As the price of gas increases almost daily (I always love it when the stuff already in the ground somehow gets more valuable) where is the point when your car gets parked? Driving too and from work etc. is of course a necessity but taking a leisurely trip to Gatlinburg on a weekend is a luxury that may become unaffordable. At around 17 mpg average my Stang tends to stay parked when prices hit $4 a gallon. It becomes much cheaper to order a pizza and break out a DVD from my collection that I’ve never gotten around to watching. As I recall from the last time OPEC decided to see how much we could stand Huntsville, Madison became ghost towns at around that $4 a gallon mark and suddenly the demand for gas nationwide dropped dramatically. I’m just wondering if the same thing will happen this time around.

 

I'm in south jersey an they predict gas will be around 5$ for summer. I can't figure out in a bad economy why would they make it hard for people to gas up and travel. I'm 45 min from all jersey beaches and usually go every weekend at 5$ a gallon I'll def be cutting back. I always find it funny how gas goes up on holidays and summer. It's clear robbery

 

My car can't be parked. I have to drive to school and work.

 

supply and demand, demand goes up, supply goes down, price goes up... basic economics.. sucks.. but its how the world works, the worlds oil consumption goes up and they still wont let us drill in the gulf of mexico... hince you WILL see higher prices..

 

That's what I said. I'm not talking about driving when you have to, I'm talking about when you don't have to. Spring and Summer are coming and I'm just wondering how many trips (especially long ones) I'm going to be able to take in my car that gets lousy gas mileage.

 

I doubt I will do many, maybe 1 or 2 trips a month over the summer. I've yet to see how many mpg the new engine will get so that's just a guess.

 

why is the price of gas made from american crude the same price as from foreign crude .. amoco is american oil company .. chevron is standard oil company ..

 

First, you need to define "they".

Why would anyone sell goods at a lower price than what they bought it for? Isn't that a sure road to bankruptcy?

I was an "automotive refueling technician" to get my butt through college. In other words, I pumped gas. I got to see and understand the economics of the neighborhood service station first hand. The station that I worked was one of five. All were stations that pumped more than 100,00 gallons a month. That was three truckloads of 10,000 gallons three times a week. The service station has already bought what is in the ground. Yet, what they are doing by selling you gasoline is banking up for their NEXT purchase. So, when the price to THEM goes up, the price to YOU goes up. Thinking that the price is fluctuating from what they have in the ground is not how it goes.

Start some forward thinking. Don't like gas prices? Buy one of these.
http://www.teslamotors.com/

To answer the question, I still love cruising, no matter the price. The TCO does weigh in on the decision, though.

 

Not necessarily. Our great democratic Alabama state legislature passed a law that you can't sell gas for less than your cost, even if by doing so you would attract customers to buy lots of other things. Walmart on South Pkwy tried that a few years ago until Campbell oil company cried foul. Look around town and see who has the highest prices - it's usually Texaco (i.e., Campbell oil company). Sorry, but if I buy something, it should be MY decision what to charge for it, not the government's!

 

i actually already have a cruise fund set aside so if it can be bought i will buy it and cruise at 6 mpg .. may cut into my beer budget a bit

 

I realize that I am going to eventually have to change how I drive and what I drive. I'm hoping to put that eventuality off as long as possible since I can't see driving a Ford Fiesta in the future. Driving around with the sun roof open singing La Bamba just isn't me (although I can picture Ralph doing it ). My wife has a Mini S that gets good mileage obviously and it's fun to drive but it's still not quite the same.

 

Heh...me too.

 

the price of gas is not just what affects our choice to take a trip or to take a cruise ,

it is many things time, weather, mood, gas prices?

i have never heard anyone say i was gonna take a cruise but i dint want to spend the gas money

now an actual vacation around the country or even a long distance trip might on the other hand be out of the question

15 gallons of gas @
$2.50= $37.50
$3.00= $45.00
$4.00= $60.00
$5.00= $75.00

you cant look at ooh now it is 75 bucks to take a trip.

because last year it was still 45 bucks

just look at the difference 30 bucks, you have allready rationalized it was ok to spend 45 on driving your vehicle from point a-point b ect .

so whats a extra 15-30 bucks for a weekend outing

The cost of that pizza, a few tickets to the movies, maybe that fancy dinner with the wife. the money will get spend somewhere you just have to decide where it is acceptable to you.

i would never trade in my cars for a Prius, Leaf or any other cute econobox, i would never complain my mustang gets 8-17 mpg, becuase i dont drive a big old f350 that gets 4-6 and have to drive it daily.

we can rant about the gas prices but it wont do anything to fix them, we can complain our cars get x mpg but them same people that bought econo cars are complaining too because now they are paying more per fill up also


someone always has it worsem and someone always has it better, but we all pay for it, well except for the government they just spend it like it is old milk almost out of date!

 

When the gas price goes up for 4th of July holiday it's not because the cost went up it's because so many people are traveling the gas company can charge more to make more of a profit. Correct. Or is it just by chance that every year on a holiday the price of gas goes up? I'm not going to stop driving I'm just saying that instead of every weekend taking a trip to the beach sat and sun may just turn into one day a weekend

 

I have a 2006 Suzuki Forenza as a daily driver so I can leave the Mustang in the garage if I have to.

 

It's just a vicious cycle. Gas company charges more for gas, then people have trouble making ends meet because they have to pay more for gas, now they can hardly afford to drive their cars to work. How are they to pay for their gas if they can't get to work to earn the money to pay for their gas?

 

All you have to do is invest some money in some good oil and gas names and as the gas prices at the pump rise and the demand for gas rise the money in you investment account will rise!!! :-) easy money!

 

Nope, no way!
Aint gonna happen!

I would be singing something from Air Supply.

 

Supply and demand.
A gas company (I am assuming you are speaking of a fillup station, not an oil refinery) can charge whatever they want. That is why I can be on one end of town and the gas is 15 cents higher than another end. And, yes, I am talking Chevron-to-Chevron (apples to apples). They are buying from the same refinery at the same cost.

 

Get a vehicle that is more efficient, ride a bike, carpool, take public transit, work from home, etc.