OK I give. Gas prices are getting out of this world. I started getting E-85 for my 07 F-150. I know I'll get worst gas mileage but its 40 cents cheaper and my money isn't going to Mr. Big Oil. Also I'm going to lower my tune back to 89 Octane from 93 on my 07 Black GT/CS. Plus I started to drive my 89 Suzuki Sidekick 4x4 to work, 100,000 miles and it still gets 30mpg. My Mustang will be used just for fun and my Truck to pull my RV once a month to the Campground and I'll drive the Suzuki till the wheels fall off.

 

I feel ya, bro'. Being blown, I'm stuck with Premium and it's fast approaching $4/gallon here in So. Cal...

sucks...

 

It still amazes me how man people are blaming "big oil" for the price increases we have been seeing lately.

Who hasn't allowed new refineries to be built (did you wonder why the price of gas was going up while the price of crude was going down???) for THREE decades??? (That is DECADES, not years) Government. Who forces the refineries to produce different niche fuels for all these different markets AND forces them to make different blends for summer and winter??? Government.

When they shut down refineries to reconfigure for different blends, it hurts the availability. When there is an excess in refinery capacity, you see it as a 5 to 10 cent per gallon jump at the pump at the start of the summer driving season. But now, there IS no excess refinery capacity. When they shut one down, the rest can't make enough fuel to meet demand and the current prices, so the market drives the prices up until the demand drops enough to cover the production gap. Basic economics.

 

Thanks for the economics lesson, but regardless of the root cause, gas prices are hurting all of us...and I think that was the main reason for his post.

I myself am looking into some minor "lifestyle adjustments" to handle the inflation. I am lucky enough to live only 6 miles from work, so biking to work is looking like a real option now.

 

I don t buy that ........lets see what thier next quarter profits are OK!

 

I don't even have words to describe how stupid that comment was. RRRoamer knows what he's talking about.

 

A year ago gas was 15 cents per gallon cheaper. At 6k miles per year, 20 mpg, and $3.00/gallon, that equates to $900 vs. $855 per year, $45 per year, big deal, imo. Even if gas goes to $4.00/gallon, that is $1200 vs. $900 or $300/year, that is more of somthing to complain about. Just dont put that $300 UDP on it this year, the 4 HP gain is nothing.

 

Actually, it's the tree-huggers in Government that won't allow refineries to be built, and are responsible for the various different blends of gasoline.

TREE HUGGERS.

TREE HUGGERS.

 

who elects them?

 

Here in California it's all of the tree-huggers in the Bay Area. The Democrat tree huggers own this state and they like to make us pay for it with $4/gallon gas.

If we complain they say, "use public transit" or "walk/bike to work" or "buy a Prius" or some other nonsense like that.

 

I'm all for protecting the environment and that's how I voted. Here in CA, Arnold is a Republican, yet oddly he's very eco-friendly, which I like.

And when I made the decision to buy a V8, I accepted the fact that gas prices are going up and that my wallet would be taking a major hit.

I mean, what can we do besides wait for technology to allow us practical and fast cars?

No point in complaining, but I completely agree that gas prices suck!!

 

Then how come we always hear "Gas prices rising due to increased demand" and then at the very next increase we hear "Gas prices rising due to declining demand"

I've heard both excuses for high gas prices in just this last year! I agree with Rapture their profits never seem to go down. The government may have a role to play here but Big Oil isn't doing us any favors either!

 

The government plays a huge role in Gas prices. The government get's a nice cut. The Fed gets 18.4 cents per gallon. In my state MD the goverment gets 23.5 cents per gallon. Thats almost 42 cents per gallon in taxes. We won't mention the taxes on profits that are collected from the oil companies.

http://www.gaspricewatch.com/usgastaxes.asp

 

Yes, it sucks big time, and yes, the oil companies are raking it in. That's called the free market, and believe me you don't want that to change. Yes, the gov. is taxing gas big time, and yes the tree huggers and refinery situation affects it as well. Let's put it in perspective this way though; How much was gas 25 years ago? How much did you earn 25 years ago? Adjusted for inflation how much more are you paying per gallon now? I'm not an expert and don't pretend to be, but I heard on a talk show that adjusted for inflation we're not paying much more than we did 25 years ago. We're just so used to low gas prices that it seems to hit us harder. Especially when you see it go up on a daily basis. There are no easy answers except to say enjoy your car while you can, cause who knows what it'll be like 25 years from now.

 

I was born in Port Arthur Texas..............do a search and see how many refinerys are there! All my relatives have worked for them!

edit: RRRoamer is from New Mexico

 

They can taxed them like EU does and pay for social programs........ our taxes on gas is low compared to the EU, but profits are very high compared to them!

 

Not to mention what our scumbag congressmen get on the side. It only takes a few hundred thousand here and there for oil companies to keep proffits in the billions. Who cares if the average American citizen suffers. Why do you think people will spend 35 million dollars to get elected into a $250k a year job.

Anyhew, I drive 5 miles to work

 

They take enough money in taxes now to fix every problem in this country, too bad less then half gets spent where and how it should...

 

comparing profits is worthless, look at the profit margins of most major oil companies. Even though they're making record money, they're also spending record money on their refineries and more expensive crude, leading to a consistently less than 10% profit margin (total profit / sales). Compare this to your local starbucks that makes close to a 20% profit margin.

 

And I work for one of the largest companies that BUILDS those refineries in Texas, LA, AL, etc...

Who gives you these reasons? CNN? MSNBC? Worse yet, Fox News? Both reasons are wrong. It costs more to refine gasoline because of all the environmental bs that's enforced now. Therefore the end product is going to cost more. And why should Big Oil give you favors? What favors have you done for them? They're a company, they're main idea is profit, as it should be.

Gasoline is not made of infinate resources so why would you expect a consistant price on a product who's supply only goes down? Only reason it hasn't gone up more is advances in technology. That's how gas is close to the same price if you add in inflation.