane off the east coast of FL

[kneedownnate]

When will they ever take a step back and listen to their BS?

They won't!  They know they're spewing bs, but it all helps to cover their hidden agendas.  Nobody can be that dumb or paranoid...

[newbe94]

here on guam it is 4.50 a gallon an we r just a small island :bull crap:

[MiniSimp]

Fuel today:
$4.99 regular $5.09 premium in Shoshone
$4.89 regular $5.09 premium in Wrightwood
$4.89 regular $5.59 diesel in King City
$5.49 diesel in Porterville


Prices are displayed at a Chevron gas station in Pasadena. As fuel prices continue to hit near-daily record highs, the average price for a gallon of regular for the rest of the nation is expected to surpass the four-dollar mark within days.


Gasoline prices are advertised at a gas station near Lindbergh Field as a plane approaches to land in San Diego, California June 1, 2008.
(Mike Blake/Reuters)

[MiniSimp]

GM closing 4 truck and SUV plants in North America
WILMINGTON, Del. - General Motors is closing four truck and SUV plants in the U.S., Canada and Mexico as surging fuel prices hasten a dramatic shift to smaller vehicles.

Full Story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080603/ap_on_bi_ge/gm_shareholders;_ylt=ApcOZR6WUwlGkMRn4GRsxncDW7oF

[Goose]

Sorry, I thought the blue thing was paid for.  And yes, I remember where you work; Bikini Safety Corps, Delta Squadron, Opacity and Transparency Inspection Unit 14.  You have shown me the ID card many times.

WTF?!?!   

[Cheesemaker]

In the Portland area, most car dealerships are refusing to take in SUV's as trade for newer economical vehicles. 

Ford also reported that it is cutting like 80% of it's manufacture of SUV's/pickups.

So, if the oil prices have fallen $10 a barrel, so why hasn't the gas prices fallen too?  It's $124 a barrel!  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12400801/   


I think Mini's link to supply and demand is nailing it on the head.  If they only produce what is needed, then they can keep the price up.  But if they over produce, then they have to sell it off at a cheaper price to get rid of it so it doesn't get stale.  But also in some articles I have been reading, I'll try to find some and link them.  They are reporting that there is alot of very wealthy investors that is putting all their $ into oil, which is another reason the barrel price is the way it is, but they aren't investing short term, like they used to do.  They are going long term, riding the stock out to the point that it's about to collapse, just like all those that lost their ass on the tech industry 10 or so years ago!  Think about it, if you got a couple million to invest and you want a really good return, where would you invest?  Right now, it's oil!! 

I also read in the same article that the government was secretly investigating rumors that the traders that deal with the price of oil, was also "padding" the price of oil too!  They estimate, by as much as $20 a barrel. 

http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/121211791247840.xml&coll=7#continue

[kneedownnate]

So, if the oil prices have fallen $10 a barrel, so why hasn't the gas prices fallen too?  It's $124 a barrel! 

I've been wondering about that also for some time now.  The way I see it, price per barrel goes up and price at the pump goes up right away.  Price per barrel goes down and... price still goes up.  All I can say is WTF??!!  I'm no genious, but that doesn't seem right at all!

[Wermz84]

I've been wondering about that also for some time now.  The way I see it, price per barrel goes up and price at the pump goes up right away.  Price per barrel goes down and... price still goes up.  All I can say is WTF??!!  I'm no genious, but that doesn't seem right at all!

Exactly man.  We never see the break at the pump.  frustrating as hell!

[Cheesemaker]

I was thinking about something today! 

So, if ethanol is 25% less power than gas, how can the gas have the same octane rating? 

Oil prices, I just did some more reading, is for the next month.  If you look at the sites, it says for July 08.  But as soon as the price goes up, gas goes up.  But if the price continues to go down, gas better go down! 

[Duffil]

Octane rating is a fuels resistance to detonation, not the available power in said fuel.  high octane runs better because it burns better/smoother(read:slower; it doesn't explode it burns) than the lowgrade stuff...not to mention because of the resistance to detonation you can compress it more.

[ajordan1975]

when crude oil goes up gas goes up about a week to two weeks later. it would proply work the same when it goes down?