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Thread: Gas up 25 cents/gal. yesterday.

  1. #76
    Some random thoughts on high gas prices.

    Gas prices are going up because the oil companies want to make more money. Look at their earnings report for the last quarter or the stock recommendations from all the talking heads on TV and radio. The oil companies say prices are high because crude oil prices are at a record high, but if that's the case, profits should stay the same right? Anybody remember the windfall profit tax from the 70s?

    We pay less for gas than any other country, but that's because we don't tax it like other countries. I don't want to give the federal government billions more tax dollars to spend.

    Yeah, all the automobile manufacturers are making lots of SUVs and pickup trucks. That's what the consumers want and that's where profits are. Until gas prices get high enough change our driving habits that's the way it'll be.

    I'm not necessairly a ecoterrorist just because I drive a large truck. My daily driver is a one ton Dodge which gets about 20 mpg on the highway and 15 around town. I fill up once a month or less because I live close to where I work and shop. A guy I work with drives a Honda which gets well over 30 mpg, but uses four times the gas I do because he drives 75 miles round trip to work every day. Most of the time I'll be in the truck by myself, but I occasionally pull two trailers, a 10K lb travel trailer and a 15K flat bed.
    Dennis

  2. #77
    Quote Originally Posted by Christopher Pine
    its all ridiculous.. yeah yeah some countires pay this and that... the stock of gasoline and oil is at its highest all year and prices are going up.. kinda throws out the supply and demand argument...
    WE are paying at the discount gas stations $2.01 and up.. premium 2.24 and up... I guess this is my generations turn to get hammered by the oil prices... arghhh. I remember the late seventies when it was doubling in price to 90+ cents... lol... oh the good old days..

    Chris
    I remeber the '70s too Christopher. I made $1.60 an hour and $.90 was a LOT of money to me.
    Dennis

  3. #78
    Quote Originally Posted by RichMagnone
    Yeah, but it's 40 degrees here in Chicago too!!
    Yeah,but it's 75% here in Hawaii too!! And a six pack of Bud Lite is $5.95 plus the bottle tax of 5cent. Oh, Got Milk?....... $7.99 to $4.70 a Gal. We pay without flinching,its just the way it is.. Seeya.
    Revealing unknown Beauty, with a touch of finesse

  4. #79
    Quote Originally Posted by Tom Mullane
    Even though I was really into muscle cars in my youth (had a Dodge Charger with 426 and 3 dueces), I have smartened up a whole lot... why do we need to keep making 400+ HP vehicles to commute to work...
    One could ask "why does he need that 5 hp cabinet saw when the 3 hp or contractor version will make a cut just as well (at least just as well as a honda accord compared to that 400+ HP vehicle!). Sometimes you just need something that is primo!
    Last edited by RichMagnone; 03-29-2005 at 12:19 PM.

  5. #80
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    While the gas here is high, I think now around $2.15/gal, it's the state and the retailers that are making out like bandits.

    Wisconsin has an automatic gas tax increase every year that amounts to just under a penny [the retailer gets the difference between the actual tax and the whole penny]. Guess when the automatic tax takes effect? If you guessed April 1st your spot on. Is that a slap in the face or what. Automatic tax increase that takes effect on April Fools Day each year.

    In addition to that Wisconsin has a law that says a gas retailer has to charge a minimum of 6% above cost for gas. So the retailers are making an automatic 6% above what they are paying for the gas. Just think what it would be like if gov't mandated a minimum markup on everything. The law was implemented many years ago to help the independent retailer. Guess what they're practically non existant anyway and the law has outlived it's usefullness.

    Of course in the immediate Wisconsin Dells area the gas retailers have deemed it necessary to charge an additional 5-7 cents per gallon above what stations only a couple of miles away charge. One retailer said it was because the gas had to be transported so much further.

    Sorry! This is just one of the things that gets me going.

    Thank you. I'm getting down off my soap box now.
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  6. #81
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dennis McDonaugh
    Yeah, all the automobile manufacturers are making lots of SUVs and pickup trucks. That's what the consumers want and that's where profits are. Until gas prices get high enough change our driving habits that's the way it'll be.

    I'm not necessairly a ecoterrorist just because I drive a large truck. My daily driver is a one ton Dodge which gets about 20 mpg on the highway and 15 around town. I fill up once a month or less because I live close to where I work and shop. A guy I work with drives a Honda which gets well over 30 mpg, but uses four times the gas I do because he drives 75 miles round trip to work every day. Most of the time I'll be in the truck by myself, but I occasionally pull two trailers, a 10K lb travel trailer and a 15K flat bed.
    I hear ya Dennis M.!!!! My wife drives a GMC Suburban, 1994 model and we get 16MPG around town or driving on the highway. We fill up once a month on the average (44 gal tank). I drive a Sentra daily back and forth to work and fill up twice a month. I work with guys that drive 30 miles one way to work driving a Ford F350 Duelly just because they supposedly look more cool in those trucks. There are others that drive 70 miles one way to work here and they say they easily use over $100 to $200 per week in gas just to go back and forth to work. We try not to travel anywhere that is not necessary because we can't keep increasing our expenses. Shoot, my income stays the same and everything else gets more expensive.
    Thanks & Happy Wood Chips,
    Dennis -
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  7. #82
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dennis McDonaugh
    I remeber the '70s too Christopher. I made $1.60 an hour and $.90 was a LOT of money to me.
    I, as I'm sure some others here of my age, remember the early 60's when we drove 3 or 4 miles looking for the station that was the cheapest. $.29/gal as opposed to $.30/gal. That was in Long Beach, CA, but I imagine it occured all over back then. Just think, that 40 gallon fill up cost about $12.00. And we used to get 4-5 gallons for a buck.

    And to think you also could collect glassware, dishes, and other stuff when you filled up the tank.
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  8. #83
    Quote Originally Posted by Karl Laustrup
    And to think you also could collect glassware, dishes, and other stuff when you filled up the tank.
    And they probably washed the windshield and offered to check your oil!

  9. #84
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    Yeah Karl, and then there are those retailers who, at even the remote talks of distant price increases, they raise their pump prices immediately. We have several in our area who are the first to raise their prices the max and the last to lower their prices the minimum! It all revolves about ripping off the customer. I wouldn't even mind that much if it weren't for the fact that I have a long distance to drive to work each day. Econobox for a vehicle, but still nailing the wallet hard.
    Cheers,
    John K. Miliunas

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  10. #85
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    OK, here we go fellas...

    Boston & North in "Tax-a-chusetts" is $2.07 to 2.09 for the cheap stuff. They say that it is supposed to rize to about $2.50 by summer.
    I wish I could walk to work!!!
    John ... not making it too far, in my Tacoma.
    NOTHING beats a failure,but a try.
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  11. #86
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    $2.58 for 91 Octane in my neck of the woods in the South Bay Area. I hope it does get to $3/gal. The only way to get better fuel efficient vehicles is to make consumers demand them. $3/gal for a while should do just that.
    Wood: a fickle medium....

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  12. #87
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    Quote Originally Posted by David Fried
    And they probably washed the windshield and offered to check your oil!
    Yeah, they would do that too and check your tires. That was in the days of full service, you couldn't even pump it yourself. Then they went to self serve or full serve, full serve was $.02/gal more. I always liked the self serve, only because it took less time, but you could still get the goodies even with self serve.
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  13. #88
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    Not trying to be contrary here, but I have issue with those folks saying that they wish the gas prices would go sky high and stay there, justifying it by saying OEM's would be forced to develop and produce higher mpg vehicles. Maybe, but that still doesn't resolve the issue of present high prices, for which the oil companies are earning the greatest margins in history! That, plus the fact that, I for one, couldn't afford to just go out and buy one of these high mpg vehicles. Partially, because my savings would've been eaten up by the high price of gas I'm paying for! Many of us have already forsaken the more comfortable ride and size convenience of the larger vehicles and drive econoboxes already. Raising those prices to astronomical levels would just be adding insult to injury for those of us already trying to be ecologically and economically minded to begin with. Many folks went to the small vehicles simply because they already couldn't afford the previous gas prices. What happens to them? How about our transportation industry and all that is related to it? We can't expect all of the overland freight companies to go out and purchase the latest and greatest high mpg trucks, can we? Heck, there are too many owner/operators out there barely making it now! I'm afraid I don't have a solution for this problem (at least not one which would be acceptable by the oil companies!), but continued price gouging at the pump is NOT the answer. OK, stepping down off soapbox now.
    Cheers,
    John K. Miliunas

    Cannot find REALITY.SYS. Universe halted.
    60 grit is a turning tool, ain't it?
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  14. #89
    Quote Originally Posted by John Miliunas
    Not trying to be contrary here, but I have issue with those folks saying that they wish the gas prices would go sky high and stay there, justifying it by saying OEM's would be forced to develop and produce higher mpg vehicles. Maybe, but that still doesn't resolve the issue of present high prices, for which the oil companies are earning the greatest margins in history! That, plus the fact that, I for one, couldn't afford to just go out and buy one of these high mpg vehicles. Partially, because my savings would've been eaten up by the high price of gas I'm paying for! Many of us have already forsaken the more comfortable ride and size convenience of the larger vehicles and drive econoboxes already. Raising those prices to astronomical levels would just be adding insult to injury for those of us already trying to be ecologically and economically minded to begin with. Many folks went to the small vehicles simply because they already couldn't afford the previous gas prices. What happens to them? How about our transportation industry and all that is related to it? We can't expect all of the overland freight companies to go out and purchase the latest and greatest high mpg trucks, can we? Heck, there are too many owner/operators out there barely making it now! I'm afraid I don't have a solution for this problem (at least not one which would be acceptable by the oil companies!), but continued price gouging at the pump is NOT the answer. OK, stepping down off soapbox now.
    I hear you John, I think I can decide how best to spend my money not the big oil companies or the government!
    Dennis

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