Hey there,

Is this getting to be a common problem across the US? There are 3 dealerships within a couple of miles of my house that have gone under in the last month. One Nissan dealership, one Mazda dealership and a Dodge dealership. Is this a sign of things to come?

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I would say this is the tip of the iceberg. gas is going to be at least $5 per gallon by summers end, and could go up to $7 or $8 before we see any relief. even then I don't think we will enjoy fuel prices under $3 a gallon again.

With those kind of fuel prices it is just a matter of time before they effect pricing for everything else. you can't sell cars if people can't afford to put gas in them. the combination of the credit crisis and out of control oil prices are going to have deep effects on not just the our economy but the world economy in general.

I hope I am wrong...

 

If gas hits $7 or $8 truck drivers will stop driving and business in the USA will stop completely. My dad is a truck driver and he's spending about 2/3 of his paycheck just on gas.

Truck drivers have been receiving same money for loads back when gas was $1.40 and now when a gallon of diesel is $4.70.

 

It will get there pretty soon. I have seen speculation in the $15-17 dollar range. I think those numbers are highly inflated, but I see no reason it won't hit $7.00 or a little higher before the bottom drops out. the demand is artificial anyway since the bulk of the price is being driven by investors who are hedging their money on oil as the dollar weakens. the fed keeps cutting rates which is just feeding the viscious cycle of the weakening dollar and driving the oil higher. OPEC is laughing in our face right now also. They know the demand is artificial and see no reason to raise output and drive the price lower, and since most OPEC countries hate us anyway they are generally unsympathetic. The mortgage crisis and subsequent credit fallout is making this a perfect storm. the big question is will we innovate, adapt, and come out stronger, or sink like a stone.

 

Then I might as well return to Serbia. I have enough money in the bank to buy me a house which will always be mine (no monthly taxes on it and I can't lose it like I can lose my house in the USA if I don't pay taxes). And I can get me a nice compact diesel so paying $8/gallon (which is currently price of diesel in Serbia) won't be that bad since those cars can get easily 80 mpg.

This morning it cost me $86 to fill up my F-150 and in 5-7 days I'll probably have to do the same.

 

You should drive your Mustang! Your V6 Mustang should be a lot better on gas than the F150....

 

Diesel is pretty much over $5.00 per gallon here right now. Cracked the $5.00 mark last Thursday if I remember right. On my way back from lunch today, the 2 stations I passed were at $5.179 for diesel. Regular is around $4.119 right now at the cheapest stations in the area.

Seems like fuel prices going up is a daily occurance anymore.

If it gets TOO much more expensive, people wont be able to afford to drive to work anymore.

 

I usually do drive my Mustang, but this week I was moving some stuff so I had to use F-150.

 

Yep, the way things are going gas bill for truck drivers will be higher than their paychecks.

 

I can't speak with much of corporate America but my employers are currently working with a number of state, county, and local government agencies here in Arid-zona to develop and deploy telecommuting programs. Since government here is never an early adopter of technology I have to assume that some companies are already looking at similar alternatives.

 

These gas prices wouldn't be so bad if cars were more economical.

We need cars like this Volkswagen Lupo. 1.2L diesel, 80 mpg and price under $8,000.

 

I want one of these run around town in and for Home Depot runs...

 

I completely agree with you on that! I still think diesel cars that make great fuel mileage are the way to go, not hybrids.

To be honest though, we Americans deserve what is happening in a way. We are bull-headed and stubborn and didn't believe this could really happen. The once "almighty" dollar is now the "sorry" dollar. Heck, it's weaker than the Yen. Honestly if you were an oil company who would you sell the oil to at a better price, the country that is sinking or the country that is growing exponentially?

Don't get me wrong, I love the USA, but I have lost a lot of faith in the powers that be.

 

In a word, yes.

 

the economy is really going down the toilet fast. i just hate that the one thing i truely enjoy doing in life (drive) is costing more and more by the day. luckily my commute is only 2.5 miles to work

 

This firm had to close. 1200 jobs gone.

http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/20080519_Jevic_Transportation_closes__citing_fuel_ costs.html

 

The thing that has me terrified about all this is just think about the millions of sub 20mpg SUVs and pickups we all currently own in this country. These things will literally be worthless gigantic paperweights before very long. Think about the money that will be lost on all these vehicles. I see hundreds of $50k+ SUVs around my neighborhood. You won't be able to give these things away in 2 years. I'm not sure about all you guys, but I don't have $20,000 to lose on my 1 year old Escape Limited. It's getting me an average of 18.5 MPG right now and I'm not too happy with that. The alternative is trading it in on say a Mazda 3 and STILL having to add money to the pot.

 

I am waiting until next year to buy a used big SUV.
At 15mpg and $5 a gallon it could cost me $25 a week to drive.
I should be able to trade even for my 6 year old 4cyl. truck and get an almost new Escalade.

 

In 1979 I was assigned to Germany and watched people fill their cars at the Esso station for $50-60.00. They are currently at $8-9.00 a gallon, while Turkey is at $11.00 and the Netherlands at $12.00+ per gallon.

Great Britain is in the same boat as we are. They just had a huge trucker strike in London to protest the cost of fuel.

This was a disaster waiting to happen, and people refused (failed) to see what was coming, and continued to believe the marketing people about how important it was to have that monster SUV/truck, although most of them only have one person driving them.

Remember one other thing, the Arab countries are not our friends, and will do whatever is necessary, in their National interest, to survive, to include selling us down the river. According to the Energy Information Agency (EIA), we are currently buying approximately 10% of our oil from the Middle East. But some of the other countries we are buying from are also suspect, such as Nigeria and Venezuela, due to the governments that are in power. This is not going to end soon.

We had a chance to correct this problem in the 70's, after the gas crisis, but as a Nation, we blew it, and now we will pay for our lack of inititative in developing alternative fuel sources when we had the time and the money.

Sorry, I am off the soap box.

 

If you crunch the numbers, you're probably better off keeping it than taking a huge loss and going into more debt to get an economical car. That's like spending thousands of dollars to save hundreds. Doesn't make sense.

On the other hand, if you drive a LOT, then it might be worth your while.

The hard part of all this to fathom is that things are going to get worse still. And with people starving in the world, now we're growing crops of food - which could feed people - to power our vehicles...all while there is a global food shortage taking place. IMHO, that's the point at which a civilization reaches the tipping point. We in the West need to give our heads a shake and get our priorities in order. A quantum change is coming, whether we like it or not, and maybe instead of fighting it and just expediting our own decline, we should embrace it and try to innovate.

I love my Mustang, but seriously suspect my next car after this will be more fuel efficient - maybe even back to a four banger. Meanwhile, I don't need to use my Stang for work, so I drive it only about three or four times per week and then use public transport - or my own two feet - the rest of the time.