Comments on: Gas Prices vs. Summer Vacation

By: JDoors

JDoors — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 17:42:56 +0000

OK, it’s been a while:

One, “foreign” countries pay FAR more taxes per unit than even the greediest of American government entities so, yes, gas is more expensive for you (I’ll leave that to you to decide if it’s worth it).

Two, we have MORE known reserves than we had decades ago. There’s MORE, not less. We avoid drillling due to environmental reasons (again, up to you if you think that’s worth the price you’re paying at the pump).

Three, we ARE short on refining capacity (at least in the U.S.). That old bug-a-boo “Not In My Back Yard” prevents investment in more refining capacity. I know someone who lives near a refinery and I have to admit, I don’t want one ANYWHERE NEAR me. Smelly, noisy, and DANGEROUS (they have community drills for when there are fires or explosions at the refinery).

Four, though I don’t think anyone’s mentioned it here, some people blame “greedy” companies while the government’s take is about SEVEN TIMES what the oil companies make on a gallon of gas. If greedy corporations are to blame then the government is to blame seven times over.

Five, Oh, ANOTHER evil corporation is to blame? GM, huh? I don’t recall them ever forcing me to choose a gas guzzler, there must be some pretty convincing arguments in that book (but I’ll take a pass — I never bought a gas guzzler from GM so it can’t apply to me).

Tired of me yet? :)

By: James Klich

James Klich — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 01:10:59 +0000

The next car we buy in the home will be a hybrid. I will not get anything that gets less than 50 miles to the gallon. This leaves 2 or 3 possible hybrid choices. I will go fewer places to conserve gas and cut out extra trips anywhere.

By: mike

mike — Wed, 30 May 2007 23:41:00 +0000

There are a few things we can do in response to high gas prices. Save gas . For tips and tricks go here http://www.sonombuzz.com . Next Always always buy at the cheap place . This is a market driven problem and when we force companies to compete based on price points , we can expect the price to go down. Third and lastly write your senator or congressman and ask them what they are doing about it.

By: Dave Peroy

Dave Peroy — Tue, 22 May 2007 20:48:07 +0000

I am not rich, but I am getting sick and tired of seeing people waste money on gas, just because they are too insecure to be seen in a smaller fuel efficient car. If we continue to do this in the end we are only supporting the big gas companies and the nations that produce oil.
So on that note:
I really do wish and pray that gas prices keep rising until more people realize that driving big cars and SUV’s is stupid. These cars only create more traffic jams and road rage. These cars are ok for a family with 5 kids, but come-on, why do I see so many mothers that have only one kid, driving in big SUV’s. In the end if they don’t care about high gas prices, well then gas is still too cheap. This is why all of those Arab countries that support terrorism have so much money.
I can’t wait to see the day when we stop needing to buy oil from them. I hope gas makes it to over $5 a gallon! I’ll just drive a fuel-efficient car or hybrid. If you need to take a big car on a road trip, well then you can always rent one at the time.

By: Ellis Harmon

Ellis Harmon — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 18:15:14 +0000

Gas isn’t too expensive-you, and most Americans just use too much of it. In 2004, I bought a VW Golf TDI (50 MPG), expecting gas prices to skyrocket. And sure enough they have. But I didn’t need a crystal ball to see this coming; experts had been predicting it since Jimmy Carter was president. Oil is a finite resource, and someday it WILL run out. People need to get their heads out of the sand and prepare for it. Soon, $3 will seem like a deal. Nobody forced you to buy that gas guzzling SUV, truck or whatever. You made that decision, now you’ll have to live with it. I, for one, hope that oil prices go higher. It’s better for the planet, it’ll make future oil wars less likely, it’ll make instability in the Middle East less threatening, it’ll make the highways safer, it’ll fight urban sprawl, it’ll relieve congestion and it will conserve an important resouce. It hurts alittle now, but we’ll all be better off in the long run.

By: Greg

Greg — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 14:31:36 +0000

Great Post!

I have one serious suggestive read for all of you curious as to the why we are where we are today with regards to gas prices.

Read a book called Internal Combustion by Edwin Black. This book was extremely well documented with facts from public records and historical perspectives as well.

Basically we can thank GM for really making us all dependent on the gas guzzler. Thanks Detroit for your lack of empathy towards the hard working American!

Its not the Arabs fault nor is it a government conspiracy its big buisness period. BTW I will never own an American car after reading this book not to mention my 17 y/o Volvo runs w/o a single problem!

By: ce

ce — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 04:11:45 +0000

Parkylondon, Iran has got no nuclear weapons. They only want to develop civil usage of nuclear energy. It’s the USA which wants Iran not to be a beneficient in the new order after oil peak. For further reading on the situation in Iran I recommend this: http://baltimorechronicle.com/2007/031007RUIJTER.shtml

Anyway, your comment on prices after any possible conflict is right. I only wanted to clear who the agressor there is.

By: Johan

Johan — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 17:42:38 +0000

The current price of gas in Denmark (Europe) is $6.88 per gallon so there is a long way to go. Here in Denmark it means that there is about 1½ cars per household, they are older and on general have better mileage.

By: James M.

James M. — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 03:55:59 +0000

Chris:
KHS bike corp said it best: “Gas Sucks, Get a Bike”. I live in Gold Level city, Tucson, Arizona and bike commute everyday to work. I like it and I don’t like the hassle of traffic when I can blow through lights and watch the looks on folks faces when it takes less time for me to ride home than it took for me to drive. BTW, we are working on becoming the first Platinum city in the U.S. Over 5,000 folks commute per day on their bikes and with an improvement, this number is expected to break 10,000 per day.
So folks, what will it take? $3.00/4.00/5.00? Try this, it costs about $9.00/gal in some places. We have this to look forward to.
James M.

By: Sebastian Herp

Sebastian Herp — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 02:05:01 +0000

Current price of gasoline at the geographical nearest station to my home converted into dollars per gallon (it’s $6.77 for those who are too lazy to click) … please, fellow Americans, do not whine about your ridiculously low gas prices in front of an international audience which pays double, tripple or even more for the same stuff. Thank you!

And to answer your question: a raise to 4 or 5 dollars per gallon will not change a thing. You’ll hear people talk about efficient cars more often, but nobody here (in Germany) changed his/her habbits when gasoline became as expensive as it is now. The price of gasoline has to climb to something with 2 digits to make driving a car expensive enough to see a change in behaviour …

By: Iggy Uncensored

Iggy Uncensored — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 14:45:10 +0000

Those that can afford to lead by example don’t…

Many of us have seen this time and time again. The people who can afford to lead by example don’t. What is most interesting here is that many of these people are the loudest ones complaining about environmental issues or gas prices. Al Gore in my opin…

By: blaster

blaster — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 14:20:14 +0000

I changed my vehicle of choice about six years ago. The car is a Saturn SL1, the SL is for slow.

Eventually, the market will decide what the price is. With the supply just keeping up with demand, expect the price to go up. When people grow weary of the hit to the wallet, their habits will change. There’s no reason to set an artificial price. Besides, politicians will only be raising funds for the next couple of years anyway.

Add up your car payment(s), insurance, gas, maintenance, and license fees. Be honest, and don’t hold back. Anything that has to do with common automobiles is a bad investment. We all know that don’t we, then why do people get into such things?

Emotions, make the right choice, it’s time for you to decide.

By: DoorHold

DoorHold — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 11:52:07 +0000

“… Raise gasoline to $18.00/gallon or higher …”

aka the “let them eat cake” solution.

By: stalk

stalk — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:42:22 +0000

I don’t own a car. I don’t use public transportation. I use my feet and a bicycle. I bike 35 miles a day to/from work.

You want to fix the gas situation?
You want to fix the carbon footprint issue?
You want to fix the global warming issue?
You want to get better alternative energy solutions?

Answer:
Raise gasoline to $18.00/gallon or higher and have the government subsidize bicycles.

This will curtail usage of the car by at least 33%. This will reduce global warming 10% the first year. It will create an incentive for private industry to come up with cheaper alternative energy. And it will hopefully eliminate the ever increasing obesity problem forcing people to exercise out of necessity.

By: JDoors

JDoors — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 13:23:18 +0000

First, if you can’t get decent mileage out of an Acura, I’m not sure what you’re expecting. Maybe you just need to drive less. Second, don’t lament the price of “gasoline” since over half the cost is purely taxes. Lament the high taxes that’s pricing gasoline out of your comfort level (though see my last comment).

I grew up in Chicago and didn’t need to own a car for transportation, but since I moved to the ‘burbs, where one is vital, I’ve owned cars that got decent mileage. My current vehicle does NOT get good mileage however (though it has important advantages), so I drive it like the proverbial little ol’ lady and as little as possible.

To me, since I’m down to essential driving anyway, the price of gas is irrelevant. I’ll pay whatever it is because I have to have it for what I do. I’m not going to complain because I know most other countries pay FAR more than we do in the States (and it’s pointless to complain about the tax portion since governments are as addicted to gasoline taxes as most of us are to driving).