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NEVERENDING ♾️ The NEVERENDING Gas Price Thread

michaelskis said:
It is around $3.49 here around here. :-@

Sad part is it is so high because refineries are shutting down to change the blends from winter production to summer production, and the EPA will not permit any new oil refineries from being constructed in the US. :-c
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Actually an oil refinery is about ready to be built near Yuma, AZ. A judge issued an injunction on construction due to the tribal sensativiy of the land in question.

Although no new refineries have been built in 30 years, most refineries have expanded. The problem is they are such a NIMBY industry. The above mentioned refinery has been on the drawing board for over a decade and is still 5 years away or more.
 
Average in metro Louisville is $3.35/gal for regular unleaded. Some prognosticators are calling for $4.00/gal this weekend. 8-!
 
Filled up for $2.99 Friday afternoon. Prices today at lunch were in the $3.05 to $3.15 range.
 
Today was a first: the "Racetrack" station here in Sanford, Central Florida, has always managed to stay below $3, even after the hurricanes. This morning, however, I drove by and seen they had $3.01 posted for regular. :-c

Unfortunately we have a roadtrip planned this weekend. Going to New Orleans to visit my aunt. Bad timing...:-(
 
I can't do anything about it, except drive less, which I already do. Complaining about it is getting really old to me.

It is no coincidence that prices shoot up right before a holiday weekend. The same thing happens with bus, train and plane tickets. We have a five-hour drive coming up on Saturday and a return trip on Monday. We will spend about $100 round trip. It is still cheaper than any other mode would be for two people and tons of gear.
 
jmello said:
I can't do anything about it, except drive less, which I already do. Complaining about it is getting really old to me.

It is no coincidence that prices shoot up right before a holiday weekend. The same thing happens with bus, train and plane tickets. We have a five-hour drive coming up on Saturday and a return trip on Monday. We will spend about $100 round trip. It is still cheaper than any other mode would be for two people and tons of gear.
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Sorry, sticking to my usual tack, I have to be the guy who points out that you're only talking about gas costs there. If you were to tack on all of your sunk costs, as well as the added depreciation and maintenance costs from driving the car this weekend, your cost would be significantly more. As much as other modes? No, probably not. I just know from my personal experience of owning a car, then deciding to sell it and go car-free and use car-sharing at times, then rent cars for trips like yours this weekend - the total expense is not nearly as "cheap" as you think.
 
In the field (in the County car) this morning, the lowest price I saw was $3.05.9 at two stations. The place I usually fill up was up to $3.15.9.
 
Ouch!

The national radio guy this morning was interviewing some sucker in NEEDLES California this morning.....the guy paid $4.28 a gallon....he got one gallon, just enough to get him to Arizona, where it's almost a dollar less!
 
Now let me put this all in perspective...

Ok lets use some maths.....

1 US Gallon= 4.4 (or so) Litres
4.4 Litres x AU$1.30= $5.72 for an average gallon of petrol in Sydney.

AU $5.72=US4.70

Hmm you guys are getting gas for say... $3 or so?

Quit complaining!!!!!
 
First of all, I thought this was a new post, so when i read the first page, and saw the gas prices under 2 dollars, I was stunned

...

then I saw the posts were 3 years old.

Since then, I think the prices have nearly doubled. Here in Chicagoland it's around 3.50 a gallon. I don't pay too much attention to it though. Even though I have a car, my job, my home, my car mechanic, a small grocery store, three doctors, 2 gyms, and a college are within half a block of a bike trail, which I also use for exercising. My home is 1.1 miles from work along the bike path. I drive a compact with decent miles to the gallon, and I can stretch out a tank of gas for 2-3 weeks if I really need to.

Wish others had it as good as I do. ;-)
 
natski said:
Ok lets use some maths.....

1 US Gallon= 4.4 (or so) Litres
4.4 Litres x AU$1.30= $5.72 for an average gallon of petrol in Sydney.

AU $5.72=US4.70

Hmm you guys are getting gas for say... $3 or so?

Quit complaining!!!!!
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I get the same thing from my brother in Germany. The average in Stuttgart is $ 1.36 Euros ($1.83) per liter.
$1.83 * 3.7 = $6.77 (Thanks Mercer for clearing that up, I should have known my multiplier)

I keep telling him that it's his problem (lol), but actually we are going to Europe in September and renting a car for a week :-c

Bottom line, however, is that I don't care. As long as the big oil companies are recording RECORD PROFITS, I have a problem with being taken to the cleaners!:-{
 
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Natski, not to rain on your parade,but a US gallon = 3.785 liters.

So, the gas is costing you $4.00 US. This morning I paid $3.52 in Seattle, not really a big savings!

The worst part is that there are three refineries within a stones throw of my fair City and we have the second highest gas prices in the nation.
 
Mercer said:
Natski, not to rain on your parade,but a US gallon = 3.785 liters.

So, the gas is costing you $4.00 US. This morning I paid $3.52 in Seattle, not really a big savings!

The worst part is that there are three refineries within a stones throw of my fair City and we have the second highest gas prices in the nation.
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Yeah your right- was looking at Dry Litres instead of liquid litres.
 
Soooo....

natski said:
Yeah your right- was looking at Dry Litres instead of liquid litres.
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That poor guy in Needles seems to be paying MORE than an Aussie!! WOW......maybe we should invade Australia for cheap gas too.....???....naw....we'd just end up with a bunch of roo meat and even more Fosters.......:r:
 
The One said:
That poor guy in Needles seems to be paying MORE than an Aussie!! WOW......maybe we should invade Australia for cheap gas too.....???....naw....we'd just end up with a bunch of roo meat and even more Fosters.......:r:
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[ot]Have you ever eaten Kangaroo? Its actually really good when its cooked medium- if you cook it well done its way too tough. Combine it with some red wine sauce and i promise you have a winner!

Oh and we dont drink Fosters in oz....[/ot]
 
Gotta drive, gotta have gas to drive so Ill pay out the nose. Its not made much of an inpact on our lives
 
I could go for a Roo-burger and a fosters! What is the public transportation system like down there?

It jumped 30 cents today... it has officially caused a problem for me given that my gas consumption is now 1/5 of my income! But then again, I drive a long distance (hour each way), and I don’t get paid much.
 
$2.88 a gallon today.....driving 80 miles a day just to get to/from work. I'm kinda scared to see what it's going to do over the weekend.
 
I paid $3.36 yesterday (Toledo) and decided to fill the tank instead of just putting one or two gallons at a time like I usually do when price are up. I'm really glad I did.

Prices went up to $3.49 across the board today.
 
Confirming SAC's reports. Almost everyplace in the Cleveland metro is now at $3.50.

I drove home from work a few MPH below the speed limit, and turned off the car when it looked like I was going to be sitting at a light for more than a minute.
 
With prices like these I might have to kick down my friends some cash when they let me shlepp a ride to the grocery store.
 
If the strike threats by the oil union in Nigeria tomorrow (May24,2007) will push through, that will cause a shortage in oil supply-that will trigger to increase the prices.
The proposal for privatization of two government-owned refineries in Nigeria is going on. Oil Union is protesting this with a strike. So, let's just wait & see.:-|
 
CJC said:
I just know from my personal experience of owning a car, then deciding to sell it and go car-free and use car-sharing at times, then rent cars for trips like yours this weekend - the total expense is not nearly as "cheap" as you think.
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I lived car-free as and adult for nine years (1995-2004), so I am pretty aware of the true costs of car ownership.
 
Unfortunatly my window looks directly on the gas station.
We have remaind low for a long time but we are at $3.27:-c It was $3.39 for a couple of days but dropped back a bit. The county is still using gas they stock piled at $1.67, man is that going to crunch their budget when they refill.
 
Keep in mind, you all are still buying it. How much effort should go into complaining about it.
 
It jumped 12 cents from yesterday morning to afternoon...

zmanPLAN said:
Keep in mind, you all are still buying it. How much effort should go into complaining about it.
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Not really complaining, but its like taxes. Don't like it, but still got to pay it.

A couple of us were talking this morning and I remembered when I started to drive it was about 55 cents a gallon (late 70s). I can remember my dad sying "When it reaches a dollar a gallon, I'm going to quit driving."
 
Loving these fuel prices, especially since I am getting (at worst) 35 mpg city if I drive like a maniac and 43 mpg plus on the highway.

Yes, I drive a diesel, and I bet others wish they do to.

I say let the prices go up, make people cut back their driving, I'm all for it.
 
LadyBuc said:
Bottom line, however, is that I don't care. As long as the big oil companies are recording RECORD PROFITS, I have a problem with being taken to the cleaners!:-{
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Are you implying that the rise in the cost of gas for cars is being manipulated by oil companies?

Doesn't it have more to do with the worldwide demand of gas? China and India are burning as much oil as they can buy. So is the United States, whose drivers can't or won't conserve. Refineries are running close to capacity. And speculative investors are pouring money into the crude oil market, further driving up the price.

Why should the oil companies reduce their profits to feed our addiction to oil and succumb to our belief that we are deserved of cheap gas? Even if we in the United States reduce our consumption, prices won't go down because the rest of the world (China/India) would also have to follow suit.
 
btrage said:
Are you implying that the rise in the cost of gas for cars is being manipulated by oil companies?

Doesn't it have more to do with the worldwide demand of gas? China and India are burning as much oil as they can buy. So is the United States, whose drivers can't or won't conserve. Refineries are running close to capacity. And speculative investors are pouring money into the crude oil market, further driving up the price.

Why should the oil companies reduce their profits to feed our addiction to oil and succumb to our belief that we are deserved of cheap gas? Even if we in the United States reduce our consumption, prices won't go down because the rest of the world (China/India) would also have to follow suit.
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When I visited India in 2004 gas was $1 US per liter making it over $4 a gallon. It has increased since then to about $5 a gallon. Quite pricey considering how much a US $ can buy otherwise.
 
btrage said:
Are you implying that the rise in the cost of gas for cars is being manipulated by oil companies?
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They do not need to "manipulate" anything, they are free to set their prices at whatever level they wish (usually what the market will demand).
 
Relatedly, I was out doing field work yesterday and stopped to buy a pop. It was $1.57 for 20oz.:-c Luckily, the vending machine at work has them for $1.00 or else I have to kick the habit.
 
kjelsadek said:
When I visited India in 2004 gas was $1 US per liter making it over $4 a gallon. It has increased since then to about $5 a gallon. Quite pricey considering how much a US $ can buy otherwise.
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Yes, it is quite pricey. And yet, the demand is not decreasing.
 
Still 3.21 in the Iowa QC, similar to Peoria across the river . . .

Air is free for my bike tires via my hand pump in the garage.
 
I haven't owned a car since '99 so i don't really sweat it. That's not to say that the cost of energy doesn't effect me. I had some downright outrageous gas bills over the winter. But we're in the process of weatherproofing the house (it's 122 years old) so we expect next January's bill to be about 1/2 of what it was this year.

In any case, I filled up the car (PhillyCarShare) before i returned it last night. I wasn't paying, it comes with a fleet card, but i noticed that it was $3.07 a gallon. Gas in NJ is about $.17 a gallon cheaper. Most of that is because the gas taxes are a lot less. I used the Prius and, according to the onboard computer, i averaged 42mpg on a 180 mile r/t. So the fuel cost of my trip was about $14. I paid $47 total for the trip. It woudl've cost $56 for two people to take the train.

Anyway, If i drove to work everyday, in that Prius, my weekly gas bill would come to about $1.50. Of course, i don't drive to work, it's only two miles so I normally ride my bike and occasionally i'll walk.

USA Today did a poll recently
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-05-17-gas-prices_N.htm

And what i found astonishing is that 64% said that, no matter what, they would not take transit to work. What's almost as astounding is that 86% said that, no matter what, they wouldn't move closer to work or work closer to home. Another 41% said, no way, no how, will they get a more fuel efficient car. To me, that's the height of an arrogant sense of entitlement.

Sure, it's your choice, spend as much of your discretionary income as you want on transportation. To me, high discretionary spending, on arts, leisure, restaurants, etc is the hallmark of a healthy service economy. When the denizens of your region are sending most of that money to Exxon, Shell, BP, and Citgo they're not spending it at home.

If we have 2 million households in this region and they all spend an extra $20 a month on getting from point A to point B that's almost $500,000,000 a year that they're not spending at home.

I'm not sure how anyone can think that a region where people are unwiling or unable to change their lifestyles has any future. It's basically like putting the nails in your own economic coffin.
 
Gas prices are yet another reason I'm glad my brother and I took my Mom's car away from her this month. Mom would drive 25 miles to church or 10 to a hairdresser, or 30 to the dentist, come home, go out again 5 miles to the supermarket, go home, go out again 5 miles to the post office, etc. She had cheap gas most of her life and cannot conceive combining trips to save on gas.

jresta said:
And what i found astonishing is that 64% said that, no matter what, they would not take transit to work. What's almost as astounding is that 86% said that, no matter what, they wouldn't move closer to work or work closer to home. Another 41% said, no way, no how, will they get a more fuel efficient car. To me, that's the height of an arrogant sense of entitlement.
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I support transit and would use it in a heartbeat. If it was frequent enough and reliable. It is simply very difficult for parents to do that otherwise. "Hey, Ms so and so, your son is puking at school, you need to pick him up". "Sorry, the next train is in two hours, it's off peak hours". That doesn't work.
 
Boston has a national reputation for being expensive and over-taxed, but gas is cheaper here than many places- $2.98 or so. I go to Maine a lot and it's always more up there. Just spent a week out in southern Utah and I had to pay $3.45 at a few stations.
 
jresta said:
I'm not sure how anyone can think that a region where people are unwiling or unable to change their lifestyles has any future. It's basically like putting the nails in your own economic coffin.
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Here's another article to depress you. I think eventually rising prices will overcome most people's attitudes about the God-given right to drive 3 Hummers. Moving closer to work is more complicated.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/05/20/MNG2NPU9FD1.DTL
 
4 gallons of regular about $13.50, to run the pontoon boat.

I think the price is making people pause and think about the cost of filling up to go. Noticeably less boats and such running on the waters here. I dont mind.

Two wheeled transport is looking better and better too!:p
 
JMELLO - Hope you haven't left yet. I forgot to tell you that the cheapest gas inthe state is in the Burlington / Mebane on I-85/40. For some reason it's always lower than anywhere else.

We always stop in the area to get gas going to the coast and then back again.
 
Zoning Goddess said:
I support transit and would use it in a heartbeat. If it was frequent enough and reliable. It is simply very difficult for parents to do that otherwise. "Hey, Ms so and so, your son is puking at school, you need to pick him up". "Sorry, the next train is in two hours, it's off peak hours". That doesn't work.
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But if you drive 60 miles to work it does? I'm just sayin' households with school-aged children are less than 1/4 of all households. I wouldn't say that parents worried about having to pick their kids up from school are really the problem.
Besides, work-based trips makes up for a minority of VMT, as you pointed out with it's part habit and part living arrangement that get people driving as much as they do.
 
Planit said:
JMELLO - Hope you haven't left yet. I forgot to tell you that the cheapest gas inthe state is in the Burlington / Mebane on I-85/40. For some reason it's always lower than anywhere else.
We always stop in the area to get gas going to the coast and then back again.
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Thanks. I was actually just looking at cheap places to fill up along I-40. Smithfield has some cheap ones too. I plan to join Costco this evening. I have already mapped out all of the Costcos with gas stations along I-40 in Raleigh, Durham, Greensboro and Winston-Salem.
 
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