Fuel price INSANITY!

[Jim Becker]

I paid $3.51 yesterday and that was locally in SE PA. It's about 10-15 cents lower in New Jersey.

[Mike Henderson]

News reports say that the southeast US is going to see big increases because of the shutdown of the refineries in the Texas area due to hurricane Ike. Other areas won't be as affected because they depend on other refineries.

Better fill up now. They say prices won't go down until October sometime.

Mike

[Lee Schierer]

I filled up this morning because I needed gas soon and anticipated that the speculators would be bumping the price up because they are losing a couple of days of production along the Texas coast. Supposedly 1 in 4 gallons of US gas are produced in the area affected by the storm. Gas here was $3.59 this morning and at noon when I went out! The radio was reporting 20 cent per gallon jumps. In storm affected areas, I would suspect demand is high and the people that take advantage will be upping the price on what they have because the buyers don't have a choice if they want to get out ahead of the storm. Likewise don't look for any hotel bargains in Texas this weekend. Even Shatner will be paying full price if he goes to Texas.

[Belinda Barfield]

South Carolina now has long lines at every pump, and a number of stations are out of fuel. Since we are on the state line apparently Savannah stations are anticipating a lot of people crossing the state line, or those traveling north filling up before they enter South Carolina. I paid $66.25 to fill my tank. Headed out now to fill a near empty tank on the F250 - can't wait to see that receipt!

BTW, price of fuel last night - $3.69.

[Stan Terrell]

Price of unlead regular increased 93 cent a gallon between 9 AM and 3 pm here.

Stan

[Kevin Arceneaux]

Actually production has little to due with the run up of prices. It is the possible hit to refining capacity in the Galveston Bay area.

http://maps.google.com/maps?client=f...-8&sa=N&tab=wl

http://maps.google.com/maps?client=f...-8&sa=N&tab=wl

[Pat Germain]

I haven't noticed any price spikes in Colorado. However, I don't pay much attention to gas prices lately. I need gas no matter how much it costs. Since I started carpooling to work my Jetta gets a fillup only about every three weeks.

For those driving pickups around, I highly recommend buying a little commuter car if possible. (I understand many people need their trucks daily.) When I switched from commuting in a pickup to commuting in a Jetta, my whole life got better. I actually prefered making a car payment to paying outrageous amounts for fuel. Now that my Jetta is payed off, I'm even happier.

Buy a used Honda Civic, install a killer stereo and park the pickup for heavy duty operations. Watch and see how much happier you are.

[Belinda Barfield]

Actually production has little to due with the run up of prices. It is the possible hit to refining capacity in the Galveston Bay area.

Understood Kevin, but understanding doesn't make it any easier to stomach.

For those driving pickups around, I highly recommend buying a little commuter car if possible. (I understand many people need their trucks daily.) When I switched from commuting in a pickup to commuting in a Jetta, my whole life got better. I actually prefered making a car payment to paying outrageous amounts for fuel. Now that my Jetta is payed off, I'm even happier.

Buy a used Honda Civic, install a killer stereo and park the pickup for heavy duty operations. Watch and see how much happier you are.

Pat, we drive a 1997 Maxima to and from work every day, and for any work related activities that do not require the truck. The car is paid for, gets pretty good mileage (not like the Jetta), has enough dings that I don't pitch a hissy when someone bangs into it with a shopping cart, and it does't matter if we're pretty dirty on the ride home.

We do need the truck for deliveries to our main customer who, fortunately, is only five miles away.

People were stealing gas around here when it went above $3, I'm guessing if it hits $5 they'll cut your throat for it!

[Pat Germain]

Pat, we drive a 1997 Maxima to and from work every day ...

It's amazing how much freedom one can get from a small car that's already dinged up! I really like nice cars, but those are best for weekend driving in my case.

Interestingly, over the past few months I've heard and read many times the primary reason gas prices went down was lower demand. Americans actually drove a lot less this summer. I love cars, but I think driving less is a good thing.

[Belinda Barfield]

It's amazing how much freedom one can get from a small car that's already dinged up!

So true! If we head downtown for a night out we always drive the Maxima. Since Savannah has "to go" cups, you see a lot more outdoor activities where people are intoxicated, and a lot more intoxicated people just generally roaming the streets than you see in other towns. I've actually walked out of a restaurant to see people sitting on the hood of my car. I'd be a little distressed if that happened to my other car.

Back to the gas issue. I just spoke with my parents who, thankfully, filled up yesterday. They live on the farm about 13 miles out of town. I worry about their neighbors and others who live on a fixed income. What do you do when you can't afford to go to work?

[Pat Germain]

...I've actually walked out of a restaurant to see people sitting on the hood of my car.

OK, this is a serious derail, but I think it's a pretty funny story...

My dad and brother were walking to the car parked downtown one winter evening. As they got close to the car, they could a man standing next to it. At first, my dad wondered if the guy was trying to steal something inside. Then it became clear the guy was urinating on the door.

"What's going on!" my dad yelled.

"Oh, the lock on my car is frozen and I'm trying to thaw it out," they guy answered matter of factly.

"Your key doesn't work because that's my car!" Dad informed the guy.

At this point the guy zipped up, said he was sorry and tried to clean off the "mess" with some snow. My brother said he was in no condition to be driving.

Whatcha gonna do?

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello,
The price of crude dipped below $100 a barrel.
If figures they'd raise the price of gas.
Oil goes up - gas goes up.
Oil goes down - gas goes up.

Once - just once - I'd like to hear one of those #%*&$'s from an oil company just come out and say the price is going up - "because we can".

I've been hearing all these excuses for close to 38 years.
It's gotten real old.

Really - how can the price of crude oil drop 40% and the price of gas go up?

[Belinda Barfield]

Really - how can the price of crude oil drop 40% and the price of gas go up?

As Kevin said, this is all related to Ike and Galveston. South Carolina stations get their fuel from that area, as I understant it. So, when the refineries shut down for a couple of days fear developed that there would be a shortage of gas. Some stores are asking their customers to only buy ten gallons, etc. Now remember, these stores are selling gas they have paid already for, so it isn't costing them anymore for what is being pumped. I understand that they may have to pay a higher price to refill their tanks, but they don't know that for sure. I don't proclaim to understand the economics of it all, but I do understand someone taking advantage of bad situation. Those of us in this area, while feeling badly for those in Ike's path, were so happy to be out of the line of fire. We just never realized we'd feel the heat anyway!

Interesting info that I didn't know before about states who are under a state of emergency.

http://www.wwaytv3.com/aaa_carolinas...prices/09/2008

[Joe Pelonio]

That has to be gouging, in the storm area. Ours hasn't been lower in a long time. Yesterday while on a job near Olympia it was $3.69, today my local station is $3.82, and we have state sales tax 8.9% and an extra 9 cents gas tax included in that, making our prices among the highest usually.

[Jason Roehl]

If a sultan breaks wind, our gas prices go up. My last fill-up in my pickup was the cheapest in quite a while at $3.59 or $3.65/gal (can't recall which it was). Today on the way home from work, I was seeing $3.89/gal prices around.