[ds968]

I understand it's a temporary spike only in CA, as a result of ( b.s. excuses really..) two recent refinery fires in the state, but the wholesale prices supposedly dropped back down at the end of trading day today, so 91 oct should be back to under $ 5 even at the higher priced locations in Northern Ca, in the next day or two. To make things even more inexplicable around these parts gas stations across the street from one another have prices which vary as much as 30 - 40 cents per gallon...as in right across the street, and not ones which are crossing into an adjacent city boundry line, where one could claim it's the city tax difference, higehr lease costs, etc, etc..

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[Cloud9...68]

This gives me an opportunity to ask something I've been wondering about for a long time. When gas prices spiked, did you notice any difference in peoples' commuting choices? I maintain that given the limited options in this country, gas prices would have to get to astronomical levels, like $10, $15, or even $20/gallon, before people made significant changes in their transportation behavior. I base this on the fact that our vanpool leaves at exactly the same time every morning (6:50 AM), and regardless of whether gas is $2.75/gallon, or $4.30 per gallon, we get to work at exactly the same time (7:15, give or take a minute or so). The only exception was in the depths of the recession in early 2009, when there were noticeably fewer cars on the road due to the jump in unemployment. The commute was taking several minutes less time consistently for several months during this time frame.

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[flash]

sure made a difference here. the trains are packed and traffic has been very light compared to before the prices started going up. i like it!!! let it keep going up.

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[Cloud9...68]

[quote name='flash' timestamp='1349483777' post='133422']

sure made a difference here. the trains are packed and traffic has been very light compared to before the prices started going up. i like it!!! let it keep going up.

[/quote]

That's interesting, but I believe that while it may be happening in the cities on the coasts, and probably Chicago, it's probably not happening in most of the country. My belief is that all high gas prices do is sock it to the middle class that all of our politicians are tripping over themselves rhetorically to help. In my ideal world, gas would be $2.00/gallon, and there would be no vehicles available that get lower than 40 mpg in town. I'm a huge supporter of public transportation, by the way - I haven't driven myself to work in about seven years, and would never go back to subjecting myself and my car to that grind.

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[flash]

lol - i'd love to see gas prices on the moon, just to get people, and their dilapidated and/or oversized cars, off the road, and force them to find other means. i'm so sick and tired of being stuck behind the toyota pickup full of gardening tools, hit on all 4 corners, doing 55 in the fast lane, or all those soccer moms out there in their huge SUVs. i don't care what the price is. it's a rounding error to me, but if raising it meant that the idiots stayed home, i'm all for it.



driving is a privilege, not a right. we should be paying more for that. i'd love to see big fees for getting and holding a license. it would sure have an effect on how early junior gets his license and goes out and totals daddy's car.

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[ds968]

Yes, noticeable commute difference here as well, I'd guess about 20% lighter. I also agree ( but only to a limited extent ) with Flash's tirade :-), wishing for astronomical gas prices ; if it gets rid of all those people who drive huge-ass SUVs , or pick up trucks, or similarly immense vehicles for absolutely no practical reason, great...but folks who need a larger car or a truck to make a living , as well as the rest of millions of drivers who do not have a single option to use public transportation should not be punished by what is nothing more than pure greed of oil companies.

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[Rap]

If we could get all of the women who can't drive their huge SUV's off the road much of the problem would be gone. You guys on the coasts forget about we little people who live in small towns and smaller major metropolitan areas where public transportation is not really a viable option. The post office won't deliver my mail because I live on a dirt road. So while in some areas I might tend to agree with Flash, for much of our population higher gas prices might cause severe pain without the requisite gain. I have Exxon stock and am quite happy with it by the by. Complete disclosure mind you! Cloud carpools and while I have never done that I think that's a good idea, practical and efficient. But for the employees of many small business's who don't live conveniently close to each other it doesn't work.

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[flash]

lol - we don't much in the way of public transportation here, so i haven't forgotten about anything. we need more, and we aren't going to get it as long as people can drive cars for less. public transportation has to be cheaper than cars for it to work.



as for handling the guy who needs a truck to work, that's the cost of doing business. i need a lot of things for work. should i pay less because i need them for work that somebody who needs them for a hobby?

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[Dimma]

Please stop complaining about your pump prices : in Holland : € 1,95 the liter which makes € 7.00 the gallon, which makes $ 9,12 the gallon ...



So you lucky guys are not even half way @ $ 4 the gallon !

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[flash]

but you've got those cute little windmills to look at while you pump the gas

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[ds968]

And of you drive 30 miles you're probably already in another country, some of us here drive 30-50 miles eeach way to/from work . Just kidding dimma, anyone from Holland just happens to be " guilty by association " right now, I'm still angry about RVP leaving Arsenal . :-(

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[mbardeen]

My commute is around 150 miles round trip. I make it 4 times a week. Gas here costs about 800 pesos a liter, or the equivalent $6.40 USD a gallon.



They have public transport in the form of collectivos and buses which are much cheaper. The main problem is that they're made for the 5'7" chileans and not for my 6'3" frame. Spending an hour and a quarter with your knees buried in a seatback isn't very comfortable, so I drive and take colleagues with me if I can.



My daily driver, the kia, gets around 42 mpg. The Mazda, which is my backup, gets around 32mpg. It's amazing how quickly the savings between the two adds up.

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[Dimma]

[quote name='ds968' timestamp='1349535578' post='133448']

anyone from Holland just happens to be " guilty by association " right now, I'm still angry about RVP leaving Arsenal . :-( [/quote]

Wow, you must be a lucky guy if that's your biggest concern in this world <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/wink.png" class="smilie" alt="" /> you might consider turning you anger towards Mr. Assad in Syria for instance ...

gets me off the hook too



By the way, my girlfriends Citroen Ds3 Diesel does over 70 mpg ... which would be even prettier when fuel would be cheaper.

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[Monstrous4Banger]

[quote name='Dimma' timestamp='1349534160' post='133445']

Please stop complaining about your pump prices : in Holland : € 1,95 the liter which makes € 7.00 the gallon, which makes $ 9,12 the gallon ...



So you lucky guys are not even half way @ $ 4 the gallon !

[/quote]

Yeah, but what octane? Always seemed to me to be an issue more with the ever inflating dollar, than costs being higher. When the dollar was stronger, it worked out about the same when you consider the higher octane levels. 91 is usually the highest you will se at the pump. IIRC I paid nearly 9 bucks a gallon for 100 octane last I bought it. Had to go pretty far to get it too.

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[flash]

mbardeen - exactly why i don't fly coach anything over 3 hours, and that is a stretch. the knees can't handle it anymore

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[ds968]

[quote name='Dimma' timestamp='1349539605' post='133454']

Wow, you must be a lucky guy if that's your biggest concern in this world <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/wink.png" class="smilie" alt="" /> you might consider turning you anger towards Mr. Assad in Syria for instance ...

.[/size][/quote]



I know, right ?! ..that's ok, looks like Turkey will soon take care of that problem. Back to gas prices, 100 octane is hovering around

$ 9 here as well so it did not go up , at least not proportionally, with the regular ones.

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[Cloud9...68]

Even if gas were a buck a gallon, I'd still take the vanpool to work. People forget how much it costs to run a car outside of the fuel cost.



As usual, a very tough issue with no clear answers. To me, we need something that violates the law of supply and demand:



- Cheap fuel (to boost the economy, and allow hard-working people to keep more of what they earn), and



- Much more use of public transportation, and the availability of cars that get much better mileage (or actually, the non-availability of gas-guzzlers).



Along with cold fusion, and six-pack abs without having to work out.

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[Monstrous4Banger]

[quote name='Cloud9...68' timestamp='1349573383' post='133471']

Even if gas were a buck a gallon, I'd still take the vanpool to work. People forget how much it costs to run a car outside of the fuel cost.



As usual, a very tough issue with no clear answers. To me, we need something that violates the law of supply and demand:



- Cheap fuel (to boost the economy, and allow hard-working people to keep more of what they earn), and

[/quote]



Biodiesel. The tech exists, and is quite feasible, and nothing new. The oil companies arent done milking every last drop of the oil supply yet. Once we get closer to all of the oil used up, these solutions will magically surface, and it will be their next big thing. The oil companies will go out of their way a lot of times to ensure that new up and starting alt fuel companies dont last.

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[tamathumper]

Whatever happened to the "Anything Into Oil" technology that was featured in Discover Magazine about a decade ago?



http://discovermagazine.com/2003/may/fea...:int=0&-C=



They followed up on the prototype a few years ago, and it was running successfully - basically a low pressure and low temperature way to get "light sweet crude" from anything like the mountains of turkey guts left over after Thanksgiving...



http://discovermagazine.com/2006/apr/any...:int=0&-C=

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[kzem1]

Another reason why gas is the highest it has ever been this time if year is the Fed. Oil is traded in US$ and the fed has spent the last 4 years debasing our currency. As the dollar is bashed to the ground by the FED, to try and juice up the stock market and help Obama get re-elected, oil, gas, food etc. all shoot up. If we figured our inflation numbers the way it was done during the Clinton years it would be 5.2%. IF we figured it the way it was done up until 1980, it would be 9.2%. Just something to think about.

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