Fight Gas Prices !!!! (1 Viewer)

[Brian Shannon]

Personally I think higher gas prices in the US would be a good thing in the long run, so I am going to make sure I buy gas from EXXON/MOBIL this summer

I agree 100%

Gas is not nearly expensive enough!

 

[Philip Hamm]

Here's a better idea: JUST DRIVE LESS

• Try to consolidate many tasks into your trips
• CARPOOL
• Ride your bicycle
• Use public transportation if it's available
• If shopping for a car, make fuel economy important in your buying descision.

Boycotting Exxon and Mobil and buying just as much gas as you ordinarily would from allt he other companies isn't going to get anything accomplished. Carpooling and riding your bike or the train will.

 

[Kevin P]

Gas is not nearly expensive enough!

If you're saying this in hopes that high gas prices will reduce the number of 15 MPG SUVs on the road, I doubt it'll work. Those who can afford those overpriced SUVs can afford to put overpriced gas in them. It's the poorer folk who depend on their cars to get them to work every day (people like me) who are penalized when gas prices are high.

I do ride my bike to work in the summer when the weather is nice though.

KJP

 

[Chris]

I remember reading somewhere that, at least in CA, the tax on a gallon of gas is like 40 cents. Gas is roughly $1.60 here for regular. So that's about 25%. Take that with a grain of salt though.

That's your state addendum on tax. Add in the federal and transport taxes, and it's higher. If you want to know how much tax you are paying per gallon the federal and state are to be printed on each pump, and the transport and storage taxes, which are also lumped in, are available via the DOE website and also inside most gas stations.

 

[AjayM]

If you're saying this in hopes that high gas prices will reduce the number of 15 MPG SUVs on the road, I doubt it'll work. Those who can afford those overpriced SUVs can afford to put overpriced gas in them. It's the poorer folk who depend on their cars to get them to work every day (people like me) who are penalized when gas prices are high.

Ummm, people who have enough money to buy an overpriced SUV can and probably are just as frugal as you and the poorer folk. The difference is that they complain about it, but to the poorer folk it means having to rebudget their usual monthly expenditures (one less DVD this month). I'm in an above average bracket, and drive a gas guzzling sporty car (like 15mpg on the street), which means about 2 full tanks of gas a week (around $45-50 a week in gas), but I'm still looking for a more economical sporty car partly because of the gas reasons.

However I do agree that raising prices isn't the answer, at least not without doing something about public transportation. People want to use Europe as an example, which in a simple sense can work, but look at the transportation that they have available, even smaller towns have train stations, buses, etc. They are WAY more bike friendly with paths and signals everywhere.

Take my commute for example, I have to go a whole 17-20 miles each way.

It takes me about 30 minutes in the car.

If I wanted to take the train to work, first I have to take a cab to the trainstation and sit in traffic as the train station is about 8 miles away in heavy traffic, and I have to take a cab because there is no buses running in that direction. Once I get off the train I have to take another cab to get to the office, so another 4-5 miles.

Buses - I think I could manage to take buses into work, it would mean hopping onto at least 6-7 different buses each way and would probably take me about 2 hours to get here.

Riding a bike - I used to ride quite a bit, and if I were back into that I wouldn't have a problem with this to much at least on the nicer days. But I would give myself at least 3-4 days before I was mowed over by some crazed driver.

Now not every city is like this, but most are. Until those things are addresses rising the price of gas is not really going to do anything, other than kill one section of the auto industry and spur on another side of it, kind of like what we saw in the 70's. People will get rid of their ineffecient vehicles and buy small more effecient cars.

Andrew

 

[Danny R]

I'm just glad I live in Georgia... home of the lowest gas prices in the nation.

Filled up for $1.15 per gallon yesterday!

Looks to me as if its taxes that are the primary reason gas is higher in other parts of the nation. So if you want to get them lowered, complain to your representatives.

 

[Malcolm R]

Federal gas tax is 18.4 cents per gallon nationwide.

State taxes vary. Here in VT, the state tax is 20 cents per gallon. So, we pay 38.4 cents per gallon in taxes for gasoline.

Gas prices here are currently around $1.40, so the actual retail price of the gas is just over $1 per gallon.

 

[Todd Hochard]

Here's a better idea: JUST DRIVE LESS
Try to consolidate many tasks into your trips
CARPOOL
Ride your bicycle
Use public transportation if it's available
If shopping for a car, make fuel economy important in your buying descision.

Oh, come on, now! That makes too much sense. AS such, most people are unwilling to do it.:rolleyes
Then again, public transportation does not work in FL.
Todd

 

[Jason Handy]

To me, driving is a luxury. I can see how having a family would require a larger vehicle, but some of the tanks I see on the road would confortably fit 8. With room for the stroller AND all the groceries. Most of the ones I see on the road are NOT filled with kids. Most of the families I see with lots of kids can't afford these behemoths, and they are driving Taurus wagons or something like that.

The target market for the Ford Expedition and the Toyota Sequoia (leather seats?) are the people with huge paychecks and who want to own the road (and are maybe trying to make up for some other deficiency...). Plain and simple. And as far as I am concerned they can all kiss my butt when they complain about higher gas prices. They all had the choice to buy these tanks and knew ahead of time that the gas mileage was terrible. What kind of naive mindset makes us think that gas prices were going to stay cheap forever?

OK, I am done ranting.

 

[kevin_tomb]

SUVs a necessity?.....Almost all of the HUGE SUVs I see (you know the oversized full size pick-up based ones) are rarely ever transporting children or pulling trailers. They usually have just one occupant, usually an affluent 30-50 year old man or woman chatting on a cell phone. Its the people with huge disposable income that have fallen for these over priced gas hogs. People with families usually have a mid sized passenger car or a minivan. By the way almost all minivans have more passenger room than most all SUVs. So dont use the "we need the room of a SUV" Thats total bullshit. These are just YUPPIE RICH PEOPLES WAY OF A SHOWING OFF VEHICLE FAD-MOBILES OF THE 90s and early 2000 ERA........The other problem is these vehicles are way to easy to lease and we are gonna end up with millions of used gas hog vehicles in a few years.......Well at least by then they will have depreciated quite a bit....

 

[Todd Hochard]

I live in an area that has a regular winter potential for 3 feet of snow at a time.

I am 100% certain that those comments above were not directed at someone in your situation. I just can't figure out why there are more SUVs in Florida than in Maine (my personal observation).

 

[Jason Handy]

Yes, my rant was mostly directed at the people who have absolutely NO need to drive something that big and powerful. These beasts are bigger than my first apartment in Boston. And my apartment even got better gas mileage .
I think that for people who live in the back-country, a 4 wheel drive car is almost a necessity. Otherwise, you may not even be able to GET to the grocery store.
But you certainly don't need an SUV in L.A. or Miami.
Jason

 

[John Garcia]

If you really want to fight gas prices, sell your gas using vehicle(s). A ONE DAY boycott will do absolutely NOTHING to these companies at all. It is rediculous to think that it will, because all those people will eventually have to fill their tanks up another day.

 

[Todd Hochard]

It is rediculous to think that it will, because all those people will eventually have to fill their tanks up another day.

Of course, it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. These emails are simply the "Sunday Drivers" of the wired world- slowing up necessary Internet traffic (much like this post, for instance ).

 

[Steve Enemark]

Gas is getting more expensive? Can't say I've noticed, I drive a Prius!

 

[Philip Hamm]

The good news is that most or all taxes on gas (depending on your local state) are put directly back into road building.

 

[AviTevet]

Phew...

Gas companies do not necessarily perform all operations from exploring & taking crude out of the ground to putting it in your tank. Each of the steps in gas production is like its own business. So what happens in the market is that if one company (say Exxon, because it has upstream and downstream operations) can't get enough crude out of the ground, they just buy it from another company at the cheapest price they can. And if one company finds it has too much oil lying around, they sell it to another company at the highest price they can fetch. If every company but Exxon (with a huge exploration and crude extraction business) found themselves with unusually high demand, they would just go buy more from Exxon. But since Exxon would be the only company with the oil, they would jack up prices. Ultimately a boycott of Exxon would result in higher prices for everyone. On the other hand, even if everyone bought only from Exxon so that they had to go purchase mass quantities of oil from other companies (and that means *mass* quantities, because this oil trading is going on constantly even today), then prices would still not go down much because Exxon would keep prices artificially high to turn in a quarter of record profits.

So really the only way to reduce prices is to reduce overall demand.

And as for the European comparisons... my experience with Europeans has been that they cope with high gas prices by buying motorcycles, which can get 80+ mpg.

 

[kevin_tomb]

I think we as americans should start thinking of the long term problems with being the biggest gas and oil hogs of the planet....SUVs are great if they are "TRULY NEEDED", its the people driving in hot climates that never get snow or travel off road, nor carry cargo or trailers that this rant is aimed at. Its like we've taken a major step backwards with these SUVs. Just when technology was making the most efficient cars ever....everyone starts buying up TRUCKS that get at best mediocre mileage. I truly think its an american auto manufacturers DREAM... They realized the minivan fad was sorta fading away as all the japanese car manufacturers had released models and were cashing in on vans. So they got the idea....lets try a new FAD!!. We shall call it "SUVs". Once all the japanese companies are caught up with building equilevant competing models, the american car companies will be on to the next FAD.....Its truly about just money making. WHO HERE REALLY THINKS AMERICANS TASTES ARENT ANYTHING MORE THAN JUST SEVERAL YEAR FADS???? Remember the full size wagon with woodgrain everyone owned???.....How about the chevy van with sidepipes and fat tires??.....how about the early eighties economy cars??....Then...MINIVANS......NOW....SUVS....its just a matter of whats next....SUVs will fade out very soon....give it mabye 2 years more at best.... AND by the way there have been SUVs since the early sixties. Its just then they were called JEEPS or FOUR WHEEL DRIVES....then they were a weekend fun hobby or used for their true purpose......Now its just FAD FAD FAD/////

 

[Dennis Reno]

As one of the HT members in the Motor City, I feel the need to add my $0.02 (that converts to $19.38 in Canadian dollars). I live in the suburbs of a major city that offers next to nothing in the way of mass trans:
Subways - none
Buses - scarce and lacking useful routes
Ride my bike - near my house its safe, anywhere else and you will end up road kill
Motorcycle - most drivers are oblivious to them, one of my uncles ended up with a broken back after a driver hit him head on. "Didn't even see him." Also, great in the late fall/winter/early spring (bikes love snow and slush)
On top of that my lifestyle (personal and corporate) does not lend well to a small vehicle. I can just see taking a Geo Metro down a deeply rutted two track during hunting season! Or driving it up north on a ski weekend when a foot or two of lake effect snow is expected! Or picking up a couple of customers at the airport and shoe horning them into the hatchback!
I wish we had a mass transit system like DC's Metro or NYC Subway. I would use it all the time. But we don't and since I can't afford several vehicles to suit all my needs, I'm left trying to pick the one that will meet most of them. An SUV just happens to fill the bill the best. I'm not thrilled about the gas-price-rollercoaster, but thats part of the cost of ownership. If you chose to own a smaller more fuel efficient vehicle, more power to you. But that is not a viable solution for everyones transportation needs.
IMO, if the government would take 1/1000th of the time and effort they have put into chasing Microsoft and look at the price fixing that takes place at the pump, it would have a drastic effect on the system. It wouldn't reduce the natural fluctuations that take place in a market (supply/demand), but it might reduce the major price jumps that have happened every spring for the last three years.

 

[John Garcia]

Living in the suburbs of Mi and owning an SUV is one thing (I've been there a few times and know what it's like to some extent), but living in Ca and seeing these people who drive (or attempt to) these giant trucks with leather interiors and DVD navigation systems on the freeway is something else entirely. I'd have to say that the number of SUVs here that never see dirt are in VAST disproportion to those that are driven by soccer moms.