Gas Prices

[TUtiger]

I think you've got a point. A great many of us Americans drive gas guzzlers. If we stopped buying them, and started driving more sensible vehicles, I would think it would impact gas prices.

Of course, Eurpeon gas prices are insane and always have been and they drive much more sensible cars and use public transportation much more. Is it that they use less gas, so the companies charge more to make a profit? Or is it another reason altogether?

This is all so confusing.

Whether or not the companies change, it is up to the individual to do what they can. People so often ask, "What can I do to change the situation?". What people can do is change their own lifestyle as much as possible. If you have 4 kids, its hard to not have a larger vehicle. Obviously, I think buying a car that is suited most to your needs is important. Dont buy a hummer and let it sit there and run. Are you serious? Most people who have hummers dont have 4 kids, and go on family trips. Those are the people that need to buy something smaller. However, no one can really regulate that.

It is a confusing subject, but doing some things is better than doing nothing at all. Maybe it will take $4-5 a gallon for people to really get in gear. Hopefully not.

 

[aps45819]

You won't see me joining your sniveling little ineffective protest or whining about paying $3 for gas while paying $2 for a bottle of "vitamin water."

you won't see me buying a $2 bottle of water.

 

[Tinkerbell]

It is actually their taxes on the gas.

I didn't think about that.

Cripes... remind me not to complain about my taxes....

 

[TUtiger]

If people actually want to make a difference they'll take meaningful steps, not token whiny protests.

We drive to work alone. We take a trip to the store to buy one thing instead of combining trips. We drive when we could walk or bike. We do not use the limitied public transportation we already have. We drive long distances to the beach and whine the whole way about how unfair gas prices are.

As for me, I like driving my SUV. I don't want to car pool. You won't see me joining your sniveling little ineffective protest or whining about paying $3 for gas while paying $2 for a bottle of "vitamin water."

Ok. First off, that is the attitude which accomplishes nothing. You can say that people whine about certain things but its not all about whining. Some people are literally stuck in what they can and cant do. If you have kids, a family or even a job that requires travel; you have no other option then to drive long distances. Lets be serious. People dont use STS because it smells like piss and the buses arent very big. I live in Baltimore and yes, some people dont take metro but ALOT of people do. Im sick of people acting like it is an easy little change people can make, and everything is ok. Its not. However, taking baby steps is something that can get us "walking" in the right direction. I would like to know your reasoning for change. Please. How about you, who is so sick of whining, tell us the solution.

 

[aps45819]

tell us the solution.

Government subsidization of two wheel transportation.
I pay the same price for vehicle registration and bridge tolls for the bike as I do for the car even though the bike is a LOT more eco-friendly. Less weight tearing up the roads and much better gas mileage.
The bridge tolls are allegedly based on the number of axles but most front wheel drive cars actually have 4 axles, not 2.
How about a break on the cost of registering a vehical that weighs less tha 1000 lbs?

 

[MMDad]

How about you, who is so sick of whining, tell us the solution.

I don't see a problem. How can there be a solution if there is no problem?

This isn't Jeopardy where you get the answer first then come up with the question.

 

[TUtiger]

Thats a good idea

 

[Pete]

I think you've got a point. A great many of us Americans drive gas guzzlers. If we stopped buying them, and started driving more sensible vehicles, I would think it would impact gas prices.

Of course, Eurpeon gas prices are insane and always have been and they drive much more sensible cars and use public transportation much more. Is it that they use less gas, so the companies charge more to make a profit? Or is it another reason altogether?

This is all so confusing.

The problem is a little deeper than that.

The rest of the world is now starting to catch up with industrialization and energy usage. China's energy consumption is growing at a huge rate. Way back when we were the largest energy consumer the supply was more than adequate, if we didn't buy it there were fewer customers who needed it. Now that other countries are starting to burn more if we don't buy it, there are plenty of other customers for oil.

Oil companies are often called the villain but have a smaller profit margin on a gallon of gas than most other manufacturers have on their products but they sell so damn much of it they show large profits. If BP makes 6 cents a gallon on a gallon of gas big deal that is what they are in business for. If they get too high, people will go to Sunoco. Now suppose BP decides to be consumer friendly and drops their profit margin by 50% to 3 cents a gallon. How many people give a rats ass about Gas that costs $2.92 vice $2.95?

In order for that move to work for BP they would have to sell double the gallons of gas they did at 6 cents profit. That is not logical to think that Exxon customers, or any gas customers are going to bypass their typical fuel vendor to go to the BP station 1//4 mile out of their way for a 3 cent price break, certainly not double the people who already buy gas at BP.

We still are the largest consumer (if I am not mistaken) of oil. If we as a collective could seriously curtail our consumption, AND other contries didn't gobble up our share, then there may be price relief.

Remember crude oil is a commodity traded on the commodity exchanges around the world. This affects the prices greatly since everyone buys form the same place.

 

[MMDad]

Government subsidization of two wheel transportation.
I pay the same price for vehicle registration and bridge tolls for the bike as I do for the car even though the bike is a LOT more eco-friendly. Less weight tearing up the roads and much better gas mileage.
The bridge tolls are allegedly based on the number of axles but most front wheel drive cars actually have 4 axles, not 2.
How about a break on the cost of registering a vehical that weighs less tha 1000 lbs?

Nice try, but that won't do it. This is the reason that the HOV exemption for hybrids is going away.

Example: If I drive 20 miles in my SUV with four people I burn one gallon of gas. If four people ride bikes the same distance you burn 1/2 gallon per person, but twice as much over all.

If you really believe the price of gas is a problem (it isn't) then the solution is high occupancy vehicles and mass transit.

 

[dck4shrt]

Ok. First off, that is the attitude which accomplishes nothing. You can say that people whine about certain things but its not all about whining. Some people are literally stuck in what they can and cant do. If you have kids, a family or even a job that requires travel; you have no other option then to drive long distances. Lets be serious. People dont use STS because it smells like piss and the buses arent very big. I live in Baltimore and yes, some people dont take metro but ALOT of people do. Im sick of people acting like it is an easy little change people can make, and everything is ok. Its not. However, taking baby steps is something that can get us "walking" in the right direction. I would like to know your reasoning for change. Please. How about you, who is so sick of whining, tell us the solution.

No, I'm sorry, your attitude accomplishes nothing. If you want to make a change in your life, do it. No one is stuck 'in what they can and cant do'. You have the power to do whatever you want to. You have all the options in the world other then driving long distances. If you feel that not driving so much is a priority in life, act on it. It's up to you to move closer to work, to take public transportation, to downsize, etc, etc. These are all 'easy' changes to make if they make you happy, decrease your stress levels, improve your life and your families life, and improve your financial stability. You sound like an addicted crackhead, saying that 'you are sick of people acting like it is an easy little change people can make, and everything is ok'. If you want to make a change in your life, and you think it's too difficult to make that change, either your priorities are screwed up and need to be re-evaluated, or you need to get over it.

 

[TUtiger]

I don't see a problem. How can there be a solution if there is no problem?

This isn't Jeopardy where you get the answer first then come up with the question.

Debating the issue isnt a form of Jeopardy. Its human nature to try to find a solution, no matter how long it takes. However, you were complaining about people complaining?


There is a problem. It needs to be acknowledged and dealt with. Im not saying that I or anyone else is the "savior" for gas prices. And using this medium doesnt mean im out to change the world.

For some people,nevertheless, its a serious issue. Maybe not for someone who drives alone in their SUV to pick up tissues 20 miles away. But for the majority of the society; it is a problem.

 

[TUtiger]

No, I'm sorry, your attitude accomplishes nothing. If you want to make a change in your life, do it. No one is stuck 'in what they can and cant do'. You have the power to do whatever you want to. You have all the options in the world other then driving long distances. If you feel that not driving so much is a priority in life, act on it. It's up to you to move closer to work, to take public transportation, to downsize, etc, etc. These are all 'easy' changes to make if they make you happy, decrease your stress levels, improve your life and your families life, and improve your financial stability. You sound like an addicted crackhead, saying that 'you are sick of people acting like it is an easy little change people can make, and everything is ok'. If you want to make a change in your life, and you think it's too difficult to make that change, either your priorities are screwed up and need to be re-evaluated, or you need to get over it.

I dont believe that all of those things are easy to do. I dont. And actually, Im not an "addicted crackhead", thanks. Its not reality to pick up everything and move to a more expensive area, take your young children on STS (unless it upgraded), etc, etc. In reality, it doesnt just "happen". Maybe for people who can afford certain things, yeah, it could be an easy step to just move.
I dont claim to have all the answers. Nor, do I claim to know the way to go all the time. Im just stating my opinion, that is i guess sounds like a crack head? I feel like people assume everyone has endless resources to do whatever. They dont.

I agree with you on the fact that people have to make the change they want to see. However, assuming everyone elses capabilites/resources is unreasonable.

 

[aps45819]

Nice try, but that won't do it. This is the reason that the HOV exemption for hybrids is going away.
Example: If I drive 20 miles in my SUV with four people I burn one gallon of gas. If four people ride bikes the same distance you burn 1/2 gallon per person, but twice as much over all.

But you've got 4 people driving their SUVs burning twice the gas as the 4 people on the bikes.
this is the reason the HOV exemption for bikes is staying

 

[dck4shrt]

I dont believe that all of those things are easy to do. I dont. And actually, Im not an "addicted crackhead", thanks. Its not reality to pick up everything and move to a more expensive area, take your young children on STS (unless it upgraded), etc, etc. In reality, it doesnt just "happen". Maybe for people who can afford certain things, yeah, it could be an easy step to just move.
I dont claim to have all the answers. Nor, do I claim to know the way to go all the time. Im just stating my opinion, that is i guess sounds like a crack head? I feel like people assume everyone has endless resources to do whatever. They dont.

I agree with you on the fact that people have to make the change they want to see. However, assuming everyone elses capabilites/resources is unreasonable.

These are easy things to do if they increase your happiness, increase your wealth, decrease your stress, and improve your life. OTOH, if it is a difficult choice, then what you are sacrificing in exchange for driving a long distance or driving a big vehicle is not worth it in your own personal judgment and shouldn't be cause for concern.

Everyone in America can afford $4 gas, it's just a matter of whether or not we are willing to pay that much for the benefit of driving a (inefficient) vehicle. If the cost exceeds the benefit, then we won't be driving (as much).

 

[MMDad]

These are easy things to do if they increase your happiness, increase your wealth, decrease your stress, and improve your life. OTOH, if it is a difficult choice, then what you are sacrificing in exchange for driving a long distance or driving a big vehicle is not worth it in your own personal judgment and shouldn't be cause for concern.

Everyone in America can afford $4 gas, it's just a matter of whether or not we are willing to pay that much for the benefit of driving a (inefficient) vehicle. If the cost exceeds the benefit, then we won't be driving (as much).

If you really want to know what will happen, you need to stop looking at what you perceive as the problem (our society today) and look at history. Read up on what happened to gas in the 70's and you'll see what will happen in our future.

In a nutshell: people drove huge cars. Gas prices slowly went up and nothing changed. When gas finally hit a breaking point price, people suddenly started to drive smaller cars. Gas prices stayed steady. People got used to the gas price and started buying big cars again.

Gas topped $1 when I was in high school in the early 80's. Gas was $.99 seven years ago. That's why people drive big gas guzzling cars now.

Gas will eventually hit the point where it triggers meaningful action by consumers. Until then, all of the meaningless token protests will accomplish nothing. Just wait out the cyle.

The best thing we can do now is buy oil stock as sort of a hedge fund. Oil prices go up, your stock value goes up offsetting the increased price at the pump. Prices go down, you pay less at the pump offsetting your stcok market losses.

 

[dck4shrt]

Don't worry, I'm fairly well invested in the oil sector (and my profits there in the past few years have certainly offset any price increases i've paid at the pump!).

I fully agree, I think it's very predictable what society's response will be. I think I'm just disheartened when I see what the response of individuals are, either in the form of a BS token protest or just to complain about their situation, which (i feel) they need to be reminded of is directly derived from the choices they make as a willing participant in our free market economy.

If you really want to know what will happen, you need to stop looking at what you perceive as the problem (our society today) and look at history. Read up on what happened to gas in the 70's and you'll see what will happen in our future.

In a nutshell: people drove huge cars. Gas prices slowly went up and nothing changed. When gas finally hit a breaking point price, people suddenly started to drive smaller cars. Gas prices stayed steady. People got used to the gas price and started buying big cars again.

Gas topped $1 when I was in high school in the early 80's. Gas was $.99 seven years ago. That's why people drive big gas guzzling cars now.

Gas will eventually hit the point where it triggers meaningful action by consumers. Until then, all of the meaningless token protests will accomplish nothing. Just wait out the cyle.

The best thing we can do now is buy oil stock as sort of a hedge fund. Oil prices go up, your stock value goes up offsetting the increased price at the pump. Prices go down, you pay less at the pump offsetting your stcok market losses.

 

[AndyMarquisLIVE]

Gas Prices 05-02-2007 08:30 AM Sniveling whiny racist.



AGAIN, I ask you, tell me what is racist that I've said.

But, you'll just drop another "racist" karma in two or three days and not come in here like a man and actually intelligently argue your point of view, effing pussy.

 

[2ndAmendment]

G... effing pussy.

Now that was sexist.

 

[awpitt]

That shows a complete lack of understanding of the oil market and economics as a whole. Why would the oil companies care about any sort of token protest when it does absolutely nothing to their profits? You can yell and protest all you want, but you keep going to the pump.

You're looking for an easy way out - vocal protest - instead of doing the one thing that will actually help: cut gas consumption long term, not just for a day or even a week.

You make good points. ...and yes, I do have a full understanding of the oil market and economics as a whole.

 

[AndyMarquisLIVE]

I'm still waiting