Gas (Petrol) Prices

[Roxie Faye]

[color=#9933ff]So uh, I thought we could all grumble about gas prices for a bit. XD

I got back from London a little while ago, where gas is the equivalent of $8.32 per gallon. And not only that, if you drive IN to London, every single day you are required to pay £8 as a [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_congestion_charge"]congestion tax[/URL]. That's 20 cents short of $16. Ouch.

So now, every time I go to the pump, I try and remember how much gas is over there, and suck it up. Although, that doesn't always work. ^^;

Gas in my part of New Jersey is about... $3.81 for regular. Gas in NJ is a bit less than the surrounding states because if I'm not mistaken, we actually have a major refinery in our state, which lowers the price a tad.

I'm curious to know how much gas is in your location -- within the US and without. (And to convert from X-Currency per liter to $ per gallon, multiply by 3.78 and then convert the answer to dollars.)[/color]


[color=navy][size=1]P.S.: Take the Tube instead? "This is a Piccadilly line service to... Cockfosters." Sorry. Couldn't resist.[/size][/color]

[Raiha]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]4.09 for Regular in the Inland Empire of California.

But I take it all with good grace because I know it isn't Big Oil's fault as much as it's the Government's fault. Remove the taxes on gas and suddenly it all just becomes so much less ponderous. But government likes taxing the American people so long as they suffer it in silence.

And thus far we've been as meek as lambs to the slaughter. But before you start ranting about how we're 'addicted' to oil, remember that gasoline isn't the only thing you get from gas. Is your computer made with plastic parts? That's oil. Vinyl clothing or shoes? Oil. Do you own a car? It's comprised of oil based products. Sorry to break it to you. But since we haven't been allowed to drill for our own oil the way every other country on earth can, including China [World's Largest Polluters].... We bring it on ourselves.

[/FONT][/COLOR]

[Morpheus]

[quote name='Raiha'][COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]But I take it all with good grace because I know it isn't Big Oil's fault as much as it's the Government's fault. Remove the taxes on gas and suddenly it all just becomes so much less ponderous. But government likes taxing the American people so long as they suffer it in silence.[/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE]

Reducing the tax or 18.5 cents wouldn't do a thing for prices; oil companies would compensate with an immediate 18.5 cent increase.

It's 3.89 for regular in Elizabethtown Kentucky. Regular has yet to hit $4 here.

[Retribution]

[quote name='MistressRoxie'][color=#9933ff]Gas in my part of New Jersey is about... $3.81 for regular. Gas in NJ is a bit less than the surrounding states because if I'm not mistaken, we actually have a major refinery in our state, which lowers the price a tad.[/color][/QUOTE]
[font=Arial]At least you have someone pump your gas for you! The rest of us have to do it the old-fashioned way. :p

I just filled up my car, where prices (for regular) are $3.91 in the DC Metropolitan Area. I consider myself lucky, though... my car's relatively fuel-efficient and only requires ~$25 for a full tank.

Waiving the gas tax is simply ridiculous -- it would save the average American around $30 per month. Sorry, but this amounts to political pandering when a vast number of economists chalk it up to "useless". There is reason to believe that Big Oil will raise the price to compensate for the drop, thus putting us back where we started. And at what cost? Without that gas tax money, roads and bridges might fall into disrepair, and the government might have to get MORE loans to pay for these projects. And everyone knows the faltering American economy cannot afford any more loans, debt, or uphill struggle at this moment. If you're willing to consider a "gas holiday," it is you who is a political lamb at the slaughter.

And yes, we are addicted to oil. The entire reason the prices are rising is that the Saudis have us by our balls, and Big Oil is capitalizing on that. If we could become more fuel efficient, more public transportation centralized, and look for alternative energy America in the long term would benefit greatly. Certainly, many of our products are made from oil, but it is undeniable that the gas market for cars is a massive swath of that.[/font]

[Shy]

[size=1]Retribution, what kind of car do you drive? A Moped? $25 for a full tank? Really? It costs me over $50 to completely fill up my car.

Anyway, gasoline sure is expensive! When I used to commute 40 miles to work (and 40 miles back) the price was around $2.00 a gallon, and I was still complaining about it. I can't imagine spending so much every month on gasoline now. I've cut down on my driving considerably as a result.

-Shy[/size]

[eleanor]

[quote name='Retribution'][font=Arial]I consider myself lucky, though... my car's relatively fuel-efficient and only requires ~$25 for a full tank.
[/font][/QUOTE]

[font=trebuchet ms].... What. What car do you drive?!

I live in the suburbs of Atlanta, gas is now around $3.85/gallon or so. It takes me about $70 to fill up a full tank...I drive a Toyota 4Runner. Lol. I can shoot myself when gas prices reach $4/gallon, amirite?

Also I love how my friends still insist on getting premium, because their car "needs" it. I laugh in their face. [/font]

[Rachmaninoff]

Prices here are about 3.77 a gallon for regular. For the most part the increase in gas prices hasn't affected me all that much, at least not for purchasing gas directly. Being in downtown SLC and having access to the light rail we have [[SIZE="1"]which is free on account of my being a student[/SIZE]] I just about never drive anywhere. With parking issues and such, the light rail is quicker than taking a car anyway since it runs every 10-15 minutes all day long and just about everything I need to go to is along it's route.

My brothers and I share an older family car which I use once or twice a week and I only pay for the gas that I use, which considering that it gets decent gas millage isn't much. I do know that my brothers fill the tank when it's down to a quarter and since the tank isn't that big, it only takes $40 to fill it. Though considering how prices have changed, it use to only be $20 to fill the tank.

[Gavin]

[quote name='MistressRoxie'][color=#9933ff]So uh, I thought we could all grumble about gas prices for a bit. XD[/color][/QUOTE]

[SIZE="1"]...I love these threads, it always makes me laugh when you guys complain about the cost of petrol when over on this side of the Atlantic, we're paying roughly double if not more than that you guys are paying.

Anyway, after a bit of calculating, and looking up exactly what a gallon is compared to a litre, petrol is apparently $7.38 a gallon locally for me, which when compared with the rest of Ireland seems to be pretty average. I'll let someone from England quote how much they're paying, but off-hand speaking to a few friends while I type this, it's almost certainly higher than what I'm paying.

Just OOC as we're on the subject of fuel prices, is diesel more expensive for you guys compared to petrol ? I know over here diesel cars were/are popular because diesel was cheaper (now about $8.12 a gallon) and you get more miles to the gallon compared to petrol, which is still the case.[/SIZE]

[Horendithas]

[COLOR="Indigo"][quote name='Gavin'][SIZE="1"]...I love these threads, it always makes me laugh when you guys complain about the cost of petrol when over on this side of the Atlantic, we're paying roughly double if not more than that you guys are paying.[/SIZE][/QUOTE]Yeah but isn't your entire country small enough to fit inside Texas? Can't complain when one could probably drive across the entire place in a day. [SIZE="1"][I]*ducks*[/I][/SIZE]

Anyway, like Rach, I use the light rail system here in SLC. All students can, you just present a valid student ID and they hand over a year pass. Plus it's convenient and easy to use since nearly everything I want is on it's route, and the few things that aren't are connected to it via bus; which the pass also covers.

That and I don't have a car anyway, so the only gas I ever use is that in the lawnmower my landlady has and she pays for that. [/COLOR]

[Gavin]

[quote name='Indi'][COLOR="Indigo"]Yeah but isn't your entire country small enough to fit inside Texas? Can't complain when one could probably drive across the entire place in a day. [SIZE="1"][I]*ducks*[/I][/SIZE][/COLOR][/QUOTE]

[SIZE="1"]People in glasshouses shouldn't throw stones, [I]shorty[/I]. ^_~[/SIZE]

[Roxie Faye]

[quote name='Retribution'][font=Arial]At least you have someone pump your gas for you! The rest of us have to do it the old-fashioned way. :p

I just filled up my car, where prices (for regular) are $3.91 in the DC Metropolitan Area. I consider myself lucky, though... my car's relatively fuel-efficient and only requires ~$25 for a full tank.[/font][/quote][color=#9933ff][size=1]Lol. I know, and I'm completely dependent on that -- I don't know how to pump gas out of state. With the service, that's why it's weird that gas is so "cheap," until you hear that we have a refinery in the state.

I'm also as mystified as Shy - why does it only cost you $25? Back when gas was $2.95, it cost me $40 to fill up. Now it costs $50.[/size][/color]

[quote name='Retribution'][font=Arial]And yes, we are addicted to oil. The entire reason the prices are rising is that the Saudis have us by our balls, and Big Oil is capitalizing on that. If we could become more fuel efficient, more public transportation centralized, and look for alternative energy America in the long term would benefit greatly. Certainly, many of our products are made from oil, but it is undeniable that the gas market for cars is a massive swath of that.[/font][/QUOTE][color=#9933ff][size=1]I'm not sure that I'm reading that second sentence correctly, but my personal opinion is that the Big Oil companies are pretty much price gouging us, slightly because of oil speculation about how much we have left, and mostly because they can.

My Poli Sci Prof. was relaying the summary of a congressional meeting to the class in which the five big oil companies talked to congress, because gas prices were rising. Some smart senator asked the question "Have you ever considered lowering your prices?" They were all stunned into silence before one of them started stuttering about how it's "more complicated than that, and there's a lot of research and calculations that would have to go in before making such a decision," and blah blah blah. Bull, I say. Come on, in the floundering economy where everything is seeing a downturn, why, then are oil companies making record profits??

I also agree that if we switch to more fuel efficient cars, or just use less gas, we will eliminate a major contributor to the depletion of gas, that we can use to make those plastics, and lengthen the time needed to wean ourselves off of gas (because we've got to do it eventually, anyway).

I'd go into a discussion of alternative energy (pros, cons, what they are), but that's probably best left for another thread. The long and short of it is: There's no easy solution, because if there was, we'd be doing it.[/size][/color]

[quote name='Lunox'][font=trebuchet ms]Also I love how my friends still insist on getting premium, because their car "needs" it. I laugh in their face. [/font][/QUOTE][color=#9933ff][size=1]I concur. Premium is a myth. lol.[/size][/color]

[quote name='Gavin'][SIZE="1"]Just OOC as we're on the subject of fuel prices, is diesel more expensive for you guys compared to petrol ? I know over here diesel cars were/are popular because diesel was cheaper (now about $8.12 a gallon) and you get more miles to the gallon compared to petrol, which is still the case.[/SIZE][/QUOTE][color=#9933ff][size=1]You know, I actually have no idea how much diesel is. I just did a search on google, and doing a very unscientific and unmethodical calculation by averaging the lowest and highest diesel prices in my area, came up with $4.74 per gallon. I think diesel has always been more expensive here, actually.

I know that a lot of truckers are up in arms about the price, because it makes it even harder for them, when they don't earn a whole lot by their job to begin with.[/size][/color]

[Retribution]

[quote name='MistressRoxie'][color=#9933ff][size=1]I'm also as mystified as Shy - why does it only cost you $25? Back when gas was $2.95, it cost me $40 to fill up. Now it costs $50.[/size][/color][/QUOTE]
[font=Arial]It's like a Honda Civic or something equally generic... it doesn't get entire full off $25, but it's close enough.

[QUOTE][color=#9933ff][size=1]I'm not sure that I'm reading that second sentence correctly, but my personal opinion is that the Big Oil companies are pretty much price gouging us, slightly because of oil speculation about how much we have left, and mostly because they can.

My Poli Sci Prof. was relaying the summary of a congressional meeting to the class in which the five big oil companies talked to congress, because gas prices were rising. Some smart senator asked the question "Have you ever considered lowering your prices?" They were all stunned into silence before one of them started stuttering about how it's "more complicated than that, and there's a lot of research and calculations that would have to go in before making such a decision," and blah blah blah. Bull, I say. Come on, in the floundering economy where everything is seeing a downturn, why, then are oil companies making record profits??

I also agree that if we switch to more fuel efficient cars, or just use less gas, we will eliminate a major contributor to the depletion of gas, that we can use to make those plastics, and lengthen the time needed to wean ourselves off of gas (because we've got to do it eventually, anyway).

I'd go into a discussion of alternative energy (pros, cons, what they are), but that's probably best left for another thread. The long and short of it is: There's no easy solution, because if there was, we'd be doing it.[/size][/color][/QUOTE]
Well, the Saudis (IMHO) are rising their prices because of a greater demand. Perhaps my logic is faulty, but if a commodity is in high demand with lower supply, it becomes more valuable. Similarly, Big Oil is rising its prices to capitalize on a low-supply/high-demand market. Saudis sell to Big Oil high, Big Oil sells high for a comfortable margin of profit.

Of course Big Oil could easily lower prices and reap an obscene profit still. But they're price gouging, and since they're in cozy with the GOP, things will continue until the American public can no longer afford to drive (thus resulting in widespread economic collapse).

Cheers! :D[/font]

[SunfallE]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"]For me filling my car runs between $25-32, it just depends on how empty my tank is. I have a smaller car that gets good mileage so the tank is small. I do miss only paying around $15 to fill it though, that extra bit just keeps adding up. [quote name='MistressRoxie'][color=#9933ff][size=1]I know that a lot of truckers are up in arms about the price, because it makes it even harder for them, when they don't earn a whole lot by their job to begin with.[/size][/color][/QUOTE]That would depend on whether or not they were an owner/operator. For those truckers who belong to a larger corporation, it's the company that pays for the gas not you. Those stops to fill up are preplanned in advance. You just get a set amount per mile you drive and with all the shipping going on... making money was never that big of an issue. At least it never was for me, but then I was doing runs for Wal-Mart and there was never a shortage of work.

Now I haven't checked since I quit driving a few years ago, but when I did, Diesel was always pretty close to the same prices as regular fuel. If anything, the gas increase is going to put those independent owner/operators out of business and that's when it's going to be a serious crunch on the trucking industry.

You want a real crisis, just think about how just about everything comes into your towns via truck. And I do mean pretty much everything, if that stops... all it takes is a mere 2-4 days for stores to empty. At that point things will get crazy. If the government allows the increase in gas to bankrupt a huge percentage of the trucking industry, that's going to get nasty real quick.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[Akieen Cloud]

[COLOR="Navy"][FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Here in eastren CT is about $4.15 off of base and on base it's like $4.12, so it's pretty bad here, and that's just regular, premium is like 4.49 and desile here is like 4.69. It takes us close to 80 bucks to completely fill the Jeep and it only lasts us like 2 weeks, its horrible. [/FONT][/COLOR]

[DeathKnight]

[color=crimson]$3.75 is an average around here. According to this website that shows the cheapest gas in SA, you can grab some at 3.72 still at some places, haha.[/color]

[Andrew]

[size=1]At the risk of sounding like my Grampy (or some other old person), you people don't know your born. ¬_¬

I would quote a price but here in good ole' Wales (that's in the United Kingdom for those not in the know), petrol prices go up daily by at least 1p (although usually more). Just to give you a nice idea of what we face over here though, I'll use Knuckles' Girl as a comparison.

You say $80 (£40 roughly) can last you two weeks in what I imagine is a large engine Jeep. My tiny little Corsa uses up at least £30-£40 a week JUST getting to and from work. Nevermind if I decide I want the leisure of a quiet drive somewhere or I don't wanna walk.[/size]

[Shinichi Kudou]

Whoah, never knew gas was that high in London. x_x;
That bites..

Over here it's around $4 a gallon, and it's going up rather quickly.
[I]Here[/I] being Kansas, by the way. xD;

Fun times.

Sooo many families around here share one car, it's not even funny.
But whatever works, and it's cheaper that way.

I hate that gas is rising so fast. -sigh-

[Sabrina]

[FONT="Tahoma"]I have a car, but I don't drive it a lot. Like Darren and [COLOR="Indigo"]Indi[/COLOR] I just take the light rail since I'm a student. ^^ It just seems pointless to waste the gas when I can take that instead. I only use my car for going to the store or to a movie on the weekends. Sometimes I only fill my car with gas once in a month. Which usually takes about $30-35. Though with the way gas keeps going up... I've started using the light rail for trips to the store where I only get a few things. [/FONT]

[Kimmeh]

Gas has been $3.97 here in my town for the past few days. Which is big news.. considering it normally went up everyday.

Here being Arizona...

It sucks. We used to be the cheapest gas in the country. I wonder why. (Cheapest meaning it stuck around $3.30 for the longest time.)